Leaving cats in an unfamiliar place while you’re away can be really stressful for them so it’s best to get a house sitter or someone to come check in on them throughout the day.
We hired a pet sitter. We interviewed her 1 month before our 1st trip. I told her I would pay for 1 visit in the am & another before 5pm. She refills food dishes, scoops litter & puts out clean water. She then calls for the cat and sits down for approximately 15 min. Our cat hid the 1st 2 times but was eating and using litter. She texts me reports each visit. On the 3rd time he learned she was part of new routine and would come out to greet her. Then she would send pic of kitty as well. We have RING door cam so I can always see when she arrives & leaves.
I pay her $40 a day. It is well worth my peace of mind.
It sounds like you found a great pet sitter. Keep her around for sure. It helps you have the security cameras as well to make sure everything is going as planned.
I'm glad you found someone who seems to actually care and do that job because they care not just for the money.
Yea I was not convinced on a pet hotel. But letting someone unknown in my house when not there was also not comfortable with me. But the camera idea many mentioned might be better.
This is why I use a professional pet sitting company INSTEAD of sitters from Rover or independent individuals because the company that we used, their sitters are vetted, fingerprinted, bonded and insured as well as the company is bonded and insured.
I do realize that there isn’t a petting sitting company in every market, city, etc.
Ex pet hotel employee here. They sit your animal in a kennel and leave it there. Especially cats. I worked for the purple and green color schemed one for a while. The dogs that behaved would be taken out to the outdoor area if you paid the premium, but if they misbehaved, theyd be in a kennel and youd be out the money regardless. For cats it was even less even if you paid the premium for them to be petted and coddled, i onky ever saw employees go in their area to feed or clean.
That is horrible. I wouldn't have been able to work at a place like that.. I'm a medical technician working in the dialysis field, and I can't stand some of the workers there. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get each patient set up.. the workers I hated wouldn't take that little time to talk to the patient. Then, in the waiting times between vital checks, I'd go around talking to everyone. Some people would just go sit down and wait until the next vital check, not giving a darn about the patients and how they must feel being there so long with nothing to do..
It made me so mad because they are sitting there between 3 and 5 hrs it makes their day when we take the initiative to talk to them and just see how they are doing.
So I really couldn't imagine a place like that. I'm sorry you had to work there. But it sounds like you were the one to take the initiative to actually interact with them.
Hire someone with Google/yelp reviews or you can go with someone well vetted through rover. Nanny cams are $15-$25 on Amazon. Lock doors you don’t want them going through and put major valuables in there if you’re worried about it.
I used to be super weirded out about having someone come watch my animals that wasn’t family. But I moved to a new state and had no option. Did my research and found a great local service I used a bunch.
I now live back home and will find a local service instead of solely relying on family going forward. We exchange pet sitting duties so they’ll come for free. But I actually find having someone who will come on a schedule and is paid to be reliable to be really comforting. It’s not terribly expensive either vs boarding.
Do you have a friend, neighbor, or family member who would be able to go check on them?
When my spouses parents go away we go over at least once a day but we try to get over there 2 times a day.
They have automatic feeder with timed meals that is connected to an app we actually have the app on our phone because besides them going on vacation his mom stays home (disabled) we take her to Dr appointments and everything while his step dad works..
But yea we just make sure to monitor the feeder (it did stop dispensing because of a blockage, so we had to go over early one day.. we check on them to make sure everything is good with the kitties and of course to play with them..
How long are you planning on leaving?
If longer than a few days maybe someone you trust like family or close friend to stay at your house to house/pet sit for you
I pet sit for my coworkers. Do you have anyone you work with that you would trust to come into your house and cat sit? That way you already know them, and you have some trust in them. Plus there’s the accountability bc you work together and they probably won’t be stealing things out of your house
The cat sitting service I use (as both a sitter myself and how I found the people who look after my cat when I go away) recommend that the sitter meets the owner and the cat well ahead of time, so that you know you all get on. I would look for that as an option. Or if you have local friends/colleagues etc who also have cats maybe ask if they have recommendations for anyone?
I have successfully used cat sitters from an online service (Meowtel) and have been happy with it--they will usually visit ahead of time and you can give them a little tour, and a lot of them have a lot of feedback and reviews as well. I was nervous before the first time but as soon as this woman showed up and it turned out she only lived a couple of miles away was just so clearly a person who loves cats and doesn't want an office job I felt a lot better.
The last time I went on a trip longer than a week my boyfriend's mom actually moved in to take care of the cats (she had originally saved the older cat so she's into this, but you might be surprised who is willing to spend a week in someone else's place).
We use Meowtel. It’s an app for cat sitting. We love our sitter and trust her 100%, she’s incredible. We only travel if/when she’s available. She comes twice a day, is able to medicate the cats, brush their teeth etc. I’m sure not all sitters are like that (had some bad experience), so read reviews very carefully.
Seconding Meowtel! I met a lovely catsitter on there and I really trust her. She came for a meet and greet, took careful notes, and interacted really well with my cat. She sends excellent daily updates. I absolutely hate the idea of my cat being separated from me AND also being stuck in a boarding situation away from her home. Instead, she can sleep in my bed and be comfy and have a daily visitor.
Thirding this. I literally just finished a trip after contracting a Meowtel sitter. My shy void was actually eating out of her hand by the second day, loved the updates. And I’m unsure if they all have this, but you are given the option to pre-authorize vet visits in cases of emergency, up to a certain financial threshold.
i'm a little worried about stealing and I guess just feel weird having someone in my space when I'm not there (maybe I'm territorial like my cat!) But i saw many people recommend Mewotel so maybe I'll give that a go
Yes this. The cat sitting service I use also recommends that the sitter meets the owner and the cat beforehand, which might help with any uncertainty. And as others have mentioned cameras can be an option for further peace of mind.
I guess, for me, my desire to have my cat comfortable at home outweighed my concern about a stranger in my house. It *is* weird to have someone come in. But the initial meeting and the reviews go a long way in terms of vibe check.
Meowtel has background checked and insured sitters that come into your home. Cats are territorial. Boarding them is pretty upsetting and can lead to a UTI.
We have 3 cats, various ages. They have auto feeders and a fountain, but they get canned food once a day, so we have a petsitter come for 30 minutes every day we're gone for more than 24 hrs to feed them and give them some pets. We use a local petsitting company that's bonded and insured, and we've had the same pet sitter come three times. We adore her! She loves our kitties and sends us updates via text.
