leaving housecats while going to Burning Man

clreindeer · Post by **clreindeer** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:50 pm

Hi all,
We went to BRC for our first time in 2008. We have two inside cats, and had to leave them while we were gone...we spent 12 days away from them.

I wanted to share with you what we did, that did indeed work. We came back to two healthy glad to see us inside cats.

We left several rubbermaid tubs of kitty litter...next year I am looking to get a kiddy pool and eliminate so many other tubs.

We left many containers of food and water for them. I poured out a days worth of food, and then poured out half more the time we were going to be gone. Equals one and one half the amount they needed for 12 days.

I was really concerned that was a long time to leave two inside cats alone with no human interaction.....would they be alright?

They were just fine.....no problems...

love,
Shadow

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robotland · Post by **robotland** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 5:01 pm

HAH! Cats have LONGggggg memories....Still PLENTY of time for you to wake up "smoking a hot cigar" courtesy of one of those "just fine" cats. I'd sleep on my stomach, if I were you.

Bounce530 · Post by **Bounce530** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:04 am

If all else fails, they're making kitty slippers on another thread of this board.

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 8:39 am

They make gravity fed food and water dispensers.

Besides, kitties throw their own party when you're gone.

Oldguy · Post by **Oldguy** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 11:29 am

I recommend leaving your pets or livestock in the care of a local vet or trusted friend. Boarding fees are usually reasonable and might give you peace of mind. Safer for the pet also...just sayin'

Boijoy · Post by **Boijoy** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 1:14 pm

I never leave my boobars alone for very long.. I even have someone check on them if it's going to be overnight.. cats can find ALL sorts of trouble to get into.

Plus they get lonely.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 2:37 pm

Boijoy wrote:...my boobars ...

I don't blame you.

Post by **mdmf007** » Wed Jan 14, 2009 5:46 pm

If you dont give enough supervision to your cat - they may turn to bad things to occupy their time.

dangerpuss · Post by **dangerpuss** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:21 pm

Hi all,

We went to BRC for our first time in 2008. We have two inside cats, and being separated for so long was hard for all of us! Let me share with you what we did in order to soothe our furry friends as much as possible while we were away:

We had a friend house sit for us. The kitties were happy to receive attention from a familiar person while we were gone, and we came home to two purring, healthy cats who were not totally freaking out from lack of attention or fresh water. An added bonus: our home did not reek to high heaven from an overflowing litterbox, as our friend took care of that chore for us. What a guy!

Even if you can't have someone actually stay at your house while you are gone, it's always best if you can have a friend who your cats are familiar with stop by several times during your absence. Cats love and need attention, and will resort to devious, evil tactics when left to their own devices for too long.

Twelve days seems too long to leave your cats all alone. Surely you must have one friend who would be willing to help you out so that you don't have to resort to feeding your cats from a kiddie pool?

Dork · Post by **Dork** » Sat Mar 28, 2009 9:38 pm

I've left my cat alone for that long before and she does just fine. I think it depends on the cat - some are "attention eaters" meaning they don't like to eat unless someone is around. Others eat everything in sight as quickly as possible so leaving 15 days of food out at once may not be good. Some like to start ripping things apart when they're bored or lonely. If you have one of these types you probably already know it's not a good idea to leave them alone! The rest are generally fine as long as they have someone checking on them every few days.

Dogs and other needy animals are another story entirely.

somekind · Post by **somekind** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:53 am

We left our cat alone for six weeks once. She was able to go outside, and we had no issues. As much as you might like to think so, cats don't really miss their owners.

dangerpuss · Post by **dangerpuss** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 9:47 am

The difference there is that your cats were able to go outside, whereas our cats and clreindeer's cats are not. We live next to a very busy street, and are not willing to risk letting them out.

Cats still have some wild in them, and the majority of them are in heaven when outside chasing bugs through the grass and smelling new smells. By contrast, inside cats are in an environment that is largely made for humans, and have only whatever you have - plus you - to amuse them. Leaving them alone in that environment - minus you - takes away a big part of what makes their days interesting.

Pet "ownership" means (to me) that we need to take full responsibility for that animal. Our cats can't go outside, and are used to getting very regular attention from us on a daily basis. As long as one person is sitting down, my partner's cat is on a lap. My cat follows me around the house and when I sit down she sits at my feet and stares at me...for hours. They sleep with us at night, and have regular cues for us when they are hungry or want to play. Whether or not they miss us when we are gone is seriously debatable, as I have seen his cat react to hearing his car door slam outside by running to the window and watching him walk to the house, and then running to wait at the top of the stairs for him to come through the door, dropping to the floor for a belly rub the minute he walks in. My cat does something similar when I return home. It seems to me that they are looking to us for comfort, companionship, food, and amusement, and it's my responsibility to make sure that they get those things.

