25 day vacation help deciding

Moemah123

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Hi everyone,

I need your opinion on 2 options that I have and if you can help me understand your choice.

I have 2 cats that are bonded (brother and sister from same litter) they are 1 year old now. I am leaving on a 25 day international trip and have 2 options

1. My friends offered to come 30min to 1 hour a day to do litter and food. With possibility of 2 days a week being more than 1 hour visit, likely 2-3 hours. I have indoors camera installed and automatic wireless feeder so I can feed extra portions. Will leave plenty of litter box , water and toys around. And they will have access to most rooms except my bedroom

2. A friend offered to take them into his house. The catch is they have 2 male cats also 1 year old. (They used to be litter mates) and at some point as kittens they used to play alot. A month ago we got them back to meet after 2 month absence and they went into hissing and chasing each other for 2 hours with lots of swatting. My friends are willing to try to socialize them together and they have an extra room to separate the cats if need be and it's a big room.

I am torn between the 2 choices on one hand they will have low frequency of human interaction but at comfort of their own home. On other hand my friends are taking a break from work and can look at them and separate if need be ( my friends can't come more often to check in my house because they live far )

Seeking help and I can add more details as needed. I truly care about my cats so any help is appreciated
 

sivyaleah

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Personally I would opt for keeping them in their own home. As long as your friend(s) are able to come to your house daily and staying a decent amount of time to play with them too, that should be ok. I would make sure they are also available out of their normal visiting hours in case of emergencies.

The 2nd option is too complicated. Expecting your cat to acclimate to a new home, let alone one with other cats, and then getting them reacclimated to your own home again is a lot of undue stress on your cats. It has the potential to become a problem for everyone involved if your cats and their residents wind up at odds with each other.
 
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Moemah123

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Thank you, would you say 30 min to 1 hour a day is decent enough time? In weekends friends may be able to do 2 to 3 hours. Is there anything else I can do to keep them company outside of human interaction?
 

sivyaleah

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An hour would certainly be preferable. It's always good to engage the cats and it's great on weekends they can spend even more time at your home.

You might want to think about keeping a radio on as background noise when nobody is home. I do think our kitties get used to human voices as part of their normal everyday life. Leaving some blinds/curtains open on a 2nd floor (if you have one) so they can look outside and get some mental stimulation that way too.

As an aside, I'd personally try to cat-proof as much of the house as you can before leaving. Make sure there aren't any items laying around that they could get into trouble with. Toilet lids down, closets firmly closed, etc. Ask your friends to be mindful of opening/closing the door when they arrive. Leave written instructions on their care for your friends to refer to which includes meal instructions, contact info for you and of course, your vet/emergency ER info.

When we have gone away, we were lucky to have a close friend that would live in our house since she still lived at home with her parents at that point (she's quite a bit younger than my husband and I). She would even stop by during lunchtime since she worked close by and one of the cats had special needs. They got great care while we were away. Unfortunately she's moved temporarily overseas; we haven't been able to find anyone else to pet sit at all so count yourself very lucky your friends are able to help you!
 

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I would leave them in their own home where everything is familiar. Cats sleep a lot especially when its quiet so as long as your friend spends time playing with them each day, they have food, water and clean litter, they should be fine. Are they used to your friend, comfortable in her company? If not, maybe she can spend time with them before you leave.
 

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Hi. I would keep your cats in their own home too. But the amount of time that your friends can spend with them is a bit less than ideal.

Don't know where you live, but if you are in an area where kids are now out of school, you could consider soliciting for a second 'helper' from the neighborhood who could come in and spend more time with them during another part of the day than when your friends can. Kids are always looking for some extra spending money during their time off from school and a lot would certainly not mind getting the chance to do that by being with cats! This would give the cats more interaction, especially if they are used to it, and still allow your 'adult' friends to kind of oversee everything. If you have the Next-Door Neighbor web site, you could ask around.

This option would also give you a 'back up' should something happen. In any case, as mentioned above, anyone that is due to come in and take care of the cats should be introduced/exposed to the cats (and vice versa) ahead of time.

Last comment - not sure the reason for keeping them out of your bedroom, but if they are used to spending time in there, at least offer them some of your worn, unwashed clothing in other locations for them to get to for the familiar scent. Bedroom access or not, it would still be a good idea with the clothing!!
 

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They will be better off at your home And I think they will get by just fine on an hour a day. Even if it is someone they know they are probably just going to hide when they come in anyway. Between video and the visits you will know what is going on.
 

