# How long can you leave your cats for?



## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

We're trying to organise our first holiday since we got the indoor boys but we're really worried about leaving them for such a long time. We're planning on having someone come twice a day to feed, change litter and give them a bit of attention. I'm also planning on having someone (most likely my mum) call up once a day to sit with them and turn on the tv for noise and so on. Would this be okay? I really don't want to put them in a cattery, they'd be so stressed to have to leave their house  Has anyone been able to take a holiday and leave their indoor only cats? I'm starting to feel terrible


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

We usually go away anywhere from 5-10 days. The last couple of times, we have boarded them, but this time, since I have 4 cats now. A cat sitter is more cost effective. I feed raw so the sitter is coming 2x/day to feed, wash bowls, clean litter boxes and play a bit.


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## kwarendorf (Oct 12, 2009)

I just came back from a weeks vacation. We left on Saturday morning and returned Friday afternoon. I have 2 indoor only cats, as does my GF. I have someone come in twice a day for food & fun. I have lights on timers and leave a radio on. All of this is done for MY benefit  My GF has her cats visited once daily, has no timers on lights but does leave a radio on. Her cats are just as fine as mine when we get home  I would suggest finding a reliable professional cat sitter. It's amazing how comforting it is to know you're not relying on a cousin Martha freebie for cat care.


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## cooncatbob (May 27, 2011)

I feel cat are better off staying in their home which is their territory.
I worked for an Interior Design firm where I would have to go on road trip all the time.
When I first got Samantha I took her to the office to stay, the girls loved her and took great care of her but her and Mattie the office can't weren't buddy's.
When I got back she took one look at me and ran off and hid, when I found her and got her into the carrier and took her home she was furious with me for abandoning her.
Fortunately lots of pets and treats she forgave me.
After that I always left her at home with friend and co-worker rotating feeding and visiting her, she was much happier this way.
Her predecessor Meme also stayed home, once when I got home Lance my best friend and pet sitter showed up, Meme dissed me and gave her affection to Lance to show her displeasure, she couldn't stay mad long either as she absolutely adored me and I her.
She ended up passing away when I was on a trip, she was getting older and losing weight, it just killed me that she died alone at night without her Papa to comfort her.
The memory haunts me to this day.


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## Robin1109 (May 8, 2011)

I'm about to go on my longest trip away from my cats since I've had them (11 days). Luckily, I have a roommate that sees the cats as predominantly mine but in a little way hers since I got both since we've been living together. I trust that they'll be fed and played with plus they're already familiar with her. I looked into boarding but I really wouldn't want to do that unless absolutely necessary.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

We left for 8 days once. My mom came in once a day and so did my boyfriend's sister. They were fine. The only thing that gets me is that Sinatra is super clingy when I get back and I worry he missed me too much. I left last weekend (my boyfriend was here) and he is very clingy and now I will be leaving him again from Friday-Tuesday, I feel so bad . I have a few friends coming in this time (mom will be with us on the trip and SO's sister moved 45 min away) and I know they will be sad but my friends will make sure to take good care of them.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

dweamgoil said:


> We usually go away anywhere from 5-10 days. The last couple of times, we have boarded them, but this time, since I have 4 cats now.


Let me just clarify that when I say boarding them, they were not kept in cages. They were at a cat hotel, in one room, all cats together. They had a cat tree, a window to look out of, and their raw diet was not disrupted. Before I went away on vacation, the first time, I researched for a while to find a place that was cage-free. The cat hotel was a bit further out than the Vet clinic down the road, but I could not enjoy any vacation knowing they were being kept in cages with a big dogs barking and carrying on next to them.


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## doodlebug (May 13, 2006)

I'm about to leave for 9 days. A cat sitter will come in once a day to feed wet food, clean litter boxes and play. She'll leave out some dry food and then a timer feeder will launch another meal later on. The A/C will be left on, a couple lights and they'll manage. 

