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Cat Forum / General Topics / July 2005Vacationing/leaving cats at home tips?
Hi all, New poster here, so bare with me. Several months ago (wow, time flies) I adopted two adult cats, an energetic, chatty, you-are-my-pet-human and this is MY place, 2 year old female torti, and a quiet, mild-mannered, can-I-superglue-myself-to-your-lap 6 year old male tuxedo. I try to give them a lot of attention but when I can't/don't, they tend to keep each other busy or do what most cats do most of the time; sleep. They're the best of friends although their play-fights appear to get a little rough at times. Anyways, I will be going out of the country for 2 weeks in August and was wondering how best to approach this with them and looking for some advice. Should I just leave them at home and have a friend check in on them every 3 or 4 days to top up their water bottle and feeder (they last about 4 days before they go dry) and spend some time with them, or take then to a cat kennel? I would rather not have to have the friend clean up the litter, but I guess with two weeks that can't be avoided. Also, there is the definite possibility that I may be going away again a few weeks later for a lot longer, one or two months. Should I still have a friend attend to them or would the cat kennel be better? Will they still recognize me when I come home? ...and if they do, how pissed off should I expect them to be when I get home? How many treats/catnip will it take to get their forgiveness? :-) Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Drew > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Drew Every 3-4 days is unacceptable. What if one of them gets sick and isn't found for 3 days? I suggest a professional cat sitter. And/or cat boarding. Question: did you know you'd be going away for a few months? Will going away be happening again? Myself, I wouldn't rely on friends -- they have lives, too. Cat Sitters, on the other hand, make it their job to care for cats. LT > Anyways, I will be going out of the country for 2 weeks in August and > was wondering how best to approach this with them and looking for some > advice. Get a pet sitter to come in. I use one that worked for my vet for many years, she comes in feeds the cats, gives them some love/attention, cleans the litter, brings in the mail, turns off some lights, turns on other lights, etc. I consider it an insurance policy in case something goes wrong. > Will they still recognize me when I come home? ...and if they do, how > pissed off should I expect them to be when I get home? How many > treats/catnip will it take to get their forgiveness? :-) They will recognize you. How much for forgivenesss? About a ten year supply. Check with each one to find out what they will and won't do. A few years ago I was looking at boarding facilities and one them wanted to know if one of my cats could go the whole week without his medication. He couldn't so I looked elsewhere. > Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly > appreciated. Find a good pet sitter in your area. That's what we do when we travel. A pet sitter not only will take care of your cats, but she will also pick up mail, newspapers, water plants, turn lights on/off, etc.  SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly >> appreciated. > > Find a good pet sitter in your area. That's what we do when we travel. A > pet sitter not only will take care of your cats, but she will also pick > up mail, newspapers, water plants, turn lights on/off, etc. The problem being that the really good ones aren't cheap and can cost almost as much as the trip..! Here in the UK a good sitter can cost £30 or more per day. Over a 2 week trip that's a lot of money. Now I love my cat more than anything in the world but I simply can't afford that kind of money. Ivor > almost as much as the trip..! Here in the UK a good sitter can cost £30 or > more per day. Over a 2 week trip that's a lot of money. 30 pounds is about 55 USD, which is high for one visit. Our sitter charges $15 per visit (8 pounds) to care for 7 cats and 2 fish tanks. She comes in twice a day. SignatureVictor M. Martinez Owned and operated by the Fantastic Seven (TM) Send your spam here: uce@ftc.gov Email me here: pistorLITTER@BOXaustin.rr.com >> almost as much as the trip..! Here in the UK a good sitter can cost >> £30 or more per day. Over a 2 week trip that's a lot of money. > > 30 pounds is about 55 USD, which is high for one visit. Our sitter > charges $15 per visit (8 pounds) to care for 7 cats and 2 fish tanks. > She comes in twice a day. Is your "sitter" an illegal? > > 30 pounds is about 55 USD, which is high for one visit. Our sitter > > charges $15 per visit (8 pounds) to care for 7 cats and 2 fish tanks. > > She comes in twice a day. > > Is your "sitter" an illegal? My cat sitter also charges $15.00 per visit. (Multiple cats.) She is not an illegal alien, I know her because for about the last ten years she worked for my vet. 1chip-state1@earthlink.net IP # 64.203.38.114 OrgAbuseName: ABUSE TEAM OrgAbusePhone: +1-404-815-0770 OrgAbuseEmail: abuse@abuse.earthlink.net > The problem being that the really good ones aren't cheap and can cost > almost as much as the trip..! Here in the UK a good sitter can cost £30 or > more per day. Over a 2 week trip that's a lot of money. > > Now I love my cat more than anything in the world but I simply can't > afford that kind of money. My pet sitter charges $15.00 per visit, $30.00 per day. I consider it a good investment. Call it insurance that someone is watching in case some neighorhood