Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I have a male Bombay kitten that I’m crazy over. I spoil him rotten. I get worried when I’m not home, as I am always with him. He is 7 weeks old now. How can I assure he doesn’t freak out when I go to my doctor appointments and leave him alone? He already has a huge cat tower and toys.
~ Maria
Siouxsie: Well, Maria, it depends a lot on how long you’re away from home.
Thomas: If you’re away for a few hours at a time, or even most of the day, many cats will be all right because we do spend quite a bit of time sleeping.
Bella: That said, at 7 weeks old, he’s not even old enough to be fully weaned yet.
Siouxsie: If he was a bottle baby (orphaned by his mother or something like that), he’s always going to be very attached to people — and particularly you, if you’re the one who nursed him from infancy.
Thomas: Most of the time, we recommend that especially if you’re going to get a kitten, you get two of them so they can keep one another entertained. So if you’ve got room in your home and your budget, you may want to adopt another kitten about the same age so he has a playmate.
Bella: I love chasing my kitty roommates all around the house!
Siouxsie: I know you do, and I hate it when you chase me. *grumble*
Thomas: I tolerate it, but sometimes I wish you’d spend more time snuggling with me and less time ambushing me, Bella.
Bella: *sniffle* But I just want to have some fun!
Siouxsie: Anyway, Maria, we’re not sure how confident and outgoing your little guy is, but if he’s not freaked out by unexpected noises and the like, you could get him some toys that will move around on their own as he bats them.
Thomas: You can also get puzzle feeders and toys which release small amounts of food when operated correctly. Toys like this can challenge your cat’s intelligence and provide him something fun to play with when you’re away.
Bella: Our friends at FloppyCats.com and The Conscious Cat have reviewed a number of puzzle feeders and games for cats; check out the links to see what they tried and what they like.
Siouxsie: And you can find some tips to build a DIY cat puzzle toys over at Hauspanther (they’ve got some really nice stuff for cats, including my favorite bed, too, so be sure to visit the shop while you’re over there).
Thomas: You can also rotate his toys by putting some away and leaving others out, and then in a week or so, put away the toys that are out and bring out some that are stored away. This provides some changes in routine that your cat might enjoy.
Bella: A window perch can be really nice, too. Mama put one of these in our window at our old apartment, and I spent a lot of time there.
Siouxsie: If you get a perch like the one in this photo, you can move it around to various windows and provide more environmental stimulation, too.
Thomas: So, there are lots of things you can do to keep your cat entertained while you’re away, even if you can’t get another kitty.
Bella: If you are going to get a new cat, be sure to do a proper introduction to make sure things go well between the two of them. When Mama brings new cats home, she uses this technique she learned from cat behaviorist Pam Johnson-Bennett. Works every time!
Siouxsie: What about you other readers? Do you have any tips for Maria on how to keep her kitten from getting lonely or bored, or developing separation anxiety? Please share them in the comments.
JaneA Kelley is a punk rock cat mom and award-winning blogger. She is a regular columnist for Catster Magazine, and she and the Paws and Effect Gang share a home in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
I think the reason Maria’s question is more difficult is because her kitten is so young. Normally he would be left with his littermates when the cat mother or other guardian had to be away. Normally when leaving a litter of kittens alone for a little while you leave them confined to the area that has been designated as the nursery and kitten proofed, along with cozy bedding for the cat mother to birth and raise the babies. I might try to re-create an area like that. In the room kitten already spends time in, add a box or bed, toyes, and something that can be warmed, but not a heating pad with an electrical cord. There are stuffed animals that can be microwaved and stay warm for a while, or maybe a hot water bottle? Or another kitten, would of course work too. I’d also leave music or talk radio on, although, I’ve read that doesn’t really help unless you use special “cat music”, on the other hand, leaving Vivaldi playing isn’t going to hurt anything. I realize this seems like a lot of work for leaving the house for a couple of hours but your kitten is still very young. As he gets a bit older you notice he becomes a bit more self-sufficemt and you’ll be able to leave for a few hours without making major plans because you be comfortable that he can amuse himself for that short while.
Congratulations on your new family member. I wish you both many years of laughter and joy together.
We two kittens who are just abouut two years old (this April 15). Whenever we go away for any amount of time, we do the following:
1. Fresh water. We have one of those fountains, so we clean it, relace the filter and make sure there is fresh water in it.
2. Change the litter box.
3.We have perch next to a window, and several pieces of furniture are near windows as well for them to look out of.
4. Find all of their toys (meny of which are under furniture that they can no longer reach) an put them into a central location.
5. If we will be gone for more than a couple of nights, we have a niece who stops by daily to visit them and freshen up the food.
I remembver that the first couple of times we went away, was difficult, but we never had problems. Also, when we come home they are very happy and won’t leave us alone for several days.
Good luck, and don;t get too worried.
What is going on with the first photo? He looks like he has squeezed his ead through a small opening at the window.
Hi folks. No reason to panic: It’s just a photo with an interesting perspective, looking straight up at the camera, while sitting on a window sill. If you look carefully you can see his whole body. I got this photo from Flickr with a Creative Commons license, so I don’t have the whole story, but I’d never select a photo for this site that shows a cat in a dangerous situation. Purrs, Mama JaneA
I too was puzzled and a little concerned about the photo that appears to have the cat’s head poking thru a very small opening. What is happening there?
Please see my reply to Cordy’s comment. It’s OK, Kitty is not in danger. This photo wasn’t sent by the owner or taken by me; it came from Flickr with a Creative Commons license, and although I don’t know the whole story, it looks to me like a photo with interesting perspective. ~ Mama JaneA
From the letter it sounds like Maria has a bigger separation anxiety problem than the cat. Has she not left the house since she got him? Has he freaked out? How so?
I have a cat that was weened too young (or so I’ve deduced) and is super clingy. When I leave he does okay (there is a second cat in the house); he just wants to be picked up and held for several minutes as soon as I come home.
I think your kitten would love a buddy about his same age. I do cat rescue & try to adopt kittens in pairs whenever possible. They are much happier & you won’t feel so guilty when you do leave.
I leave the tv or radio on so Inky hears human voices while I am out of the house and he doesn’t seem to have any problems when I get home. He’s 11 now and the most he’s been known to do is meow like crazy when someone knocks and I’m not home. I’ve had friends tell me they can always tell I’m gone cause the cat tells them about it. That’s if he bothers to answer the door, most of the time he doesn’t but even as a very young kitten he didn’t seem to mind being left alone for a couple of hours.