Help! Cats! Urgent.

[conniegirl]

Help!
My nextdoor neighbour is in hospital with a very very sick 5yearold child, she was blue lighted about an hour ago.

We have said we will sort her cats and make sure that the house is secure etc (we have a key to her house and she has one to ours, she is that sort of neighbour).

Ive never looked after cats before and don’t want to bother her asking for instructions.
I know neither cat has any health problems nor do they take any medication!

How do i deal with a litter box? Should i separate bowls for food or can they be close to each other?

Am going to give her kitchen a bit of a clean whilst I’m in there (do some dishes etc) so that she comes home to it nice and clean and doesn't have to deal with it after an unspecified time in hospital, is there anything i should be wary of with cats that i don’t have to worry about with dogs?

 

[Lacuna]

If you are just going into her house then it should be fine. Do they have a cat flap or just indoor cats?

Chances are that they will be fine eating in proximity if they live together but give a bit of space between bowls just to prevent any issues.

Litter trays I've always handled by putting down a decent amount of litter. Take out any poop when you see it - I usually use doggy bags for this and then dig out any wet patches every couple of days if they look manky. I try to replace all substrate every week at least. (not too different from skipping out a stable really, although the smell can be rather worse)

 

[twiggy2]

You will be fine, cats are pretty easy with the litter tray just scoop any poop and wet stuff and dispose of it in a bag or newspaper in the bin (dont flush it), top up as needed, you may find the bowls are already where they need to be for food and you just need to wash, top up and put back down, refresh water once or twice a day when you are there.
I hope the little one is OK and the cats will be fine as long as they have food and water and a clean tray, if the bowls are apart the cats will eat if they need it.

 

[conniegirl]

Do they have a cat flap or just indoor cats?

I believe they have a cat flap, they are not indoor cats as they poo in our garden fairly regularly and sit on the shed roof taunting our dogs regularly.

 

[twiggy2]

I believe they have a cat flap, they are not indoor cats as they poo in our garden fairly regularly and sit on the shed roof taunting our dogs regularly.

They may not have a litter tray to worry about then so one less thing to do.

 

[conniegirl]

They may not have a litter tray to worry about then so one less thing to do.

Thanks, so far all I’ve done is locked the house up. i need to feed Ellie, go do cobbus and then i’ll pop in and sort the cats.

 

[PurBee]

Cats are usually easy as theyre so independent when healthy. If youve got no instructions, or knowledge how/when theyre fed, generally morning and around 7pm - a 2 feed per day, spaces out their food. Most eat fine near their house mate, i’ve always had bolshy piggy males trying to steal small females feed, so just space them a few feet apart and watch how they proceed.
Fingers crossed there’s good news from the hospital. ?

 

[Archangel]

If you have time you could sit with them for a while. When I looked after my friend's cat (who was a bit nervous and missing my friend) I grabbed a book from the bookcase and read to her for an hour. I am a bit mad cat lady though.

 

[Griffin]

If you can make sure the food bowls are away from the water bowls when you feed them. As other posters have said, litter trays are very easy to deal with, especially of they do most of their motions outside. Cats are reasonably easy to care for because they are usually quite independent but they will like a bit of company if their humans are away, so as @Archangel says, try to spend a little bit of time with them. Well done for looking after them, it is really kind of you.

 

[conniegirl]

Cats are usually easy as theyre so independent when healthy. If youve got no instructions, or knowledge how/when theyre fed, generally morning and around 7pm - a 2 feed per day, spaces out their food. Most eat fine near their house mate, i’ve always had bolshy piggy males trying to steal small females feed, so just space them a few feet apart and watch how they proceed.
Fingers crossed there’s good news from the hospital. ?

Thanks, i literally have a key to the house and a “please look after the cats” I normally don’t have anything to do with cats as i’m very definitely not a cat person.

Her other daughter was with us for about an hour until her grandma picked her up, but she is only 4 so didn’t think to quiz her.

News from hospital is not good, am very worried and my neighbour must be out of her mind with worry so I don’t want to bother her by asking about cats when i have you lovely ladies and gents to ask instead.

I’ve been in, located the food, popped a couple of bowls down of what looked like a reasonable portion, topped water up.
Litter box looked clean.
Have cleaned a few dishes and popped them away. Will do a little bit each day until she gets home so she is coming home to a nice clean downstairs if nothing else.

 

[Peregrine Falcon]

What a dreadful worry. Having good neighbours is so important. The cats are lucky to have you looking after them. (and so is the house)

 

[Spanny]

It's very kind of you to step in, especially when you're new to cats! It sounds like you're on the right track. If you're not sure of portions, the bag/box/can (depending on what food they have) should have feeding guidelines on it somewhere. Hope all goes well and that news from the hospital improves.

 

[PurBee]

Portions for an average sized adult generally a third to half a 400g can. Big males definitely would wolf down half!

Some cat groups can have dried kibble in a bowl that they help themselves to/share throughout the day, but some cats will gulp the whole bowlful if given a huge bowl of kibble, and bloat like a balloon, so as you dont know what theyre like…if you get the chance to give a second meal aside from meat cans, and there’s kibble there - 2 small handfuls per average cat will suffice. Fresh water too of course.

Its great youre available to help, that’s very kind of you. It must ease your neighbours mind a lot to know she can focus on being at hospital without worrying about home. I hope the situation improves and you hear better news…how concerning for all…sending healing vibes.

 

[meleeka]

Gosh I really hope your neighbours child is ok. What an awful worry

 

[babymare]

I just want to say what a lovely neighbour you are and just being there to remove the worry of the cats will mean so much. I hope your neighbours child is ok.

 

[Clodagh]

Any news? I’m not so worried about the cats but thinking of your neighbour.

 

[conniegirl]

Any news? I’m not so worried about the cats but thinking of your neighbour.

Neighbours little girl is still in hospital, she has ketoacidocis (acidic blood) but they cannot find the cause. So she is in hospital on all sorts of drips whilst they find the cause. There was mention of dialysis. She is not diabetic.


Cats are ok.

 

[babymare]

Your poor friend and child. Such worrying times. And well done you with cats. Xx

 

[Clodagh]

Neighbours little girl is still in hospital, she has ketoacidocis (acidic blood) but they cannot find the cause. So she is in hospital on all sorts of drips whilst they find the cause. There was mention of dialysis. She is not diabetic.


Cats are ok.

Thinking of her, it must be terrifying.

 

[Berpisc]

Poor child and her mum! Well done for looking after the cats.