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What to do with cats.. going on vacation
When we just had one cat, we would cart him to my mothers for the week. Now that we have 2 it is different. The new cat does not tolerate car rides. It is so bad that he tried chewing his way through the cat carrier and fractured a tooth (this was just on a 4 minute trip to the vet). This new cat is also very skiddish and does not do well around new people.
So, what do you do? Do we leave them home alone for just over a week? They will be together and we will have a neighbor come by to feed them and check the litter box. Or do we traumatize the new cat on a 1.5 hour car ride to my mother's house? She is not even sure that she wants to deal with both cats yet.
In the past, we have left them alone in the house for no longer than 3 days at a time. This will be the first extended trip. Are we crazy to consider leaving them home alone for this long?
Our baby boy,Logan, was born still at 19w3d on 7/1/2011
Our 2nd baby boy, Mason, was born still at 20w3d on 1/31/2012
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Re: What to do with cats.. going on vacation
What I did when we went away last weekend and what I will do for future trips is have someone come by the house and feed Sherlock in the morning and at night and clean out the litterbox. He also loves and craves attention so they hung out with him and watched a movie at the house.
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How long have you had the new cat? How long will you be away?
I'm inclined to think it would be better to leave them at home and have the neighbor check on them. Is the neighbor a cat person, will she know to pay more attention to new kitty, to make sure he is doing okay?
Are you crazy for considering this - absolutely not. When I was a kid, my parents would leave our cat(s) alone for about a week at a time if we went on vacation and someone would come to check on them...however now that I think about it, my parents are a little nuts.
If you have a person who can come check on them, feed/water, give them a little TLC, I would go for it - it would save the stress of traveling and I'm sure the cats would be more comfortable in their own environment.
Another option would be to take kitty #1 to your parents and leave kitty #2 at home with a "sitter", or can kitty #2 stay with someone who lives closer?
Finally, if you decide to take both to your parents, you can possibly get a sedative to stressed out kitty to help make the trip easier. If you want to go this route, I would give a call to the vet to see what to give/how much, etc.
This would be my suggestion. I used to work as a pet-sitter. The company I worked for charged $15 for a half-hour visit, and once a day, I'd go over, feed the kitties, change the litter, and if they weren't hiding from me, play with the kitties for the rest of the visit.
We got him at 11 weeks old and have had him for 1.5 years but he suffers from severe anxiety. He hyperventilates and freaks out just from someone (even us) entering the room.
We will be gone a full 8 days. The neighbor is an animal person in general, but does not have a cat. We asked him to come in once daily to feed, water, and check litter. We also asked if he would mind staying for a couple of minutes to pet them and give some attention. I can't see it being more then a 10-15 minute a day thing.
Our baby boy,Logan, was born still at 19w3d on 7/1/2011
Our 2nd baby boy, Mason, was born still at 20w3d on 1/31/2012
"Every life, no matter how brief, forever changes the world"
*~PGAL/PAL Welcome~*
Cats tend to prefer the safety of familiar surroundings.
I have a kid that needs to be pilled twice a day, on top of other things, and I've considered flying him with us for week long trips to visit family. But I think he'd just be less stressed and more comfortable at home. I'll be hiring a professional pet sitter, but if you just need someone to top off food and water and clean the litter, just ask someone you can trust, like your neighbor. Preferable someone experienced with pets and who you know will remember to lock your house! My parents always used to do this and in the past I've had a friend cat/house sit for me as well.
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I think your plan with your neighbor is fine. This is exactly what we do. Before we had a trusted neighbor we hired a pet sitter and while she would stay for 30 minutes honestly more often than not the cats would hide from her.
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We have a pet sitter come by twice a day. It's $18 per visit for our 3 cats. He feeds them, plays with them, cleans their boxes, and washes cat water fountain as needed. He also cleans and vaccummed before we get home. Notes are left per visit. Did a local google search for him, reviewed him on better business bereau, and checked references. We had a visit with him to meet the cats and review what he would do. The cats love him; we love him.
Also, one cat is terrified of people and takes his meals under the bed when the pet sitter is here but when we get home he greets us at the door very casually and totally relaxed. Much better than when we tried boarding and the cats were super stressed and it took weeks to calm down.
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When we went away at Christmas this year I got a co-worker I trusted to stop by everyday on her way to work. And some evenings she brought her kids over and they played with our cat while she relaxed and watched tv.
She loves it because it gave her time to relax and keep her kids entertained.
And our cat who doesn't normally see children didn't mind it at all.