kids decide to throw a wild party in your house, trash the house, and kill your pets. (Before you laugh that off it happened to a local family last year around here. And one of those kids was the son of the local chief of police. They drank for a week straight, completely trashed the house, set the dogs and cats on fire, let the birds go free, etc. I also like this alternative because the cats are in a familiar environment, they get fed, get attention, and if emergency care is needed they can be attended to. > My pet sitter charges $15.00 per visit, $30.00 per day. I consider it > a good investment. Call it insurance that someone is watching in case [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > completely trashed the house, set the dogs and cats on fire, let the > birds go free, etc. > I also like this alternative because the cats are in a familiar > environment, they get fed, get attention, and if emergency care is > needed they can be attended to. Oh I agree entirely, but $30 is approx. £15 to £20 at current rates which is far more reasonable. I simply cannot afford the prices charged here. Ivor > >> Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly > >> appreciated. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > Now I love my cat more than anything in the world but I simply can't > afford that kind of money. Then its a moot point because if you don't have that kind of money to care for your pet when you travel, you probably can't afford to travel unless you can entrust a friend or relative to look in on your cat while you're away. >> >> Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly >> >> appreciated. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > unless you can entrust a friend or relative to look in on your cat while > you're away. But look at it this way, if it costs me (say) £1500 for a 2 week trip that's one thing, but if on top of that it costs an additional £500 for a cat sitter that's a considerable hike and it would push the total cost over what I could afford. I've only had 1 10-day trip in the past 3 years because of this. I'm not really complaining though, after all I still have my Missy :-) Ivor >>> >> Any other tips or advice that you think would help would be greatly >>> >> appreciated. [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Ivor I've got a cat door, my cats do well with that when I'm gone. The neighbor comes over and changes their water daily, I told her I could use the water tower but she pointed out that the last time, there was dust and hair and stuff floating in it, so she does it daily. Helps to have a good neighbor who likes your cats. I'm not usually gone more than 48 to 72 hours though. Stone Some pic's http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/stoneman72/my_photos "Ivor Jones" <ivor@despammed.invalid> wrote... >> Then its a moot point because if you don't have that kind of money to >> care for your pet when you travel, you probably can't afford to travel [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > I've only had 1 10-day trip in the past 3 years because of this. I'm not really complaining though, after all I still > have my Missy :-) Surely you must have some neighbor who can do it. My family had a neighbor's teenage daughter come over every day to feed kitty and check the litterbox etc., it probably cost us US$50 for a week or two. > Hi all, > [quoted text clipped - 21 lines] > Should I still have a friend attend to them or would the cat kennel be > better? A cat kennel would be very expensive for an extended stay. If I were you, I would either arrange for someone to check in on the cats every three days to change their litter, water, and food, or I wouldn't go away, even for two weeks, least of all for one or two months. Four days or morer of not changing litter for two cats is too long in my opinion. Owning a cat requires a personal commitment for the lifetime of the cat. For two cats, you've doubled your commitment, so now you have to deal with it and your responsibility for your cats does not diminish one iota if you must travel. For a two week trip, you're going to end up paying at least $250 to leave your two cats in a kennel and have them well cared for. The typical kennel in my area, at least, charges $12 per day per animal. That runs up very quickly, especially for two cats. Finding someone to look in on your cats at your home will be much cheaper then housing them in a kennel, plus your cats will be more comfortable at home. Believe me, I know what I am talking about. I have owned cats for as long as I can remember. I also travel fairly frequently. I had no problem going away for a week without having someone come into check on my one cat when she was young. Now that she's older, my cat gets to stay at my vet's kennel for any trip I make of one night or longer. This is because my cat needs to be fed medicine twice a day. I have 3 cats and I have someone come daily to check food, water and empty litter and play with them, but one of my cats needs daily medication. When I had 2 cats and 2 litter boxes, I asked a friend to check in on them every other day to check food, water and empty litter. Leave a note with your contact info and the name and address of their vet in case anything happens. Don't forget to compensate them with either with money or a nice gift when you return. >> Hi all, >> [quoted text clipped - 46 lines] > at my vet's kennel for any trip I make of one night or longer. This is > because my cat needs to be fed medicine twice a day. |
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