Going on vacation..what to do...

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Casey Lou

I should be a- model....

Purred: Thu Jul 27, '06 5:46am PST


	This is Casey's dad... my wife and I want to go out of town for four days next month for her mom's birthday. Her mom lives eight hours away. We don't know what to do with our babies. I really don't want to leave them home, even though we have someone trustworthy that could check up on them. Plus, I don't want to leave them home alone for four days. I am really against boarding them too. Cats should be allowed to roam free, not be locked in cages. The only other real option we have is to take them with us. We are staying at my mother in law's house, but she has a dog. The babies would stay at her sister's house, who lives a few blocks away and does not have any pets. How traumatic will it be for the babies if we do this?? I really don't know what to do. I know what an ordeal it was when we took them to get neutered. Any help or advice would be great. Edited by author Thu Jul 27, '06 5:50am PST

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Donny the Astro-Kitty

My heart is- broke.

Purred: Thu Jul 27, '06 9:40am PST


	Hi Casey's dad (hey, we have a tonkinese/siamese, her name is Casey too!), The basic premise (in our experience) is that anytime there is a disruption in their routine, they will be stressed. So the name of the game is: how to minimize stress as much as possible, given that you'll be going on vacation? What worked best for us was to have a trusted friend come in every day, not so much to feed and water the cats (we put out tons of food and water, so they only need be topped up every couple of days) as to play and pay them some attn. We aren't in favour of boarding ourselves. If you have a friend come in to look after the cats, it will be easier (less stressful) on the cats to introduce the friend to them about a week before your vacation, so that the friend can play with the cats and the cats can get used to the friend. Then when you go on vacation, the cats don't feel abandoned or are as stressed since they see your friend coming around and are familiar with your friend. Anyways, this is our method that we found works for us for years. I am sure other kitties will weigh in with their suggestions and good ideas too. Good luck, and have fun on your vacation!

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Hunter

Lazy, Lazy, Lazy

Purred: Thu Jul 27, '06 9:50am PST


	I definitely think that haviong someone come into your house to watch them is a much less stressful situation than driving them for multiple hours and then exposing them to a dog. Donny has great ideas on getting your lkitties adjusted to a new person. Good Luck.

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SheaBudda

Queen of- Apartment 3B

Purred: Fri Jul 28, '06 8:03am PST


	hey shea here, i had the same questions and the good feline owners at catster gave my dad some good advice, just like hunter said... my dad had some come by to play with me and asssit with the litterbox. I dont think i would of like to go to a boarding place and be in a cage nor would i like to travel and be in a strange place.... good luck keep us POSTED

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Roxanne- (kitty- heaven)

Jacques' one and- only

Purred: Fri Jul 28, '06 9:53am PST


	Hey Casey's Dad! Have you thought about a professional petsitter? We love ours. I don't know how traumatic it would be to take the kitties with you, since different cats react differently to this type of thing, but there is another option - you could let them stay home and hire a professional petsitter to take care of them. This is what my Mommy did when they went away for their honeymoon. They went on a cruise, so taking us was not an option. Mommy checked out the boarding facilities and she totally agrees with you that boarding is horrible! I would've hated her if she did that to me. Kitties do seem to prefer their own home. Prior to this trip Mommy would just have a friend take care of us, but at the time of their honeymoon I was having some kidney problems and needed fluid treatment. She knew no one would feel comfortable sticking a needle in me (she had to learn to do it, it takes time). Plus, she hated to ask her friends to do stuff like changing litterboxes, etc. She found a petsitter we absolutely love. I liked her immediately when she came over for the initial consult (normally I was afraid of strangers, but not her) This lady came by, fed us, played with us, cleaned the litterbox, gave me my fluids, took me to the vet when I got sick, even got their mail and checked the lights! Petsitters usually have lots of animal experience. Some have worked at vet's offices. Mine was an animal keeper at Disney's Animal Kingdom. He husband says she's like Dr. Doolittle 'cause she knows how animals feel. You can find one in your area at petsit.com. This is the site for their professional organization, Pet Sitters International. My sitter is a member, although Mommy found her by word-of mouth. Good luck!

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Casey Lou

I should be a- model....

Purred: Wed Sep 27, '06 5:43am PST


	Well we did it. We went on our first road trip over the weekend. Dante and I wondered what was going on with all our suitcases. Then we saw a really really big carrier. Our dad put us in the carrier and off we went!! Dante and I were meowing in stereo for about the first hour, then we said forget this and napped. Then we got to our Auntie's house and she was very nice to us. I got to climb on a BIG glass dining room table and Dante the Bear climbed up on the curio cabinet. He couldn't get down though. Dad tried to get him down, but he just licked his hand. Finally, he got himself down. Going home was pretty much the same as it was coming. We meowed for about an hour then we took a nap. Then we came home and went back in our sink! It was an 8 hr car ride each way and it wasn't that bad. We made it!!