Considering 7 Day Vacation Away From 4 Cats

[Richard2121]

My girlfriend and I have 4 cats (well still technically all kittens). The oldest 2 are approaching 11 months old. The middle one is about 10 months and the youngest is about 4 months old. We are considering taking a vacation to Mexico or Bahamas for about 7 nights. What I want to know is what have others done in this situation? They eat wet food only and leaving out dry food really isn’t a possibility plus I hate the idea of leaving them unsupervised without human interaction that long. So should I think about boarding them at the vet for a while week? They have a decent setup but the space is far more limited than at home. Or do I ask a friend to come by a couple times each day to check on them, clean litter boxes, and feed them? I have NEVER left them for that long and it’s stressing me out just to think about it

 

[Kieka]

I am firmly of the belief that while I love my cats and I do consider them my children (I really do) there are times when I can't and shouldn't put my life on hold for them. I frequently take little weekend trips without them, because they wouldn't enjoy it. Since I live with others who don't go on my quick trips the cats are minimally impacted. When there is a bigger trip that does impact them by me going, I make sure to provide the best situation. But I think it is wrong to deny living and new experiences by staying home only because we don't want to leave our cats. They are adaptable and honestly I have never come back and had to beg for more than a few days for forgiveness. They will forgive you and in the long run it won't impact them. If you are taking off months at a time or every other week that might be different but a few trips a year is fine.

If you have a friend you trust who is willing to come by twice a day (at least) I would go with that option. The back up being that if you have a few friends but each can only commit to swinging by once a day to have them each take a shift, so to say, so your cats get two-three visitors at different times.

I always prefer home care when possible.

When it comes to situations where you *need* to board. I prefer vet boarding even if it isn't as posh as a boarding specialist or someone who does home boarding. My reasoning being that your average cat isn't going to relax enough to enjoy the posh setting in the time they are there. A vet boarding ensures that your cat get medical care should something happen so putting safety over comfort in boarding.

I say all this from the place of taking a weeklong vacation with a home sitter when it was possible. The two times I've boarded, because our house had to be empty, I did the nice posh the first time and they just sat in the corner the entire time. This time, my cats are currently being boarded, they are at their vet for safety.

 

[verna davies]

Having them stay at your vets could be very stressful for them. If your friend is prepared to come over several times a day to feed and play with them that would be a much better option. They would be in familiar surroundings wirh familiar smells. Have your friend come over several times before you go away so they are used to him/her and maybe leave an item of worn clothing or something with his/her smell on for them to get used to. They will feel safe in their own environment.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I personally hate the idea of boarding cats, but that's just me. I would rather they are able to stay in their home. Having their humans gone is stress enough.
Ideally, you could have someone stay at your home while you are gone, but that doesn't appear to be possible? Maybe stay every other night?

I don't know where you live, but you could look into something like care.com that has a section dedicated to cat lovers who like to cat-sit (for a fee of course), and you can actually interview them, have them come over to get to know your cats, and many of them will come multiple times and stay for as long as you like each time. Each one charges their own rate, and you can certainly tell by talking with them which ones are 'in it' for the money vs. those who don't mind getting some extra cash to help a fellow cat lover out.

Next Door Neighbor web site is another option to find someone who is actually in your neighborhood that would be interested in helping out.

 

[She's a witch]

I remember how stressful it was for me to leave my kittens alone for a weekend the first time, but believe me, it gets so much better with every other get away. I would certainly leave them at home and have a friend visiting them. We currently have a neighbor that visits mine twice a day when we are away to feed and play with them and scoop the litter box. One of my cats requires twice daily medication now but before, I had a pet sitter come once a day in the morning. For the evening meal I had a feeder that gave them the air dried ZiwiPeak (they are normally on wet only diet so it was exception but it worked out great). Apart from that we bought a simple 30$ wifi camera to check on them when we want to (to find out that they mostly sleep plus occasionally run around the house). Mine are very social and active kitties so I was stressed but they are doing just fine when left alone. In a new place they would be so much more anxious. Yours have each other, they will be fine.

 

[Totsy]

I just read an article in the Washington Post about an outfit called Trusted Housesitters. You don't pay the pet sitter any cash, but they stay in your home with the pet. It's an interesting read, even if you aren't comfortable with the idea of someone staying in your place. It gave me the itch to petsit, lol.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...petsitting-in-ecuador/?utm_term=.8f10eed292c9

I hope the link works. If not, there is always the Google.

Cheers,

Totsy

 

[kittyluv387]

I've been gone for over 2 weeks at a time. Later this year it will be over 3 when I go to Australia. I prefer to board them. I don't have anyone to depend on and even if I did I wouldn't want to inconvenience them for so long. But the place I go to is for cats only so they know how to take care of cats. There is even a little room for a bit of play time everyday.