ArtNJ

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I agree to leave the cat home, but personally don't think the time is such a big deal. Typically, when I cat sit, the cat is initially exstatic and very interactive. Then it remembers that you usually feed it and starts chirping/leading you to the dish, and after feeding, its nap time, watch my stuff when I sleep cat sitter. That is how cat's roll. Might be different with a nervous or needy cat, but thats my experience.
 

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You could take your cats for a visit to your friend's house and see how things go. Maybe your cats will get along well with their old cat buddies.

I know that you said you tried visiting before and things didn't seem to go well but, sometimes, it takes multiple visits for cats to get acquainted. (Or, in your case, re-acquainted.)

Our cat, Casper has four cat buddies that come to our outside patio to visit.

There's Louie, a neighbor cat (Female: The name is short for "Louise.") that's super friendly. We even let her inside every once in a while. She sneaked in a couple of times and we thought that there would be fur flying but, after a few hisses and growls from both parties, they became buddies. Louie is the only one we allow to come inside because we know that she's de-flead and has all her shots. (Per conversations with the cat's humans.) Plus, she's the only one that we think is well-behaved enough to to have earned the privilege.

There's Pikachu, a male from right next door. Casper and Pikachu are friendly but not close, mainly because Pikachu is still young and acts like a little upstart. When Pikachu comes around, he and Casper will greet at the screen door, say "Wassup?" (in cat lingo) then go about their business.

Freddie is Casper's third cat buddy. We don't know where he comes from. We think he's a stray because he's full of fleas and ticks. We're planning to take him to our vet and have him de-flead, de-wormed and give him all his shots. Freddie comes to our door, regularly, once or twice every day and Casper's Girl-Human feeds him. Casper and Freddie are good friends. They will hang out on opposite sides of the patio screen door and they even eat and have catnip parties together from opposite sides of the screen.
Freddie isn't allowed to come inside because, even though Casper has all his shots, we know nothing about Freddie's history. Maybe if Freddie gets his shots but not until.

There's a fourth cat that shows up but we don't know who it is. We THINK it might be a feral, momma cat looking for food for her kittens but we don't know. We haven't seen any kittens but we have a hunch that there might be a nest, somewhere nearby.

In all four cases, we thought that there would be trouble between Casper and the visitors but, in every case, they all got along after a couple-few visits. Casper comes to the door when they arrive and he even seems to know when they are around, even before we see them. He'll go to the door, look outside and wait for them. A few minutes later, one of Casper's buddies seems to show up, as if by magic. (Isn't it spooky how cats can do that? ;) )

The moral of the story is that we were worried that Casper wouldn't get along with all these other cats because he is the kind of cat who likes to be "King of the Castle" and we didn't think he'd tolerate another cat in his domain. Casper had a few run-ins with outdoor cats, before and things didn't go well. If you remember, I posted a video of Casper scuffling with an outdoor cat, right through the screen door. (We bought "Cat Proof" screen for the patio door.) That's why we didn't think that Casper would get along with other cats but we were wrong. After a few visits, a few hisses and growls, Casper has four cat buddies that come by almost every day. :)

Maybe, if you have some time, you could take your cats for a visit to your friend's house to see if all the cats can be cat buddies, too.

You could always try it and, if it doesn't work, you can let your cats stay home and go with "Plan-B." ;)
 
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Moemah123

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I love all the ideas here. I think, I could try one more time to see if they are cat buddies. I may also see if one of neighbors kids would want to cat sit for some fee while my friends still come around. And finally, will leave them my clothes and maybe some radio turned on to keep some human company. If more people have thoughts I will continue to listen as I have 2 weeks before travel
 
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Moemah123

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Hi,

I am back and have some more questions. My friends insisted we try to see if we can socialize them before my travel and if that fails they don't mind coming to watch them. Today, we had cats over and they are here as we speak. My cats kept hissing at the 2 cats while those 2 cats didn't hiss once or fight back. Is this because the cats are in their territory? What are best ways I can get those my 2 cats to calm in presence of the other cats? I tried to hold down my cats when things got aggressive and cool them down. Is there more I can do? Should we try to get them to meet over couple days ? Any hope they can socialize eventually
 

Caspers Human

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Put them in separate rooms and only let them out, one at a time. Switch back and forth a couple of times then swap their rooms. Put them in the room where the other cats have been. Do a couple more switches to different rooms. Let the cats pick out a place to hide out if they want to. (As long as the hiding place, itself, doesn't become a problem.)

Now, that all the cats have seen each other, they have figured out who's who and you can get on with introductions, face to face.

But that's another kettle of fish. Give them some time to acclimate to the new house before you let them out together.

After that, every cat is different.
 

FeebysOwner

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What is the purpose of the forced socialization? So, that your friends can take your cats to their home, rather than have to take time to come to your house while you are gone?