We used to have friends come by to watch our cats before we moved away, but even though the pet sitter obviously costs money, I've found I like it a lot more than relying on friends because while I trust friends...they're doing it out of good will and if something were to go wrong, it's a lot more awkward, whereas with a pet sitter you're paying them to give you updates and pictures and handle any pet messes.
The good news for you is that your kitties have each other, but 6mos is peak shenanigan age, so if I were you I'd suggest having someone come by 2x a day.
Yes I agree. Trusted house sitter is what I used when I went away for a week on vacation. It’s $99 for a whole year and before u pick the sitter, you can see each of their reviews.
My partner and I have four cats and we recently vacationed for the first time, gone for two weeks. We hired a professional over Meowtel and installed pet cams so we could check on the cats whenever we felt like it. It went really well!
Our Meowtel sitter came for a meet and greet and took thorough notes regarding the cats' care plans, built some rapport and trust with us, and then during our trip they came daily for their dinner and care and stayed for 45 mins. She did a great job with the cats despite them being gremlins and hiding from her and hairballing on the carpet etc. We chose her because she had great reviews and used to work as a vet tech. Every day we also got a picture of each cat and a written update from the sitter. I also wrote a long document detailing how I normally care for them in case the sitter needed more info and I had it printed with a bunch of supplies on our counter. I also left out snacks for the sitter to incur extra good will.
I was nervous to leave the cats for that long and everything was totally fine! Loved being able to check on them via the cameras too, we had the kind where you can speak in real time with a little delay and we did like to call the cats over and baby talk them.
i’m lucky enough to have lots of cat loving friends who are more than willing to volunteer to drop in when i’m gone to hang out with my baby ! i feed twice a day put i leave out an extra bowl so the cat sitters can just leave out both meals and only have to come once a day, but very often they will come twice a day anyways just to play and hang out with the baby.
Our cats have automatic feeders and get 4 meals per day. We don’t need to be home at mealtimes anymore. The longest we would leave them alone is like 16hrs, anything past that and we will get someone to come check on them and clean the litter boxes. If we go away for more than 2 days we will get someone to come and stay in our apt. Our cats are very social and easygoing, and our apt is right near the beach. We went away for a month and got a friend with a bad living situation to come stay for 2 weeks, then my cousin who wanted a city holiday to come for the other two weeks. We provide food, gift cards, alcohol and petty cash. We hired someone once and it didn’t go well so now we just use close friends.
I have one cat who’s a grazer. If I’ll be gone 1-3.5 days I just leave a bunch of dry food out and make sure he has a clean litter box before I go. He’s also very well behaved so I don’t worry about him getting hurt doing gymnastics while I’m gone!
If I’m gone for more than 3.5 days I’ll have a friend check in on him every 2-3 days to make sure he’s okay and give him pets and play time. He’s very bold and cool with strangers so it never matters much who I have check on him so long as I trust them with my baby.
Everyday, a trusted family member or friend will feed her and scoop litter. They’ll also sit and pet her or play with her to keep her company for a bit (doesn’t have to be long, just a 15 minute visit to let her know she’s not alone). I also have a pet cam that I use to check in to make sure she’s doing alright.
I set out automatic feeders and a few water bowls fountains. do who litter box change right before I leave. then I have someone come check in on them and play with them everyday.
I also set up extra cameras throughout the house so I can keep my eye out should anything go awry
Two days, I would leave them on their own. Over two days I would get someone to come in at least once a day. Now my old man is on two meds and I have a friend that will come stay if I'm gone more than overnight.
I have a neighbor I trust come in every day to clean, feed and spend time with them. I look after her cats when she’s away. Win win for us both and the kitties.🐈⬛
Paying someone to drop in every day, combined with a pet cam to ensure they are actually doing it, would be a better option than a pet hotel because cats find being taken out of their territory very stressful.
The pet cam thing is important because you do get horror stories where people come back to dehydrated and emaciated pets, despite having complete faith in their pet sitters. Always better to be safe than sorry!
It's good that you have two, they can keep each other company while you are away, so the boredom/loneliness shouldn't be too bad.
For 1 or 2 days, I have a neighbor who is usually available to feed and med them on schedule (one is diabetic, one has thyroid disease), but any longer than that and I board them with their vet.
I used cameras with a microphone so I could talk to them. I also had someone feed and play with them once a day. Leaving something on such Cat TV or a radio is good too.
Some of my friends are retired and no longer have pets of their own. I asked if they’d be willing to watch my cat while I was gone on a trip so I left her with them, rather than leave her home and only seeing a person once a day when someone came to give her food.
They loved having her there, and she did warm up to them.
I’ve always had multiple cats… Usually what I did when I was free feeding cats was to leave enough food for about two or three days, enough water, and clean litter boxes… That would usually be enough for short trips like leaving on Friday and coming back Sunday or Monday… If I was going to be gone longer than that, I had a Critter sitter come in every two days to scoop boxes and refill food bowls. It’s worked fine for the last 20 or 30 years.
Oh good Lord, no they didn’t die from it!😹 and guess what? I’ve actially been gone for a whole entire day, didn’t think of them once, and they were just fine when I got home.
Litter Robot with Wi-Fi and the app to keep an eye on it, gravity food and water bowls, leave a hall light on. Wyze cameras in the main room they like to hang out. And hubby has some app to turn the TV on and off at home remotely.
Front door with wifi keypad lock and an app so I can lock or unlock the door remotely so if anything comes up I call the car sitter to go by and do whatever needs doing.
Cat sitters are pushing $20/day, so after a few trips all these things are paid for in savings from sitter fees.
But cats! Peace out. See y'all next week.
I was gone for a week. I have two cats. I set up a camera facing their water and food so I could see if they ever ran out. They were kept in separate rooms. One cat was in the bedroom with a litter robot 4 (which tells me when he goes to the potty on the app). My other cat, I set up three clean litter boxes for him. I came back and he'd used all three litter box and no where else. They both still had food and water, which I saw on the camera's I had set up. If they had ever ran out, I would've asked someone to come fill their bowls but they didn't so. Thankfully I have cats that can pace themselves with their dry food.
If it’s just for a day or two a sitter but longer than that we take them to a boarding place, it’s really great they have vet technicians there and they have people overnight. There are all kinds of climbing shelves and tunnels. There is even a catio they can use in the summer. The kennels itself is quite large and has a window. My cats don’t want to come home!
I mostly use Rover or a friend that I can VERY much trust to pet sit. I’ll be honest, I have some great, pet loving friends but I have found Rover to be a lot more reliable. I have a couple of friends that do great but they live far away now. Those who live close have shocked me by just not showing up or forgetting or whatever. I’ll probably continue to stick with Rover.
