How long can a cat be left alone?

Cats have a reputation for being independent, and many adult cats do sleep through the hours their people are at work. The advice changes once nobody will come home that night. Battersea Dogs & Cats Home says it is never advisable to leave a cat completely alone overnight or for the weekend, because a cat could become ill or be injured while you are away and have no access to help or medical attention.

Cats Protection says keeping a cat at home is the safest and least unsettling option when you go away, as long as someone comes in: a sitter who visits at least twice a day and makes sure the cat is well fed and safe. It adds that very young or old cats, and cats with some health conditions, may need visits more often.

There is no Indian guideline on this, so the figures here come from UK cat charities and the Merck Veterinary Manual. This guide adds the Indian details: heat that spoils food and dries out bowls, flats with balconies, power cuts, and the household help who may or may not come in.

Heat comes first. From March to June in much of India, a closed flat heats up fast, water evaporates and wet food spoils within hours. The Animal Welfare Board of India's heat advisory asks owners to keep fresh, clean water in stable containers that cannot tip over, in shade. For a cat that means more than one bowl, away from the sunny window, and someone to refill them.

Power cuts and air conditioning go together. A cat shut in an air-conditioned bedroom is in a sealed room once the power goes. Leave the cat a choice of rooms, with doors propped open safely, rather than shutting it into the coolest one.

Balconies and windows matter in high-rise flats. If yours have no safety nets or grilles, keep them closed while nobody is home, and tell the sitter to check them on every visit.

Finally, think about who else comes in. In many Indian homes the cook, the maid or a driver has a key. They may be the people most likely to notice something, or to let the cat out by accident. Tell them the plan, and if they are not the sitter, ask them not to feed the cat extra.

International Cat Care lists the slow-building signs of stress in cats as changes in eating, grooming or toileting, hiding or sleeping more, seeming withdrawn, jumpiness at small noises, playing less, soiling indoors or spraying, and over-grooming. It says being predictable and keeping daily routines is a good way to keep stress low, and that cats feel more in control when they start interactions themselves.

That shapes what a good sitter does. Visits at roughly the times you usually feed. The same food in the same place. Play if the cat wants it, as Cats Protection suggests, and no chasing a hiding cat. And a short note after every visit: what was eaten, what was in the tray, where the cat was. When Petym opens cat care, a daily photo update and a log of each feed and medicine will be part of every booking.