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We recently (about 2 months ago) got a kitten. He's about 5 months old now. At the time, we were both spending a lot more time at home, playing with him and being with him in general. Now, we've both got full time jobs, so we're away on weekdays for 8 hours a day. He has tons of toys, a kitty condo to nap/scratch on and we give him access to all the rooms of the apartment (except the bathroom since he gets into the trash).

My question is is it possible for him to get too lonely and bored when he's home by himself? I wouldn't want him to be too unhappy or upset that he's alone most of the time, because he's very friendly and generally loves attention from us.

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    Cats, including kittens, spend a lot of time sleeping. It sounds like you've given him things to do when awake; among other things I'm sure he's still trying to figure out where he can climb to... He may get a bit lonely the first few days, but he'll quickly adjust to the idea that you leave and come back.
    – keshlam
    Commented Sep 28, 2015 at 21:27

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I work long shifts as does my housemate, so there can be times when no one is home for 12-15 hrs in a day. We ended up getting two kittens about 7 years ago so they could keep each other company. I don't think cats get very lonely in 12 hours or so, not like dogs. I think having two cats relieves boredom as they play, fight and wrestle with each other, thus getting stimulation. However, after longer stretches of absence like a day or so my cats do appear to have really missed me.

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  • Thanks for your answer! Our landlord is currently not allowing us another kitten, so the option of getting a second is out the window, unfortunately. It is reassuring to know that they don't seem too lonely :)
    – WendyX
    Commented Sep 29, 2015 at 14:26
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    We also adopted two kittens instead of one, because we roughly have the same work schedules, and this way they keep each other company. The "work", noise of having two kittens is not really different from having only one. You should try to convince your landlord to allow for a second one. Alone, one could potentially scratch on the doors or the furnitures :-)
    – Yotus
    Commented Oct 1, 2015 at 12:13
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Yes. Your kitten can definitely get lonely when you're gone. A kitten's sleep is broken up by many short bouts of play. Your kitty is used to playing with you, and now you're not there. I work at an animal shelter, where I always tell people who are adopting a kitten that they need to adopt two. Most who decide against our suggestion are back within a month to get another kitten.

If your current living situation is not allowing you to have another cat, then you are doing the right thing by leaving toys and giving the kitten plenty of things to do while you're gone.

Be sure you have a tall cat tree (6-7' tall), with different levels the kitty can climb on. Even though he's a kitten, he will very quickly grow into a tall cat tree, which will give him climbing exercise to wear him out.

I would also suggest that you give the kitten a new toy or a favorite toy each time you leave. When you get home put the toy away. This associates something good and exciting with you leaving.

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  • Basic cat trees can be constructed fairly inexpensively, if you don't want to pay pet store prices and can get your paws on some plywood, 2x4's, a few shelf brackets to affix the "trunk" to the base and used or remnant carpet to cover it. I was recently gifted with an 8-foot-tall specimen....
    – keshlam
    Commented Oct 3, 2015 at 2:17

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