Having to leave the kitties at home... :(

Hi everyone. I'm new to the site, and I'm having a dilemma at the moment. I'm hoping that someone might be able to give me some words of encouragement!

I have two sweet little cats named Nalla and Bella who are a year and a half old. They're very independent, but they're also very loving and affectionate. They're my babies, and since my husband and I don't have any kids yet, I definitely consider them my children.

But here's my problem... my husband and I are on vacation at the moment. We left this morning, and we'll be gone until next Sunday, which is nearly eight days. We had to leave the girls at home, because they're not good at traveling at all (we've had to move a couple of times since we've had them, and they hated it with a passion!). The biggest problem is, though, since we're pretty new to the area where we live, we don't have any friends who we can trust enough to go into our home and check on them in our absence. And I didn't even consider taking them to a boarding place, because I worked for a short period of time at a place like that, and I'm definitely not comfortable with leaving "my" babies at a place like that! So they're literally going to be completely on their own for a week!

It really breaks my heart, because the longest they've been away from us before was for three days, possibly four, although they did just fine then. But I'm about ready to have a meltdown right now because I'm so worried about them! I left them plenty of food and water in automatic dispensers, so I'm sure they'll be alright as far as that goes, and I also left them three litter boxes. I also unplugged everything in the house in case they decided to chew on some cords or something, and I shut all of the doors to the rooms that we don't want them getting into. They can't rip anything up, so we'll also be okay there. It's the simple fact that I love them like my children, and I feel like I'm totally neglecting them! It's weighing on me so badly, I don't even know if I'll be able to enjoy our vacation. I'm honestly about to cry over it right now, as pathetic or overly paranoid as that may seem.

But anyway, I guess I'm just looking for some words of encouragement to reassure me. Have any of you ever left your cats home for that long of a time? Things went just fine if you did, right?

Ugh, I'm just worried sick about it. I'm 99% sure they'll be 110% fine when we get back, although I'm sure they'll be kind of wild at first, or maybe they'll be overly affectionate! But anyway, I also wish that I would have turned on the radio for them to listen to or something, so they could at least hear some human voices in our absence. I didn't think about it in our rush to leave, though, and I hate myself for that.

Well, please let me know if any of you have experience in leaving your cats home for that long! And please tell me that everything went alright? LOL.

[Pugzley]

I've never left my cats alone for that long, but since you didn't have anyone to deal with them and you're already on vacation, there's no need to worry about it right now, it's a fruitless effort.

As long as neither of them becomes ill, and they are young and sound healthy, so the odds of that happening in a week's time are slim to none.

Cats sleep about 18 hours a day anyways, so it's not like they will be bored. They don't think the same way we do.

They'll probably be just fine as long as they have plenty of food and water. Cats living outdoors are in peril constantly and they make it for years and years, so your cats should be fine. If you'd put them outside and left them "with plenty of food and water" then I'd be really worried about them but you didn't.

They should be fine but I wouldn't leave them by themselves for that long in the future, either board them or pay someone to come in and check on them every couple of days if not each day.

I'm sure you'll come home to 3 overflowing litter boxes and 2 cats that are extremely glad to see you.

[Malah&Fae]

I had to leave fae alone for 4 days a couple of weeks ago when my fiance had to be rushed to the hospital and i was in a HUGE rush then. I had to have my sister drive me home the next morning to make sure she had enough food and water and clean litter to last her a few days bc i dont drive and wouldnt be able to go back and forth. She did wonderfully but i didnt like leaving her alone even for that much time. I am sure your cats will be fine though. i know its hard but i wouldnt worry too much about it. Cats are pretty independant and as long as they have everything they need to last as long as you will be gone i dont see there being a problem.

Try and enjoy ur vacation and dont forget to bring the kids presents!

Thanks for the replies, Pugzley and Malah.

I'm still worried sick about it even tonight, but you're right Pugzley, it's a fruitless effort to be so concerned about it when I'm 10 hours away from them and can't be back for another six days.

I keep finding new things to worry about, though. Such as: one of the girls, Bella, loves to tip over her water bowls. I can't give them water in an actual bowl of any sort because she'll knock it over, no matter how heavy it is. I have no idea why she does it, but she tries to lick it off of the floor afterward. LOL. She's not the brightest crayon in the box, but it's kind of funny.

That's why I bought a water dispenser for them that's really big, almost bigger than they are, and I'm almost positive that she couldn't knock it over and probably wouldn't even try... but I keep thinking, what if she does somehow? Then they'll be without water, and I know that cats can't live without water for more than four days or so.

