Need Advise Please

Hi everyone. I'm new on the site and new kitten mom. Need some advise please and I hope it's not too long to read.
I was adopted by a beautiful black kitten about 3 months ago, his name is MoonShadow and he'll be 6 months old soon.

In a couple of months I'll be traveling out of the country for two weeks.
Now my question or concern is: should I take my baby with me or leave him?
I been thinking about options but I'm not sure what to do.

My preference would be to take him with me, but I'm afraid of any dangers for him; I'm going to the Caribbean. And he may go outside, so far he's an indoors cat.
I can leave him with my sister, but she's not a pet person. She'll take care of his basic needs but won't give him love. [emoji]128576[/emoji]

Please help me with this dilemma. Any ideas?
Thank you very much! [emoji]128570[/emoji][emoji]128568[/emoji]

Malu16 said:

Hi everyone. I'm new on the site and new kitten mom. Need some advise please and I hope it's not too long to read.
I was adopted by a beautiful black kitten about 3 months ago, his name is MoonShadow and he'll be 6 months old soon.

In a couple of months I'll be traveling out of the country for two weeks.
Now my question or concern is: should I take my baby with me or leave him?
I been thinking about options but I'm not sure what to do.

My preference would be to take him with me, but I'm afraid of any dangers for him; I'm going to the Caribbean. And he may go outside, so far he's an indoors cat.
I can leave him with my sister, but she's not a pet person. She'll take care of his basic needs but won't give him love. [emoji]128576[/emoji]

Please help me with this dilemma. Any ideas?
Thank you very much! [emoji]128570[/emoji][emoji]128568[/emoji]

Click to expand...

I would really recommend that you leave him at home. Cats really don't do well with travel and change. I think he will feel more secure at home. It's only two weeks.

I would also recommend that you keep him inside. He can lead a perfectly full life with toys and enrichment inside, and he will be so much safer.

Is he neutered and vaccinated already?

Thank you for answering.
Yes, he's neutered and has all his vaccines. He just had a check up last week.
But won't he feel abandoned? Also I'm need to be honest, I don't want to be away from him.[emoji]128563[/emoji][emoji]128571[/emoji] I love my kitty.[emoji]128571[/emoji]

A petsitter might be the way to go. For the most part they're in it because they love animals. Check with your vet. They usually can recommend someone or maybe one of their employees would like to make some extra dough

I don't think taking your kitty with you is a good idea, it would be very stressful for him.
Is there a neighbour or friend who could call in each day and feed and play with him. He will be far safer and relaxed in his own home.

Is it possible if you left him with your sister she might turn into a pet person?  Or is that wishful thinking?  Otherwise, as people have suggested definitely leave him at home with someone you trust whether it is a friend or pet sitter.  You can leave your phone number for daily updates as well as your vet's number and an emergency contact number.  

Thank you everybody for your suggestions. I'm rethinking everything, the most important thing is his safety

Malu16 said:

Thank you everybody for your suggestions. I'm rethinking everything, the most important thing is his safety

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i completely agree, his safety is a priority.  Enjoy your vacation, please check back to let us know how everything works out for your kitten.  Best of luck!  

Are there any good kitty boarding facities in your area? The good ones will play with your cat and give him love. Or an in-home petsitter, one that will give him some attention. It will cost more than your sister but you might feel better about it!

Taking a pet out of the country is a real process, too complicated to do for only a 2-week visit. Besides, cats don't generally enjoy visiting strange places. And if there's any chance he would get outside in a strange place, definitely avoid that. That's a good way to lose your kitty :/.

I think the most important thing to consider is traveling to different countries with a cat requires all kinds of special paperwork and other pieces of information. Some countries have quarantine periods and others require the animal to do blood tests. If you were moving it would be one thing, but it isn't worth all that for two weeks. 

If you love your kitty then leave him at home. Indeed find a place that will not only watch after him but also play with him and not just leave him in a cage. I'm sure if you do some searching you can find someone or someplace nearby. You can even check in your area through Facebook groups and see if there's anyone or anyplace that does this kind of thing. 

Good morning everyone. Happy weekend.

I'm here one more time with the same question. Do to work I had to delay my trip, but is finally happening soon and I still not sure what to do. I'm sorry if this is long and thank you for taking the time to read it.