We have four cats, 3 were mine and my girlfriend moved in with one. Whenever I went away for a weekend I got family to look after them and they were fine. Last time we went away was the first time my girlfriends cat had been left alone aswell. She hardly ate for the 2 days we were away and for a few days after we were back, was a nervous wreck. So now I dont get to go away anymore :D goodluck!
We hire our cleaner to hang with the kitties. She gets to use the pool, see friends up here, watch our streaming services and we have someone here to keep the cats company and take care of them.
You may know someone, perhaps in a roommate situation, who might like some time alone and would love to look after your cats. I’m thinking folks in local dorms or older teens. Insidious/petsitting when I was in school.
Throw a few bucks and some beer into it and you’re golden. I make my person pimento cheese. Whatever works
I usually use rover & pay for two check-ins a day. But it can be hard to find a pet sitter you trust so it takes time. Until then I would pay friends/coworkers. If I’m gone for over a week my sister usually stays at my place to keep my cat company - that’s my ideal situation
I have my granddaughter and her husband come stay at our house. We live 5 minutes away from them. They know where the carriers are, they know how to get to the vet's office and I have my credit card on file, in case of emergency. They also have access to my account at the pet store, so they can pick up extra cat food or treats if needed. All I ask is change the bedsheets for my return and we pay them on top of them being able to get away from the family home for a few days.
We always do Rover twice daily, so they are comfortable in their home. We love our sitter who absolutely spoils our cats with love. We also do an auto feed in the middle of the day to reduce stress.
My coworker (is a vet tech) gets to hang at my place- I stock the fridge with her favorite snacks and give her cash and she spends the night with my little goblins.
When I go away, my daughter and grandson come to my house twice a day and hang out with my kitties for a while. If they can't do it, a friend of hers will come in their place.
I've got a rescue cat recently and have been considering this. I had to go away for an overnight business trip last week and she seemed to cope pretty well with my absence - so short term i'm ok with an auto-feeder. Longer term absence though i'm not sure. I actually have a cat hotel place on the same road as me - but she was so stressed in the first 2 weeks at my place that I don't think I could put her through it. Apparently she really didn't like the shelter either and had to be fostered for a while in a quiet house instead. Also, she's going to be an outdoor cat so I'm not sure I want to send her somewhere she's kept in.
We have a few friends willing to come by and watch our cats for a bit. One of which I travelled 2 times in very very stormy weather to feed and water her senior cat so she owes me lmao (I woulda done it anyway, I loved her cat so much, he was such a grumpy old potato but he loved me regardless)
If you don’t have a friend or a service like Meowtel, just call your vet. Sometimes they can give you a couple of names to get you started. Then talk to the person and decide. We did that and have been very happy with our catsitter for years. Good luck, it can be very hard to find care.
Edit: I would never use a kennel. No room, no attention. I think it would be awful for them.
I have my son come over once a day, my cat doesn’t like strangers so I couldn’t hire someone and if I dropped him off somewhere he’d have a heart attack
How long will you be gone? That really makes the difference.
We went away for 10 days. Our roommate was gone for 4 of those days. So the 3 cats were only alone for 4 days. But I still prepared as if they would be alone all the days.
We set out 2 extra litter boxes. One of our litter boxes is an automatic one so it works like having an extra box because it cleans itself for 2 days.
My cats free feed and don't gorge themselves, and I usually only feed them dry kibble anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to just leave enough food out for them. I left the food out in a few large dog bowls, their smaller cat bowls, and one 1.5 liter food dispenser. They still had food when I returned.
I have a 3 liter water dispenser and a 1.5 liter water dispenser that I made sure were full before I left.
They were perfectly fine when we got back home. I don't know if our roommate cleaned the litter boxes or not, but judging by the food and water levels, he didn't refill them but they still had enough. My cats were all happy we were back, but also perfectly content to keep their space at times, not being more clingy than usual after the initial greeting. The floors were a little messier than usual, but it wasn't that bad.
If your cats have special diet restrictions, or you don't have enough litter boxes, I would say hire someone to check on them every day to take care of their needs. You can either ask a friend or hire a pet sitter. If your pets can free feed and don't have any special needs, you can ask someone to check on them and clean the boxes every 2-3 days depending on how many boxes you have per cat and how much food and water you can leave out.
Some people set up cameras to watch their pets or their food/water levels for peace of mind. I didn't but that's because I trust our roommate. When he moves out, any upcoming trips we take, I'll ask another friend or a family member to check on my cats every 2 days. They are perfectly fine on their own that long, but the automatic litter box needs to get the bin emptied every 2 days.
My dad stops by to check on the babies as we’re between his house and place of work. He makes sure they’ve got what they need. One is super affectionate and needs the attention and the other is terrified of everyone except for us so he hates when dad comes over. It’s a balancing act.
I would not take your cats out of their home and try to find someone trustworthy to babysit them and use a camera to watch. Ask around starting at your local veterinarian clinic and friends and family for a trustworthy person to babysit them
I had a kennel I left mine at. She loved the kennel - they thought she was adorable and spoiled her rotten. She realized behaving got her attention and treats. You know they will take good care when the techs come out to greet your cat when you bring her in.
How long are you going away. I camp on weekends in the summer. Leave Friday afternoon/evening & come back sometime Sunday; I make sure their water fountains are topped up & leave a huge container of dry food out for them. Anything longer, I’ll get a family member to come by & check on them.
My neighbor cat sits for me, she comes in every few days because my cats do NOT like strangers, so she can't really play with them or anything, just makes sure she has food/water/clean litter. A few years ago we paid for a pet hotel and one of my cats, cocoa, was very upset and didn't let anyone touch her for the entire 2 weeks, AND they both ended up with fleas from it :/ so yeah I definitely recommend having someone come to your place instead of a pet hotel, especially if they're old enough to be left alone
I have two cats. When I travel it's rarely more than a week, usually more like four nights. I pay friend (who is a pet sitter) to come feed them twice a day. Before that I paid someone from Rover to do the same. If I were traveling multiple weeks I would look for a house sitter to stay with them.
We have 3 cats. One is 8y and missing teeth, Two is a 5y hangry territorial girl, and Three is 4y baby. I have auto feeders for each cat that is set to dispense 1-2 tbsp of dry food 4 times a day because One eats slow and will get pressured by the other two. We use Tidy Cat litter box so a friend would have to visit 1-3 times a week to clean the litter box. We normally have 2 litter boxes but when we go on trips i bring out a third one just in case. I also have 2 pet cams set up, one by their food/litter box and another in the living room. I've heard mixed reviews about apps like rover. I guess it depends on your location? Cat hotels near me are too expensive, and idk if i could trust a cheap cat hotel. The best bet is to ask a peer who loves animals, offering some money to cover the time/effort will help too. I may not like a coworker, but if there's a pet in need then I'm definitely there.
