Boarding a Cat?

muenginerd

We are leaving on vacation at the end of the month for 10 days and I'm unsure of what to do with our cat.

Cat is 2 years old, we got her when she was about 5 months.  Since we've had her she has never left the house except to go to the vet twice and those weren't pleasent trips.  For past vacations we've had friends or DH's parents come a couple times a day to check the house make sure she has food and water and everything is good.  Cat hates strangers and will hide for anyone except DH and myself.  When it's just us at home she is very attached and follows us everywhere.  Anyone else around?  Forget it, she's under the bed or in a closet. 

During this vacation we are having our first level floors redone while we are gone, so cat needs to be out of the area for a couple days (our bedroom/her regular spot is in this area).  We toyed with the idea of putting cat in the basement for the first couple of days and then just having friends leave the basement door open after floors are finished.  One of cat's litter boxes is already in the basement so she's use to the area, just not use to being stuck down there. 

What would be better for her?  To board her with the vet and let her freak out for 10 days because she's never been in a kennel area since we adopted her.  Or keep her locked in the basement with everything she needs and regular checks for about 4 days then she can have the run of the house again afterwards.

We've got a dog too, but she'll start with my parents then head to daycare for boarding...Dog could care less, she loves Daycare as much as she does her own house....

rndmr2

If you have people who can come check on her I would leave her in the basement. Even confining her to the basement would be more space than a cage at a kennel. We board our cat but he doesn't have issues as far as we know. If it would be traumatic for your kitty, it would be better to just be at home. 

aggiebug

Have you looked into a non veterinary boarding facility?  Most of the time they are quieter and less stressful than a veterinary clinic, but at the same time she can actually be seen and watched after.  Being locked in the basement with loud noises above is likely to be very stressful and may cause her to change her behaviors such as eating and urinating/ defecating outside the box, but if she is hiding it may be hard to gauge how well she is doing and a stress induced problem may go unnoticed  until you get home.