How to worry less about leaving cats home?

This forum is dedicated to places that people and cats can enjoy together. If you want to travel, sight-see, or just go around town with your cat, then you've come to the right place! Don't forget to plan a visit to Catster's Pet-Friendly Travel Area! Book travel and support Catster.

(Page 1 of 2: Viewing entries 1 to 10)
Page Links: 1 2

QGM- Harlequin- (Striped- Seven)

I am a show- champion!

Purred: Tue May 24, '11 10:55am PST


	Any tips or things I could do that might help ease my mind on this? I am going to be leaving my cats home this summer for a week while I go on a trip. Of course, I've done this before but in the past when I left them I always had a family member who would stay with them, usually my brother or parent(s), or in the past I've had my sister come daily to care for my pets when I was away. This time we're going on a family trip so my parents and my sister(and her husband) are also going, and my brother is currently in New England so none of them can watch the cats for me. So I am very worried about leaving them alone. I will be using a pet sitter. She has already taken care of my cats once, but that was only to give them medication when I went on a trip last winter, my parents watched the cats but they were not adept at medicating so I found a pet-sitter who could come just to give them the medicine. I also do some pet-sitting myself so I ended up watching her cats recently when she went out of town. So she already has met my cats which is good, but that time I also had someone staying with the cats, while this time no one will be there most of the time so I am worried...

[notify]

Pete- Fountain

So happy to have- a safe and- loving home!

Purred: Wed May 25, '11 9:02am PST


	When do you leave on your trip? Just a suggestion, have the pet sitter come over during the day while you are at work, then you can see the cats when you come home, to judge how they feel. She should come over every day - cats can tip over a water or food bowl, know over something, so they do need a daily visit. We all understand your concern over your furbabies, and when you go on the trip, just be sure your pet sitter has your cell phone, so she can give you daily updates. The New Orleans Kitties

[notify]

Orange - Ruffy

The Baboo Kitty- has Spoken!

Purred: Wed May 25, '11 12:24pm PST


	We're having some issues with this ourselves. Last year we had our petsitter, who we've had come before come and look after them for the week. When we came home we weren't very pleased. The cats were ok. The apartment was terrible. The boxes had been used alot, and one of our cats had peed in our kitchen closet, which we always keep closed. Well, someone had left it open and we suspect Ruffy peed in there. At that time there was just 3 cats. This time there are 5. So we're really wondering if we are able to go away, what to do. I understand your concern, believe me. We're actually considering asking one of our vet techs to be a 'back up' for our cats, as our one cat is on medication and needs it 2x a day.

[notify]

Coopurr

I still suck my- thumb...

Purred: Wed May 25, '11 12:27pm PST


	I just went throgh this a couple of weeks ago, and I'm a total worry-wort with leaving Coop, too. My landlady usually watches him for me, and she knows that I'm a complete basket case when it comes to leaving Coop. What I do before I go is I leave every possible phone number she might need -- my hotel, the vet...even the number of a friend of mine who has cats and could handle anything in case of a dire emergency. We also work out designated days/times when she can call me while I'm away. It's just for my own peace of mind, but it's good just to check in and make sure that he's OK. I also have her come down the night before I leave and really spend some time with him, so that he's a little more comfortable. I'm lucky because she's very good with animals, and she'll literally get down on the floor and play with him while I'm gone. And...I also leave her detailed instructions on his food, litter, supplements, etc. I hope this is helpful. It's a lot of work, but you'll feel better when you're away if you cover all bases. And like I said -- ask her to call you on certain days/times. I was in Paris, and just hearing that my baby was OK made the trip even better. Good luck! Purrs, Coop's Mom

[notify]

QGM- Harlequin- (Striped- Seven)

I am a show- champion!

