Check around where you live.
There are shelters that need cats boarded. I suggest you try caring for a few and see how it feels before you commit.
My opinion.
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2025
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Sounds like you've thought it out more than most people who get cats. Visit your local shelter and see if you connect with any of them. If at the end you think "any would be fine" you haven't found your cat yet. 😉
You're already asking good questions, which means you're doing a lot better than many of the people who adopt without thinking. You're also looking for an adult cat, which means you aren't going to have to deal with a kitten's destructive exploratory phase (although, fair warning, adult cats can still be destructive if you don't prepare properly).
One thing I would say is that you should consider two versus one cats. Some cats don't handle being alone for a long time well and can become unhappy, while others prefer not having feline company and would be just fine alone for ~48 hours. A good shelter or adoption agency may be able to tell you whether a cat prefers company or solitary.
Like some other commenters, I would strongly suggest going to local shelters and discussing with them. They should entirely understand if you aren't able to adopt immediately and be able to discuss particulars with you.
Cats are good pets for people who work, they sleep a lot in the day. I agree with zonetrooper that in this situation 2 cats would be better than one, though.
Yes if you get the cats a water fountain and automatic feeder, and have plenty of litter box space, they can be left a couple of days, and they prefer that to traveling. (Unlike a dog, who would rather go with you).
Talk to the shelter, they may know which individual cats in their care would be good for your situation.
I think it would be fine. Cats are a lot more independent than dogs, so as long as you can sort out food and litter, they’re fine to leave alone for a bit. I’ve had 4 cats in my life. The first two we had solo and the last 2 were a pair.
Having a second cat definitely makes them happier if you can’t be home often, but it’s not strictly necessary. It’s not AS much work as you’d think to take care of an extra cat, but that also depends on personality and how the cats get along. The pair of cats we had loved each other, but they’d occasionally get into some minor fights. For food we had to separate them because one would try to eat more than his share and the other cat wasn’t assertive enough to stop him. But otherwise it wasn’t that much worse than when we had a single cat.
I definitely recommend you go to a shelter and play around with the cats enough to get a sense of their personalities. All of our cats have been super friendly and didn’t scratch much. The cat from the pair that’s still alive (they’re old, so one passed last year.) is so tame I have never had to worry about him scratching me. I can safely rub his belly and stuff and the worst he’ll ever do is get up and leave. But that’s definitely not all cats. My uncle had some cats with some big behavioral issues and he used to be an animal trainer.