vacation woes

Hi All,
I've been feeling a little sad lately because I have to leave my cat for the first time for a week as we are going on vacation. (I should be ecstatic to be getting away shouldn't I?) Anyway, my mom will be watching Tiger while we're gone and we've been bringing her there during the day so she can get used to it. She seems to like it at my mom's but I'm afraid that she'll get too used to it (especially having someone around all day long) so when we get back it may be difficult for her. Any comments or suggestions? How do you folks handle vacations??

Hi Weeze,
When my husband and I go on vacation, sometimes it's hard to decide what to do with our pets. A lot of times our vacation consists of flying back to my hometown in IN, so it's difficult to try and get 2 cats to fly. What we did for our 2 week honeymoon was hire a pet sitter. You can usually get names of reputable pet sitters from your vet and even over the web. That way, you can let the sitter know how many times a week to come and feed and play with your cats, and they don't have to be removed from their comfy surroundings. Does your mom live close to you? Maybe just have her come and feed and play with your cat once a day, or every other day. Cats are pretty sedentary creatures and can get by on their own while their owners are on vacation. With someone stopping in, I'm sure Tiger will be just fine, and she won't have those awkward adjustment periods to new places. Now that we're in CA and my parents live out here too, we have become each other's pet sitters, but the animals always stay in their respective homes. Although I'm sure your kitty would be just fine at your mom's house. My sister left her cat with my parents for over a month, and she adjusted back to my sister pretty quickly when she returned home. I think everything will be fine either way you choose to do it http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif Good luck and have a great vacation! http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/biggrin.gif

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"In a cat's eye, all things belong to cats." - English proverb

Hi Weeze,

Yes, I have had these dilemmas too. My two have got used to me going on holidays but I haven't. I still worry about them like a doting mum and have to convince myself they will be fine - and of course they always are. I usually get somebody to stay at my house as a petsitter or my family/friends look after them. Fortunately my two have a bit of a reputation and I have people fighting over who'll feed them http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/smile.gif Once I left them for 5 weeks with a cat sitter while I went to Thailand. I could tell that they were well looked after because apon my return they hardly noticed me http://PetoftheDay.com/talk/frown.gif ...but after an hour or so that cool unaffected attitude gave way to non-stop head-butts, tractor sounds and smooching.

Most people dread returning from holidays but having a lovely pet to look forward to seeing again makes the return a lot easier.

I'm sure your kitty will be fine...

Hi Weeze

I just submitted a post about this very subject, before I'd got to this forum! I've just booked Sadie into the cattery for our next two holidays, and I'm the same as you, sad and bothered. She's been many times before, but it really upsets me in the run-up to the holiday thinking about having to take her, and seeing her little face watching me as I leave. Luckily the couple who run the cattery are so-o-o-o kind and very used to me leaving in tears! They make me feel better by saying that they have plenty of customers who are just the same as me.

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Helen

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I feel better already although I know I'm going to miss her terribly.