What Your Pets Are Really Doing When You Are Gone

We all have wondered it — what do your pets do when you are gone? Do they sit by the window waiting for you to get back? Do they sleep on the furniture even though they know they aren’t supposed to? Do they play with the toys that are scattered around your home? Are they angels that sleep and remain calm all day? Or are they mischievous and up to no good?

This question is likely what started the pet cam revolution and caused owners to watch their pets from work, vacation, or while at dinner with friends. While these cameras took away the mystery of this one big question, they did give owners some relief knowing that their pets are not flying around the house and getting into everything they can.

If you are a pet owner who has yet to invest in a pet cam, you likely still wonder what your pup or cat does while you are away. At Royal Pets Market & Resort in Florida, we have a few guesses of our own. Before we dive into those ideas of ours, we wanted to help you prepare your home for a space your pet could be alone comfortably. At our pet market, you can find all the essentials you need to make sure your pet is comfortable and properly cared for while you are at work or are running errands.

Provide Comfort

When your pet stays home alone, you will want to make sure they have a comfy place to sleep or lay down while they wait for your return. If you have a dog or cat bed for your pet, make sure they have access to it. If it is usually in your bedroom but you close the door while you are at work, then make sure that you take the bed out of your room and put it in an area where they can get to. If you don’t want your pets sleeping on furniture, then making sure they have a bed accessible is a great way to prevent this. Without a comfortable area to sleep, they may venture onto your couch while you are away.

Provide Essentials

Make sure that your dog or cat has access to water as well. You will want to make sure that the water bowl is full every day before you leave. If you have multiple dogs, you will want to provide multiple bowls of water. Food is also something to consider. If your dog or cat eats all the food in their bowl at once, be sure to feed them their usual amount but don’t leave extra food in their bowl while you are gone. This will lead to them overeating and gaining weight. If your pet only eats when they are hungry, you can just leave food in the bowl and allow them to eat throughout the day. If your pet doesn’t eat in the morning while you are at home, leave their food out so that they don’t get too hungry throughout the day.

A place for your pets to relieve themselves is also important when you leave them at home. Make sure your cat has access to a litter box and if possible add a doggy door to your backyard so that your dog can get out to do their business. If you have a doggy door, make sure your yard is fenced in so your dog doesn’t escape.

Provide Entertainment

Providing entertainment for your pet can help them feel more comfortable at home while you are gone while also keeping them out of trouble. When your pet has something to keep them busy, they are less likely to feel bored and get into trouble. Stock up on toys, get your cat a scratching post or cat tree, and get interactive toys that make them work for treats. You can also leave the radio or television on for your pets, you may want to make sure that they like it first. While some pets may find it soothing others may not like it very much.

Now that you know some tips for creating the best environment for your pet while they are home alone, we wanted to talk about some of the ideas we have about what pets do while we aren’t home.

Goes Wild

Have you ever been cooped up in your home for a few hours with nothing to do? While humans have the luxury of finding something to watch on TV or reading a book, your pet does not have that same luxury. They are likely to get a little stir crazy, which causes them to run wild. Your dog may have the zoomies around your living room. Your cat may try climbing cabinets, furniture, and find themselves in areas you may never expect. This is why toys are important to keep them entertained!

They Break All The Rules

While you are home, you likely have rules for your pet. Some pets are smart enough to realize when to and when not to do certain things. If you don’t like your pets up on the furniture while you are home, they may enjoy some time relaxing on the couch while you are away. If you try to stop them from carrying around shoes and other objects that aren’t pet toys, they may find a shoe or couch pillow to carry around and cuddle with during their time alone. Fortunately, many of these actions will leave a trace, which means you can better prepare when you leave the home by hiding shoes and other objects and putting items on furniture to keep them off. Unless your pet is extremely sneaky, you will be able to tell if they are rule breakers.

Befriend Neighbor Pets

If you have a doggy door and allow your pets to have access to your yard during the hours of the day you are gone, they may just befriend some neighbor pets. We like to think that animals can communicate with each other, like they do in the cartoon movies, because life is more fun when you picture dogs excitedly yelling “hello” at each other rather than just viciously barking as they pass each other on a walk. When your pets spend hours outside barking at the neighbor’s dog or watching them from the fence post, we like to think they are getting to know each other and keeping each other entertained while their humans are away. Maybe neighborhood cats go on walks together, maybe the dogs chase each other along the fence because they are racing.

Patiently Waits

Then there are some pets that will sit there calmly and patiently wait for you to return. They don’t want to cause trouble and don’t feel the need to go crazy in your home. They may sit by the window people watching and enjoy the world as it goes by while they wait, they may hide under your bed as they wait for the sound of your keys in the door, or maybe they lay outside in the grass, enjoying the sun. While we like to think that they play and enjoy their time alone, we are sure that most pets are patiently awaiting your return.

These are a few of our guesses as to what your pets are doing while you are gone. While they are pretty simple ideas and extremely possible, the truth is that many of us will never know what our pets are doing. Pets who are being watched by pet cams may know they are being watched and act how they know they should be, which brings us back to the big question — what do our pets do while we are gone.

Be sure to stop by one of the four Royal Pets Market & Resort locations in Florida. We can provide you with all of the essentials you need to keep your pet comfortable, entertained, and well-cared for while you are away.