Travel Tips – A Checklist for Leaving Your Cat at Home + $100 Sweepstakes

We all have been there, that intersection of killer vacation and having a cat. The good news is; cats are incredibly self-sufficient. They can easily be left home alone for a few days without a hitch. As a busy travel blogger I am often gone more than I am home so, I’ve become an expert in leaving my sweet little (or shall I say huge and fluffy) fur monster at home. Here are a few things to consider when leaving your cat at home and a checklist to make sure your feline friend is happy while you’re away.

Leaving Your Cat at Home

So it’s time to leave whiskers at home. No big deal, whiskers will be fine. Sure he’ll miss you, and he may poop on your side of the bed, but realistically he’ll be sleeping most of the time you’re away. The first thing to consider about leaving your cat at home is duration. If you’re going to be gone more than five days, I say you need to make sure you have a neighbor or someone close that you trust to come by and give your furball some lovins. Cats need affection and stimulation.

The second thing to consider is the amount of food and water you need to have out. Make sure you add in a little extra for comfort.

The third thing to consider is having enough kitty litter for your cat’s potty habits. You know your cat’s game. Is he a poop once wonder or can he hang with a few visits before the litter needs to be changed? This is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can make when leaving your cat at home. Litter odor will make a cat poop in the bathroom corner faster than you can say kitty litter. It’s important to get a kitty litter that removes and prevents bacterial odors since you can’t be there all day to clean up. I have been a user of

ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™ MicroGuard™ Cat Litter for some time and I will continue to swear by it. With the innovative MicroGuard™ technology you can have a litter that seals and destroys immediate odor, plus, prevents the growth of future bacterial odors for 7-day odor control, guaranteed.

Setting up your litter plan is easy. Make sure your cat has fresh ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™ MicroGuard™ Cat Litter in not one but two boxes (I like the disposable boxes for the backup). This is plenty for the time you will be away and ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™ MicroGuard™ guarantees odor control for for 7 days!

Lyle my furry little baby

The Full “Leaving Your Cat at Home” Checklist

1. Make sure someone is scheduled to come and check in on your fur baby (if you’re going to be gone more than five days)
2. Leave food and water out (and more than usual!)
3. Fill the litter boxes with fresh ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™ MicroGuard™ cat litter
4. Favorite toys out
5. Favorite sleepy blankets out
6. Clothes with your scent in favorite spots (chair / bed)
7. Leave on soft music, maybe nature sounds
8. Vet phone number on counter
9. Close any doors and put up anything you don’t want your cat to get to

10. Give your cat lots of love before you go

Leaving your cat at home is never easy. Don’t worry, they will be just fine. Do all the things I’ve listed here and you’ll be fine too! Good luck and be sure to give your sweet kitty lots of love when you return. They most certainly have missed you!

Also be sure to check out

ARM & HAMMER™ Clump & Seal™ MicroGuard™ Cat Litter on Facebook and Instagram for some fun!

Sweepstakes

Tell me in the comments below the funniest thing your cat did while you were away for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card! Each comment will automatically be entered to win!

Entry Instructions:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older (or nineteen (19) years of age or older in Alabama and Nebraska). Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 2 business days to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 10/10/16 – 12/31/16

Be sure to visit the ARM & HAMMER™ brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!