How long can a cat be left alone?
Cats should not be left home alone for more than 12 to 24 hours.
That’s all.
Not 48 hours because they were OK when you left them alone for one day last time. Not six days because you have an automatic feeder. Not three days because there’s another cat in the house for company, or because you’re only going to do it this one time.
This 12- to 24-hours rule only applies to adult cats in the prime of their lives and health. It does not apply to kittens, pregnant cats, senior cats, or cats with health issues. More on that below.
Cats need their people. They get themselves into trouble you couldn’t imagine they would get themselves into, especially when left to their own devices. They develop serious health problems that arise suddenly and become deadly all too quickly. Cats left alone too long eat all of their food, knock over their water bowl, and fill up their litter boxes and then don’t know what to do about it.
But mostly, they get lonely without you. Cats are social animals who count on you to be there for them. Leaving cats home alone too long causes true suffering.
(Read: Are cats social or independent?)
The factors that matter when deciding how long to leave your cat home alone
There are important factors to consider when deciding how long to leave a cat home alone. Young cats, old cats, and sick cats should not be left home alone for more than a few hours. Personality, health status, and the presence of other pets in the house matters, too.
A cat’s age
A cat’s age matters when deciding how long to leave him home alone. Kittens and older cats are more vulnerable and require more supervision than cats in the prime of their lives.
Kittens
Kittens need to be fed small amounts of food often. They are curious and energetic and they need a human parent to keep on eye on them to ensure that they stay out of mischief.
They also need socialization to become the cats they were meant to be. It’s a critical time in a cat’s life and you need to be there for it. Every hour really counts in the life of a young kitten.
Young kittens who are still drinking milk replacer must be fed every two to three hours and thus shouldn’t be left home alone more than a couple of hours. If they are left home alone at all, they should be enclosed in a safe space, such as a large dog crate, pet playpen, or bathroom (with everything they need: water and food bowls, small litter box, bowl, and kitten-safe toys).
Kittens up to six months old need to be fed three to four times per day. They should not be left home alone for more than four hours.
Kittens who are at least six months old can be left alone for up to six hours. But work up to the six hours gradually.
Older cats
Some older cats require more frequent feedings, or medications that must be dosed at specific intervals throughout the day.
Older cats are more sensitive to changes in their routine and are more likely to experience an acute health crisis that cannot wait until you return home from a vacation.
Some senior cats should not be left home alone overnight at all. Ask your vet if you’re not certain if your senior cat is one of these.
A cat’s health status
Common cat health problems may limit how long your cat is able to stay home alone. If your cat has diabetes, chronic kidney disease (CKD), or hyperthyroidism, for example, they should be on medications that need to be given on a regular basis. Skipping a dose, or doubling up on a dose can aggravate these health problems.
“Diabetic cats need to have insulin shots on a regular basis,” explained Dr. Berkcan Yanar DVM who writes for PawsRank. “Skipping these injections will cause the blood sugar to be extremely high or extremely low, both of which are dangerous.”
A cat’s personality
You already know your cat.
Is she the kind to spend the day in the back bedroom by herself? Or is she up in your biz every minute, “helping” with the laundry and dishes, demanding to be let into the bathroom when you’re in there, and riding your shoulders everywhere you go?
If the cat is the former, and has no health issues, you can probably leave him for 24 hours. If your cat is really a dog, as in the second example, even 12 hours alone might be too long. Alone time is very stressful for a highly social cat.
There are other factors to consider as well when it comes to cat personality. “There are logistics to take into account over the amount of time a cat can spend away,” said Dr. Yanar. For example, “there are grazers and there are cats that will eat a large quantity at one sitting and then be hungry again after a short while. Timed automatic feeders can be helpful in these cases, but they are not always successful.”
I like what certified feline behavior expert, and founder of Stephen Quandt Feline Behavior Associates Stephen Quandt CFTBS had to say about this, too:
“My blind-from-birth girl Jenny will come get me, meow, and lead me to a sofa so she can get some lap time and take a nap. Then there’s snack time, then hallway time outside the apartment, and our other cat Cricket has catnip time, snack time, and sit-next-to-you time. Is a picture forming? But how long can they go before they miss us? Well, in our case, not too long.”
Other pets in the house
Other pets in the home can be a source of comfort for a cat home alone, or another reason to cut your trip shorter (or hire a responsible pet sitter – see below).
If you have two cats who love each other and can’t live without each other, they will provide company for each other. You can probably edge closer to 24 hours alone for these cats.
If your cats are frenemies, or if you have a dog and a cat who are always trying to get the upper paw on one another, you should separate them before leaving the house, or keep your time away from home shorter.
Even if no one has ever seriously hurt anyone else in the past, too much alone time together can heighten the stress level in the house. Stress and anxiety can trigger a fight between cats or between a cat and a dog who normally stay out of each other’s way.
What can happen when your cat is left home alone too long?
