Help! New kitten...

kateandchris23

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Just looking for some advice really, we are going to collect our new kitten, Bella in 2 weeks, she will be 8 weeks old by then. However, we have a 2 week holiday booked for the first 2 weeks of June. Bella will be 16 weeks old by then. I really don't know what to do for the best with her while we're gone. Cattery? Cat sitter? Ask a family member to have her? She is going be a house cat so I do not want her going outside, especially with being so little. Please help...
 

anne3007

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Is it an option to adopt her after you come back from holiday?

Actually, 8 weeks is too young for kittens to leave their mom. Many people think 8 weeks is old enough, but kittens still learn from their brothers/sisters and mother until they are about 16 weeks old. If you want a very socialized cat, it is better to adopt a kitten when they are at least 16 weeks old so they can learn important things from their siblings and mother.

However, this isn't always possible. (for the owners, the mother e.g.)

So if this is not an option..I would definitely go for a cat sitter. 
In any case I would try to avoid cattery's or another house, since cats are very territorial animals. Their environment is very important to them, much more than dogs.
Cats are very sensitive to stress and keeping them away from their normal environment is very stressful to them.

Especially if your cat is this age and has been through some big changes recently already (going away from their mom, moving out)

Because she is still so young, I hope you can find someone who is able to visit at least two times a day. She probably wants more play time than older cats. :) 

Good luck!
 

misterwhiskers

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I would go for someone to visit and feed her-- can you get a family member to stay at your house those two weeks?
 

MoochNNoodles

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We have always had a house sitter who stays here and takes care of our girls.  I have also taken them to my mother's house while we were gone for a week.  They stayed in a large bedroom (my old one actually; not that it would smell like me after all these years 
) set up with all of their necessities.  My mother has 3 cats and a dog; but also cats generally do better confined to smaller spaces when they are in a new situation. They feel less stressed and secure.  A kitten might not be so bothered; it depends on the cat.  
 
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