Going on vacation, so paranoid!

[glloyd203]

So here's the story: I have two sweet kitties, Jeannie and Rosie. They get along great, from the same parents but different litters, 1.5 and 1 year old. We've gone away on vacation before since getting them but the longest was about 5 days. We use a great pet sitting service and they come once a day for 30 minutes, I definitely trust them and have met the sitters and the company comes very well-reviewed; we've been using them since we got the cats. 

My concern is that this time we are going away for a full 2 weeks, and I'm so upset to be leaving them alone for so long. Obviously they will be fed and have their water and litter changed, but they are much too shy to play with the sitters (at least they never have before). So unless they decide to warm up to the sitter, they'll basically have no human interaction during these two weeks and I'm worried that they will get anxious about us being gone for so long. Jeannie especially is a nervous and anxious cat, and I've heard that cats sometimes stop eating when they are really stressed out. 

I'm interested in hearing other about peoples's experiences with going on long vacations like this; how did your cats react, did they eat, did they get super stressed? I'm glad they at least have each other but I worry about their stress levels going through the roof without us! 

Thanks!

 

[cinqchats]

Oh sure. We went on a 2 week long vacation overseas a few years ago. Gizmo went to stay at a vet that offers boarding, because he's special (physically and in the head) but the other cats stayed at home. We had a combination of a petsitter and relatives checking on them over that time. They were just fine when we came home. A little miffed at us for leaving for so long, but mostly glad to see us. They adjusted back to our regular schedule right away and weren't any worse for the wear.

 

[glloyd203]

Thank you! That makes me feel better. And did they only have one visit per day?

 

[catlover73]

I have a close friend that cat sits for us when we travel.  I have 4 cats.  Three of my cats will go to my friend for attention.  My oldest cat does not let anyone else but us see her.  We have made sure that my friend knows where Starbucks hiding places are in case there is an emergency. 

If Starbuck ever did decide she wanted attention from our friend she would get it and on her terms. My friend has seen Starbuck run by a few times when we were hanging out together at our house.  My other 3 cats love our cat sitter and come visit her when she comes over even if we are home.  My cats are used to our cat sitter. My friend does have experience socializing ferals and scaredy cats so she would know what to do if Starbuck suddenly decided to ask for attention while we were traveling.

One of my boys years ago got a tummy ache from some human food he ate the night before we went out of town.  He got a really bad case of poop squirts while we were out of town.  My cat sitter cleaned everything up completely and even went out and bought a new litter box to put upstairs for him to have more options.  Instead of going over once a day she stopped by twice so she could make sure he was eating and drinking enough water.  She made sure we knew what was going on while we were gone.  If she had needed to she would have taken him to the vet for treatment and we were completely comfortable with allowing her to make that decision if needed.  My friend would still not let us pay her for her time and she even took a day off from work to spend the entire day with my cat to monitor him.  We did insist on taking her out to dinner though.

 

[govtlawyer]

I've never gone away for more than 1 week.  However, like you I had people coming in everyday to feed them and change the water and litter.  In my opinion they will be alright.  It is for occasions like that that I have two cats.  They will keep each other company and I expect they will be just fine.  You will get a great greeting when you return.

 

[kitty chew]

I feel the same way as you. I bought two kittens so they wouldn't get lonely. My husband just asked me if i wanted to go overseas for two weeks, and i have been panicking ever since about leaving them because they will get bored and lonely. I also have someone to come over twice a day to look after them. They are only 5 months old. I left my last cat for 16 days with my friend looking after him twice a day, but felt terrible the whole time. I booked the holiday before he came into our lives. (stray cat) When we got back, she said he really missed us, but was fine, and happy we were home. Maybe we worry too much??

 

[ginny]

Do you have an answering machine?  You can set it to play messages out loud as they occur.  And so you could call and speak to your kitties a couple of times during the day.  

 

[kitty chew]

Good idea.

 

[glloyd203]

That is a great idea! Unfortunately we don't have a landline though I've heard of people leaving the radio on low but worry that hearing strange voices wouldn't do anything positive for them, especially if they aren't used to it being on

 

[ginny]

 
That is a great idea! Unfortunately we don't have a landline though I've heard of people leaving the radio on low but worry that hearing strange voices wouldn't do anything positive for them, especially if they aren't used to it being on

Shucks!

I don't suppose you have one of those video surveillance systems where you can monitor any time you want to from your cell phone? You still couldn't talk to them unless there's a way to do it I don't know of.  Some systems are fairly cheap.  

 If you start leaving the radio on now, they could be used to it by the time you leave.  Also, you could record your own voice ahead of time and tell the person who feeds them to turn it on while there.  You could also leave an unwashed shirt or socks behind so your scent can remind them of you.  

If I ever left on vacation, I'd have my sitter turn on Big Bang Theory.  I watch it and HGTV all the time so they are used to those programs and sounds.  I leave my TV on during the day while at work.  

 

[ginny]

And you could call while the sitter is there and just let them hear you on speaker.