# Leaving a kitten during working day



## Peter Bowen

My wife and I are thinking of buying a british shorthair kitten. We both work long hours >8hours a day. What is the view is this practical?


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## oliviarussian

I'm not sure I would want to leave a kitten alone for that long, would you consider getting 2 for company?

Don't necessarily need to be 2 BSHS but maybe a rescue kitten alongside your BSH


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## popcornsmum

Leaving Popcorn as a kitten was my biggest regret as she is very anti social however we did invest in a Petcube shortly after so we could interact, speak to her and play with her during the day!


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## moggie14

8 hours would be too long to leave a kitten, or even two to begin with. Could you take at least a couple of weeks off work to settle in the kitten?
Also think about mealtimes - young kittens need several meals a day. Also it could become destructive.


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## Cookieandme

Does your new kitty need to be a kitten ? My first one was 6 months old, so I have always had older kittens. I am out of the house for almost 10 hours.


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## Sh N

... which is precisely the reason I have an older cat. I know kittens are an absolute joy, but I don't want to be unfair on a small kitten being cooped up alone at home. Me and OH are out for about 9- 10 hours a day with OH checking on Maya at lunchtime, and she copes perfectly fine.

OH is away travelling with work at least once a month, and during that week, I'm out for about 10 hours, and she gets noticeably sulky and have to manage with a couple of work from home days- and thats with a 2.5 year old.


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## Theresa kelly

I have a 15 week old bsh and myself and my partner both work
I took a week off to settle him in
I get up at 6 as i also have a 7 year old to get ready for school, by the time we leave at 8 he is ready for a nap.
My partner gets home at about 2 and generally finds him asleep also
You couldnt wish for a more loving, affectionate kitty
Its what you do with him when you are at home that counts....


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## loroll1991

I think 8 hours is too long to leave a kitten alone. Perhaps 2 so they can keep each other company?


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## smiler84

I got my cat as a 9 week old kitten from the rspca. She was the only kitten from her litter so came alone. For the first few weeks while she was tiny I did a fair bit of working from home, and on the days I had to be in the office I popped home at lunch. While she was tiny I left her confined in one room while I was out, and this room was totally kitten proofed so she couldn't hurt herself. I also restricted my social life so that I was around as much as possible.

It was hard work for the first few weeks, but they soon grow and she's now perfectly happy while we're out at work. So it can work as long as you're willing to put the work in while they're tiny!


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## spotty cats

Many people with kittens have to work, it's something you'll have to discuss with the breeder to see how they feel about it for their particular kittens.

Taking a week or so off to welcome them home is always a good idea.
As is coming home at lunch to feed them or you can get auto feeders with ice packs to keep wet food fresh and available.
Leave a tv or radio on for some noise, there's even cat dvd's available for entertainment.

Then plenty of attention when you are home from work, there's no reason a well raised kitten should become anti social from their owners working for a living.


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## Emmatron

We only brought Marvin home about a week and a half ago but we leave him while we're at work. We got him on the Friday so had the weekend then I worked a half day on the Monday. He yowled when we left the first few days but now seems quite content. We make sure we get up a bit earlier to spend a little bit of time with him rather than just waking up and rushing off. When we get home its all about Marvin! We definitely make him centre of attention which I think he's very happy with!

From the advice I found, if you have to leave them then make sure you have plenty of toys and things to entertain them with. We have a cat tree, a catit roller circuit and various balls and toys. We bought quite a lot of different things with the plan to rotate things in and out so he doesn't get bored. In fact I put out a new mouse this morning which he got very excited about and took away one of the other things. I like the idea of the Petcube but it the price tag is a bit scary. The OH has ordered a laser to see how he likes it first.

He's only 14 weeks so I don't know how this will effect him long term though. As he was our first cat we were just scared at the thought of taking on 2. Now I know we could have so I'm sure it won't be long until we consider a second!


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## Wiz201

Whilst kittens do need more attention than adults, I think this can work as long as you leave them in a safe room during the day where they can't get up to mischief (i.e climbing curtains and damaging electrical cables etc). Kittens do need additional meals but you can organise this in timed feeder bowls. Apart from that, they're as independent as adults.


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## ameliajane

I had a single kitten whilst working all day and it didn't work out well at all. She was absolutely frantic and practically bouncing off the walls by the time I came home and_ desperate_ for attention. She was very wound up and became quite aggressive - biting very hard when i tried to play with her or pick her up. She was quite clearly bored and frustrated at being left alone all day.

In the end I got a second cat, a youngster, to keep her company and she settled down immediately and turned back into a normal, happy, friendly kitten again.

Would definitely recommend either two kittens or, even better, two slightly older youngsters or one adult cat.

Having said that, I'm sure it really depends on the individual kitten and some will cope alone much better than others.


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