Purred: Thu May 26, '11 3:30pm PST


	Thanks guys! Those are good ideas. The trip is in the beginning of July. I am definitely having her come at least once a day because my cats need meds. I'm debating if I should have her come twice a day instead since Sneakers is used to getting canned food several times a day (in addition to the dry food). I am mostly worried about the fact that the cats will be alone most of the time, because I've never left them without having someone staying at the house with them. I'm not really worried about how the sitter will be with them since she did come before to give them meds when I was out of town and my parents were watching the cats. They liked her a lot. She also cleaned the litterboxes for them and she kept them very clean.v She's also a vet tech so that eases my mind a little. She will definitely have my cell number, and I'll give her my sister's number too since she's going on the trip with us (and my vet's of course). Last time she mostly sent me updates on how the cats were doing by emailing me which is fine as I think the cottage has wifi. Having someone else who is nearby is a good idea, I have a friend who lives a few blocks away who I petsit for so I think I'll ask her if it's ok if I give the petsitter her number just in case.

[notify]

Coopurr

I still suck my- thumb...

Purred: Fri May 27, '11 7:20pm PST


	That's all wonderful to hear! I really do hope you're feeling better about this. With Coop, I know he's in very good hands, but you still worry. And that's just human nature. Like I said, we're so very lucky that our landlady loves animals -- and she lives one flight up from us. So she does come in twice a day. And DO leave your friend's number. Again, I just like to cover all bases. But I know that she understands how I am with Coop, and she knows so much about cats that she'd do exactly what I would want in case of an emergency. Happy Trails! Coop's Mom

[notify]

QGM- Harlequin- (Striped- Seven)

I am a show- champion!

Purred: Fri May 27, '11 7:40pm PST


	Thanks Coopurr! It does help a little but I am still worrying some... Another good thing is, I know that she is a good "cat mom" to her cats too, and she also has a cat with similar health problems to Mr Grey so she is knowledgeable about the types of issues he has so that makes me feel a little better.

[notify]

Coopurr

I still suck my- thumb...

Purred: Sat May 28, '11 2:43pm PST


	And it's just natural to worry. Honestly, I thought about him the entire time I was away. But I really did feel better when my landlady called and told me, "He's out, he's eating normally, he's letting me play with him and he's letting me give him belly rubs!" When I got home, she actually told me that she spent extra time here with him because SHE was having so much fun with him! And I didn't mind that a bit! You're just being a good mom -- and it's totally OK to feel uneasy. Cover all bases, though, and it'll ease the worries a little. Purrrrrrrrrrs, Coop's Mom

[notify]

Olivia,- Tanner, &- Finn

The Dyna Cats!

Purred: Sun May 29, '11 8:16am PST


	I don't really know the answer to this question, because I think the reality is, with as much as we love our cats, the idea of leaving them with anyone but ourselves, no matter how capable or competent those people might be, is always going to generate at least a passing anxiety. For myself, I count finding my wonderful pet sitter almost unequivocally the best thing to have happened to me, not ever certainly, but certainly within the last few years. Silly, perhaps, but the peace of mind having her to call on has given me is almost indescribable. I have two dogs also, and while I often take the dogs with me when I travel, there came a time, shortly after I'd adopted Phoebe in 2008, when I was invited away for a four day weekend and couldn't take them, so needed to find a sitter and none of the people I'd relied upon in the past could do it on such short notice. That is when I found my pet sitter, and my life has been so much easier ever since. If I am leaving the dogs also, I arrange for round the clock care - the service owner or one of her staff will sleep at the house, and except for a maximum period of one hour, someone will be there the entire time. If I'm just leaving the cats, I have them come twice a day, for the simple reason that Tanner gets pretty anxious around strangers, and he's more comfortable when someone just comes in to feed twice a day. Sometimes, too, if I'm just going for a short weekend and won't be too far away, I'll have a friend's teenage daughter come twice a day to feed the cats (assuming that I have the dogs with me). This was the planned scenario a couple of weeks ago and then Finn, as could be expected, he being the calamity kid that he is, ended up needing to be on meds for an eye infection, and I couldn't get my regular sitter to come, and was uncomfortable that my friend's daughter could handle the dispensing of the medication. So my vet's office kindly boarded him in the ISO unit for me, so that he didn't have to be vaccinated as he usually would have to be when boarding. In this case, it was, I felt, the best course of action in that situation. However, I'll be honest - no matter how confident I am in my sitters, there is always a little twinge of anxiety that I feel when I leave my babies.