He did have birds and cats and he did leave them at home. He left them alone to fend for themselves but according to him it was fime because he'd left a bowl of cat food, he then said his mum, Julie was looking after them. So no one really knows the truth as his mum lied for him many times.
He also left his dogs once but I'm not sure how long for, as I haven't watched him for ages.
He loves his pets on screen but in my opinion an animal lover doesn't neglect their pets.
Edit - I know everyone's different, we lost our dogs 4 years ago and we still can't bring ourselves to replace them.