Vacation- which option is best

Katdog

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Hi all

I have a three year old cat, solo- no second cat. I’m going to be gone for 4 days to go camping and want to know which is the preferred option when leaving cat solo per general Cat behavior and stuff. She’s fed 100% wet food so I don’t want to deal with a food timer and all that. She’s very food driven so in the past when she was on kibble, I leave dry kibble out in an auto feeder she would attack the feeder to the point where she would knock it over and it wouldn’t function properly.

i have the option of :

1) leaving her with my good friend, at their place, with her own litter box and tree and such. My friend doesn’t have any pets so she’s fine there, though I fear it’s a new space so maybe she won’t like it so much.

2) have a cat sitter come by twice a day for 20 minute visits- but my biggest concern with this is that it’s not enough social interaction for Korra. And she typically gets 4 meals a day, not two so having a sitter twice a day May result in her eating bigger portions which she may vomit as she has occasionally done this when eating too fast which is why we have 4 meals in the first place; but she will be an environment she’s used to...

3) take her camping with me. Which I’ve never done before. And she has a cat tent that is 6’x4’ that she hangs out in our yard with- so she can spend time in that at the camp site and sleep with us at night in our tent. When we’re gone during the day, I’ll have to put her in a cat adventure hiking bag so she’ll “hike” with us. She doesn’t like the leash and I haven’t worked that consistently to train her with it but I might be able to given that the camping trip is still 2 months away.

For other future scenarios, If my good friend is not available and I can’t take her whenever I may go, is option 2 viable for four days? It’s really her being alone for 23 hrs of a day that really makes me worry! It’s like isolation! I feel like option 1 is best and then option 2 is option 1 is not viable cause my friend isn’t available.

option three seems crazy but it’s better than isolation...idk!
 

fionasmom

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You may get diverse opinions on this, but I would delete option 3 in the case of every cat I have ever owned. Having said that, I have two close friends who take their cats with them often, even to visit another person, so some members might speak to that.

Between 1 and 2 I wondered if the sitter is from an agency or group who limits their visits to 20 minutes twice a day. Or does the cost rise exponentially if they come by 4 times?

Has your cat been to the friend's house and knows your friend well enough? No safety issues with the house such as an escape route?
 

susanm9006

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I would go with the pet sitter since remaining in their own home
is the least stressful thing for most cats. I would have them feed her double amounts twice a day and leave some kibble out as well. Yes, she might vomit from eating too fast but over four days isnt going to be greatly harmed by it.
 

FeebysOwner

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You didn't mention any other options, so I don't know if that means they are not viable, or you hadn't thought of them.
Option 4, seek out neighbors, perhaps on sites like Next Door Neighbor, that might be willing to lend a helping hand by adding extra visits and time to the Option 2 cat sitter.
Option 5, check out care.com and see if they can do a better job of serving you than Option 2. When I checked them out, I talked to several different care takers. Tbh, some of them made it a business, and those were the ones that had strict rules on what they would and would not do, when they could come, when they could not, etc. Others I talked to were much more flexible, and were even willing to do other small tasks in the home. None of the more flexible ones were any more expensive than the others.
Option 6, get your friend to be the back up to Option 2 and come visit Korra for the extra feedings and socialization. If your trip is over a weekend, perhaps your friend could stay over night on those days?
 

Cat McCannon

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Only you can know if taking your cat camping is viable or not. I would take our cat camping in our RV if I was going to be with her all the time. I would also invest in a human sized tent with a screened porch so I could sit outside with her.

Short of that, I think your best bet is to take her to a boarding house where she'll receive constant care. A couple weeks ago, we boarded Belle for three nights. We dropped her off with her cat condo, ripple rug a few toys, her own food, her treats and made a bed from the pillow case I'd been sleeping on and stuffed it with a couple shirts that hadn't been washed yet. Belle did well. She didn't cry and was comfortable enough to come out of her cage and into the common area. They had staff there 24/7 onsite.
 

Pjg8r

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My cats (at the moment I have multiple but have also traveled when I only had one) do better at home. My sitter comes twice a day and I do usually feed them three times a day when I’m home. I just have the sitter increase the quantity of the feeding when they are only fed twice a day.
 

suzeanna

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You could have the sitter come and feed your kitty larger-than-normal (but not 2x as much) wet meals, and also have them refill an automatic timed feeder with supplemental kibble snacks in the hours between visits.
 

ladytimedramon

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Instead of one of those drop down feeders, have you tried a flat feeder? The visiting caretaker could fill and check it daily. This is the one I have: PETSAFE Eatwell 5-Meal Automatic Dog & Cat Feeder - Chewy.com - I use it daily. I fill the portions with Delilah's kibble nightly (she gets a 3am kibble and a 12:30pm kibble - and if I know I want to sleep late sometimes I'll put in a 7am serving too). It's low enough that Delilah can't get a paw underneath. The food rotates in the the feeder. I've been in the room. Delilah will be asleep in her cat tree. When she hears the little "whirr" sound she will almost always get up and go to it.

This is another style: PETSAFE Digital 2-Meal Automatic Dog & Cat Feeder - Chewy.com - I've seen ones that do have gel packs to put underneath for wet food. Or you could freeze it and have the sitter pop the food out of the freezer and put it in the slots.
 
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Katdog

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Wow everyone thank you so much for the responses! Not sure what happened but I hadn’t gotten any notifications of responses so I haven’t been on the site for a few weeks! I will explore all the links and get back to you guys! I haven’t started harness training her and it’s 6 weeks till the camping adventure- something tells me this may not be sufficient time. My friend who normally watches her at his place, and she does well at, is joining us on a trip. Since I just relocated I don’t have many good friends around to ask for such favors. I did find a boarding service that seem like it was good but it was $100 to reserve a nonrefundable spot! Plus the diff of the cost of the stay. I was shy to commit given how far away the vaca still was, but we’ll. Gonna read up in all your links you provided, and will let you all know what I decide with! Thank you again!
 

neely

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Since I just relocated I don’t have many good friends around to ask for such favors. I did find a boarding service that seem like it was good but it was $100 to reserve a nonrefundable spot!
Since you mentioned you recently relocated and don't know that many people in the area I thought these two Articles about finding the best pet sitter might have some helpful information for you: Selecting The Best Pet Sitter – TheCatSite Articles
A Pet Owner’s Guide To Pet Sitters – TheCatSite Articles

Boarding a cat would be my last option since cats are very territorial and, therefore, do best in their home environment. Here is a thread that addresses some of the concerns: Cat boarding advice
 
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