Leaving your cat home alone for a week — a practical guide

Why "at home" usually wins for cats

Unlike dogs, most cats are territorial rather than pack-oriented — a change of environment is often more stressful for them than a familiar owner simply being absent. For a week-long trip, a sitter visiting your own home (rather than boarding your cat elsewhere) usually keeps a cat calmer, because the smells, hiding spots, and routine all stay the same.

Decide between drop-in visits and overnight

For most healthy adult cats, one or two drop-in visits a day — feeding, a fresh litter box, and some attention — is enough. Consider overnight sitting instead if your cat is anxious, elderly, on a strict medication schedule, or simply used to sleeping next to a person; an overnight sitter staying in your home keeps that routine closer to normal than a daytime-only visit can.

Write everything down, not just in your head

The single biggest source of a bad week-away isn't a sitter who doesn't care — it's a sitter working from incomplete information. Write out feeding amounts and times, litter box location and brand of litter, any medication (dose, time, how your cat takes it best), your regular vet's contact details, and anything about your cat's behavior a stranger should know — hides under the bed when scared, doesn't like being picked up, escapes through a cracked door. On PetNanny this all has a proper home: the care profile you fill in for your pet becomes part of the booking's care sheet, so the sitter has it in writing, not just from a rushed conversation at handover.

Set an emergency plan before you leave, not during

Decide in advance how much you'd authorize a sitter to spend on emergency vet care without being able to reach you, and who your backup contact is if the sitter can't reach you either. PetNanny's booking flow asks for exactly this — an authorized emergency-vet spending cap — and it's recorded on the contract, not left as a verbal "use your judgment."

Book early for busy weeks

Reliable drop-in and overnight cat sitters get booked up around holidays — request a meet & greet a few weeks ahead if you can, so your cat has met the sitter at least once before you leave.