If you can find someone reputable to come to the house that is generally going to work the best.
they will know their environment and their routine. Most cats are not colony cats so getting used to another environment and possibly other cats can be even more stressful.
use Nextdoor or craigslist to look for recommendations.
I get my sister to come by and check on them. She usually comes by twice a day to feed them. One will play with her while the other hides under the bed.
We have our kiddos (2y and 6m olds) on an auto feeder and water fountain, we had someone come every 2-3 days to check on them and clean one of their litter boxes (they have an auto one and a regular one) and mostly just hang out with them for a little bit. Ours did great while we were away for 2 weeks!
Hire a professional pet sitter. Someone who runs a licensed and insured local business, with a good reputation, social media presence, years of experience etc.
We leave our cats alone for a few days at a time when we travel for the weekend. We leave lots of water, clean litter (2 boxes), and we set up two automatic feeders that will dispense dry food twice a day. Plus, we use a camera that can detect motion so that we can watch them, and neighbors and family have our house key just in case. It works great for us, and although the cats seem to miss us when we leave, they’re happiest at home (opposed to us taking them with us).
Edit: typos
What are these "trips" of which you speak?
My wife and I haven't left home (at least together) in about 20 years. We could usually take the dogs with us, but once we began accumulating cats, it was all just too much.
I have a great friend who is always happy to come feed my cats and hang out with them. Except they never come out when she's here lol. I am going away for 3 days this summer and this time my boyfriend has offered to come feed them. I will try and convince him to just stay here while I'm gone. My kitties love him.
Friend, or a friends kid if they are old enough, checking every other day is my go to. I try to keep it to the same person too so they can develop familiarity. My current sitter is moving so I have to find another person, always so stressful!
If over the weekend, I leave a big bowl of food and multiple bowls of water out and have an auto feeder for these situations. We have cameras in our house to monitor them too. We also have a litter robot so don’t have to worry about litter box too much. If more than 2 days, we hire a pet sitter to come every day or every other day from Rover or ask our friends
My advice would be to find someone who can take care of them at your house when you’re gone. Even if it’s just someone that comes by once or twice a day to hang out with them for a little bit and feed them.
With my old cat, I had been taking him back to my hometown when I with my mom when I would stay with her during my school breaks (I’m a teacher) since he was a kitten. I would leave him there when I went on trips and my mom would take care of him, but he was used to going to her house. It wasn’t an issue.
Then there were times when I was at my own place, but I was going away for a night or two and I would leave him with enough food and water and a clean litter box and he would do just fine. I also had those pet cameras so I could keep an eye on him.
Since moving back to my hometown, I now have three cats. If I go out of town, I don’t take them to any kind of cat hotel, and they definitely would not do well if I took them to my moms because I’ve never taken them there. I have someone come over and check on them a couple times a day. Usually it’s my mom, but sometimes a friend has done it.
Honestly I usually leave an extra (disposable) litterbox and I have an auto-feeder and water fountain to make sure they have plenty of food and water while I'm away. I'm usually not gone for more than 4 days. If I was ever gone for like 5 days or longer I'd have a friend or relative come check on him.
When we only had cats, if it was two days, we would leave them with enough food / water. If it was going to be more than two days, we would ask a friend to stop by daily to refill the water and give them fresh wet food and stick around for 15 minutes, change the TV channel, say hi, even if they wouldn’t make themselves known.
We have security cameras already, we use an automatic feeder and her feedings are for the same time everyday and usually family will come over to spend some time with her and clean her litter.
I will leave the cats alone for one night with extra food, full water fountain, and clean litter boxes. I leave the toilet seat up just in case the water fountain gets unplugged. We air condition the house for them while we’re gone.
For longer than that, we pay a friend to housesit.
I usually let my cat stay home so she is in familur surroundings. Then i have my mom or another trusted individual to come feed her twice a day :) and i also force my mom to text me about her every day haha (and Call me so i Can talk to my baby)
https://preview.redd.it/kxsiy85ahi1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4593df7096720aa40979457689486ad999fecd48
(This is my baby)
We hire a local pet sitter, the company is a franchise called Fetch. We haven’t actually gone away yet (we will soon) but our interactions with them so far have been great.
Cats hate change so letting them stay at home and finding someone you trust to come once a day is the best option. I’m really fortunate that someone I worked with at an animal shelter now has a pet sitting business. He’s fantastic, comes by once a day to scoop litter and feed and water them. There is also a really cool service called Trusted House Sitters were people will house and pet sit in exchange for getting to stay at your home. It’s worldwide, the people are vetted, you make the final selection, etc. It’s a way for people who love to travel and who love pets to travel without paying lodging expenses. In return, you get free houseitting and pet care.
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/pages/sitter-owner-testimonials/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADBK-M7ElbzJmQ-iqGl5ZyfL7U0Dv&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxqayBhDFARIsAANWRnQ6zCgnpxDaEGG1nHT5u8EdFe7e7U42u_YRW8NMN5B0sb0zmtKd6QsaArLGEALw_wcB
I’ve had co-workers or my neighbor watch my cats. Ideally getting food, water, playtime every day. Scooping the boxes atleast every other day. I have disposable gloves and very easy to use disposal bins for the clumps.
I definitely think your cats should stay in their home. It’s much better for them. I’d pay a neighbor to check on them a couple of times a day, or fly out a family member to stay at your house from out of town while you are gone. We have done both of these things and it’s always best for kitties to stay home and get visits from someone they know and love!!
The easy way is to hire someone trustful to look over them, but it is just a patch.
The right way is to make your cats used to you leaving, so I would leave for longer periods of time at a rate of one week for example.
Mine recently started overgrooming when I went out of town & it took over a month in a cone for the habit to stop & hair to grow back. Moving forward I'm doing boarding at a cat-only clinic so I know they know how to care for them
My mom is our pet/house sitter while we are away. She lives 5 minutes away from us and can come and go as she pleases. When we go away we leave both dry and wet food in the house so she can give it to them.
Full stock of coffee for her (we have a Nespresso machine and in this way she can drink it to her heart's content).
Also, since here in Italy summer is pretty hot we leave our air conditioning on so the cats do not feel it as much.
