Is there anyone available who could come to your home and serve as a
petsitter (preferably a professional petsitter or someon with a lot of
experience)?  You could check with your vet or friends for references.  I
would not leave my cats for more than one night without having someone check
on them.  I realize that many people have left pets alone for several days,
but that is *very* risky -- an accident or  emergency can occur at any time,
and it would not be detected in time to take action if no one is checking on
them.  I located a wonderful petsitter for my cats.  Everyone I talked to
who had used her services used the same words to describe her -- "wonderful"
and "fantastic," and that is exactly what she is.  She comes to my house
twice a day, gives fresh food and water to my twosome, scoops the litter
boxes, plays with and grooms the cats, picks up the mail and papers, etc.
In effect, she becomes "another me."  It is much better for the cats to stay
in the safety of their own environment, and it also gives the house a
lived-in look.  You would, of course, only want to use a very trustworthy
person (both for the sake of the cats and for the security of your home).
That is why references are essential.

MaryL

It really depends on the facility. I work in an animal hospital that also
does boarding. The cages aren't cramped, but they are cages.  In our case,
if the cats are friendly we'll try to take them out of the cage and love 'em
up for a bit so they don't get bored or lonely. Bear in mind, that no matter
how wonderful your cat is at home, they can become viscious in a kennel.

Again... it depends on the facility. A good boarding facility or hospital
will have proper ventilation and cleaning and will not have any disease.
However, among shelters and sub-standard conditions, kennel cough can run
rampant. Most reputable kennel will give you a tour and you can see what the
average conditions are.

Unless there was no other option, I would never board my animals, and I
would NEVER leave them alone in the house. If my husband and I both have to
leave, we have a friend come over twice a day to feed and check on the cats,
make sure there's water, scoop litter, etc.

Mar
---------
Vet Tech student

my husband jim and myself with a bit of help from my moum run a kennels and
cattery,the dogs have sleeping quarters,an outer run and are exercised 5
times a day there health permitting,they race to get in here and they are
still happy to see there owners when they are collected,my husband spends
the first hour they are here sitting in there bed with them and making them
cumfortable,they eat whatever there owners request,we give them meds or
teblets or in the case of diabetics insulin,so there are no barrs to coming
here.we also have sheep horses goats chickens a peacock called sinbad and
30 cats of our own.as for the cattery.we designed and had it built ourseves
it cost 30k so no expense was spared.the sleeping quarters are 3ft off the
ground with fully opening doors and integral cat flaps,which we fix in the
open position as not all cats do cat flaps,especially in west wales where
we live.the runs are 9ft long and the sizes vary from 1metre wide for a
single pen 5 ft for a double and we also have an 8ft wide one with 2 doors.
all pens have there own windows.2 in 8ft.the cats have carpeted ramps
leading to there beds.carpeted shelves for recling.the cattery was built so
all the cats can see each other and us they are never alone.apart from when
we are asleep.but then our cats go out to play so the boarders have a home
from home.all things considered they have a lovely holiday which also
allows cats to be cats and dogs to be dogs instead of our children.my
customers are always happy and so are there owners.we have five dogs
aswell.and a parrot,canaries,budgies,cockateils,guinea pigs and lots of
wild birds it nice for the cats and dogs to be occupied most of the time.by
the way we are retired and do this for the welfare of our clients plus
there owners are much more likely to enjoy there holidays knowing there
baby`s are looked after lovingly.well anyone who wants to board a pet must
make sure the establishment is licensed.a good place will always ask you to
visit first,but not make a definate time as i don`t know about you but that
would make me suspicious.if any one wants any advise on socialising,the
elderly,or the nerveous.we are always here to help.linda.pawsawyle.