Hi everyone,
I've had my cat Henrietta for almost a year. The TL;DR here is that I'm going away for 2-3 weeks at the end of the summer and I'm super nervous about it. I'm getting a trusted friend to stay with her at my house the whole time, with instructions to keep up her usual routines, but it will still be a challenge for her. Mostly just want to know how you cope with leaving your baby for long periods of time (tips to make it easier for both of us
). Right now I feel like I can never do any long trips again because it will be too stressful for her. With any luck we will be in each others lives for 10+ more years, so this makes me really sad. And beyond that, sometimes I don't have a choice (like this trip).
She is my whole world, and I work from home and have been neglecting my social life haha so we spend all day every day together. She was EXTREMELY anxious and skittish when I got her. The foster agency I got her from said she had been born outside and spent her whole life on the street (which I find surprising as they estimate she is between 4-5 years old and I know they're unlikely to take to humans at that point...). She went through a year of socialization in another foster home before I got her, but she was set wayy back when she was attacked and badly injured by their new pet dog and had to be moved :'( Then she was bumped around different foster homes all summer until I finally got her. All that is to say, I worry about disrupting her routines and making her stressed and anxious again, or making her feel like I abandoned her, as we've become extremely close. I've tried to get her more used to me going out for longer periods of time (up to 5 hours so far) but I can tell she's sad whenever I leave the house. She waits for me by the door. She's getting better around new people but is still very timid around them.
She is very needy with play and also very finnicky with it (sometimes I have to try multiple toys before I find one she actually wants to play with even though she's giving me love nibbles telling me she wants to play). I worry that even the best pet sitter might not be able to give her her normal play routine of ~1 hour per day if she's being shy around them. The vet has also diagnosed her with FIC and basically said "limit all stressors", and I know the person she's used to being around 24/7 being gone will be a big one.
Everyone tells me I'm overthinking it but I know this is the only place I can find people who understand that my cat isn't just my pet but is like a daughter to me. Any advice or reassurance is much appreciated
I've had my cat Henrietta for almost a year. The TL;DR here is that I'm going away for 2-3 weeks at the end of the summer and I'm super nervous about it. I'm getting a trusted friend to stay with her at my house the whole time, with instructions to keep up her usual routines, but it will still be a challenge for her. Mostly just want to know how you cope with leaving your baby for long periods of time (tips to make it easier for both of us
). Right now I feel like I can never do any long trips again because it will be too stressful for her. With any luck we will be in each others lives for 10+ more years, so this makes me really sad. And beyond that, sometimes I don't have a choice (like this trip).She is my whole world, and I work from home and have been neglecting my social life haha so we spend all day every day together. She was EXTREMELY anxious and skittish when I got her. The foster agency I got her from said she had been born outside and spent her whole life on the street (which I find surprising as they estimate she is between 4-5 years old and I know they're unlikely to take to humans at that point...). She went through a year of socialization in another foster home before I got her, but she was set wayy back when she was attacked and badly injured by their new pet dog and had to be moved :'( Then she was bumped around different foster homes all summer until I finally got her. All that is to say, I worry about disrupting her routines and making her stressed and anxious again, or making her feel like I abandoned her, as we've become extremely close. I've tried to get her more used to me going out for longer periods of time (up to 5 hours so far) but I can tell she's sad whenever I leave the house. She waits for me by the door. She's getting better around new people but is still very timid around them.
She is very needy with play and also very finnicky with it (sometimes I have to try multiple toys before I find one she actually wants to play with even though she's giving me love nibbles telling me she wants to play). I worry that even the best pet sitter might not be able to give her her normal play routine of ~1 hour per day if she's being shy around them. The vet has also diagnosed her with FIC and basically said "limit all stressors", and I know the person she's used to being around 24/7 being gone will be a big one.
Everyone tells me I'm overthinking it but I know this is the only place I can find people who understand that my cat isn't just my pet but is like a daughter to me. Any advice or reassurance is much appreciated
)Also leaving payment information if the vet allows.