One part of me wants and understand about my cat's safety and think it maybe best if he can stay. But the other part of me is not sure at all leaving him with strangers in a strange place, environment.
Also don't think it'll be healthy for him been with a pet sitter that only comes for a bit. He's very sweet and well behaved and it's OK been alone for a few hours, but has only been alone overnight just once. And that was due to an emergency. Here are my points:

1- Pet sitter, a couple hours a day, alone overnight.[emoji]128576[/emoji]
2- Boarding place, possible but expensive. Still researching.
3- Sister totally said no.[emoji]128575[/emoji]
4- Taking him with me will be less expensive and he'll be with me most of the time. Plus I'm going to a private house so he can stay at my room when I'm out.
I'll only need to be careful he doesn't go outside alone.

It is so wrong not to want to be separated from your cat?[emoji]128008[/emoji][emoji]128571[/emoji][emoji]128576[/emoji]
Please share your thoughts and again thank you for taking the time to read this and your wonderful advice.

I still think that your cat will be more comfortable at home with all of his things.  How will you travel with his litter box?  His litter?  His food?  Traveling is very stressful.  Are you even sure that he can travel between countries?

Cats appreciate routine, and he will sleep most of the day.  Having someone come visit every day will help.  Could your sister stop by in addition to the catsitter?

We will be leaving our cats alone in November with a house/cat sitter coming in multiple times a day. The cat sitter lives just down the street. Cats in general prefer to stay in their own environment. Traveling and especially going between countries is very dangerous for them. There are a lot of rules and regulations that must be followed to a T and if they're not followed perfectly cats can end up stuck in quarantine for months or even being destroyed as a result. It is much safer for a cat to remain home alone with someone coming to check in and feed them a couple times a day. 

I've never tried boarding a cat, but our dogs when I was growing up were boarded a few times. They enjoyed it, which makes sense as dogs are social animals.  At that time, it was not at all uncommon to leave the cat at home with tons of food and water and extra litter boxes for days at a time. I can't even imagine doing that now, but that was what was standard in my family.  

Malu16 said:

Thank you everybody for your suggestions. I'm rethinking everything, the most important thing is his safety

Click to expand...

I agree with many posters here that allowing him to stay at home would be the best for him. Traveling is very stressful for animals (even if they are with you), besides the fact that, as NewYork1303 mentions, some countries will have quarantines, required tests, etc.

Not to mention, many hotels and places to stay (most, from my experience) have restrictions on animals staying there, and/or fees and deposits, etc. More are amenable to dogs than cats. Cats (who are usually off-leash) run away more often. Many hotels, B&Bs, motels, etc., require animals to be crated at all times. Your kitten MoonShadow will be exposed to more stress and human strangers while traveling than if he was to remain comfortably safe at home.

I would recommend searching online for a good licensed, bonded, insured pet sitter in your area. Many are highly reliable and qualified. It also helps if the pet sitter knows some pet first aid, just in case. And always leave the name and number of your kitten's vet, and an emergency vet number, for the pet sitter (goes without saying!).

The other bonus of having your young kitten stay comfortably and safely at home while you are gone is that he can get more socialized with another human! He may have fun! :rub:

what state are you in? I suggest a pet sitter. There is a good network now with facebook of people who look out for each other and there are always people who are looking to make some extra cash. They can come visit or stay overnight.  I don't recommend traveling to another country. My Honeybee-I traveled to another state and took her with me-it was a cat show=the nights in the hotel were very stressful for her. We would have been better renting a house or sleeping in my truck. The constant commotion of people coming and going stressed her out to the point where neither one of us got much sleep. Everytime someone walked by the room she jumped off the bed trying to hide. This was every half hour or so. I don't recommend it unless it's travel from one house to another. She travels to the summer rental with me every summer but we are in a house and she is quite familiar with the surroundings but I generally don't recommend this. She is a social cat and enjoys people. Most cats would hate this.

Hello everyone. I been so busy that I haven't had the time to post here.
Again thanks everybody for your advice. I live in NYC. I did find a friend that'll come see MoonShadow twice a day.
I'm more relaxed now because I know she'll take good care of him. But I'm also feeling so guilty for leaving him alone at night. He always awaits for me to get home and goes wherever I go.
I'm going to miss him a lot, but I think he'll miss me more.

What can I do to minimize his stress? I purchased a beautiful aquarium lamp for him, hopefully that helps.
Thank you all for your help.