Just make sure that whoever is checking on them sees and actively engages with them during each visit. I've heard of several horror stories where the sitter was kind of clueless about cats...one example was my neighbor's sister's cat...a sitter came in twice a day, but it never struck her as funny that one of the cats was in the same exact place every time she came in, the cat didn't come to eat, basically never moved although she was alert. Turned out she had a blood clot in her leg and couldn't move. Her leg basically died and needed to be amputated but she was old and had a heart condition and the vet said she wouldn't survive the surgery. Had the sitter engaged with her, she would have realized she couldn't walk and gotten her to the vet where they may have been able to dissolve the clot before permanent damage to the leg occurred. This type of thing is why I always have a professional come in to check on my cats, rather than a friend who flies in, tosses some food down, gives them a pat and goes.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I feel terrible leaving Murphy alone too, but we have an absolutely great cat sitter who comes over twice a day and brings her 7-year old son with her, and he and Murphy are buddies. That's really about the best we can do for him, I think. It's a much better alternative than boarding him somewhere.

Another thought.....I know the vet techs at our vet do cat sitting on the side. One time, when our regular woman couldn't do it, we had one of the vet techs and it worked out great. It really puts your mind to rest to know there's a trained animal person there who would recognize illness, know how to handle them, etc.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

October said:


> It really puts your mind to rest to know there's a trained animal person there who would recognize illness, know how to handle them, etc.


I absolutely agree with this. Our cat sitter has been working with animals for over 20 years and she genuinely LOVES cats. I trust she would take them to the Vet if anything was amiss and she sent me cool pictures of them during our last trip.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

In the course of a year I'm usually away from my cats for a week or 10 days at a time 3x/yr. I've never used a kennel but always had a sitter come to my home. I've used professional sitters, but when my neighbour said that the person didn't stay any longer than bout 7 mins. I wasn't happy about that one, as it meant only the litter was scooped and cats fed and nothing else. My neighbor said that she would take care of the cats the next time I went away. She was knowledegeable about cats, had one of her own, and the cats knew and liked her. It was a good arrangement but my neighbor's health declined so I have a professional sitter that I've used before that worked out very well and will have her come from now on. I also have a sheet of "Cat Care" that outlines, food quantities, vet's phone and address, emergency contacts and numbers, microchip #s, and cell phone # and address where I'm staying. Whoever you have that's going to look after your cat(s), make sure they come a week or few days before hand and interact with your cats. If the cats don't like them, I would find another sitter. Make sure there are no places your cat can find to hide, and have doors with door stops. Zuba has the habit of going into a room and pushing the door shut behind him, so I have doorstops on any rooms that he may go into. We have lights on timers, and a radio is left on.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I dunno, I'll have to get back to you if I ever leave MowMOw alone overnight. LOL. I'm too much of a control freak to trust him to anyone else...


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

When I'm gone, my neighbor comes in to feed my cats 2x a day. I do trust her. When I went away over Christmas for a couple of days, she called the first day and told me she couldn't find Lily. I told her to look at my bed & see if there was a lump under the quilt. Yep. Lily was hiding. I always leave my vet's number and my cell phone number and directions for feeding.

I had actually never thought about a professional, but it sounds like a good idea.


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## Abbie (Jan 13, 2011)

I've only left the girls over night... and my OH was home. I was still so worried! We're leaving them for 11 days in three weeks time. I'm beyond worried. We looked at 6 different catteries and three pet sitters before settling on our chosen cat sitter. She lives half a mile away and has three cats herself. She'll be coming in every morning, and my next door neighbour will be in every evening. Evie has food intolerances- so both have been briefed. Evie also has separation anxiety and will pee/poop all around the house if she's left for extended periods of time (I'm talking 8+ hours!). So I have stacks of cleaning products and blankets around. 

We also have four hamsters who need to be separated from the cats when there's no supervision- so the kitchen door must always be closed. The sitter must feed our fish too.

Goodness me, listing it all makes me even more worried! Eek.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

They're alone about 10 hours on a regular day. The longest they've ever been alone is about 12 hours. Why would I go anywhere away from the munchkins?


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

Thanks for the replies everyone, it's really good to know it's possible cos I'm getting really anxious. We've left the boys overnight before and it was rough, we had the boys 'fostermother' call in twice and she stayed for hours so it was great. Since then her cat allergy has really gone into overdrive but she's recommended someone she really trusts, a professional dog walker and cat sitter, who would come in twice a day. I'll need to talk to her of course, I'm most worried about them being lonely and no one playing with them so if I'm happy that she'll spend enough time with them we might be okay!