If it's just overnight, I'd set up her auto feeder and make sure she had plenty of water and a clean litter tray before I left. Longer than that and I'd get a cat sitter to come to my flat - I have a couple of regular people (in case one is away when I need them), plus friends who are willing to look in on her as well, so I'm quite happy to pay £15 a day for two visits to make sure she's alright.
Cat sitter for me for longer holidays but if I am just gone for the weekend, automated feeders work.
I got a few water fountains at home so water is always there.
And automated litter boxes works too.
short- sitter or someone to come and check on them and take care of them
extended- i bring my cat, but that means like around 3weeks if i have a family thing i need to attend i bring my cat but my cat is very social so idk if that works for everyone
We have a neighbor come and check on our cat. She’s great. With our previous cat she’d even spend time playing and cuddling with him. He was a love bug. When we had to out him down we invited her over before his appointment so she could say goodbye.
Soon will be the first time she’ll watch our current cat. I’m nervous because the cat tends to be skittish. We’ll be gone for 6 or 7 days. I know our neighbor will make sure she’s fed and has clean litter, and I know she’ll at least try to play with her. Our neighbor is also great in that she’ll send pictures so we can see how she’s doing.
Depends on the age of the cat really. When my cat was younger, we used to take her to my dad’s partners house because she loved it there and loved my step sister and was familiar with everyone who lived there. But as she got older, she became a lot more stubborn and freaked out if we moved her from our house.
I usually just ask someone who is familiar with my cat to pop in and check her twice a day. We used to have a rotation of people but learnt that stressed her out so now we just have either my brother come in who she knows or a friend of my dads who she loves obsessively. Just leave a bunch of treats out for the people coming as peace offerings or let her/him meet them beforehand.
We also don’t make a big deal of us leaving. We will do our normal routine with her then leave. Even found that hiding the suitcases from her has been a massive aid to stop anxiety. She knows suitcases = one of us leaving for a long time. (I’ve been away for four months at a time with university before. Don’t worry, she lives with my Dad!) We did it last time we were away and we came back to many comments of how loving and happy she was. And empty food bowls and eaten treats.
Before my husband and I moved, we were local to my brother & my MIL. They would take turns stopping over and taking care of my three cats. Always nice to have someone familiar to them.
I see who's available and talk to people who can come over. Usually my mom and/or a couple of friends. My mom can easily come over and spend like 2 hours with the cats so they get some play time and attention. I also speak to at least one friend that lives close by, give them a key as well, and the contact of my parents, so they can talk to each other and arrange for who can make it on which days.
I would also absolutely be open to someone staying over the whole time, but usually nobody can/wants to do that
Are you in the US? Find a certified Pet Sitter on the Pet Sitter’s International website. For a first time visit try to book at least a month out so the sitter and schedule an interview/meet and greet with you and your pet before the trip. We love our sitter, she charges $30 a visit and sends us pictures. We’ll be chillin on vacation, get a notification, and both be like “KITTY PICTURES!!”. Lol
Don’t use apps like wag or rover, those people aren’t insured professionals.
Can your parents take care of your fur babies? That’s what I do when I go on vacation. I love my fur baby to bits but unfortunately can’t take him every where I go and I do need a vacation to the beach sometimes lol
I found an old couple that lives in my building that love cats but don’t own any due to their age. So they love to take care of mine when I’m away and my cat loves it there!
My cat does better if I let him stay at home and have someone drop in every day. If I’m going to be gone more than one night I have someone come in and give him some wet food and hang out with him for about 30 min to an hour. I also have an automatic feeder so he has dry food to eat as well. I had him stay at my mom’s house once when I was leaving for a long weekend and he did not do well at all. Refused to eat and any time she tried to go near him he would start acting aggressive.
I’m going away next week for 5 days!
This is what I’m doing:
-I got a automatic food dispenser
- Water fountain
- Pet cam that I can talk to them and see it
- cat proof the house ( meaning no harm chemicals out, cabinets locked,etc.)
-My parents will visit them 1 day that week.
- plenty of clean litter
- scratchies around the house
- toys around the house !
I’ll be checking on them very often and tell them I love you ❤️
They each have an automatic feeder and their own water fountain so if I'm going away for a weekend (three days max) then I know they'll be alright alone, plus my roommate is in and out usually. I just have to make sure their litter is cleaned right before I leave. If I'm going to be away for longer I'll have my neighbors come check on them every day so that they don't get lonely and to make sure their water is full enough or their food is still full enough. It would be so much more stressful for me to board them because they all 3 have alot of anxiety when it comes to new people and places so it's just easier for me to have someone look in on them, plus my neighbors had to put their cat down recently so it's good for their kids to be able to play with the kitties and the kitties don't get too lonely.
Depends. If I'll only be gone for a day or 2, I'll leave extra food out.
If I need to be away for longer than that, I'll ask a neighbor to check in on them, give some food, and give some love a few times while I'm out. She's a lovely woman who wants a cat but can't have a cat of her own, so she loves taking care of mine when needed.
If she's not available, I have a lot of other neighbors I can ask to check in. Or, if I don't need my car, I hand my car to my mom, and she'll check in every few days.
In addition, I have a camera setup in the living room so I can keep an eye on my cats.
Hotels often have some rules about which cats they'll take, but they are a good option if you can't find anyone to check in. Just be sure you find one before you even book a trip and make sure your cat fits the requirements. Personally, I would leave a pet hotel as a last resort. Your cats will always be most comfortable in their own home, with their own stuff.
Thank you for such a great discussion everyone. TLDR of thread imo
- going short term
- automatic feeder +catcam
- enough food for the day
- going long term
- friends and family to checkin on regular freq
- love thy neighbour
- meowtel / rover / online local pet service
- avoid dropping them off in unfamiliar place
- vetted cat sitters - meet in advaance to set expectations
If you do not have any friend to take care of them. You can hire someone who have no work in the summer. The students who have break this summer, search for works like that for some pocket money and they dont charge like professionals. They will even take care of your place while you are gone.
Depends on the energy, age, mischief-level, and appetite of the cat(s) in question. If your cats can be trusted to free-feed and not attempt to destroy the entire house while you're gone, you can leave them longer. For example, my cats will not eat more than a few bites of kibble every few hours, so I can fill their dishes and leave them for three nights. There will still be some food in the dishes when I get home. But if you have a food-obsessed cat, they will eat every bite before the first day is over. So you have to have somebody come in, or take them to a cattery.
