Two trips--what to do with my kitty?

lisakap

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I am going on two trips in the next month or so. I want to be sure I make the best choice about who will care for my 5 month old very social kitten, Skylar, while I'm away.

Trip 1:
Going to Baltimore Fri am- Sun am

Options
a. Stock her up on food and water
b. Take her to my parent's house for the weekend (they have five other cats though; Skylar met their cats once before and this was stressful for her... though they were all nice to her)
c. Hire a pet sitter to stop in on Saturday to feed her and clean litter box
d. Ask a friend to stop in on Saturday to feed her and clean litter box

Trip 2
Going up north for one week with family
a. Have a friend stop by each day to feed her and clean litter box
b. Hire a pet sitter to "
c. Ask if she can stay with a friend for the week (though I'm not sure I have a friend that will be okay with this... Skylar usually gets into trouble
).

Which option do you think I should choose for each trip and why? Thank you for your help!
 

zoeysmom

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For both trips, the friend options seem sufficient and cheaper, as long as you have a friend you trust enough to come over. Perhaps you could have the friend pop in a few times before your trips to get Skylar more comfortable to him/her. I would think keeping her in her own environment would be less stressful than carting her off to stay somewhere unfamiliar! For the week-long trip, do you have a friend who might be willing to stay at your place for the week? That's probably even better than having someone just stop in daily...although I'm sure she would be fine like that too! Do you have a friend who would be willing to play with her a bit while they're there?

I'm working my way up in terms of leaving the kittens alone...more for my sake than theirs! This weekend we're leaving early Saturday morning and coming back Sunday evening. A couple weekends later we'll go camping...leave Friday afternoon and come back Sunday. For both trips, I'm just going to have my parents stop by and check on them. They could probably get by on their own for that long, but I'm much more comfortable having someone come by and check on them.

I'm going to make sure my parents have all the information for the vet and the emergency vet, as well as my permission (or rather insistance) to go if there appears to be anything wrong with either kitten.
I highly doubt it will be necessary, but I'd rather be safe than sorry!
 

meow meow

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I see you are in Novi, MI -- my friend in Livonia takes her kitties to Backdoor Friends (Grand River and Drake) in Farm Hills for boarding when she goes out of town. It is a "kitty hotel" -- I have been there once but have not used their services yet. My friend swears by the place. I would think a five month old is pretty adaptable and would not be too traumatized. It has many kitty "condos" and social room and is run by people who love cats!

Anyhow, it is not cheap (I think like $17/day) but a good option to have.

My concern with leaving a baby home alone for week would be he or she could really get into something plus get extremely lonely at that age.
 

sakura

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For Trip 1 (the weekend trip), leave your cat home where it is comfortable and everything is familiar. Leave plenty of food and water. Make sure the water can't be tipped over, and that there are multiple bowls of it available. Put extra litter in the litter box. This is the least stressful option for the cat. Taking your cat to a house with other cats would be very stressful for both your cat and your parents' cats. You could have a friend come over or a pet sitter come over once to clean the litter box, but you probably won't need it since you just have 1 cat. I'm a huge advocate of cleaning the litter box everyday but in a situation like this, it's fine to skip a day.

For Trip 2, have a friend or pet sitter stop by to feed the cat and change litter. Again, it's the least stressful option for the cat. Cats do not do well with change and like to be in a place that is familiar. I don't really have a preference as to a friend or a pet sitter, but the friend would probably be cheaper
 

danits_24

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Hey,
In my opinion, when you go to your first trip, I know I would feel relaxed leaving my cat in my parents home, because they would treat her the best way and I won't have to worry so much. I know you said they have five more cats, but if it's necessary, they can put her in a different room.

When you go with your family to trip number 2, I would suggest a friend would stop by every day and feed her, because putting her in a different environment can make her feel threatened.

Hope I helped...

Have great trips!!!
 
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