going away - what to do with my kitty!?

[kozziosko]

Hi everyone,
I am going overseas in August for 20 days and I am not sure what to do with Mushroom (3yr old siamese girl) She is very very clingy and dependent, aww she loves me and I have never been away from her for more than 5 days, previously I had friends come around and play with her and feed her.
I am not sure what is the best thing to do with her while I am away. Should I
A) keep her here at my place and have someone come over every day to feed her
B) book her into a cattery?
I have been told it seems cruel to leave her at home as she'll be waiting for me. But then she is so highstrung I am worried about how she would handle the cattery!
thanks

 

[otto]

Hire a reliable pet sitter to come in once or twice a day. A decent sitter will spend time with your kitty, playing and grooming, in addtion to food and litter box duty. If you can afford it, even some over nights would be good.

Interview and meet with several. Check references and testimonials.

 

[carolina]

I travel often for work, and I really could not do it if it was not for my vet Tech Kelly.
I have a neighbor come in in the morning to feed them, and I hired my Vet tech to come in at night to feed, love change the litter and give meds.
Not only vet techs are (usually) animal lovers, but they can also notice settle changes in behavior or appearance that indicates when they are sick, and just whisk them away into the clinic for treatment. This is something that CAN and DOES happen.
I am probably a nutcase, but I also have a kittycam that I can check on them or just watch them when I miss them...

It does come in handy - MY TCS family checks on them throughout the day and updates my travel thread so I get the updates on my phone... One day they kept saying they were not seeing Bugsy, not seeing Bugsy, and I knew he was not feeling well, so after a while hearing this I sent in another neighbor into my apartment to make sure he was alright and to hand feed him

. It turns out he had not eaten at all... I felt sooooo much better after that!
I highly highly recommend you hiring a vet tech from your vet's office, and if you have a family member stop by once a day, I would also leave an extra key with a neighbor, if you have a good relationship with them as a back up plan.
Three people have my key - yep three: the neighbor that comes in the morning, the vet tech, and another neighbor who is retired and is always around, just in case something happens - like it did this time.

I would definitely leave her home if it all possible though... And as otto said, some overnight sitting would be great too! My vet tech has the green light to stay here as long as she wants - I figure the longer she stays, the more love my babies have!

 

[missymotus]

Given the length of time I'd go with a cattery, there are some wonderful catteries around and most cats settle in fairly quickly, she would get more attention there. If she stays home ask that the cat sitter leave a radio or the tele on so she has some noise around her.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

Even though the cat will miss you, it will get along better at home. Get some good help and your cat will be fine.

 

[eilcon]

If you can find a reliable petsitter or have a family member or friend come by daily to spend time with the cats and see to their needs, they'll be just fine. I'm petsitting right now for two cats who's owner will be home on Sun., after 3 weeks in Italy. They obviously miss her, but are doing okay. It would have been traumatic for them, espeically the female, who's very shy, to have gone to a cattery.

 

[rosiemac]

I have a friend that comes to my home see to my 3 on a daily basis if i'm away.

When i just had Rosie she was ok at the cattery the first year, but she was just a few months old. The following year when i put her in the owner said she stayed in her little room under her blanket for most of the week

I vowed never again to upset her like that again

 

[goldenkitty45]

Keep her home and have someone come in every day and spend at least 1-2 hours with her. Siamese are sometimes tricky cats to leave home - because of their nature and being needy. She will need someone that she trusts because she could stop eating and hide the entire time.

I'm not trying to scare you, but I've heard enough stories with Siamese and leaving them. It probably would not be so bad if you had more then one cat, but Siamese can become very spoiled if they are single cats.

I do hope things will go ok for you and the cat.

 

[catlover73]

Is there someone that could check on the cat that kitty feels comfortable around? It would probably be better to hire a cat sitter and keep the cat at home. Ask your vet's office if they recommend anyone. As mentioned some vet tech's do cat sitting for extra money. When I went out of town for a week last month. I had two people coming over once in the morning and once in the evening. Our friend that was here in the evening was not that familar to my cats but she traps and socializes feral kittens out of her own pocket. She knows a lot about skittish cats so I felt comfortable with her taking care of things. She took care of the litter box and cleaned up their messes. Our other friend is around our house more often so he hung out when he came over to feed them in the morning. If I were traveling during the summer for that long I would have gave another friend of mine gas money to come over every other day to just hang out with my cats because she has been around my 15 year olds since they were born and will make sure Claude gets his shower. Starbuck still generally hides from her but she can at least see her a little bit usually.

If you do decide to go with a cattery maybe check out a few places and have the cat stay there for a few days a couple times before you travel to see if it is even an option.

I worry a a lot about my cats when I travel. Claude has had health issues and has stopped eating on me before. He is fine now but I still worry. My friend that was cleaning up after the cat has also been shown how to do IV fluids and knows how to give meds. If something had happened I could trust her to figure out how to get him to the vet and care for him afterwards until I got home.