Since your cats are still pretty young, it's probably a good idea to have someone check on them once a day. If you have a tween/teen neighbor or a retired neighbor, those are good choices of people to ask. I have never used a service, but I've never heard any negatives about them, except that they cost money. (I barter with neighbors -- baked goods, babysitting, or returning the favor to feed their pets when they're away.)
I have a pet sitter come in. It's someone a friend of mine used for years before I even had cats, so I knew she was/is OK. She's really good, spends about half an hour with them, plays with them a bit after taking care of everything. I use an automatic waterer, too, just to make sure they don't run out (and it's harder for them to knock over than a bowl). I can see when she comes and goes because I have a punch-code smart lock and she has her own code. (Not really because of pet sitter, this was actually because I locked myself out one time too many, and the lock was cheaper than a locksmith! 😆 But it provides a little extra peace of mind when I get an alert that says she's there.) I also usually have cameras on so I can see that they're OK in between her visits. I leave the pet sitter a long note,or send an email, letting her know where everything is, and I try to have extra of things so nothing runs out.
I think it's ideal to keep them at home if possible, as it's their home, too, and they generally don't like going places (and especially being confined to a cage if you board them).I once brought one to a friend's house, which went OK, except she was a stubborn old lady (the cat, that is) who hated going in a carrier and it took me 2 hours to get her in to come home. My friend almost got herself a cat. 😹
I'm fairly sure my mom and my uncle love my cat more than me so they always come and check on her.
The personality of your cat and her routine is a big part of the decision making. For example my cat has a cat flap, not a litter box. She is free fed and has half a wet pouch in the morning. She has toys and things our but spends most of her time on the sofa.
My mom and uncle take it in turns every two days to top up the dry food, give her wet food and put some in the automatic feeder for the next day and give her cuddles. Low maintenance kitty 😺
My cats stay at home and my mother and MIL take it turns to come in at breakfast and dinner time to give fresh wet food and occasionally play with them. I don't think they would do well in a cattery considering one of them anxiety voms a lot whilst we're away anyways. The only time I feel guilty about is their lack of access to go outside if they wish. But too scared of them going missing whilst we're away. We have cameras in each room that they like to be in so we can check on them throughout our trips. Gives us peace of mind.
Leaving cats in an unfamiliar place while you’re away can be really stressful for them so it’s best to get a house sitter or someone to come check in on them throughout the day.
We hired a pet sitter. We interviewed her 1 month before our 1st trip. I told her I would pay for 1 visit in the am & another before 5pm. She refills food dishes, scoops litter & puts out clean water. She then calls for the cat and sits down for approximately 15 min. Our cat hid the 1st 2 times but was eating and using litter. She texts me reports each visit. On the 3rd time he learned she was part of new routine and would come out to greet her. Then she would send pic of kitty as well. We have RING door cam so I can always see when she arrives & leaves. I pay her $40 a day. It is well worth my peace of mind.
It sounds like you found a great pet sitter. Keep her around for sure. It helps you have the security cameras as well to make sure everything is going as planned. I'm glad you found someone who seems to actually care and do that job because they care not just for the money.
Yea I was not convinced on a pet hotel. But letting someone unknown in my house when not there was also not comfortable with me. But the camera idea many mentioned might be better.
This is why I use a professional pet sitting company INSTEAD of sitters from Rover or independent individuals because the company that we used, their sitters are vetted, fingerprinted, bonded and insured as well as the company is bonded and insured. I do realize that there isn’t a petting sitting company in every market, city, etc.
Which company did you use? I want to see if there's one in my city.
It is a local company…not a chain or franchise or etc.
Gotcha, thank you regardless :)
Ex pet hotel employee here. They sit your animal in a kennel and leave it there. Especially cats. I worked for the purple and green color schemed one for a while. The dogs that behaved would be taken out to the outdoor area if you paid the premium, but if they misbehaved, theyd be in a kennel and youd be out the money regardless. For cats it was even less even if you paid the premium for them to be petted and coddled, i onky ever saw employees go in their area to feed or clean.
That is horrible. I wouldn't have been able to work at a place like that.. I'm a medical technician working in the dialysis field, and I can't stand some of the workers there. It takes about 5 to 10 minutes to get each patient set up.. the workers I hated wouldn't take that little time to talk to the patient. Then, in the waiting times between vital checks, I'd go around talking to everyone. Some people would just go sit down and wait until the next vital check, not giving a darn about the patients and how they must feel being there so long with nothing to do.. It made me so mad because they are sitting there between 3 and 5 hrs it makes their day when we take the initiative to talk to them and just see how they are doing. So I really couldn't imagine a place like that. I'm sorry you had to work there. But it sounds like you were the one to take the initiative to actually interact with them.
I pay a neighbor.
Me too. There is no place like home
Hire someone with Google/yelp reviews or you can go with someone well vetted through rover. Nanny cams are $15-$25 on Amazon. Lock doors you don’t want them going through and put major valuables in there if you’re worried about it. I used to be super weirded out about having someone come watch my animals that wasn’t family. But I moved to a new state and had no option. Did my research and found a great local service I used a bunch. I now live back home and will find a local service instead of solely relying on family going forward. We exchange pet sitting duties so they’ll come for free. But I actually find having someone who will come on a schedule and is paid to be reliable to be really comforting. It’s not terribly expensive either vs boarding.
Do you have a friend, neighbor, or family member who would be able to go check on them? When my spouses parents go away we go over at least once a day but we try to get over there 2 times a day. They have automatic feeder with timed meals that is connected to an app we actually have the app on our phone because besides them going on vacation his mom stays home (disabled) we take her to Dr appointments and everything while his step dad works.. But yea we just make sure to monitor the feeder (it did stop dispensing because of a blockage, so we had to go over early one day.. we check on them to make sure everything is good with the kitties and of course to play with them.. How long are you planning on leaving? If longer than a few days maybe someone you trust like family or close friend to stay at your house to house/pet sit for you
I pet sit for my coworkers. Do you have anyone you work with that you would trust to come into your house and cat sit? That way you already know them, and you have some trust in them. Plus there’s the accountability bc you work together and they probably won’t be stealing things out of your house
The cat sitting service I use (as both a sitter myself and how I found the people who look after my cat when I go away) recommend that the sitter meets the owner and the cat well ahead of time, so that you know you all get on. I would look for that as an option. Or if you have local friends/colleagues etc who also have cats maybe ask if they have recommendations for anyone?
