If you have no one to mind your cat while you are away.. I think I have a solution.

Siberian monkey

Hello everyone:)
I have a problem, Me and my wife are due to go on holydays soon but like many other cat owners we have to find a home for our furry friend before we go away. Yes, there are cat catteries.. but I have two problems with them.. well I have one and my wife has the other. First of all they cost a pretty penny and second of all my wife has to be absolutely sure that our boy will be safe and sound, she doesn't really trust those places.
Well I got this idea the other day, see if any of you like it:) I found myself thinking that I wouldn't mind having another cat or some other creature for that matter, around the house for a while. When there is one there is always room for few more:) Plus it would give our cat a chance to socialise and play with other animals. So then I thought that if I could bring few individuals with similar attitudes together, we could've solved our problem. For example if John goes on holidays, we mind his cat, when we go on holidays John minds our cat.. and so on. It would save us a lot of money, hassle and we could all be sure that our cats are safe and happy.
So? Tell me what you think of it guys, anyone what’s to join?:)

Groom!

In theory I think it's a good idea, but not for cats. I think it would work better for dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs etc.

My main worry would be the cat escaping and running away and trying to find its way home.

Another option would be to get someone to come in and feed, play with and spend time with the cat twice a day for example.

Cats are funny about being moved around and quite territorial too, so there would be no guarantee they would get on with each other.

kylith

Some friends and I do that with our dogs. One of them will look after indoor cats too.

I don't know much about cats, I suppose it'd depend on how well they got on with strangers.

Cherry Blossom

If the cat gets out, it will try to find its way home and is likely to never be seen again. Also any animal will not be the least bit impressed by a stranger invading their home territory. My dog would kill your cat, no question about it.

If I were going on holiday would I leave my dog with Joe Blogs? a complete stranger who has no animal related qualifications, no references, no insurance to cover any misshap while I am away, no knowledge of how to manage my dogs dietary issues or how to deal with the consequences if he gets it wrong and will probably leave my dog closed in a strange house all day while he's at work and probably won't supply her with the 3 hours exercise she needs every day. No I wouldn't. I'd leave her in boarding kennells that I had thoroughly checked out before hand that have qualified, experience staff, insurance, a set routine and set protocols for emergancies.

Amberjack

I have 3 cats and 3 dogs and Ive never brought the cats anywhere, they are real home birds and territorial so I always get someone in to feed them - usually a friend. It's so much easier, all a trusted person has to do is come into your house once a day and feed them - obviously easier if you have a cat flap so they can come and go for toilet visits.
I couldn't imagine any of my lads going to a cattery, they would hate it.

planetX

not a good idea, as the others have said cats are territorial, there would be war with the resident cats, and one open door or window and they'd be gone for good.
much better idea to leave the cats in their own home and get a friend to drop in and feed them. I used to do this until we lost a cat for a week this way, now I use a cattery. A good cattery will have security measures to make escape nearly impossible, the one I use has a radiator in each pen, and is run by a real cat-lover. The cats just zone out and sleep for a week, and I get to go away without any worries about them. It is expensive though.

The Sweeper

I have a woman who comes in for an hour once a week to do some ironing or some vacuuming. She also feeds the cats when I'm away. I've six cats, and cattery fees for them would be prohibitive. I simply pay for an hour of the cleaning lady's time - and she loves my pets (thankfully). All she needs to do is top up food and water and make sure nobody's ill, and since she's here weekly they're really used to her.

novarock

I have to say, our cat wouldn't take kindly to another cat being introduced to the house. We have always found that the best solution is if you have a friend with a cat that lives nearby, get them to pop over once a day while you are away and feed him. In return we do it when they go away.

It all depends on your cat though.

oceanclub

Yeah, take it from me; we left our cat with a friend who kept him indoors, but the first chance he got, he slipped out. Luckily for us he made his way back home 2 miles, but took him 6 weeks!

P.

PCros

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

If the cat gets out, it will try to find its way home and is likely to never be seen again. Also any animal will not be the least bit impressed by a stranger invading their home territory. My dog would kill your cat, no question about it.

The OP was talking about leaving the cat with other cats or other animals that have been socialised with other animals.


OP if you have a family member or friend to feed them that is your best option.

