Link to video on YouTube - opens new window. The woman says that she went on holiday for three weeks and that she left her cat at home for the entire time and arranged for somebody to check up on her cat every other day. The video shows the moment when she returns home and clearly her cat is thrilled to see her. I'm not sure why he was that thrilled because I don't think she deserved it, to be perfectly honest.
I do not think it is adequate cat caretaking to leave your cat alone in an apartment for 3 weeks while somebody else pops in occasionally. Sorry, it's not good enough. The second point I'd like to make is really a question. How does your cat welcome you home?
When I was working full-time and away from home all day I felt guilty and I was very keen to get back to see my cat who, invariably, would be waiting behind the front door when I arrived. I have no doubt in my mind that she had been waiting there for quite a long time. I didn't like the thought of it. I had to work away from home. There was no choice but I still feel guilty.
There is actually a third aspect of meeting up with your cat after a break. When I used to put my cat into a boarding cattery while I was on holiday, she would always recognise my voice from a distance when I went to pick her up.
Cats are able to recognise our voices. That is hardly surprising. But if we are a good cat caretaker then they will associate our voice with good times and be very pleased to see us when we come back from holiday.
Conversely, some cats my associate a voice with trauma. Or they might associate a certain sound with some sort of traumatic event. I had a cat who used to flee at the sound of a heavy footfall. She was a rescue cat and therefore I presume that she had had a traumatic experience with perhaps her former owner who may have been a man judging by the heavy footfall.
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