I am going out of town for 2 days next month and I cannot take my 5 month old kitten with me. I have 2 options. I can either leave him with my sister in law, but he doesn't know her well and has never been to her house, so I am not sure if he'll be okay in strange surroundings, but at least he'll have company. The other thing would be to leave him at home, and my neighbor would come by 2 times per day to feed him, but he would be alone, but at least he'd be at home. I am really confused. The best option would be if I could take him or if I had someone staying at my place, but neither of those is possible. Any advise on what you guys think would be great. Thanks!!!!!

I vote have the neighbor come over. Moving him to a new place would likely be much more stressful to him than having a stranger come in every once in a while. I have two five-mo-olds who are by themselves while I'm at work (sometimes 10+ hours at a time) and they do fine...I've also left them alone with no one to check on them for 24 hours and again no problems, just need to leave enough food and water out and of course clean litter. (If I left for more than 24 hours I'd definitely have someone come in to check on them.)

The neighbor. It is less stressful for him to be in his own environment.

For 2 days? Leave him at home with regular checks, as long as you can totally trust your neighbour. Would she play with him a bit too? If you were going away for longer you might to think differently but I htink that this time it is best for him to have familiar surroundings. Maybe you can get him gradually used to going to your SIL' place, with you there and then you can leave him there another time. I did that with Cinders, my UK cat, who has now been living with my mother for three years, since I came back here.

Thank you. I just wasn't sure what was best. I will definetly have my friend stop by a couple times per day to check on him. I just wish I could take the little guy with me. Thanks for your advise, it helped!

Thank you. I just wasn't sure what was best. I will definetly have my friend stop by a couple times per day to check on him. I just wish I could take the little guy with me. Thanks for your advise, it helped!
He should be fine if your freind is trustworthy.
:)

If your neighbor is trustworthy...I would choose that option.
Your neighbor needs to know how to reach you in case of an emergency.
Leave a signed note with the name, phone # & address of your vet.
I always call my vet & let them know who will be caring for my cat & that permission for treatment has been granted & I let them know that I will be responsible for any bills.
Leave clear written instructions about food, water, litter, etc and have a back-up plan in case the primary caretaker can't do it or must leave...such as your vet or a kennel.
This may seem like over planning but better safe than sorry. :bigthumb:
Good Luck
Lei

I just took care of my neighbor's kitten while he was away for the weekend, he was fine.

Definately introduce the two of them awhile before your trip.
Have him/her play with your kitten a bit and feed him too while you are there.
If it has only been you - it may be weird for him to have a "stranger" messing with his owner's jobs and his food.

I'd go with the neighbor too. I recently went to Michigan for a week and had a co worker come in and care for my cats every day. It was so much less stressful for them to be in their own environment. She'd come in and feed them and then hang out and play with them or just sit with them for an hour sometimes two. Peaches was still a little pissed at me for a couple days but she quickly got over it. The others, it didn't even seem to phase them!