Cat sitting

Caroline_ie

Hello -
I am planning a trip in April with bf for 1.1/2 or 2 weeks. My kitten should be around 7 months or so then.
I am quite concious about leaving my cat behind. I don't have anyone to mind the cat since my bf would be with me.
I was looking at the cattery option but I don't like the fact that the cat stays in an individual room.

I googled around and found the more expensive but less stressful Cat sitter option where someone calls to your flat and feed/play w/ the cat, clean the litter etc.

Do you reckon it is a good alternative and how often is good for the cat sitter to come visit? I had in mind every second day.

many thanks for your opinion.

BengaLover

I dunno about cat sitters, i certainly wouldnt pay someone to come into my home when i wasnt around..
Maybe there are different catterys?
I know some promise to be like a proper home for your cat rather than a kind of dog pound type place..
An option to think about is phoning the rspca or animal welfare and see if any of their foster people would take it for the duration and give them a nice donation to the cause..

sambuka41

BengaLover wrote: »

An option to think about is phoning the rspca or animal welfare and see if any of their foster people would take it for the duration and give them a nice donation to the cause..

I dont work in any shelters but I would imagine that its hard enough getting fosters for cats and kittens with no homes. Dont think they would do this.

My little guy is the most spoiled, attention seeking cat ever but he does well at the cattery. I go to one in Kildare esp for him, very good I can pm it if your are interested?? He/she would get more interaction at a cattery then if someone comes for 1 or 2 hours every couple of days.

Caroline_ie

sambuka41 wrote: »

I dont work in any shelters but I would imagine that its hard enough getting fosters for cats and kittens with no homes. Dont think they would do this.

My little guy is the most spoiled, attention seeking cat ever but he does well at the cattery. I go to one in Kildare esp for him, very good I can pm it if your are interested?? He/she would get more interaction at a cattery then if someone comes for 1 or 2 hours every couple of days.

Thx Sambuka, pls can you PM me the details of the Kildare cattery? Im in D15, it's not that far from me.
I also just saw that the dspca offers a new boarding service http://www.dspca.ie/index.jsp?p=123&n=322&a=0
14€/day with long stay discount (i wonder does 2 weeks qualifies)

Cerocco

Hey there, €14 is quite expensive. Do you not have a friend or relative that could pop round twice a day to feed and let your cat in or out. I have 3 cats and go away alot with work and a friend comes twice a day to let then in or out and feeds them. Cats aren't like dogs they are happy enough to look after themselves as long as they are fed and let out to have a play and do their business. I bring back a nice bottle of vino for my friend, Sorted

Caroline_ie

I don't have family in Dublin and my friends are not local to the area I live in. I tried to introduce her to my boyriend's mum's cat but her cat won't stop hissing at my cat ready to fight her. My cat is content enough to make friends, but the 5 yrs old cat won't have any of it. We had to keep them separated on Christmas day. haha
12 or 15 euro a day is expensive but i guess i knew that was going to happen when I decided to adopt my kitten. I better start saving up now.

planetX

I started using a cattery after losing a cat while a relative was calling in to feed it. They get on fine there, they zone out and sleep for most of the time. And you can relax knowing that the cat will definitely be there when you get back. Just make sure you have vaccinations up to date, and go and visit the cattery in advance.

MaryK666

Caroline_ie wrote: »

Hello -
I am planning a trip in April with bf for 1.1/2 or 2 weeks. My kitten should be around 7 months or so then.
I am quite concious about leaving my cat behind. I don't have anyone to mind the cat since my bf would be with me.
I was looking at the cattery option but I don't like the fact that the cat stays in an individual room.

I googled around and found the more expensive but less stressful Cat sitter option where someone calls to your flat and feed/play w/ the cat, clean the litter etc.

Do you reckon it is a good alternative and how often is good for the cat sitter to come visit? I had in mind every second day.

many thanks for your opinion.

Hi Caroline,

It's as bad as having children and once you get a cat and they become part of your little family, they're just as important )
Personally, if I was going away for two weeks, I have a friend who calls over every day to look after my tribe as they're all indoor cats. She feeds them (they free feed but she just makes sure they have food), changes their water, sorts out the litter trays and plays with them so that when I come home, they're all happy kitties. I can't put mine in a cattery as one of them is FIV+ and stress lowers his immune system, but this way, they all seem so much happier to be in their home environment and it's as if I hadn't been away at all. Unfortunately, we live in Kildare and I don't know if she'd be prepared to travel but I'd be lost without her and I can ask her for you if you're interested. In fact, other than the in-laws, she's the only other person who has a key and the alarm code to our house and I'd trust her with my life )
If you only have one cat, I'd be reluctant to have someone come every second day if he/she has no other company and is used to having you or your bf around. Cats, despite being fairly solitary creatures, do like interaction with who or whatever they're used to and a young cat will need much more than an older cat.
There are some great cat sitters around who have Garda clearance and references. They're not cheap but you get what you pay for, the most important being peace of mind. The average daily price is between 15 and 20 Euros per day but some also add a travel allowance on top if they live a bit further away.
Catteries are also an option but, like you say, it's hard to think of your little cat kept in one room for two weeks. If you're going down the cattery route, make sure you check the place out carefully so you know where your little darling will be staying and how well they'll be looked after.
Hopefully you'll be able to sort something out but if you want to talk to my friend about coming to some arrangement, just PM me.

Poochie05

We use both a cat sitter and a cattery depending on how long we will be away for. The cat definitely prefers staying at home, she's mainly an indoors cat anyway, but has a cat flap that only opens with her magnetic collar. The cat sitter comes once a day to feed her (€6 per visit), replenish her dry food and water and clean the litter tray and plays with her for a while. This way she gets to stay in her own environment and is quite content to while away the day looking out of the window and pottering around and having the occasional play with her toys.

If we are away for more than 2 weeks we send her to a cattery (€8 per day including food) and to be honest she gets on just fine there too. She just chills out and spends a lot of time sleeping. The lady who runs it is very nice and she cooks for all her 'guests' every evening. First time she stayed there was the first time our cat ever tasted real chicken and now anytime we cook one we can't keep her out of the oven! I've never seen a cat behave so much like a dog when I went to pick her up after the first time, she heard my voice and came running over to me, calling and rubbing herself all around my legs!:D My tip would be to visit the cattery before you choose one and you will know by the 'vibe' you get from a place. All the cats in the one we use are very relaxed and don't look very distressed, which I think is a good sign.