Cats need a variety of care from their owners, including affection and affection, since they are social animals Many times it tends to be the pet chosen precisely for its independence, however we should not get confused when leaving it alone for a long time and we should think about consulting with a family member or professional the option of leaving it with someone.
On our site we want to help you answer a very common question, How many days can I leave my cat home alone? in a way to know if you are going to suffer anxiety, what things can happen in our absence and many other related questions.
What can happen in our absence
You might think that the cat may be alone at home for several days during your absence, but is that convenient? The answer is no. There are several factors that we have to consider to know what risks we run:
It is usual to buy a larger drinker so that the water can last around 3 days, however, it may happen that the cat does not accept this new drinkerand not wanting to drink from it or spilling the water In these cases, the ideal is to keep your usual drinking bowl and add between 1 and 3 more drinking fountains throughout the house. The same will happen with the feeder. We should never change it before a prolonged absence, since it may happen that you do not want to eat in it.
We can consider buying an automatic water or food dispenser, but we should always make sure a few weeks beforehand that our cat knows how to use it and eats or drink without problems from it. We will never leave this type of product the same day we leave or a few days before.
Something very important to consider is that, if our cat likes to play hide and seek, it stays locked up in a closet or somewhere else you can't get out of.
For all these reasons it is not recommended that you stay alone for more than one day It would be ideal to consult with a family member or friend who visits our apartment daily to renew the water and ensure that the cat is well. A game time would also be ideal so that he does not suffer from separation anxiety.
The cat's age and personality
When evaluating our vacations or retreats of more than 2 or 3 days, we must take these variables into account to avoid the feeling of loneliness in the cat.
- Young cats that are already used to, perhaps, a day of human absence, will have no problem if we maintain all their conditions, as if it were a normal day. We must never make them excessively dependent on us, it is part of a correct education that this does not happen. There are cats that do not want to be left alone for a minute, which is due to different factors but, especially, poor handling by the owners. We must accustom them to small absences, starting from a few minutes to hours. Especially in young cats, we can consider leaving all kinds of toys at home, especially those that are interactive or food dispensers. A good environmental enrichment will help you entertain yourself and notice our absence less.
- Adult cats are the ones that tend to best manage our absences, especially if we have already taken them on vacation before. Here it would also be advisable to use toys, although since they are not so active, it may be enough for them to receive a daily visit or every two days.
- Elderly cats may require more help, they may even need up to 2 visits a day. In these cases we evaluate that a person moves to our house so that they have more frequent care and for longer periods of time. Asking your visitor to offer you petting sessions can be a great way to keep them happy. Let's not forget that in these cases it might even be advisable to leave him in an animal daycare where he receives all the attention he needs.
The cat's personality will be a very important factor to take into account. Adapting to your needs will be essential to ensure your well-being. There are cats that are excessively attached to us and others that demand a certain routine to be happy, such as their daily ration of wet food.
In the most serious cases, for example aggressive or territorial felines, we must assess how to manage the visits of the person who is going to come to our home every day. Ideally, make introductions some time before and try to associate the person in a positive way, perhaps with prizes or toys.
The sandbox, a separate problem
Within this section we must consider the cleaning the litter box When the litter box is very dirty, sometimes they stop using it. We know that cats are very clean and demanding with their hygiene, so we can leave several trays in different places so that they always have clean litter, although, if one person passes every 24 hours and cleans it every few days would not be necessary.
With the dirt on the tray there may be another more serious problem, and that is that our feline does not want to use it or dirty somewhere else, so it will hold its urine and we can lead to a urinary tract infection. This disease like others can happen to even the he althiest cat who has never had anything. We must leave the telephone number of our veterinarian visibleso that the person who will go to keep him company and sees something strange, can use it.