IMO, you don't have enough time to do a successful socializing process since you only have a couple of weeks before you leave. You are creating stress now on top of more stress that will happen when you leave.
 
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Moemah123

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I was truly not trying to force it. I was hoping to see if there was any other options. I don't want to stress my cats.

I have a question, ultimately I know I will decide against moving them. But, today I left the other 2 cats litter hanging around. My female cat is cool and acts normal. The other one who is very kind normally keeps hissing and growling and swatting at her. If he goes to his room with her they are cool. It's only when he is near litter he growls. What does that mean?
 

FeebysOwner

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It might be because the other cats' scent is strong in that litter, and it bothers him. Probably a form of re-directed aggression. He is annoyed by the scent and lashes out at your other cat in 'retaliation'. Remove that litter and see if it doesn't stop.
 

BoaztheAdventureCat

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Hi everyone,

I need your opinion on 2 options that I have and if you can help me understand your choice.

I have 2 cats that are bonded (brother and sister from same litter) they are 1 year old now. I am leaving on a 25 day international trip and have 2 options

1. My friends offered to come 30min to 1 hour a day to do litter and food. With possibility of 2 days a week being more than 1 hour visit, likely 2-3 hours. I have indoors camera installed and automatic wireless feeder so I can feed extra portions. Will leave plenty of litter box , water and toys around. And they will have access to most rooms except my bedroom

2. A friend offered to take them into his house. The catch is they have 2 male cats also 1 year old. (They used to be litter mates) and at some point as kittens they used to play alot. A month ago we got them back to meet after 2 month absence and they went into hissing and chasing each other for 2 hours with lots of swatting. My friends are willing to try to socialize them together and they have an extra room to separate the cats if need be and it's a big room.

I am torn between the 2 choices on one hand they will have low frequency of human interaction but at comfort of their own home. On other hand my friends are taking a break from work and can look at them and separate if need be ( my friends can't come more often to check in my house because they live far )

Seeking help and I can add more details as needed. I truly care about my cats so any help is appreciated
Hmmm, that's tough. I work as a pet sitter, so I will tell you about a recent experience I had when I was looking after my client's 4 indoor cats (all females) while the family was on a 6-day vacation.

All went well up until about mid-week. One of the cats began peeing on the sofa. Thankfully the matriarch of the family thought ahead and covered the sofas with plastic sheeting. I found pee twice on the plastic-covered sofa and cleaned it up.

I was coming in to feed and water the cats twice a day and I scooped their litter boxes once a day, spending about an hour at the house each time (they had other animals there for me to take care of in addition). Even with all these factors in place and that the trip was only 6 days, the cats did have some issues. Over all it wasn't too bad

Personally, I prefer to take my cat with me whenever I go on a trip, if possible. It is hard to travel with cats for sure, but in an emergency situation where we had to leave the house suddenly (for example, a house fire), I wouldn't want to have to deal with driving a car and hearing in the back seat a cat that was screaming and screaming because he always got his way and never learned that he would still be safe if he had to leave his home.

I realize you're taking an international trip, so it likely wouldn't work too well to take two cats in carriers on an airplane. If you can get your cats practiced at travel for preparation for future events, I would recommend you work on it.

As for my opinion, I don't know. There's potential for issues whether you leave your cats at home or you let your friend take them.

Here's a question to consider: Are your cats okay with being alone in the house for hours at a time? I could not leave my cat home alone and let him have the run of the house. He would render utter destruction, especially to the kitchen. If he's in a cat-proofed room he's okay for several hours, but I know he doesn't like having to be confined to a small area for so long.

If I was in your situation, I'd probably confine my cat to a cat proofed room and/or a roofed outdoor enclosure and have a friend or family member drop by the house twice a day to take care of him and let him roam around the house or outside **supervised**.
 
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Moemah123

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Hmmm, that's tough. I work as a pet sitter, so I will tell you about a recent experience I had when I was looking after my client's 4 indoor cats (all females) while the family was on a 6-day vacation.

All went well up until about mid-week. One of the cats began peeing on the sofa. Thankfully the matriarch of the family thought ahead and covered the sofas with plastic sheeting. I found pee twice on the plastic-covered sofa and cleaned it up.

I was coming in to feed and water the cats twice a day and I scooped their litter boxes once a day, spending about an hour at the house each time (they had other animals there for me to take care of in addition). Even with all these factors in place and that the trip was only 6 days, the cats did have some issues. Over all it wasn't too bad

Personally, I prefer to take my cat with me whenever I go on a trip, if possible. It is hard to travel with cats for sure, but in an emergency situation where we had to leave the house suddenly (for example, a house fire), I wouldn't want to have to deal with driving a car and hearing in the back seat a cat that was screaming and screaming because he always got his way and never learned that he would still be safe if he had to leave his home.

