Leaving cats home alone

I can't get over the mentality of people who think it's acceptable to leave cats on their own for days on end while they go away ! For example, today on Yahoo Answers someone asked how to go about finding a reliable pet sitter for his 2 cats as he was going away for 3 days. This person and rightly so, wanted to make sure his cats were OK, more so because one of them is a sensitive cresture and when she gets stressed, she is sick.
So, what did quite a few 'advise' ? Only to leave the cats at home alone !!! One mentioned leaving plenty food and water, one mentioned they might need an extra litter tray, but all agreed they'd be fine for 3 days on their own.
Thankfully a few sensible people had been on too, one especially sensible suggestion was that he asked his vet to recommend someone trustworthy to cat sit. I could only add to that to suggest the sitter came to meet the cats before he went away, so he could see what he/she was like and if they interacted with the cats well.
Cats can get ill very quickly, have an accident, someone could break into the house and hurt the cats or they could get out of a broken window, maybe cutting themselves as they do.
Apart from that, if none of those things happen, the water left for the cats could be spilled, the food go off,the litter trays overflowing.
Cats deserve better than being left alone for more than a day !