air travel vs. kennel stay? please advise...

[katy57]

Hi everyone,

I have a 3 years old british long hair. He is an only indoor cat and very emotional. I never been away from him more than a week.

I live in europe and im going to travel to LA for two weeks. I was wondering which option is better for him:

1. taking him with me in a 19 hour flight. (i know about the paper work and complications)

2. leave him here in a cat hotel,. they have nice clean cages, 1.5 x1.5 full height  

 http://www.drammendyrehotell.no/om-dyrehotellet/bildegalleri/ 

both options cost alot, almost the same and i dont have other options,

which option affects his emotions and health less?

could you please advise?

thanks,

Katy

 

[stephenq]

 
Hi everyone,

I have a 3 years old british long hair. He is an only indoor cat and very emotional. I never been away from him more than a week.

I live in europe and im going to travel to LA for two weeks. I was wondering which option is better for him:

1. taking him with me in a 19 hour flight. (i know about the paper work and complications)

2. leave him here in a cat hotel,. they have nice clean cages, 1.5 x1.5 full height  

 http://www.drammendyrehotell.no/om-dyrehotellet/bildegalleri/ 

both options cost alot, almost the same and i dont have other options,

which option affects his emotions and health less?

could you please advise?

thanks,

Katy

Unless it was a permanent relocation i would opt for the cat hotel every single time.  Besides the hassle for you, its going to be very stressful for him, (imagine the feeding, peeing and pooping issues for a trip that long) and then you will just have to do it again in reverse.

My personal preference is to have a trusted friend stay in my home to pet sit, that way i know my cat is happiest and least likely to catch anything like when at the boarding place.

But there is no way I would subject my cat to a trip of that length for that short duration.

 

[katy57]

 
Unless it was a permanent relocation i would opt for the cat hotel every single time.  Besides the hassle for you, its going to be very stressful for him, (imagine the feeding, peeing and pooping issues for a trip that long) and then you will just have to do it again in reverse.

My personal preference is to have a trusted friend stay in my home to pet sit, that way i know my cat is happiest and least likely to catch anything like when at the boarding place.

But there is no way I would subject my cat to a trip of that length for that short duration.

The thing is I dont know anyone here, so I cant have him at home.

but if they keep the pets separately how could he catch a disease? he would have his own space with no contact with other cats...

 

[catpack]

I also agree that if your only options are to take him with you or board him, I would board him for the same reason StephenQ mentioned. Plus, having to take an emotional, stressed out cat out of his carrier at each security check point could be disastrous.

I've never flown with a cat; but, I'm not sure if you could get a litter box into the carrier with him and be able to feed him (though if he's a nervous cat anyway, I'm not sure he would eat...that presents another set of issues.) But, the whole litter box deal comes from someone with cats that are in the 13-18 lb range...the litter box would take up the entire carrier. (Sending a cat in cargo is not an option in my opinion. They would have to be carry-on.)

To answer your question of how he can catch a disease/illness while kept at the cat hotel...

The most common illness that cats get from boarding is an Upper Respiratory Infection. These are airborne and are easily transmitted. It just takes one cat sneezing to pass it around. That is why URIs are so common in cats at an animal shelter. You get several cats in one room in open-front cages, all are under stress (which lowers the immune system)...all it takes is for one cat to have a herpes flare-up and the whole room gets sick.

Another common illness is a UTI, which can also be a stress-induced illness.

 

[katy57]

I also agree that if your only options are to take him with you or board him, I would board him for the same reason StephenQ mentioned. Plus, having to take an emotional, stressed out cat out of his carrier at each security check point could be disastrous.

I've never flown with a cat; but, I'm not sure if you could get a litter box into the carrier with him and be able to feed him (though if he's a nervous cat anyway, I'm not sure he would eat...that presents another set of issues.) But, the whole litter box deal comes from someone with cats that are in the 13-18 lb range...the litter box would take up the entire carrier. (Sending a cat in cargo is not an option in my opinion. They would have to be carry-on.)

To answer your question of how he can catch a disease/illness while kept at the cat hotel...

The most common illness that cats get from boarding is an Upper Respiratory Infection. These are airborne and are easily transmitted. It just takes one cat sneezing to pass it around. That is why URIs are so common in cats at an animal shelter. You get several cats in one room in open-front cages, all are under stress (which lowers the immune system)...all it takes is for one cat to have a herpes flare-up and the whole room gets sick.

Another common illness is a UTI, which can also be a stress-induced illness.

would these diseases goes away easily? 

i took my cat from dubai to oslo 10 hour flight, he could handle it well but he was angry for a few days... 18-19 hours .. i dont know...

if these diseases are bad then i cant take him to a cat hotel ...  

 

[stephenq]

 
would these diseases goes away easily? 

i took my cat from dubai to oslo 10 hour flight, he could handle it well but he was angry for a few days... 18-19 hours .. i dont know...

if these diseases are bad then i cant take him to a cat hotel ...  