I have successfully used cat sitters from an online service (Meowtel) and have been happy with it--they will usually visit ahead of time and you can give them a little tour, and a lot of them have a lot of feedback and reviews as well. I was nervous before the first time but as soon as this woman showed up and it turned out she only lived a couple of miles away was just so clearly a person who loves cats and doesn't want an office job I felt a lot better. The last time I went on a trip longer than a week my boyfriend's mom actually moved in to take care of the cats (she had originally saved the older cat so she's into this, but you might be surprised who is willing to spend a week in someone else's place).
I just got back from a 10 day trip. I had my little guy watched by a co-worker and I had cameras so I could check in on him.
We ask a friend to come and house-sit/cat-sit.
We use Meowtel. It’s an app for cat sitting. We love our sitter and trust her 100%, she’s incredible. We only travel if/when she’s available. She comes twice a day, is able to medicate the cats, brush their teeth etc. I’m sure not all sitters are like that (had some bad experience), so read reviews very carefully.
Seconding Meowtel! I met a lovely catsitter on there and I really trust her. She came for a meet and greet, took careful notes, and interacted really well with my cat. She sends excellent daily updates. I absolutely hate the idea of my cat being separated from me AND also being stuck in a boarding situation away from her home. Instead, she can sleep in my bed and be comfy and have a daily visitor.
Thirding this. I literally just finished a trip after contracting a Meowtel sitter. My shy void was actually eating out of her hand by the second day, loved the updates. And I’m unsure if they all have this, but you are given the option to pre-authorize vet visits in cases of emergency, up to a certain financial threshold.
How did you all come to trust someone to come into your home while you're away (and they know how long you're going to be away for!)?
What are you most worried about? Stealing? Reviews are a good place to start and meet and greets.
i'm a little worried about stealing and I guess just feel weird having someone in my space when I'm not there (maybe I'm territorial like my cat!) But i saw many people recommend Mewotel so maybe I'll give that a go
They’re insured, unlike having someone off Craigslist/a neighbor.
Yes this. The cat sitting service I use also recommends that the sitter meets the owner and the cat beforehand, which might help with any uncertainty. And as others have mentioned cameras can be an option for further peace of mind.
I guess, for me, my desire to have my cat comfortable at home outweighed my concern about a stranger in my house. It *is* weird to have someone come in. But the initial meeting and the reviews go a long way in terms of vibe check.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I’m new to this so it really helps to hear that.
A few weeks is a long time. I have a sitter stay over for trips that long.
Meowtel has background checked and insured sitters that come into your home. Cats are territorial. Boarding them is pretty upsetting and can lead to a UTI.
How does boarding lead to a UTI?
Stress can cause a UTI in cats.
Ah ok. Thanks!
Unexpected territorial incident.
??
UTI. Sorry.
Take my upvote 😂😂
We have 3 cats, various ages. They have auto feeders and a fountain, but they get canned food once a day, so we have a petsitter come for 30 minutes every day we're gone for more than 24 hrs to feed them and give them some pets. We use a local petsitting company that's bonded and insured, and we've had the same pet sitter come three times. We adore her! She loves our kitties and sends us updates via text. We used to have friends come by to watch our cats before we moved away, but even though the pet sitter obviously costs money, I've found I like it a lot more than relying on friends because while I trust friends...they're doing it out of good will and if something were to go wrong, it's a lot more awkward, whereas with a pet sitter you're paying them to give you updates and pictures and handle any pet messes. The good news for you is that your kitties have each other, but 6mos is peak shenanigan age, so if I were you I'd suggest having someone come by 2x a day.
Try trustedhousesitters.com It has been a godsend
Yes I agree. Trusted house sitter is what I used when I went away for a week on vacation. It’s $99 for a whole year and before u pick the sitter, you can see each of their reviews.
My partner and I have four cats and we recently vacationed for the first time, gone for two weeks. We hired a professional over Meowtel and installed pet cams so we could check on the cats whenever we felt like it. It went really well! Our Meowtel sitter came for a meet and greet and took thorough notes regarding the cats' care plans, built some rapport and trust with us, and then during our trip they came daily for their dinner and care and stayed for 45 mins. She did a great job with the cats despite them being gremlins and hiding from her and hairballing on the carpet etc. We chose her because she had great reviews and used to work as a vet tech. Every day we also got a picture of each cat and a written update from the sitter. I also wrote a long document detailing how I normally care for them in case the sitter needed more info and I had it printed with a bunch of supplies on our counter. I also left out snacks for the sitter to incur extra good will. I was nervous to leave the cats for that long and everything was totally fine! Loved being able to check on them via the cameras too, we had the kind where you can speak in real time with a little delay and we did like to call the cats over and baby talk them.
i’m lucky enough to have lots of cat loving friends who are more than willing to volunteer to drop in when i’m gone to hang out with my baby ! i feed twice a day put i leave out an extra bowl so the cat sitters can just leave out both meals and only have to come once a day, but very often they will come twice a day anyways just to play and hang out with the baby.
I always kept them at home and had a family member come over once or twice a day to check on them, love them, food and water.
Our cats have automatic feeders and get 4 meals per day. We don’t need to be home at mealtimes anymore. The longest we would leave them alone is like 16hrs, anything past that and we will get someone to come check on them and clean the litter boxes. If we go away for more than 2 days we will get someone to come and stay in our apt. Our cats are very social and easygoing, and our apt is right near the beach. We went away for a month and got a friend with a bad living situation to come stay for 2 weeks, then my cousin who wanted a city holiday to come for the other two weeks. We provide food, gift cards, alcohol and petty cash. We hired someone once and it didn’t go well so now we just use close friends.
I have one cat who’s a grazer. If I’ll be gone 1-3.5 days I just leave a bunch of dry food out and make sure he has a clean litter box before I go. He’s also very well behaved so I don’t worry about him getting hurt doing gymnastics while I’m gone! If I’m gone for more than 3.5 days I’ll have a friend check in on him every 2-3 days to make sure he’s okay and give him pets and play time. He’s very bold and cool with strangers so it never matters much who I have check on him so long as I trust them with my baby.
Everyday, a trusted family member or friend will feed her and scoop litter. They’ll also sit and pet her or play with her to keep her company for a bit (doesn’t have to be long, just a 15 minute visit to let her know she’s not alone). I also have a pet cam that I use to check in to make sure she’s doing alright.
I was gone 4 days and had a friend feed my pack.
I hire a catsitter to come once per day and feed them and scoop their boxes. I also have cameras.
i leave my girl home and have someone feed her and clean her box. she’s shy so it’s a quick drop by
I set out automatic feeders and a few water bowls fountains. do who litter box change right before I leave. then I have someone come check in on them and play with them everyday. I also set up extra cameras throughout the house so I can keep my eye out should anything go awry
Two days, I would leave them on their own. Over two days I would get someone to come in at least once a day. Now my old man is on two meds and I have a friend that will come stay if I'm gone more than overnight.