Yes, it's totally _possible_ to leave your cats alone for a long time. But is it the best choice, when it's just as easy to have a friend help out in your absence? Personally, I don't think so, so I make my choices accordingly.

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 5:33 pm

I put mine in the freezer before I left, and thawed them in the microwave when I got back. They seem fine.

Post by **Sham** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 6:42 pm

Captain Goddammit wrote:I put mine in the freezer before I left, and thawed them in the microwave when I got back. They seem fine.

Goddammit can't you be serious?
We have a local Chinese restaurant that has offered to watch any cats free of charge while their owners are on vacation. Lots of people have taken them up on their offer, but the cats always run away! Silly cats!

littleflower · Post by **littleflower** » Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:12 pm

dangerpuss wrote: It seems to me that they are looking to us for comfort, companionship, food, and amusement, and it's my responsibility to make sure that they get those things.

i'd say ... more like food, food, food, food, maybe a few other things, food, and food...

robotland · Post by **robotland** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 5:16 am

alexamonkey · Post by **alexamonkey** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 5:32 pm

I actually had just moved cities before last BM, & ended up paying a friend of a friend $300 to live to my house. My cats DEFINITELY miss me when I am gone, & they have lots of serious ways to show it. Two of them overeat & puke, I one won't use a dirty litter box. & what if they get sick? eat something wierd? just run out of food? unless you know for a fact you have an extremely independant cat in complete control of their own food proportions, I think it's pretty abusive to leave them alone for that long.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Thu Apr 23, 2009 10:45 pm

Maybe you could pay Madonna $300 to adopt your cats.

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Fri Apr 24, 2009 9:55 am

I was doing a lot business travel lately. I was away during the week and back (bless my corp!) on the weekends. Friends and family came in to feed and look after my cat.

So returned for good this week, settled down with the furry friend, then went back to unpack and through things in the laundry basket. He thought I was packing to leave again and started up the most pitifiul yowl!

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:20 pm

Twelve days huh! None of my business but, how did your house smell? We have six plus a one month old?? kitten I found at work last Thursday and we provide them with eight boxes. When I come home from work the house almost always smells like a pet shop. With summer coming and we'll soon be running the AC and leaving windows open at night it won't be so bad. We're going on a two week "road trip" in June ending in Tacoma WA and a neighbor is going to watch over them while were gone

Ugly Dougly · Post by **Ugly Dougly** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:06 pm

How often do you clean the boxes cat man? You know they're supposed to be emptied.

Thecatman · Post by **Thecatman** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 4:54 pm

At LEAST three times a day the peepee taters and cat pies are scooped. Hell, can't afford to totaly change out the liter daily

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:23 pm

Shirley, you need a machine that takes care of cats once and for all.

Tried a crock pot?

wedeliver · Post by **wedeliver** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:31 pm

Bob wrote:Shirley, you need a machine that takes care of cats once and for all.

Tried a crock pot?

Again with the Shirley. Where is Shirley? Who is Shirley? kinda like an invisible friend perhaps?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 10:55 pm

Shirley, you jest.

Sensei · Post by **Sensei** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 4:30 am

mikesieben · Post by **mikesieben** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 8:26 am

Do you not have friends to catsit? Have you never travelled anywhere other than burning man? How is this a burning man tips and tricks topic?

I'm cranky today.

Sail Man · Post by **Sail Man** » Tue Apr 28, 2009 3:27 pm

mikesieben wrote: How is this a burning man tips and tricks topic?

Didnt you see Bob's post about a crock-pot? Why any minute now we'll start delving into what Trader Joe rice mix goes well in Kitty Stew.

Mmmmm, absolutely purr-licious

Oreally? · Post by **Oreally?** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:17 pm

No, no, no. Do what you did last year, leave them at home in Arizona. Maybe your AC will die out and you can bring them to dead kitty camp for tea in 2010...I'll save you a seat by the turnstyle.

Knotch · Post by **Knotch** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:52 pm

Oreally? wrote:No, no, no. Do what you did last year, leave them at home in Arizona. Maybe your AC will die out and you can bring them to dead kitty camp for tea in 2010...I'll save you a seat by the turnstyle.

AC in the desert where we live. No way. Swamp coolers are the only way to go. These cats would probably freak if they had AC. The cats can hardly wait for us to leave again this year so they can make hell with the shower curtain again...

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