Kiki’s First Time Being Alone

For the first time in our lives we were worried about taking a little trip away from home, because this time we had Kiki to look after. We wondered what she will do when we leave, will she sleep until we get back or will she wait for us by the door?

Well, not exactly.

Turns out, our little furry princess had a different plan and she made sure we knew exactly how she felt about being left alone.

This is the story of us going away and leaving Kiki alone in the apartment for the first time ever!

Kiki Stays Alone at Home

We enjoy every minute we spend with Kiki, but sometimes we have to take a break from our jobs and our everyday routine. So eventually, we needed to go away for the weekend which meant leaving her alone for a few days.

Even though Kiki knows she is safe in our apartment, we couldn’t help but worry. After all, she had never spent that much time without us.

So, we found ourselves thinking about everything that can happen:

• Will she be scared?
• Will she think we abandoned her?
• Will she miss us?
• Will she go to her toilet regularly?
• Will she eat and drink normally?

And when we got overwhelmed by thinking this way, we started planning for every possible outcome. To make her absence easier to deal with, we did the following:

• Added two more bowls of dry food only
• Added a few more bowls of water across the apartment
• Added one more litter box next to the first one
• Added a few cat beds throughout the rooms
• Added her favorite toys scattered across the apartment

Once we set up everything, there wasn’t much else to do except hope she would be alright. We knew the apartment was a safe place for her and we had my sister check up on her to make sure she is not completely alone and see if she needs anything refilled. This was a day and a half trip but we still wanted her to have a human visit and reassure her everything is alright.

What happened next, surprised us beyond our wildest imagination, and here’s how.

a) Food Recap

The one thing that put our minds at ease when we entered our home was seeing that Kiki handled her food perfectly while we were away.

She ate just enough to keep herself full, never overeating as there was leftover food in the bowls. Moreover, we also found that the water bowls were nearly empty, which meant she drank a lot of water that made us very happy.

Takeaway – leaving multiple food and water bowls across the apartment was the best decision as she happily ate and drank from all of them whenever she felt the need.

b) Toilet Situation

This was another big surprise when it was time to check her litter boxes. Apparently, Kiki used both of them, but in a way that we never expected her to do so.

Upon seeing she has two litter boxes, somehow Kiki decided that one litter box will serve her exclusively for pooping, while the other would be only for peeing. We certainly didn’t teach her to do that, but apparently she had her own system and has been sticking to it ever since.

Takeaway – much to our surprise, we were ecstatic to find out she regularly visited the litter boxes and made the most use of both of them (we did have a lot of litter clumps to scoop though 😀).

Kiki’s Reaction to Being Alone for the First Time

Looking back, we worried much more than we should have, because as soon as we returned home, it was clear that Kiki handled our absence far better than we could imagine.

In addition to using both litter boxes, as well as her regularly feeding herself, we found her toys scattered all over the apartment. This was proof to us that she kept herself entertained even while we were away.

We were a bundle of worries, so seeing her this way was a nice surprise for us, especially since she is so clingy to us.

However, there was one little surprise in store that we never would have thought of. Her reaction upon us entering the apartment.

She had been half asleep, but as soon as she heard us, she jumped from the bed and came to greet us, meowing a bit and wading her tail around. This was one of those moments that melted our hearts and reassured us that she missed us as much as we missed her.

That said, the biggest surprise was where we found her sleeping. Our bed is fairly high and we had no idea Kiki could climb on top of it yet, as she was still very small. Yet there she was, curled up next to my husband’s pillow as if she was sleeping besides something that smelled like him, making her feel a little less alone while we were gone.

Takeaway – this first experience has taught us a very important lesson – Kiki was much more independent than we had imagined, and it also reminded us just how special the bond between us had already become. Everything suggested that she had settled into her own little routine until we came back.

Kiki’s Story Continues

Leaving Kiki alone at home for the first time was much harder for us than it was for her. She proved she could take care of herself and showed us how much she loved having us around.

This was another milestone in Kiki’s journey as her story continues, and one that made our bond with her even stronger.