Siberian monkey

Guys, I do take your point, everyone’s situation is different. If I had two or more cats, I wouldn't bother with catteries. I'd get some friends to check up on them once in a while. But the problem is that we have one cat and he is very sociable and affectionate guy, we are going away for a month. I'd say he'll go crazy being on his own for a month. He can hardly last a day while we are away at work. Plus he is not territorial at all, he is the most chilled out cat I've ever met. We live in a apartment so he doesn't go outside and has no chance of running away or getting lost. He has no dietary requirements neither does he need a three hour exercise a day:) he needs a place to sleep, food to eat and a pal to play with, maybe someone to scratch his back ones in a while:) That’s all we are looking for and it's what we are prepared to offer. So we are looking for people in similar situation.
P.s. Forgot to introduce our boy, he is a pedigree Siberian forest cat. Big, very kind, doesn't like confrontation and usually just runs away:)

angelfire9

Its sounds like a nice idea if you have friends in the neighbourhood that have a kitty or 2 you could take turns in minding them

Wouldn't work with our psycho cat who attacks any stranger that comes into our house and there's no way he'd stay put in a strange house he'd be out the window and home before you could sneeze
(Our cat knows how to open windows) :rolleyes:

Cherry Blossom

PCros wrote: »

The OP was talking about leaving the cat with other cats or other animals that have been socialised with other animals.

My dog is socialised with other animals, she just wouldn't take kindly to a strange cat, like any other dog wouldn't. Please quote were the OP said they want to leave their cat with "other cats or other animals that have been socialised with other animals", you can't, because they didn't. If you are going to nit-pick random posts at least do it properly :rolleyes:

scaryfairy

hi OP,

poor kitty, sounds like a long time to be alone. Nevertheless, I would be very concerned for the cat - could try to run away etc, and it may be also a lot to ask of a friend to look after a cat for a whole month. My husband and I have moved a lot, and we do not necessarily have friends in every place we happen to live, so we would usually try to get a cat sitter. We find that the best place way to do it is to go to a vet surgery nearby and there the nurses quite often do this service to earn some extra cash. It's also reassuring to have a nurse checking on them. I guess the best way is to get somebody who is insured though.
You might also want to check out the new DSCPA cat boarding facility - one of the posters told me that volunteers play with the cats and that their accomodation is really comfy. This is where we will probably end up taking our cat next time.

PCros

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

Please quote were the OP said they want to leave their cat with "other cats or other animals that have been socialised with other animals", you can't, because they didn't. If you are going to nit-pick random posts at least do it properly :rolleyes:

Relax....

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the op wants to leave his cat in another premises with other socialised animals that warm to each other.

Not all dogs are hostile towards cats vice versa that’s all I was trying to say.

ISDW

PCros wrote: »

Relax....

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that the op wants to leave his cat in another premises with other socialised animals that warm to each other.

Not all dogs are hostile towards cats vice versa that’s all I was trying to say.

You're right, not all dogs are hostile to cats, but most would be to a strange cat coming into their territory, as would most other cats. A few of my dogs are absolutely fine with our cats, but I bet they would chase a strange cat that came into the house.

It does sound like a good idea, but I think there are too many things that could go wrong, would everyone have insurance, what if there was a fight and vet treatment was needed, who would pay for it etc.

OP, I would try and find a friend or family member to come in, or even come and stay in your house while you're away, or find a good cattery that you trust.

PCros

ISDW wrote: »

You're right, not all dogs are hostile to cats, but most would be to a strange cat coming into their territory, as would most other cats. A few of my dogs are absolutely fine with our cats, but I bet they would chase a strange cat that came into the house.

Of course thats 100% true, but what I was saying is they should test the water prior to going away, see how the other dog/cat reacts to a new friend as opposed to dumping the animal and going.

90% of the time it can be done fairly easily, a few hours over a week and see how that goes. Funnily enough from what I've seen cats and dogs pair together better than two cats have.

Op - Before they first meet, if possible, make sure that they have traded scents like bring over the cats bed and leave it with its new friend.

planetX

Siberian monkey wrote: »

Guys, I do take your point, everyone’s situation is different. If I had two or more cats, I wouldn't bother with catteries. I'd get some friends to check up on them once in a while. But the problem is that we have one cat and he is very sociable and affectionate guy, we are going away for a month. I'd say he'll go crazy being on his own for a month. He can hardly last a day while we are away at work. Plus he is not territorial at all, he is the most chilled out cat I've ever met. We live in a apartment so he doesn't go outside and has no chance of running away or getting lost. He has no dietary requirements neither does he need a three hour exercise a day:) he needs a place to sleep, food to eat and a pal to play with, maybe someone to scratch his back ones in a while:) That’s all we are looking for and it's what we are prepared to offer. So we are looking for people in similar situation.
P.s. Forgot to introduce our boy, he is a pedigree Siberian forest cat. Big, very kind, doesn't like confrontation and usually just runs away:)

Ah, that changes things - a month is a long time for a cattery, but if you find a good one he'd probably get more human attention than he would from someone dropping in to feed him. Yeah, I guess finding someone with a similar set-up would be ideal, he's going to be lonely since people are his whole life.