There are some serious and some not-so-serious-but extremely-annoying things that can happen if you leave your cat alone too long.
Destructive behavior
Cats who are bored or become anxious when left alone can do some serious damage to your home and themselves. Note that your cat is NOT being vengeful; cats are simply not capable of the kind of meta thinking that is involved in such a complex emotion as revenge.
Cats who are lonely, bored, anxious, and stressed out just feel horrible and are trying to do something to keep themselves busy or make the house feel safer without you.
Please read this post, “Why is my cat peeing on my bed?,” to learn the real reason why cats do some things we humans find abhorrent in our absence.
If you are away too long, your cats might:
- Become destructive: scratch furniture, knock things over, bite, chew, or shred household items
- Pee or poop outside the litter box
- Overgroom
- Meow excessively
- Become depressed
- Experience separation anxiety
- Fight with each other
Acute illness
Illness can come on suddenly. If you’re home within a few hours after onset, you might be there in time to do something about it. If you’re gone for days, your cat could experience enormous suffering and die without you there to intervene.
One of the problems with cats is that they hide their pain, so you might not know an illness is brewing as you’re preparing to leave them.
The reason cats hide their pain is because they are prey animals as well as predators. Coyotes, alligators, and racoons, foxes, and some dogs would think nothing of serving cat for dinner. They know that a prey animal who is weak from pain or sickness is easier and safer to catch.
“Male cats are particularly prone to urinary blockages, which can be life threatening,” explained Dr. Bethany Hsia, DVM and co-founder of CodaPet. A urinary blockage can develop and kill a cat within 24 hours.
If your cat refuses to eat because you are not there, she can develop a potentially fatal liver condition, called hepatic lipidosis, which can kill a cat within two days.
Unexpected events
You may think you’ve thought of everything before leaving your cat home alone. And maybe you have.
But your cat may have other ideas.
I know of one very hungry, very frustrated cat who knocked his automatic feeder down a flight of stairs and broke it. Fortunately, his guardian returned home within a reasonable amount of time, and the cat did not go hungry. (A new automatic feeder is now bungee-corded to furniture.)
A Reddit poster described her boyfriend’s plan to spread his cat’s meals out over several days by hiding food all over his apartment. Before he’d gotten too far from home, however, he realized he’d left something important behind. He’d only been gone a matter of hours, but when he returned to his apartment he discovered the cat had found all of the food – several days’ worth – and had already eaten it all.
Do not think you can outsmart a cat.
What to do about your cat if you need to be away from home for a short while?
Even if you are leaving your cat for just a few hours, you should do everything on this list:
- Make sure the litter box is clean.
- Make sure your cat has a fresh bowl of water.
- Make sure you haven’t left any medicines, human food, wires, poisonous plants, or fresh flowers out.
- Make sure there isn’t anything a cat can get tangled in, such as a device being charged, or lowered window blinds.
What to do if you need to be away for more than 24 hours
If you are going to be away for more than 24 hours, hire a professional pet sitter.
It’s great if you have friends or family who love your cat and are responsible and willing to help out with pet care while you are away, but not all friends and family are reliable. They may forget to do what they promised, or they may have their own ideas about how often a cat really needs to be checked on.
But pet sitting is a career for a professional pet sitter. They often get into the business because they love animals, and they have probably taken care of many cats before yours. They also rely on positive word-of-mouth to grow their business and want you and your cat to have had a good experience.
Meet your pet sitter in person (in cat)
Before you hire a pet sitter, meet him or her in person. A good pet sitter should be willing to come to your home and meet your cat. During this visit:
- Show the pet sitter how to open your front door.
- Provide the pet sitter with a feeding schedule, including the amount and times to feed.
- Show the pet sitter where you keep food, extra bowls, the cat carrier, litter, and litter boxes.
- Show the pet sitter where to dispose of poop and dirty litter.
- If your cat takes medicine, provide a dosing schedule.
- Give the pet sitter your contact information, and an emergency contact number, too.
- Give the pet sitter your vet’s contact information, and the number for a local 24-hour emergency vet’s office.
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Tell the pet sitter about your cat’s preferences and quirks.
- Ask how long they will stay with your cat at each visit. It should be at least 30 minutes.
How often should a pet sitter visit my cat?
If you are going away on a very short trip, for a day or two at most, and your cat is not overly social, a single visit per day to feed, change the water in the bowl, scoop the litter box, and play with your cat should suffice.
If you are going to be away for more than a couple of days, or, you’re going to be away for less time, but your cat really needs human company, ask your pet sitter to visit two times per day.
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Dawn LaFontaine is a lifelong animal lover who always seems to have a little pet hair in her keyboard. Her blog, Kitty Contemplations, helps cat guardians better understand and care for the special beings they share their lives and homes with. Her cat-products business, Cat in the Box, sells beautiful, well-made, and award-winning products that she designed to meet the biological needs of cats.