Leaving for a vacation requires much preparation. You wouldn't want to be a hundred miles away and remember that you've left your poor kitty alone and locked, helplessly purring in the living room. You wouldn't want to forget anything important. You wouldn't want leave the things you've imagined taking with you.
Aside from the things you will need to bring, you will also need to remember the things that you will leaving behind, like your pets, the gates, doors and windows and the safety measures you would want to do before leaving the house.
You may need to ask a friend or your neighbor to adopt your pet for a while if you couldn't take it with you and no one will be left in the house. Also, remember to ask your neighbor to collect your mails for you.
Never leave the unessential appliances plugged. Disconnect electrical wirings that are not necessary in maintaining the condition and the safety of your belongings and the whole house itself.
Make sure that somebody will, once in a while, look after your house. While you leave with your necessary things on hand, your house should be left in the safest condition possible. It will be a totally disastrous vacation when after enjoying yourself somewhere else, you come back to a totally wrecked house.