Going on staycation with cat

katycat1190

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
46
Purraise
65
Hi all. After spending months at home, both me and Katy (cat) are going a bit stir crazy. So we have a short staycation booked for next week! The place is a studio apartment in a nice condo with an amazing view, it is pet friendly, and only 30 minutes away!

Needless to say, I am super excited! Katy travels well, and usually she travels to my mum's place every 2 months or so, which is 1.5 hours away. So she is used to some movement, and I can see that she is getting a bit antsy in our own condo these days. She generally has no problems changing locations and adjusts to new places quite well. For example when we moved houses last year, she insisted on exploring the entire place immediately and settled right in quickly.

She is also leash trained and is generally quite attached to me. I know I can leave her and go on staycation myself, but I much rather not. She is much happier with me (and I am with her), and I think, for her, the stress of being in a new place will be much less than the stress of me being gone for 3 days. Plus she doesn't like other people though, other than me. So a cat sitter in the house will be a definite source of stress for her.

That said. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Or just any stories to share if you have gone on staycation with your furbaby?

Thank you :)
 

Maurey

Maine Coon Madness
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
1,592
Purraise
1,822
I visit my family‘s home in the suburbs every once in a while with Jum (will take both of them for the first time this weekend over the May/Orthodox Easter holidays). She took a couple days to explore everywhere, but settled in quite quickly thanks to familiar smells from home (litter box, bed, carrier), play, and a touch of feliway. She didn’t eat properly for the first couple days the first time we came over for a month over quarantine, but now she’s perfectly happy to go there for a weekend. I think she enjoys having easy on-leash access to the garden, plus the loft bedroom (we stay alone in whats basically a small loft on the property/garden of the main house, as the entire family will visit over the summer), and I’ve never had issues taking her with since.

just make sure you have a few things of hers with you, and enough scratching surfaces to make her comfortable (and not scratching the furniture haha). Something like feliway, beaphar calming spray, or pet remedy may be a good aide, but it does vary from cat to cat.
 

game misconduct

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
May 1, 2020
Messages
5,383
Purraise
19,309
Location
westcovina california
Hi all. After spending months at home, both me and Katy (cat) are going a bit stir crazy. So we have a short staycation booked for next week! The place is a studio apartment in a nice condo with an amazing view, it is pet friendly, and only 30 minutes away!

Needless to say, I am super excited! Katy travels well, and usually she travels to my mum's place every 2 months or so, which is 1.5 hours away. So she is used to some movement, and I can see that she is getting a bit antsy in our own condo these days. She generally has no problems changing locations and adjusts to new places quite well. For example when we moved houses last year, she insisted on exploring the entire place immediately and settled right in quickly.

She is also leash trained and is generally quite attached to me. I know I can leave her and go on staycation myself, but I much rather not. She is much happier with me (and I am with her), and I think, for her, the stress of being in a new place will be much less than the stress of me being gone for 3 days. Plus she doesn't like other people though, other than me. So a cat sitter in the house will be a definite source of stress for her.

That said. Does anyone have any tips or advice? Or just any stories to share if you have gone on staycation with your furbaby?

Thank you :)
i just got back from a 3 day casino trip with the gf. we boarded graycie at her regular pet motel they send daily updates and pics of her. she was angry for the first day then settled in easily she missed us(memore than the gf) :lol:but i probably stressed most between the 3 of us .soon as we got her home she just went around tail up scent marking. all her stuff even dug in her litter box first before doing her lil paw print thing all around the apartment walls after clawing up her trees and scratching posts with a vengeance. i actually wouldnt mind taking her on a trip with us. if i could be positive the place was cat proof
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

katycat1190

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
46
Purraise
65
I visit my family‘s home in the suburbs every once in a while with Jum (will take both of them for the first time this weekend over the May/Orthodox Easter holidays). She took a couple days to explore everywhere, but settled in quite quickly thanks to familiar smells from home (litter box, bed, carrier), play, and a touch of feliway. She didn’t eat properly for the first couple days the first time we came over for a month over quarantine, but now she’s perfectly happy to go there for a weekend. I think she enjoys having easy on-leash access to the garden, plus the loft bedroom (we stay alone in whats basically a small loft on the property/garden of the main house, as the entire family will visit over the summer), and I’ve never had issues taking her with since.

just make sure you have a few things of hers with you, and enough scratching surfaces to make her comfortable (and not scratching the furniture haha). Something like feliway, beaphar calming spray, or pet remedy may be a good aide, but it does vary from cat to cat.
thank you! I will be sure to take her things along!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

katycat1190

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
46
Purraise
65
i just got back from a 3 day casino trip with the gf. we boarded graycie at her regular pet motel they send daily updates and pics of her. she was angry for the first day then settled in easily she missed us(memore than the gf) :lol:but i probably stressed most between the 3 of us .soon as we got her home she just went around tail up scent marking. all her stuff even dug in her litter box first before doing her lil paw print thing all around the apartment walls after clawing up her trees and scratching posts with a vengeance. i actually wouldnt mind taking her on a trip with us. if i could be positive the place was cat proof
thank you! unfortunately boarding is not an option for us. This place looks to be catproof but lets see. I will update the thread later with pictures if it goes well!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #6

katycat1190

TCS Member
Thread starter
Young Cat
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
46
Purraise
65
Hi all, just thought of posting a quick update. Our airbnb staycation is now over and... it went well!

The place turned out to be cat proof enough for Katy - windows closed properly etc. I took Maurey's advice and brought along a ton of her stuff - litter box, used clean litter, her catbed, a toy, cardboard scratcher, her usual plate. I'm glad I did because she seemed to really appreciate having her stuff, especially the cat bed - it was the only spot she felt comfy falling asleep on.

The only trouble we had were the nights, particularly the first night. She was on edge, being in a new place, and would wake me up at the slightest sound. The second night was much better, but still she woke me up a couple of times. When I was awake and about, she was fine. But when I tried to sleep, she would get anxious at sounds in the corridor. Plus, the room next door had some people who kept strange hours, doors slamming in the middle of the night etc, so that made things worse.

Another issue was that she also seemed a bit bored. I improvised and made her a cat tent (blanket draped over coffee table), cat tunnel (towels draped over pillows). Turned the disposable hotel slipper into a cat toy. In retrospect I should have brought more of her toys.

Other than that, all good. She ate well, used her litter box fine, napped most of the time, meowed a fair bit ("where am I?!?!" but that's to be expected), and generally was okay.

Did she enjoy it? Probably not, but she Tolerated it. Personally I had a nice and restful holiday, and having my cat around was such a comfort on top of a nice restful break.

20210503_155147.jpg 20210503_193138.jpg 20210503_161027.jpg 20210503_191615.jpg 20210505_083351.jpg 20210504_190250.jpg
 
Last edited:

Maurey

Maine Coon Madness
Top Cat
Joined
Jan 21, 2021
Messages
1,592
Purraise
1,822
Having toys around definitely helps — you can run the nervous energy off with your cat and help them feel more confident in the new space. Happy to hear you had a good staycation :>
 
Top