Leave kitten alone?

[Anonymous]

We have our first kitten and she’s now 7 months old. She seems pretty over the kitten stage though, and mostly sleeps around the house. We just booked an Airbnb for 3 nights and she said we can bring our dog but not our cat. Can we leave our cat alone with a visiting cat sitter, or should we cancel and try to find a place we can bring both pets?

[Anonymous]

I'd just like to know who isn't spaying their cats. There should be no such thing as kittens at this point.

[Anonymous]

^ oh good grief!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd just like to know who isn't spaying their cats. There should be no such thing as kittens at this point.

They’re all born in the alleys of my neighborhood.

[Anonymous]

Op here: does anyone actually have a response to my question? My kitten is spayed!

[Anonymous]

If she seems settled in, and generally likes people/ will be social with the cat sitter, leave her home. She will enjoy the napping in her own space more than a car ride and a new place.

[Anonymous]

I think cats generally do better at home in their space. They are very territorial and want to be in their territory. A short trip of 3 nights is a good way to test things out before you go on a longer trip.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, we definitely started leaving our cat home alone starting at around 6 months. Like yours, he'd mellowed out by then, was eating a normal amount of food, and did a lot of sleeping. We definitely made sure to hire a good cat sitter who would play with him a bit, and left plenty of toys and scratching posts around. But he was fine. It's the best thing about cats -- they are so much easier to leave when you go out of town. The only time he's gotten particularly mad at us was longer trips (like 2 week foreign trips) and even then he gets over it in a day or two.

TBH, it's the older cats that are harder to deal with. Once they hit 10 they are super set in their ways and can be hostile towards sitters and will punish you more for leaving them alone. But young cats are pretty adaptable. He'll find a bird to watch outside and that will entertain him for days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, we definitely started leaving our cat home alone starting at around 6 months. Like yours, he'd mellowed out by then, was eating a normal amount of food, and did a lot of sleeping. We definitely made sure to hire a good cat sitter who would play with him a bit, and left plenty of toys and scratching posts around. But he was fine. It's the best thing about cats -- they are so much easier to leave when you go out of town. The only time he's gotten particularly mad at us was longer trips (like 2 week foreign trips) and even then he gets over it in a day or two.

TBH, it's the older cats that are harder to deal with. Once they hit 10 they are super set in their ways and can be hostile towards sitters and will punish you more for leaving them alone. But young cats are pretty adaptable. He'll find a bird to watch outside and that will entertain him for days.

That's odd. Our older cats are way more relaxed with sitters vs the younger velcro cats.

OP, leave your kitten home with some food puzzles and the pet sitter.

[Anonymous]

Leave her home. Have someone stop in once a day to feed her and scoop the litter.

[Anonymous]

I never take our cats places, even when they were young. Definitely get the cat sitter.

[Anonymous]

Your kitten will be fine. And would much prefer it to a car and a strange house. I usually have a neighbor teen visit our cat every day because I know they'll stay and play for a bit. You might want to limit the cat's access to only parts of the house , but do make sure he has a way to look out the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If she seems settled in, and generally likes people/ will be social with the cat sitter, leave her home. She will enjoy the napping in her own space more than a car ride and a new place.

+1

Your cat will be fine on her own for a few days.

[Anonymous]

Cats do not enjoy travel. Leave her at home with a pet sitter dropping by.

[Anonymous]

She will need fresh water above anything, please make sure someone comes and changes that for her, as well as the litter and food situation.

If they don't get fresh water they get sick very quickly.

Also there are laws about how long you can leave your pet. I don't know where you live but it is probably no more than 8 hours without human contact.