Pets become family members, and it often feels bad to leave them at home alone. Leaving them at home alone for 2-3 hours is different from leaving them at home for a few days. Therefore, most pet parents nowadays prefer taking their furry friends on vacations with them. But it may not be possible when you have multiple pets at home. Moreover, dogs may stay with dog nannies. But the same does not apply to the cats. So, it is important to know how long can you leave a cat alone before you plan a vacation.
In the following section, let us find a quick guide on the time your cat can stay alone at home. If you are a cat enthusiast, you should understand this to keep your feline friend happy.
Do Cats Love Staying Alone?
Socialization is a common trait among different animals. From cats to humans, everyone loves to socialize. Therefore, cats would definitely love to stay in your companionship. Playing with them occasionally will keep them immensely happy. At the same time, you should keep in mind that cats are different from dogs.
While dogs do not like to stay away from you for a long time, cats would not mind a break from you. Typically, cats can stay without seeing you for 12-14 hours. If you have left ample food for them at home, they will not even mind seeing you for more than 14 hours.
Here you need to keep in mind that full-grown cats will not feel uncomfortable staying alone when you leave them at home for 10-12 hours. But kittens may require frequent feeding. Therefore, it is better not to leave kittens alone at home for such a long time.
Cat with Certain Health Issues
Cats will become your family members, and you should show the same love and care that you show for your family. You do not leave a senior person at home alone for a long time. You should ensure the same for the aged cats in your house. Moreover, you should not also leave the cats with health issues unnoticed at home for a long time.
Cats with health issues and physical injuries or disabilities will require medicines at certain time intervals. Nevertheless, such pets require more love and affection from their pet parents. Sometimes, love and affection work better than medicines.
Train Cats to Stay Alone When You Are Away
Since cats are more comfortable than dogs to stay alone at home, you can easily train them to stay alone at home for 10-12 hours. You can follow some tips that are discussed in the following section of this article.
1. Leave Enough Food and Water
Both cats and dogs like to have their food on time. Therefore, you should make the food easily accessible to your cats when you are not present at home. When you have a plan to come back to the home on the same day, you should not be worried. Cats will enjoy their alone time at home. When you are going out for 2-3 days, leaving ample food and water will not work. You can leave your cat to a pet nanny. Alternatively, you can find someone to give food and water to your cat at certain time intervals.
2. Consider Installing Cat Doors
When you leave cats alone at home, you should ensure that the cats have easy outdoor access. Unlike dogs, cats love to spend time in the garden area. They will chase butterflies and rats. Nevertheless, they will also search and find new friends outside.
When you have a custom cat door installed at your home, you can peacefully leave your cat alone for 12-14 hours. The cats will not complain about your absence when they have easy access to the garden area. So, keep this factor in mind when it comes to leaving cats alone at home for a long time.
3. Keep Your Home Tidy
Before you leave, you need to make sure that the home is neat and clean. Cats are sophisticated by nature, and they hate places with dirt and dust. Therefore, it would be difficult for cats to stay alone when you leave home dirty and messed up. Give your cat a clean home, and it will stay without hassles.
4. Leave Some Toys
When you are not present at home, you should ensure that your cat finds ample toys to play with. Cats are playful, and leaving toys on the floor will make them happy in your absence. While playing with the toys, they may mess with floor carpets. So, make sure that you do not have hazardous materials left in the home.
5. Provide Perches and Hiding Places
Make sure that you provide hiding places or perches for the cats in your home. Cats love such hiding places since they have a hunter’s instinct. Therefore, it is an excellent way of keeping your cats happy when you are not at home for around 10-12 hours.
Conclusion
So, you can leave your cats alone for 12-14 hours a day. Sometimes, you can leave your cat alone at home for a day, provided you follow the tips that are discussed above. When you are leaving for a long vacation without your cat, you should make sure to find a professional pet nanny. In other cases, you need a car door at your home to give easy outside world access to your cat.