Ugh, I'm just giving myself the biggest ulcer over this. And I most definitely won't leave them alone for this long of a time again, but this time, we really didn't have any other option at all. If we lived in a big city that offered such a thing, I might have had a "pet sitter" come and check on them, maybe, but that would feel really risky to me... letting a stranger into our house to begin with, much less to check on my girls... almost riskier than just leaving them alone, perhaps, in my paranoid mind. LOL.

But anyway, thanks again for the replies, and I'll "try" to put this out of my mind and get some sleep tonight, because I've only gotten about 8 hours of sleep in the past two nights!

[Dirky47]

I'm sure your babies will understand your situation since they are known for being sweet. Don't worry about your cats. You already did everything for any possible things that may happen.

Just pray for them.

Thanks. Yeah, they're dolls. I keep thinking about actually ending my vacation early to go back to make sure they're okay, but we're sooooo far away from home at this point, and I only get to see my family a couple of times per year now, so they'd be heartbroken and probably a little pissed if I chose my cats above them. LOL. My husband keeps telling me, "Stop worrying, they're completely fine!" But it doesn't really help. I just wish someone could say that they've had a similar experience and left their cats at home for a week before, and it turned out beautifully! LOL.

[Llamalady]

Could you get someone to house sit? Is there a petsitting service in your area? That might help you feel better. We have one in our area that will come visit your animals and feed and pet and water them and make sure they're okay. Or maybe you can ask a friend you trust to check on them? I've done that for a lot of people.

We learned not to leave our cats alone for very long. It can be very traumatic for them. We left for 8 days, and came back to one cat with laryngitis who had eaten all the food, and the other cat was feral again and hiding behind the washing machine. I had to use a broom to get him out and then he was always scared of brooms after that. I'm not trying to scare you, just prepare you.

Good luck!

[Dirky47]

Sending your pets in a pet setting institution may surely help. Maybe you looks annoying that's why your husband keeps on saying don't worry. Don't be paranoid mate. Everything would be fine. Just keep on believing. Enjoy your travel.

[special]

Are you home now? Are your cats alright? If they are, I am glad they are, but I would urge you to find other arrangements the next time you go away. It's really not a good idea at all to leave them alone that long. Anything could happen.

Start looking around now for someone who will come in at least once a day. Look into the pet sitter services in your area and get to know them now. See if any of the techs at your vet clinic do that sort of thing.

[squashynose]

Guys, you can always set up web cams to check on your pets if you really REALLY need to leave them alone.

I personally wouldn't ever leave my pets alone like that. But if anyone does PLEASE make sure someone close by knows they are there alone, just in case something happens. I'm always paranoid that my place has burnt to the ground, even when I'm just out for the evening.

Yeah, I've been home for a week now. The cats are and were perfectly fine, they still had plenty of food and water left, and they were happy as could be. They acted like they couldn't have cared less that we left. LOL. Everything in the house was fine, too, as I knew in my heart it would be. But as you can obviously tell by how distraught I was during my vacation, I certainly WON'T be leaving them alone for that period of time again. That was my ONLY option at the time, however, because of the short notice before our trip, unless I just left them with a random stranger or allowed a random stranger to come into our house and check on them... and I would MUCH rather leave them alone than to do that, because I hardly trust people I know, let alone people I don't know! I know my cats well, and I knew in my heart that they would be totally fine, but I was just being really paranoid and wanting to see if anyone else had to leave their babies at home for that long before. But anyway, all is perfectly well.

I'm wondering why I can't edit or delete this thread... it needs to be deleted because it's totally irrelevent now, and I don't want it to keep getting bumped because the time that I needed advice has long passed... LOL... and I can edit my replies, but not the original post. Can only a moderator delete it or something?

[special]

I understand it was a short notice situation. You were lucky all was well, and I would have worried myself sick.

I once left my cats overnight for two nights. I came home to a sickly looking very skinny kitten, and cassette tape strewn all over the apartment. Fortunately there were also quite a few piles of vomited cassette tape. I took him to the vet and he was okay. but if he hadn't vomited, he would have been in serious trouble. And I have no idea when it happened, it could have happened right after I left, you know? I could haver come home to a dead kitten.

Anyway. Now you have time to find another option before you go away, next time.

[special]

Threads aren't normally deleted. someone else may learn something from your thread, or be searching for something on this subject and be brought here by this thread.

It's an important topic. I'm not judging you, I hope you don't feel that way. It's why I did not answer while you were still away, not wanting to cause you even more worry.

I just think it's an important issue.

[squashynose]

I'm glad they're both safe and well. I still think that 8 days alone is too much. It's not just them having accidents or eating something they shouldn't... Cats are notorious for hiding illness. Sometimes, by the time they show symptoms, they're very VERY ill, and need Veterinary treatment asap. Someone could go away on vacation, leaving behind a sick kitty without realising.

And you can only edit your posts within 24 hours of posting them.