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## lgnutah (Aug 7, 2010)

I don't know why it never occurred to me but I had never thought of asking the vet techs at my vets office to do the daily care when we are on vacations. Two of them happen to drive right past my home going to and from work. What a perfect arrangement!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

How about a housesitter? Before my X and I got a cat we had two dogs and I hired a co-worker to stay at my house during a 1o day cruise. That way the dogs didn't have to go into the kennel and they had someone there all night with them. We also set up the horses' hay and grain so she could feed them twice a day and she had no horse knowledge whatsoever (my brother drove by twice a day to check on them, but he didn't have to do any actual work). 

She did pretty great. We set it all up to be idiot proof for her and she knew not to leave the dogs out in the yard unattended (it was a 1/2 acre fenced in yard but with us not there I didn't want to take chances) and the food was all premeasured and set out lots of blankets and extra towels for her in case of accidents.

She loved getting out of her apartment and onto a farm for 10 days and she kept us updated by twice daily emails that I was able to get on the boat.


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

MowMow said:


> How about a housesitter? Before my X and I got a cat we had two dogs and I hired a co-worker to stay at my house during a 1o day cruise. That way the dogs didn't have to go into the kennel and they had someone there all night with them. We also set up the horses' hay and grain so she could feed them twice a day and she had no horse knowledge whatsoever (my brother drove by twice a day to check on them, but he didn't have to do any actual work).
> 
> She did pretty great. We set it all up to be idiot proof for her and she knew not to leave the dogs out in the yard unattended (it was a 1/2 acre fenced in yard but with us not there I didn't want to take chances) and the food was all premeasured and set out lots of blankets and extra towels for her in case of accidents.
> 
> She loved getting out of her apartment and onto a farm for 10 days and she kept us updated by twice daily emails that I was able to get on the boat.


I've thought of that, the boys' 'fostermother' said she might know some people who might be interested in doing that for us, I don't think it's a big thing here in Ireland so I can't really seem to find any people online who do thi but definitely something I would really like for them! That's a really good idea, thanks!!!


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

I go to Canada to see my mom for *two months every year*. Thank 
goodness I have a wonderful bonded petsitter who comes twice a
day to feed, clean, and play with my brood. My brother also stops
by to check on everything.

It's really difficult to leave my fur babies for two months at a time
but they've all done okay each time I'm gone. My petsitter is a true 
cat person and my cats all love her. She used to work for my vet 
and is able to take them in to her if they get sick. 

I arrange cat trees at every window and leave lots of toys out 
for them; also, my petsitter turns the radio on in the evening to
help keep them company.

If I had my way I'd never leave my cats but I won't always have
my mom and since she lives in another country I try to make my 
yearly visit long enough to make up for the rest of the year.


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## konstargirl (Feb 4, 2011)

She can be left alone for awhile. After like 5 hours or so, I come home from school or whatever to a chatty cat! >< She gets lonely too easy. lol


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

6cats4me said:


> I go to Canada to see my mom for *two months every year*. Thank
> goodness I have a wonderful bonded petsitter who comes twice a
> day to feed, clean, and play with my brood. My brother also stops
> by to check on everything.
> ...


That sounds really good, thanks! The guys will only have met the pet sitter once or twice before we go, do you think it might be a good idea if we go on a few 'dry runs' before the big holiday? Like maybe for a weekend just to get them used to the process?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Unless your "dry runs" are actually planned, I wouldn't do it just to see how they act. 

Some people advise taking your cats on short car trips to get them used to it, and the carrier, but if your cats hate it like mine do, "practice" does nothing more than stress them out needlessly.

But maybe that's just me....


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

marie73 said:


> Unless your "dry runs" are actually planned, I wouldn't do it just to see how they act.
> 
> Some people advise taking your cats on short car trips to get them used to it, and the carrier, but if your cats hate it like mine do, "practice" does nothing more than stress them out needlessly.
> 
> But maybe that's just me....


