Reply #23: Thursday through Sunday is fine - [View All]

[haele]

Make sure there's at least three clean litter-boxes out and that you put out the fresh kibble just before you leave; you don't want to leave kibble out too long as it might go rancid after a few days. There's various timed feeder bowls you might be able to get for that purpose. The one I'm thinking of has up to four compartments that are opened one at a time on a twenty-four hour timer.
Make sure there's plenty of fresh water available.
Make sure there's no breakables, loose threads, old food, etc, that's left out that could be a danger to kitties. Close the doors of rooms you don't want them getting into while you're gone. Unplug electric items that could be turned on and cause fires and if there is the least chance of the cats being able to turn the stove on, take off the knobs. Don't laugh; there's more than one house fire that has been caused by a bored cat inadvertently turning the stove on while they're investigating an interesting smell.
Keep the toilet seat down. Kitties don't like swimming.

Two or more cats will keep each other amused and comforted whether or not you have anyone over cat-sitting. If you're still worried, have someone drop in just to "check" on Friday or Saturday whether or not you have them to play with the cats, re-fill a kibble bowl or pick up any litter box mess.

Most of all, have fun. A few days gone won't hurt your babies any. If you have an answering machine with speaker playback, go ahead and call them once a day - it can make you feel better, and one of your cats might figure out how to work the machine and play messages back to hear your voice - one of mine did with my old tape-based answering machine.

Haele