holidays ! cat !

Grainne

hi, i've two cats that i love very much and that spend a lot of time inside sleeping but do like to use there little cat flap and go in and out from time to time. my problem is that i'm off on holidays with my husband for a week in oct and i'm wondering if they'll be ok if a get someone to look in on them a couple of times a day and feed them. i've two people who are willing to call on them at different times in the day. both cats are gone past the kitten stage, one cat is nearly 3.5 and the ohter lady is 1.5. a cattery is another suggestion but i think they'd survive better in thier own surroundings and i don't want to stress them out too much. i'm just worried that they'll be lonely. is it ok to leave them like this for a week? usually when i go away i get someone to stay with them, but its not an option this time.

kerrysgold

I think they should be OK, cats don't seem to rely on human company as much as dogs do.

one thing I would do personally though is seal up the catflap while your gone, you never know they could decide to wander off if you weren't around for a few days, just to be on the safe side.

mary123

Yeah i agree with Kerrysgold as long as u seal the cat flap they should be fine. I think it is alot less stressful for the cats.

Grainne

its not really an option to seal the cat flap as they're both are so used to going in and out and would go mad if inside the entire time. also we live in a rural part of the west of ireland and the cats never stray outside out back garden and field behind us. the two cats don't really get on together and if they were held up inside together for a week they'd be totally stressed. also the older one is extremely nervous and doesn't react well to changes. if i sealed the flap she'd be totally freaked out. she really only goes out for an hour or so during the day. they've been going in out and the flap for as long as we've had them and have never strayed or stayed out overnight. we feed them indoors so i don't think they're going to stray too far from where they're getting fed, they love their comforts too much.

obviously, i'd never put there safety at risk.......ever....

The Sweeper

Grainne, are they litter trained? If they know to use a cat litter, they'll be fine as indoor cats. You may find that what will freak them out more is your absence for a week, and who knows where they might wander to if you leave the catflap open, because they'll KNOW you're not home and something has changed.

Years ago when my parents owned a cat in Ireland, they got someone to mind her while they were away on a similar basis. They were away for two weeks. 10 days into their holiday I came back from England for a fortnight, and honestly, when I got to my parents' house, that cat was soooo upset. Being able to get out, she'd searched high and low for my parents around the neighbourhood. She'd gone off her food and she looked extremely stressed. When my folks got home, she wouldn't 'speak' to them for a solid week - she ignored them completely. She would have been lonely if she'd been stuck inside, but with a radio on down low for a few hours during the day, clean food and clean water, she would have had no choice but to wait for them to come back - as it was, she made it her mission to find them. (And I doubt the Canary Islands were an accessible location for her.)

If I were you, I'd start to leave a litter tray inside, by the cat flap, two to three weeks before you go away. Cats love litter trays - they're automatically drawn to the nice, sandy feel of kitty litter (don't buy the perfumed stuff IMO, I use the closest thing to fine gravel I can find). They'll start to use it and praise them when they do.

That way they should adjust when you're gone, the cat flap is locked and the litter tray is there for them to use. They'll be fine with visitors filling the food and water bowls, and as I said I'd leave a radio or a TV on for them for a few hours each day for some background noise. (See if your visitors will spend some time with them even - stop in, make a cuppa, watch half an hour of telly, make some household noise pottering about the house.)

The one drawback is that your minders will have to clean the litter tray. This is where you get to bring them back a very classy present from your holliers.

Grainne

can't get minders to do the tray. one has a small baby and wouldn't agree to it and the other minder is elderly and wouldn't be up for it either. its a lot to ask people that don't have cats to clean up your cats poo.

i'm tearing my hair out !!!!!!!!

Sharpshooter

Grainne wrote: »

can't get minders to do the tray. one has a small baby and wouldn't agree to it and the other minder is elderly and wouldn't be up for it either. its a lot to ask people that don't have cats to clean up your cats poo.

i'm tearing my hair out !!!!!!!!

l can understand both of those reasons , but if they use the little Scoop for the litter tray and pop whatever comes up in it , into a Zippo Bag , which is what l do ,
and then WASH their hands ( even if they don't come in contact with it ) they will be fine.
Maybe even look up something like this on Google to
put their mind at ease, might be a lost cause with the one with the small baby , Her baby after all has to come first where Health is concerned.
Try Googling anyway and see what it can tell you.:)

mary123

I think then if i couldnt seal the flap up and can get no one in to do the litter trays i would then put them into a cattery. Dont think it would be worth the risk of them getting out, disappering or worst.

GeturGun

I'd really recommend you keep them in too, or go for the cattery option.
I was minding my parent's cat for 2 weeks last yr and had to go away for work so I got my friend to feed him, etc, but i insisted he was locked in the house for the full 5 days and had the run of the whole house. I felt soo much better knowing that he was safe inside away from all the dangers.
He was definitely none the worse for wear for it!!!
You will be much happier knowing that they are safe and happy indoors, in the house or in a cattery. They have each other, so I wouldn't worry about them getting lonely.
Is there no one else that u can ask to look in on them? Someone that will change the litter? That person could then let them into the garden for a short while while they are there.

Sigma Force

Here's a link to a cattery in Galway http://www.cuddlescattery.ie/