I know what you mean, I was just thinking that leaving them for the first time for 10 days might be too much and maybe if we left for a day or 2 and the pet sitter came they might be a bit better equipped to handle us being gone for 9 or 10 days. I don't know if this is logical


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

Leanne2112 said:


> do you think it might be a good idea
> if we go on a few 'dry runs' before the big holiday? Like maybe
> for a weekend just to get them used to the process?


Other than the initial 2 visits to go over what needs to be done for 
each of my cats and an introduction, my petsitter doesn't start 
coming over until I'm gone. 

I understand how you feel; when I first started leaving them with 
her, I thought it would be beneficial to let them get used to her 
but then I decided it wouldn't make a difference in the long run.

I do leave detailed lists of needs, wants, and quirks of each cat 
with their individual picture so there won't be any mixup of 
who is who!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I am away for work a lot the last couple years. Friends came by 2-4 times a day. They play with them and check for throw up and clean boxes everytime. Luckily the people who looked after them the most were just a few houses away and bonified cat whisperers! 

The longest I was gone was 6 weeks. My own cat got very lonely and kept to himself under my couch. I got him when he was 6 weeks old and he is use to me being home all the time until lately. Its funny how attached they get to you. He would get upset when he saw suitcases out! I get daily phone calls on what is happening with my cats and fosters from my cat sitters. My sister would go over and watch tv or read just so theyd have human company while I was gone. 

My house has always been Grand Central with people coming and going for supplies and fosters at my house. That helps too.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

lgnutah said:


> I don't know why it never occurred to me but I had never thought of asking the vet techs at my vets office to do the daily care when we are on vacations. Two of them happen to drive right past my home going to and from work. What a perfect arrangement!


The vet tech who sat for Murphy last year charged $25 a day for two visits a day, which was reasonable and no more than the pet sitting company I first checked who was charging $30. To make matters worse with the pet sitting company, their contract said that if you forget to leave the money out for the sitter to pick up on their first visit, the sitter cannot -- **cannot** -- sit for your pet. So let's get this straight. If I forget to pay you, you're going to deny my cat food and water and maybe let him die??? I've never forgotten to pay a cat sitter, but SHEEESSHH!!!!, that mindset alone would stop me from using them.


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

October said:


> The vet tech who sat for Murphy last year charged $25 a day for two visits a day, which was reasonable and no more than the pet sitting company I first checked who was charging $30. To make matters worse with the pet sitting company, their contract said that if you forget to leave the money out for the sitter to pick up on their first visit, the sitter cannot -- **cannot** -- sit for your pet. So let's get this straight. If I forget to pay you, you're going to deny my cat food and water and maybe let him die??? I've never forgotten to pay a cat sitter, but SHEEESSHH!!!!, that mindset alone would stop me from using them.


Oh no, that's horrific!


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

October said:


> To make matters worse with the pet
> sitting company, their contract said that if you forget to leave
> the money out for the sitter to pick up on their first visit, the sitter cannot -- **cannot** -- sit for your pet. So let's get this straight.
> If I forget to pay you, you're going to deny my cat food and water
> ...


Stuff like this makes me very thankful I have an extremely
dependable petsitter!

I pay $34.00 per day for the care of all six cats and that 
includes two 40-minute visits, bringing in my mail, turning 
lights on and off, putting the trash on the curb each week, 
and weekly emails or phone calls to let me know how my 
babies are doing. (She also trims their nails and gives the 
meds to two of my cats who are on daily medicine.)

If I have to unexpectedly extend my time away, I just pay the 
difference to my petsitter when I get home. I pay for the planned 
time away up front but there has never been a problem with 
calling and asking her for extended petsitting and paying for 
that when I get home. 

I leave sodas and snacks for my petsitter just like some 
parents do for babysitters of their children!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Leanne2112 said:


> I know what you mean, I was just thinking that leaving them for the first time for 10 days might be too much and maybe if we left for a day or 2 and the pet sitter came they might be a bit better equipped to handle us being gone for 9 or 10 days. I don't know if this is logical


I completely understand your thinking, but cats have no concept of time. If I leave in the morning, and come back two hours later, they think, yay! It's dinner time! Feed us! :grin:

ETA: It might be a good idea to have the pet sitter come by and meet them. Not sure if they charge for that, but it might be worth it.


