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12-06-2012 at 5:09 PM
emichele87
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emichele87 is not online. Last active: 04-10-2013, 4:42 PMNewbie

What to do with cat over Christmas?

My H and I just adopted a cat about a month ago. He is wonderful and has adjusted to our home very well. And just for info he is over 3 years old and declawed. My problem is what to do with him while my H and I are gone around Christmas. He can't come with up bc my parents have a cat who is very territorial and wouldn't take well to having another animal around. Plus it's a 6 hour car ride to my parents and I don't relish the thought of taking him along. Most of our friends are going out of town as well but it might be possible for one of them to stop by while we are gone to check on him. The third option is to board him. 

I'm not sure what to do here. If we were to board him he might think we took him back to the shelter, but if we leave him in the house alone for 4 days he may think we abandoned him. 
~Emily~ 
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12-06-2012 at 8:41 PM
SadieLouWh...
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SadieLouWho is not online. Last active: 05-08-2013, 3:37 PMNewbie

I honestly think your best bet is to leave him home with plenty of food and water. I know it sounds cruel, but cats are much more independent than dogs. He will sleep and relax, then you will be home in no time. I don't think he will feel abandoned.

 If you have a friend or neighbour that will check on him at the halfway mark, leaving him alone should work just fine.

Most cats enjoy some alone time. 
 
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12-07-2012 at 12:51 AM
Amt2109
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SadieLouWho:

I honestly think your best bet is to leave him home with plenty of food and water. I know it sounds cruel, but cats are much more independent than dogs. He will sleep and relax, then you will be home in no time. I don't think he will feel abandoned.

 If you have a friend or neighbour that will check on him at the halfway mark, leaving him alone should work just fine.

Most cats enjoy some alone time. 

This is what we do. Pre-dog, we'd leave our cat alone for up to 5/6 days with food, water and an extra clean litter box.

These days we're lucky to have teenagers living next door that look after them for us (even then, we've not been both gone more than a week).
 
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12-07-2012 at 8:16 AM
RedheadBak...
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I worked as a pet sitter for about 10 months, and we were routinely hired to visit cats once a day while their owners were away. I wouldn't recommend leaving cats that long with no one to check on them at least once every 24 hours. 

Cats are VERY picky about their litter boxes, and leaving them unscooped for that long is just asking for problems once you get home.  
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12-07-2012 at 8:28 AM
Dork_Fish
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OP please do not leave your cat more than 2 days without someone coming and checking on him. Personally, I'd board my cats if I didn't have someone that could check on them every other day.

ETA: I actually prefer mine to get checked on daily so that I know they have plenty of fresh water and food. If I can't provide that then I board them.

 
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12-07-2012 at 4:14 PM
ShannersLA
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Our 2 cats have an automatic feeder, waterer and litter boxes.  Depending on how long you're gone, your cats should be fine. They will appreciate the alone time :) If you have someone that could stop over for just 1 of the days that you're gone to check on them or scoop their litter box, that'd probably give you peace of mind too.
 
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12-08-2012 at 8:33 AM
brandyleig...
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brandyleighxx is not online. Last active: 05-20-2013, 7:04 PMBronze
SadieLouWho:

I honestly think your best bet is to leave him home with plenty of food and water. I know it sounds cruel, but cats are much more independent than dogs. He will sleep and relax, then you will be home in no time. I don't think he will feel abandoned.

 If you have a friend or neighbour that will check on him at the halfway mark, leaving him alone should work just fine.

Most cats enjoy some alone time. 

This. This is what I do with my kitty. I invested in an 8-day automated feeder several years ago and it's been a life saver. She usually eats twice a day... so if I'l going to be away 4 days or less, I set it up to rotate every 12 hours. If I'm away longer, I set it for every 24 hours and she just eats once a day. I always test the feeder before leaving her on and make sure batteries new and always have a friend or family member check in on her half way through. Would link you to the feeder I have but it's not working. You can google "8 day automatic pet feeder". It looks like a big saucer.
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12-10-2012 at 1:47 AM
starshinea...
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If you will only be gone 4 days, he'll be fine. Just make sure to leave plenty of food and water and clean the litter box before you leave. If you want, get the food and water set up now and see how long it lasts to make sure that you leave more than enough for 4 days. I wouldn't board him for that short of a period of time. If a friend wants to check in on him that would be nice, but not essential.
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12-10-2012 at 8:20 AM
Dork_Fish
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I'm shocked at how many of you are fine with the cat being left alone that long without someone to check on him.
 
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