Question about travel & home care

[VoidIndigo]

This may not be the right forum, I'm not sure, so please forgive me if it's not...

I've recently been through a lot with my cat, he went through a urinary blockage that was very stressful for both of us, lots of late night trips and watching & waiting... and no answers. The vets have no idea why it happened, the only answer they gave was "probably stress related".

Now I've got a vacation planned coming up in a couple weeks, and I'm to be gone almost 10 days. I live alone, and I had planned to have family stop over once or twice a day to feed & play with him. And now I'm worried that being alone so much may cause him stress and since we don't know what caused the problem in the first place... I have no idea what may happen in the 10 days I'm gone.

One vet recommended that I put him on a low-dose gabapentin for stress / anxiety. I was trying to keep him off meds (he just finished a course of this for pain management during recovery) but maybe that's one option? I have heard there are places that will have a caretaker come to your house and feed / play with him here in his space... something about an app you can get where people register locally to do that. I don't know anything about that though, and I don't know how I feel about someone in my house for 10 days.

Does anyone have experience with this kind of thing?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. I really can't offer anything other than the web site you could try regarding pet care - care.com - go to the pet care section. I didn't end up using anyone, but even had one person come to my house for an interview and pet meeting. You can peruse the care takers, ask questions, get references, have them come to your home for a meet-n-greet and interview. It's worth looking at, just to see what you think. You could also try your Next Door Neighbor web site.

 

[klunick]

I have never heard of a urinary blockage being caused by stress. Normally it's crystals that form in the urethra. That is mainly due to diet and can easily be fixed. I have heard of the app that you are talking about but never used it. Like you, I'd be weary of strangers coming to my house while I was not there. I am sure your cat will be fine with family stopping by as long as they aren't strangers to him.

 

[VoidIndigo]

Hi. I really can't offer anything other than the web site you could try regarding pet care - care.com - go to the pet care section. I didn't end up using anyone, but even had one person come to my house for an interview and pet meeting. You can peruse the care takers, ask questions, get references, have them come to your home for a meet-n-greet and interview. It's worth looking at, just to see what you think. You could also try your Next Door Neighbor web site.

Thanks, anything to look at helps! I was actually thinking this through and I may be able to get my family to come part of the time, so I can mix it up a little, get him more interaction, and have them double-check the house for me at the same time.

 

[VoidIndigo]

I have never heard of a urinary blockage being caused by stress. Normally it's crystals that form in the urethra. That is mainly due to diet and can easily be fixed. I have heard of the app that you are talking about but never used it. Like you, I'd be weary of strangers coming to my house while I was not there. I am sure your cat will be fine with family stopping by as long as they aren't strangers to him.

I had one vet say the same thing, that in 30 years she had never heard of stress causing that... it's all really confusing. Thanks for the advice, he's met them a couple times, but I was thinking a few visits in the nest couple weeks could be arranged

 

[FeebysOwner]

Stress can cause urinary issues - take a look at these articles.
Does Your Stressed Cat Really Have a Dangerous Urinary Issue?
Urinary Obstruction in Cats | Cat-World

 

[Kieka]

I'd personally board him with the vet while you are gone. I have two cats who are a little more prone to health issues. Leaving them home and having someone come by ends up being an endless stressful experience for me because I worry about whomever missing something. I also don't want to put a friend or family member in the position of feeling (or even actually being) responsible if something goes wrong while I am gone. My vet knows of my cats health history and know what to watch for. I remind them of the major things when I check in just to be safe.

In your case, you can remind them to pay close attention to litter box habits and they know what warning signs are. My vet, and all ones I've been to before, have the vet techs check in on boarding cats throughout the day. So they do know what to check for in general but I like them making a little note for the kennel door as a reminder of caution areas. Its not as comfortable as home and it isnt a pet hotel but it is a whole lot safer in my opinion. I bought a cheap cat cave bed for them to have in the kennel to hide in the first time (some cats will negatively associate the bed and won't use it after boarding so something that you let them see before but aren't attached to if they hate it after).

 

[VoidIndigo]

I'd personally board him with the vet while you are gone. I have two cats who are a little more prone to health issues. Leaving them home and having someone come by ends up being an endless stressful experience for me because I worry about whomever missing something. I also don't want to put a friend or family member in the position of feeling (or even actually being) responsible if something goes wrong while I am gone. My vet knows of my cats health history and know what to watch for. I remind them of the major things when I check in just to be safe.

I've thought about boarding, that's not a bad option. But Milo is new to me, only a couple months, so I don't have a regular vet that knows him. In fact because of the nature of what's been happening, the people that have seen him the most are the ER vets, and that's not an option... I suppose any vet should be trust-worthy ... but if Milo doesn't know them, then any vet is also going to be a stresser for him.

In your case, you can remind them to pay close attention to litter box habits and they know what warning signs are. My vet, and all ones I've been to before, have the vet techs check in on boarding cats throughout the day. So they do know what to check for in general but I like them making a little note for the kennel door as a reminder of caution areas. Its not as comfortable as home and it isnt a pet hotel but it is a whole lot safer in my opinion. I bought a cheap cat cave bed for them to have in the kennel to hide in the first time (some cats will negatively associate the bed and won't use it after boarding so something that you let them see before but aren't attached to if they hate it after).

Yea he doesn't actually like small spaces... the only time he goes into a small space is when he thinks he's done something wrong or when he is in pain, then he hides under the bed. Aside from that, he ignores the little cave on the pet-tree and the carrier that I leave out, and stays in open areas on the floor or on his window-shelf or on the bed. That's another "stresser" I'm worried about... I don't know how vets / boarding works, but I'm imagining something like cages / kennels for most of the day and visitation at some point(s). Which is so not him... and I don't want to add stresses if I can avoid it, hence the "home visits".

Complex, I know... thank you for the suggestions!

 

[VoidIndigo]

Stress can cause urinary issues - take a look at these articles.
Does Your Stressed Cat Really Have a Dangerous Urinary Issue?
Urinary Obstruction in Cats | Cat-World

Thanks for these, I just finished reading... I had been told a lot of this and it really amounts to a very scary "We have no idea what causes enough stress to cause a urinary blockage". I was told having new cats in the house could cause it, and being alone in the house could cause it. I was told having new people around could cause it, and also being bored too much could cause it. I was told animals outside could cause it, and indoor cats that are cooped up too much can cause it. I was told not playing enough can cause it, and of course constantly annoying your cat can cause stress. Then they told me to take him home and try not to cause stress... and as soon as he felt better he went back to what he was doing, which is basically lounging around, eating, playing occasionally, and being an amazingly easy going cat. I called the vet tech to ask about that... and they said "well, you know that friend you have that goes out with people, but would really like to stay home and watch Netflix? yea... he could be completely internalizing his stress" ...

Literally, they told me it could be anything, or nothing at all, and it could be visible or completely invisible.

So I'm hoping it's not stress.... because what then?

Seriously though, thank you for the links