I realize you're taking an international trip, so it likely wouldn't work too well to take two cats in carriers on an airplane. If you can get your cats practiced at travel for preparation for future events, I would recommend you work on it.

As for my opinion, I don't know. There's potential for issues whether you leave your cats at home or you let your friend take them.

Here's a question to consider: Are your cats okay with being alone in the house for hours at a time? I could not leave my cat home alone and let him have the run of the house. He would render utter destruction, especially to the kitchen. If he's in a cat-proofed room he's okay for several hours, but I know he doesn't like having to be confined to a small area for so long.

If I was in your situation, I'd probably confine my cat to a cat proofed room and/or a roofed outdoor enclosure and have a friend or family member drop by the house twice a day to take care of him and let him roam around the house or outside **supervised**.
My cats are mostly well behaved. Only behavior issue I have of them is sometimes they used to poop outside box. They don't jump onto high places and even if they cause destruction I wouldn't mind it. I would try my best to catproof house and they have good space to roam. My only issue is I couldn't get my 3 friends to commit to more than once per day. Hence why I tried to see if there is any hope to socialize them so I can have all data points to decide before travel. My fear is if left alone for hours their temperament changes but also if they stay with my friends they change. There doesn't seem to be a situation where I can win but want to minimize damage for their sake.

It seems votes so far is not to leave them with friends even if they get 1 hour visit a day for a month. Do you agree?
 

Caspers Human

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You know your cats best.
Maybe they'd like a vacation, too. Maybe they would rather it be a stay-cation. ;)

If your trial visits are working out then maybe okay.
But, if it turns out to be more trouble than it's worth, better off staying home.

Ask your cats what they would rather do. ;)
 

BoaztheAdventureCat

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My cats are mostly well behaved. Only behavior issue I have of them is sometimes they used to poop outside box. They don't jump onto high places and even if they cause destruction I wouldn't mind it. I would try my best to catproof house and they have good space to roam. My only issue is I couldn't get my 3 friends to commit to more than once per day. Hence why I tried to see if there is any hope to socialize them so I can have all data points to decide before travel. My fear is if left alone for hours their temperament changes but also if they stay with my friends they change. There doesn't seem to be a situation where I can win but want to minimize damage for their sake.

It seems votes so far is not to leave them with friends even if they get 1 hour visit a day for a month. Do you agree?
Caspers Human Caspers Human makes some good points. As for me, I believe (not that I'm much of a cat expert) cats have short-term memory, so whatever you want them to be good at, you should make them do often.

I currently live with my parents and my cat Boaz does fine with the other humans, but not our other cats. When he and I are living in a new place (which I don't plan to do until I have a family of my own), if I didn't bring him over to my parents' house frequently, I can see him very quickly forgetting that he had it good at my parents' house and instead turn fearful, possibly begin house soiling, and just in general cause my parents a good deal of stress. My parents are busy people and can't watch him all the time and their house is nearly impossible to completely "Boaz proof".

So, I really don't know. I'd likely do as Caspers Human Caspers Human suggests. I think you should bring your cats to your friends' house for trial visits (a few hours to a few days) SEPARATED from your friends' cats and see how your cats do. We may not want our cats to be lonely, but each cat is an individual and knows what they can handle. There are some cats (like mine) who prefer territory and status to company.
 

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Cats are creatures of habits they don’t like change, any change!! Rearranging furniture may lead to case of stress and distress . They don’t like people outside of family unless those people are in the house on a very very regular basis (like every day). Since your friend lives far away they are not going to be comfortable. I travel often and don’t have luxury to drag my cats across the globe and even if I did … their needs come first, that means they are staying in their territory where they feel safe.
I have someone (husband and wife) living near not particularly familiar with my cats take care of them. My cats get 2 visits per day morning and evenings, H morning and W evening. They seldom see cats while in the house. While they clean and feed they talk to them walk around to make sure everything is ok. Every time people come back, food is eaten , all I can hope for! The cats have tv on toys everywhere and plenty of lookout places for entertainment.
Of course I feel bad for leaving them but I have no choice. Upon my return, I hand out crazy amount of treats and pets and kisses to ease my guilt and next day it’s like I never left:)
The cats will always be much happier in their home with minimal amount of care then unfamiliar location (when you adopt a cat It takes sometimes months for a kitty to settle down) and all unwanted attention from someone they don’t want nothing to do with all while missing their own people.
Difficult decision for a first timer but no brainer for me. Leave them home:)
 
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