Siberian monkey

It is a long time, and it's not just money. Poor bugger will be stuck in a "very comfortable cage" for a whole month. I know cats sleep most of the day but thats a bit much.

ISDW

Siberian monkey wrote: »

It is a long time, and it's not just money. Poor bugger will be stuck in a "very comfortable cage" for a whole month. I know cats sleep most of the day but thats a bit much.

Not necessarily, the cattery that I have used for my lot has a huge area for them to be in, and has an outdoor bit thats fully enclosed, has grass for them to play in, and they can't get out, but can watch the wildlife etc. They do mix the cats there, but my lot absolutely love it, there are no cages in it, if the cat wants to go off to a quiet area, they can. Sorry, thats not totally true, I think they do have some areas that can be closed, so that if a cat doesn't want to mix, it can go in there to sleep and they will shut it in to give it a feeling of security. It can still see out, it is mesh in the door but no other cats can get to it.

Siberian monkey

ISDW wrote: »

Not necessarily, the cattery that I have used for my lot has a huge area for them to be in, and has an outdoor bit thats fully enclosed, has grass for them to play in, and they can't get out, but can watch the wildlife etc. They do mix the cats there, but my lot absolutely love it, there are no cages in it, if the cat wants to go off to a quiet area, they can. Sorry, thats not totally true, I think they do have some areas that can be closed, so that if a cat doesn't want to mix, it can go in there to sleep and they will shut it in to give it a feeling of security. It can still see out, it is mesh in the door but no other cats can get to it.

Sounds like a nice place:) how much do they charge? From what i've seen, a proper cattery costs around 15-20 euro a day. Now, multiply that by 30

ISDW

Siberian monkey wrote: »

Sounds like a nice place:) how much do they charge? From what i've seen, a proper cattery costs around 15-20 euro a day. Now, multiply that by 30

Crikey, don't know what catteries you've been looking at, I think it was €7 a day.

What do you mean, have you got 30 cats?

fatmammycat

ISDW wrote: »

Crikey, don't know what catteries you've been looking at, I think it was €7 a day.

What do you mean, have you got 30 cats?

I think he means 30 days in a month, not 30 cats.

ISDW

fatmammycat wrote: »

I think he means 30 days in a month, not 30 cats.

:DOf course he does, that makes perfect sense. D'oh.

Siberian monkey

ISDW wrote: »

Crikey, don't know what catteries you've been looking at, I think it was €7 a day.

7 is not too bad, where is that place locatef?

ISDW

Siberian monkey wrote: »

7 is not too bad, where is that place locatef?

Near Charlestown, Co.Mayo, its handy for Knock airport - but I bet you're going to be around Dublin, so probably no good for you. Those prices you've quoted though are very, very high, kennels for a dog don't usually cost that much, and there is more work looking after a dog.

serenacat

This is from ther DSPCA website
Cats Boarding Rates
Accommodation (charged per day)

• 1 cat: €15 per day

• 2 Cats Sharing: €27 per day

• 3 Cats Sharing: €40.50 per day

• 4 Cats Sharing: €54 per day

• For cats staying over a weekend there is a minimum charge of €30
What is included in our daily boarding rates?
•Premium, secure and hygienic Accommodation
•Healthy & nutritious Food and constant clean water
•Individual Heating & Ventilation
•Hygienic & comfy Beds with vet approved Bedding
•Food and Water Bowls
•Toys & Other Activities
•Litter Trays & Litter
•Regular daily Exercise for your dogs
•Baths if the dog has been exercising and is wet or muddy
•Regular Brushing of your pet
•Playtime
•Visible Health Conditions Monitoring
•General Medication Administration
7 euro is very cheap, I didn't find many cheaper than dspca when searching, guess i should do another search though.
My cat is chill around other cats even the neighbour cat that hissed at him so could work. We would need to be sure the cats get along ok first but it is a good idea.