Three British Shorthair cats—one white, one black, and one silver—standing on a black mat indoors. Text overlay reads: "We left our 3 cats home alone for 5 days. This is how we prepared for the royalty to survive without staff" with four pointing right finger emojis at the bottom.

How We Prepared Our 3 Cats to Be Left Home Alone for 5 Days

It took us 6 years to finally leave our pets home alone, but now we wish we’d done it sooner. ✈️

If you’re scared to leave your cats, we completely get it. Our biggest concern was Lyle and Rabbitovitz. They tolerate each other, but they also fight OFTEN, and we dreaded the idea of them getting into a spat with nobody around to break it up.


The best thing we did was start preparing early. It took us a while to build an automatic feeding setup that actually worked (and that Lyle couldn’t immediately exploit 🧠). Because of his food-stealing antics, Rabbitovitz ended up needing an RFID feeder. We also cat-proofed the entire apartment to make sure they couldn’t get into trouble while we were away.

A close-up shot of a silver-shaded British Shorthair cat sitting on a wooden floor, looking slightly off-camera with green eyes. A black text block overlay reads: "In the 6 years we’ve had cats, we had never travelled together..."

But the absolute biggest thing for our peace of mind was having pet cameras everywhere—4 in total! Maybe it’s overkill, but being able to check the live feed and see that all three boys were mostly just napping made such a difference for our anxiety.

A high-angle shot of a solid black British Shorthair cat with bright orange eyes sitting on a wooden floor next to a green fern plant, an orange corduroy armchair, and a cat scratching post. A black text block overlay reads: "First of all, we found a great pet sitter to visit twice a day".

We even asked our sitter if she was comfortable with our camera setup. She told us she actually recommends cameras to her clients because it allows pet parents to monitor things remotely and let her know if anything needs attention. Truly a win-win!

An extreme close-up of a white British Shorthair cat named Lyle with his mouth wide open as if meowing loudly or complaining. A black text block overlay reads: "But our boys eat 3 times a day. There is no negotiating with Lyle. He has never missed a meal in his life and considers every delay a workplace violation."

To our absolute surprise, they had ZERO fights while we were away (Furbo is their witness). They were less active, slept a lot, and didn’t get up to any mischief. Honestly, they weren’t even that excited when we came back 🥲. Maybe we are the problem?

A white British Shorthair cat eating from a dual-bowl automatic pet feeder on a wooden floor. The feeding station also includes a tall white PetKit automatic feeder on the left and a white SureFeed microchip RFID pet feeder on the right. A black text block overlay reads: "We ended up buying 4 automatic feeders - it was a trial and error process to create a setup that worked".

Whichever brand you choose, I think having cameras at home makes a massive difference when leaving pets alone. Both for the cats, and for the emotionally unstable humans. 🏡

A white British Shorthair cat sitting on a plush gray window-mounted cat hammock outdoors on a sunny day, grooming his front paw. A black text block overlay reads: "Lyle personally tested every feeder for weaknesses 👀 Unfortunately, he found several."

Disclosure: Furbo is a client of mine and the cameras were provided to us, but this post isn’t sponsored or paid. We genuinely love them and use them all the time (even when we’re home, because the boys love the treat toss feature) ❤️

Whichever brand you choose, I think having cameras at home makes a huge difference when leaving pets alone. Both for the pets and for the emotionally unstable humans 🏡

A silver-shaded British Shorthair cat named Rabbitovitz lying on a wooden floor in a patch of sunlight next to a pair of black shoes, looking wide-eyed and startled. Two black text block overlays read: "The main challenge was making sure Lyle didn’t eat everyone’s dinner..." with an eyes emoji, and "Rabbitovitz ended up needing an RFID feeder".
A silver-shaded British Shorthair cat sitting on a wooden stool, leaning forward to sniff and inspect a white Furbo pet camera with a wooden lid. A black text block overlay at the bottom reads: "Obviously we had a camera in every corner. 4 in total- maybe it’s overkill but it gave us so much piece of mind."
A white British Shorthair cat with amber eyes sitting upright on a blue mat alongside a silver-shaded British Shorthair cat who is crouched low with wide, startled eyes. Two black text block overlays read: "Our biggest concern was Lyle and Rabbitovitz: they tolerate each other, but they also fight OFTEN" and "We didn’t want them to get into a fight with nobody around to break it up".
A silver-shaded British Shorthair cat with wide green eyes walking forward on a large cat exercise wheel. In the blurry background, a white cat rests on a green ottoman. Two black text block overlays read: "To our surprise they had ZERO fights while we were away (Furbo is their witness)." and "Maybe me are the problem?".
A fluffy, silver-shaded British Shorthair cat poking its upper body into a hole on a brown scratching post tower while its back legs and tail hang down. Text overlay reads: "The boys were a lot less active while we were away. They slept a lot and didn’t get up to any mischief".
A close-up of a hand holding four white ribbed plastic child-safety or cat-proofing locks fanned out like cards against a plain wall. Text at the top reads: "We cat-proofed the entire apartment, making sure they couldn’t get in trouble" with a black text block below it that reads: "New post coming up soon!".
A wide shot of a sandy beach meeting a calm blue sea under a clear sky on a sunny day. A large black text block overlay reads: "In the end, leaving them was easier than expected. They survived. We survived. And they were not even that excited when we came back 😅".
A view looking out of an airplane window showing the wing and engine against a bright blue sky with white clouds below. Text at the top reads: "Are you scared to leave your pets home alone?" with a black text block below it that reads: "It took us 6 years to do it. But now we wish we’d done it sooner."

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