No these illnesses aren't so bad and your cat will probably be fine, the risk is small.  I would board him if it was my cat.

 

[furmonster mom]

My first instinct is to say boarding as well.

If you say he is very emotional, you might think he would weather the travel well enough with you by his side.  The question would become how secure is your destination?  How much time will you be able to spend with him, and how much time would he be left alone there?  I would think that it would be just as much of a new & strange environment as if you were to board him.

You say he's been at least a week "on his own"?  So, have you boarded him before?  He might actually be just fine with boarding.  Animals don't really have the same sense of time that we do.  There is "a short time" and "a long time"; there is spring, summer, fall, and winter, but there is no counting involved. 

 

 

[jiazzi]

I would strongly vote for boarding as well.  Even more so if he had a chronic condition like asthma or diabetes that had to be looked after w/ scheduled medications. 

I don't know if this is an option where you live but in the US there is a child and pet-sitting service website (www.care.com) where you can find local pet sitters in your area.  I used this option when I went away on business or vacation and when my cat didn't have complex medication management issues at the time.  The site has pet sitters that you can research, conduct background checks on, read reviews by other pet owners who have utilized their pet sitting service, and usually there is an hourly/daily rate where the sitter will spend 30 minutes to an hour with your cat in the comforts of your home.  They clean the litter box, replenish the water and food bowl, play with your cat, provide social interaction and if requested, provide updates on how kitty is doing.  It's a wonderful service but requires time for interviewing and establishing trust and rapport with the pet sitter.

Pet sitters would be my first option and has been for a long time until my cat required complex medication management.  Now he requires a 24hr pet boarding vet that will be able to feed him canned food only every 6-8 hours and administer inhaled medication once a day...  At one point he needed insulin injections every 12 hours but that is no longer an issue.  So if your cat has these issues, I cannot fathom what it would be like to try to take him on an 18-19 hour flight.  

 

[katy57]

pet sitting service in Norway sounds like a dream. Here you can find basics if you are lucky ... unfortunately.

 

[katy57]

thanks everyone for the good advice. I feel better now with boarding him ..  

 

[venalisa007]

My first thought would be to pay a friend or relative to come by for maybe an hour a day to make sure food, and water are fresh, and litter is scooped. This baby will of course miss you, but it won't be too terrible with someone stopping in, and you could leave a TV, or radio on. If this isn't an option for you, I would go with a very well researched, and reputable kennel...they often have such cat loving care givers, gourmet meals, the works! I wouldn't recommend flying with a cat unless it was for a permanent relocation, because our little guys and gals cannot tell us how they are feeling...ears popping, scary noises, unfamiliar faces constantly appearing. You even might have to start your trip by stopping at the vet if the cat had way too much anxiety.....I wish you the best in what you decide, and I hope your travels are wonderful!

 

[katy57]

thanks everyone for replying to my post.
one more question.
how if I leave lots of water, food and a couple of litter boxes for him for two weeks?
would he feel more depressed to be home alone for 2 weeks or being in a new small place (which is generally a 1.5mx2m cage ..?

 

[catpack]

I personally wouldn't leave a cat unsupervised for 2 weeks. Too many things can happen. If you had someone that could check in every day or two, sure. But, if it's between leaving him alone for 2 weeks or board, I would board him.

 

[jennyr]

I agree with everyone who says two weeks would be far too long to leave him alone. Two days would my maximum and even then I would have someone come in and check. Boarding in a good kennel/cattery is the best option if you have no-one who can come in.

 

[stephenq]

thanks everyone for replying to my post.
one more question.
how if I leave lots of water, food and a couple of litter boxes for him for two weeks?
would he feel more depressed to be home alone for 2 weeks or being in a new small place (which is generally a 1.5mx2m cage ..?

This is not a good idea, not safe for the cat.  Any number of things can and will go wrong.   The water will become undrinkable from algae and rotting food particles that rinse out of your cat's mouth when he drinks.  The litterboxes will become unuseable. A litter box should be cleanded daily, but if you imagine in a pinch letting a litter box go 2 days without cleaning, then 2 boxes is good for 4 days.  Also, he will become lonely and sad, in addition to becoming dehydrated or sick from algae filled water (if it doesn't actually evaporate which it could) and in which case he could die, he will also start peeing and defecating all over your home.  And if something else should happen, like he got stuck someplace, no one would know until you got home and found what was left of him.

Please, this is not an option.  You were thinking correctly about boarding, this is a fine option.  The small cage is trivial, cats spend months sometimes longer in cages this size or longer in shelters waiting for homes and they do fine, with socialization and enrichment.  Your cat will be attended to, checked regularly, fed safely, and you can discuss with them socialization and enrichment options.

The other option is having a friend come in once a day to feed and check on him and clean the litter.