As I suspected, the OP is only getting responses from people who don't live
in the UK and who don't allow for cultural differences. Some of them clearly
also have absolutely no clue what a cattery entails - no, she isn't cheap.
Catteries *cost*, $40 a day in fact for my three cats.

Petsitting is not that common in the UK. I've never met a petsitter, it's
not a popular profession like it is in the USA, and most British vet nurses
work quite long enough hours (48 hours plus a night shift a week) to be
looking for extra work. Anyway, petsitters aren't always wonderful, there
was a dreadful horror story on the CRF list of the petsitter who forgot to
turn up and left a CRF cat with no food or water for three days (cat needed
IV but did survive; and yes, this petsitter was bonded within an inch of her
life and had references as long as your arm).

To correct one of those myths I frequently hear: British catteries do not
entail the cats living in cages stacked on top of one another! I know that's
the image of catteries in USA, but it certainly isn't here. My cats go to a
cattery with their own little heated house with cosy beds and a run, partly
indoor, partly outdoor. They overlook a duck pond and love watching the
ducks. They are fed whatever food I specify, and a vet is on call at all
times. The cats are groomed daily, and tend to come home in better condition
than when they went in! This is one reason why petsitters aren't that
common, catteries are very popular.

I've been using the cattery I chose for 17 years and they are absolutely
wonderful, they know all my cats very well. Since the OP's cat is quite
young, I think he might adapt quite well; my Tanya was very timid, also
hiding under the duvet whenever the doorbell rang, and first went to the
cattery at the age of 16 months. I was very worried about her, but in fact
she adored it, and much preferred it to somebody coming in to feed her (when
she just hid; so how could the catsitter know she was OK?)

But it is extremely important to find a FAB-approved cattery. We visited
about 10 before we chose one, and this one is not the closest to our home
but we believe it's the best. I'd also suggest perhaps leaving this boy
there (with his sister) just over a weekend to start with to see how he gets
on. Hopefully he'll do as well as Tanya did. Keep us posted.

HTH

Helen

When I had the 2 cats, I found it easier to pay someone to come to the house
when I went away.  Partially because it was cheaper (the price was the same
regardless of how many cats whereas if I boarded them I would pay the per
cat price) and partially because Rocky was happier at home.  At least this
way he was in his own environment.

He would get crazy at the cat hotel, and they were afraid to let him out of
his room.  I should add that the first time I left them there (I was getting
the house painted so leaving them at home wasn't an option), Rocky acted so
crazy they were afraid to have him and Natasha in the same room because they
thought he might hurt her (and they always got along).

Of course, I learned the hard only to use people who had been recommended by
my vet.  The woman who used to come to my house (recommended by vet)
unfortunately moved back to Canada.  Subsequently, I used one service that
had advertised itself at a cat show, which was a mistake.  The woman who
came to my house to get oriented and meet my cat was not the same person who
took care of her.  Also, Natasha (Rocky had died of cancer a few years
before) was on predizone for her lymphoma and the person gave her entirely
too much of it.  Fortunately, there were no disasters as a result but the
medicine was very expensive.