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## 6cats4me (Apr 30, 2011)

marie73 said:


> I completely understand your thinking, but cats have no concept of time. If I leave in the morning, and come back two hours later, they think, yay! It's dinner time! Feed us! :grin:


That is exactly what I've been telling myself for years! 
I'm much more aware of the time away than they are. 
I really believe they don't have any concept of time like 
we do and after the first week they settle into their 
new routine quite easily.

Knowing this gives me great peace of mind!


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

marie73 said:


> I completely understand your thinking, but cats have no concept of time. If I leave in the morning, and come back two hours later, they think, yay! It's dinner time! Feed us! :grin:
> 
> ETA: It might be a good idea to have the pet sitter come by and meet them. Not sure if they charge for that, but it might be worth it.


That's really comforting, I'd like to think they'd just sleep and not notice til we got back. The pet sitter I contacted seems fantastic and she's offered to come and meet them free of charge and discuss caring for them and so on so I feel a bit better now


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Leanne2112 said:


> The pet sitter I contacted seems fantastic and she's offered to come and meet them free of charge and discuss caring for them and so on so I feel a bit better now


Oh yeah, I would definitely want the sitter to come over and meet Murphy before sitting, at least the first time. It allows you to see how they interact with the cat and you get a good sense of whether they're really animal people or not. Knowing they are is a big comfort while you're away.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

All this talk of leaving is making me nervous for leaving tomorrow for five days! My friends know the kitties but have never babysat them before. I just HATE leaving them. HATEEEEEE.


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## Leanne2112 (Aug 13, 2010)

We've only left the boys once, it was for 23 hours to go and see Rush, our most favouritest band ever! I nearly cried during the gig because I text the boys foster mother who was calling in on them to see how they were doing, she didn't answer for a while and I was convinced something terrible happened (it didn't of course but I get irrationally nervous about the boys)


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

What everyone needs to remember is that 99.99% of the time, the cats are fine, but you've ruined your own vacation by obsessing about them. 

I know it's easier said than done, but you have to try to _relax and have fun _while you're on vacation!!!!!!!!!!


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

What if that is how I enjoy vacation? Leaving the cats and worrying the whole time?

I typed up 3 pages of instructions for my friends.


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## Hepburn (Feb 9, 2011)

The longest I've left him was three nights. But my brother stopped by once to refill his food, clean his litter box (lol, he did a **** poor job of that!), make sure he still had enough water, and play with him for a while.


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## Straysmommy (Dec 23, 2010)

I left Prince alone at home for 2 weeks, I returned from Europe 2 weeks ago. I'm leaving tomorrow for the USA and he'll be alone again for 1 week. The cat sitter is wonderful, he's really bonded with her, so I'm not worried in that sense. But being alone so much of the time, with no other live being around, does take its toll on him, I can feel it. He's very clingy when I'm back from a trip. I suffered a lot and kind of ruined my vacation. I think I miss him more than he misses me. I feel terribly guilty, even though the reason I'm going to this Conference in the USA is so I can go to Petco and buy Prince all the treats, toys and stuff I've always dreamed of buying him.


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## MollyMudd (Jul 5, 2011)

Pet Sitters are terrific, but definitely meet with the sitter before your trip. I type up instructions for them and also go around putting post-its on everything like where food, bowls, treats...etc are located. Then when I meet with the sitter, I show them around and watch how they interact with my kitties. The consultation should always be free and just because they came out and met you does not mean you have to use them. Also, you want affordable, but not cheap. You know that saying, "you get what you pay for," is often true. Plus, the more the sitter is earning, it's human nature that they will take extra care than if they were getting paid less. Sad, but true. The good ones know how much we miss our babies and will send us little updates to ease our minds.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

We are home and the kitties are really mad at me .


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

*whispers to Nutmeg that she should jump onto mom's sunburned back tonight while she's sleeping*


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## KittieLover (May 2, 2011)

When I go away on vacation, I have Kitty go to the cattery and I leave Catty
at home. I have someone to play with her and feed her.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Omg if she does that I will be very unhappy! I'm 99 percent sure Sinatra will be doing that when he wants his morning cuddle . I seriously have like severe burns.


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