How can I adopt a cat considering my schedule keeps me out 9 hours per day?

It’s not a silly question. I worked eight hours a day and my cat was just fine when I got home. Now that I’m retired, I’m home a lot and he pretty much ignores me and sleeps most of the day. Go ahead and get the cat. You’ll be glad you did.

Cats sleep on an average of 15 hours a day.They won’t even notice that you are not around.

Plan on a ten-minute romp in the morning before you leave. Even just flicking a fishing rod (or a long stick) with a piece of crumpled aluminum foil tied to the line while you are sitting on the toilet will amuse your cat sufficiently to require him to take a long nap when you stop.

Then some more playtime at night and a little snuggle at bed time will suffice.

Like my friend, the elephant, i too am retired and home a lot. Most of the time, I don’t even know where my cat is.

I work 12–13 hours a day and have two cats. When I get home, I play and cuddle with them to make up for my absence. Have you thought of adopting a pair of older cats who already know each other? At least they can find comfort in each other in a new environment.

Cats don’t need the same kind of attention dogs do. Just make sure to love them plenty when you are around. :)

This is why cats are so much easier than dogs. They’re perfectly fine being alone during the day. In fact, most of them like their alone time. Cats are very independent. As long as they’re fed and their litter is kept clean, they don’t really need you for anything other than the occasional pet or play-time.

The only issues would be 1) litter box training and 2) kitties destroying your house. Luckily, #1 can be done in a day. Just get the kitty on a Friday evening, stick her in the box a few times until she goes, and your work is done.

As for scratching, I’d get a nice big sturdy cat tree and some other kitty toys to occupy any free time not spent snoozing. If you get the cat in a Friday, you can spend the weekend showing him or her that the tree is for scratching, not the sofa. Kittens learn very quickly – much quicker than puppies.

Just leave plenty of food and water and give him or her lots of love when you get home.

Enjoy your new kitty!

I haven’t seen Milo since 5:30. He just materialized (from where I don’t know) and jumped up on my lap. It’s almost 10 PM.

He is now rubbing his cheeks on my laptop, flicking his tail in my face and preparing for another little rest on top of me as I try to write.

I’m sometimes away for a day or so at a time and my cat seems to be fine. Just get a timer for their food and leave them plenty of water and things to play with. As others mentioned cats are pretty independent and do spend a great deal of their time sleeping.

Consider adopting an older cat instead of a kitten – I think you’ll end up with minimal damage. @gailcalled is right; they’ll sleep most of the time you’re away. A kitten would want the attention, and probably be unhappy to be left alone.

In the worst case you may need to leave the radio or television on to a talk show station so there is some noise to keep the cat calm.

I used to be gone for 10 to 12 hours a day on account of commute time and long work hours. I got two kittens from the same litter to be sure they could be company for each other. They acted glad to see me (sometimes) when I got home but were just fine without me, or so it seemed, to judge from their good health and how they behaved on weekends.

Just make sure he has food, water, a clean litterbox, and some entertaining toys, and he’ll be just fine until you get home.

Cat brains are pretty darn close to human brains. That’s why there are trauma experiments on cats. (Not endorsing them, just stating)

A cat can entertain itself and is fine with solo time. Dogs tend to need stimulus from outside sources.

I have heard the theory that women are cats and men are dogs. If you want to generalize a gender, that’s true enough. It might explain why people usually assume a cat is female and a dog is male if they just see them and don’t know the animal.
watch it, it’s true. “psst psst, here girl” to a cat. “c’mon boy! to a dog”

I digress.
Pick the right cat. Let the cat pick you. S/He will be totally fine alone as long as you’re there to touch base.
(My cat is a complete slut for attention. He loves everybody all the time, but when I come home… It’s all about him being near me.)

OK, amending my answer. Get a Siamese.

My mother had a cat all through grad school because she was gone all day long and sometimes into the might, and the cat was just fine.

Dog, no. Cat, yes. They are solitary creatures and sleep a lot. Chances are he won’t miss you, lol.

Chances are he really won’t miss you even when you’re around, unless you forgot fresh food and water.

Get two cats! Best solution. Twice the fun and amusement, they have each other to play with and having a friend lessons the boredom and monotony for them while you are away long hours. My pair are ages 4 and 6.5 they have been together for 16 months and are great pals.

Yeah I agree with adopting perhaps an adult. Often rescues have 2 that they would prefer to place together and that is more difficult than 1 kitten. So you would be doing the cats a favour and getting yourself a lot of love!

When you get the cat tree or kitty condo, they are not ONLY handy for scratching. Get a nice sturdy tall one with a few ledges or platforms on it and put it right near a window, preferably overlooking a wooded area if possible.

For the times he isn’t napping, there is a perfect kitty TV. My Smoochie loves watching the squirrels jumping the branches and birds coming and going. But even when in a different room, she likes watching people and dogs walking by.

As long as you don’t get a kitten who needs more interactions and supervision, the cat will be fine. And you’ll really be saving a life. Statistically, once a cat is older than 6–8 months and they’re out of the cute fuzzball kitten stage, their chances for adoption drop very sharply.

Plus if you get an older cat (but still young, 1–2 yrs.old) you pretty much know what you’re getting since their personalities are basically formed. So you can find what suits you best. Or let the cat choose you :)

For what it’s worth, I adopted my Siamese when he was 7. He was active, opinionated and obnoxious. Within a week, he was MY cat and he’s never been further than 4 inches away from me as long as I’m at home.

Cat tree and toys have always been ignored. They are all different,

8 years later, he’s still on my shoulder right now. Purring and, I’m sure, criticizing my sentence structure.

@Blueroses -nice mental image!

Agree with those who said to get 2 (preferably siblings who already know each other). They will keep each other company during the day.

I love kitties. I miss having a kitten.

Cat’s are strange creatures but they don’t mind being alone, in fact I don’t see mine for days at a time and then he’ll stay home for a few days.
If you want a cat just get one It’ll be alright.

I’ve never had a concern about leaving cats I’ve already had for a while alone for a day or two. It is a new cat who isn’t familiar with her surroundings that worries me. I feel better after reading the responses here. I never planned to get a kitten. Sometimes grown cats already have issues that take time to work through. Well, it will work out one way or the other. I am getting a cat!

Good for you. I’m sure both you and kitty will be happy.

I think the suggestion to get him on a Fri. afternoon or evening and having the weekend with him will give him time to explore his new territory and you can observe him as well.

Since you’ve already had cats, you’re aware of which areas typically need cat-proofing but each kitty has their own idiosyncrasies and the weekend lets you see what he focuses upon which might be problematic.

You gotta update and post pics once you’ve got him.

Yep I am pleased for you and the cat! As @Buttonstc says, please keep us posted.