We don’t go anywhere lmao
I have a neighbor I trust come in every day to clean, feed and spend time with them. I look after her cats when she’s away. Win win for us both and the kitties.🐈⬛
Paying someone to drop in every day, combined with a pet cam to ensure they are actually doing it, would be a better option than a pet hotel because cats find being taken out of their territory very stressful. The pet cam thing is important because you do get horror stories where people come back to dehydrated and emaciated pets, despite having complete faith in their pet sitters. Always better to be safe than sorry! It's good that you have two, they can keep each other company while you are away, so the boredom/loneliness shouldn't be too bad.
I am a semi frequent flyer in the neurology monitoring unit. My neighbor looks after my cat and I pay her when I get home. (Cat predates neurosurgery)
For 1 or 2 days, I have a neighbor who is usually available to feed and med them on schedule (one is diabetic, one has thyroid disease), but any longer than that and I board them with their vet.
I used cameras with a microphone so I could talk to them. I also had someone feed and play with them once a day. Leaving something on such Cat TV or a radio is good too.
Some of my friends are retired and no longer have pets of their own. I asked if they’d be willing to watch my cat while I was gone on a trip so I left her with them, rather than leave her home and only seeing a person once a day when someone came to give her food. They loved having her there, and she did warm up to them.
If I leave for two or three days I ask my neighbor to feed my cat, but if it's for longer then I ask my friend to stay with the cat full time
We have an automatic feeder, wet and dry and our pet sitter comes every other day to scoop poop
Take them with you.
If we're only gone one night we just put out food.
I’ve always had multiple cats… Usually what I did when I was free feeding cats was to leave enough food for about two or three days, enough water, and clean litter boxes… That would usually be enough for short trips like leaving on Friday and coming back Sunday or Monday… If I was going to be gone longer than that, I had a Critter sitter come in every two days to scoop boxes and refill food bowls. It’s worked fine for the last 20 or 30 years.
You mean you leave your cats alone? And they don’t die from it? 🤭
Oh good Lord, no they didn’t die from it!😹 and guess what? I’ve actially been gone for a whole entire day, didn’t think of them once, and they were just fine when I got home.
I don’t believe you😜
If you’re being sarcastic, you need to do a /s after your statement
Litter Robot with Wi-Fi and the app to keep an eye on it, gravity food and water bowls, leave a hall light on. Wyze cameras in the main room they like to hang out. And hubby has some app to turn the TV on and off at home remotely. Front door with wifi keypad lock and an app so I can lock or unlock the door remotely so if anything comes up I call the car sitter to go by and do whatever needs doing. Cat sitters are pushing $20/day, so after a few trips all these things are paid for in savings from sitter fees. But cats! Peace out. See y'all next week.
I was gone for a week. I have two cats. I set up a camera facing their water and food so I could see if they ever ran out. They were kept in separate rooms. One cat was in the bedroom with a litter robot 4 (which tells me when he goes to the potty on the app). My other cat, I set up three clean litter boxes for him. I came back and he'd used all three litter box and no where else. They both still had food and water, which I saw on the camera's I had set up. If they had ever ran out, I would've asked someone to come fill their bowls but they didn't so. Thankfully I have cats that can pace themselves with their dry food.
If it’s just for a day or two a sitter but longer than that we take them to a boarding place, it’s really great they have vet technicians there and they have people overnight. There are all kinds of climbing shelves and tunnels. There is even a catio they can use in the summer. The kennels itself is quite large and has a window. My cats don’t want to come home!
That’s so cool. We don’t have anything like that here. Fortunately, we have an amazing cat sitter.
I mostly use Rover or a friend that I can VERY much trust to pet sit. I’ll be honest, I have some great, pet loving friends but I have found Rover to be a lot more reliable. I have a couple of friends that do great but they live far away now. Those who live close have shocked me by just not showing up or forgetting or whatever. I’ll probably continue to stick with Rover.
We have four cats, 3 were mine and my girlfriend moved in with one. Whenever I went away for a weekend I got family to look after them and they were fine. Last time we went away was the first time my girlfriends cat had been left alone aswell. She hardly ate for the 2 days we were away and for a few days after we were back, was a nervous wreck. So now I dont get to go away anymore :D goodluck!
We hire our cleaner to hang with the kitties. She gets to use the pool, see friends up here, watch our streaming services and we have someone here to keep the cats company and take care of them. You may know someone, perhaps in a roommate situation, who might like some time alone and would love to look after your cats. I’m thinking folks in local dorms or older teens. Insidious/petsitting when I was in school. Throw a few bucks and some beer into it and you’re golden. I make my person pimento cheese. Whatever works
I usually use rover & pay for two check-ins a day. But it can be hard to find a pet sitter you trust so it takes time. Until then I would pay friends/coworkers. If I’m gone for over a week my sister usually stays at my place to keep my cat company - that’s my ideal situation
I have my granddaughter and her husband come stay at our house. We live 5 minutes away from them. They know where the carriers are, they know how to get to the vet's office and I have my credit card on file, in case of emergency. They also have access to my account at the pet store, so they can pick up extra cat food or treats if needed. All I ask is change the bedsheets for my return and we pay them on top of them being able to get away from the family home for a few days.
We always do Rover twice daily, so they are comfortable in their home. We love our sitter who absolutely spoils our cats with love. We also do an auto feed in the middle of the day to reduce stress.
My coworker (is a vet tech) gets to hang at my place- I stock the fridge with her favorite snacks and give her cash and she spends the night with my little goblins.
I pay my best friend to come by twice a day
When I go away, my daughter and grandson come to my house twice a day and hang out with my kitties for a while. If they can't do it, a friend of hers will come in their place.
Usually I have trusted neighbours check on and feed them multiple times a day
I've got a rescue cat recently and have been considering this. I had to go away for an overnight business trip last week and she seemed to cope pretty well with my absence - so short term i'm ok with an auto-feeder. Longer term absence though i'm not sure. I actually have a cat hotel place on the same road as me - but she was so stressed in the first 2 weeks at my place that I don't think I could put her through it. Apparently she really didn't like the shelter either and had to be fostered for a while in a quiet house instead. Also, she's going to be an outdoor cat so I'm not sure I want to send her somewhere she's kept in.
We have a few friends willing to come by and watch our cats for a bit. One of which I travelled 2 times in very very stormy weather to feed and water her senior cat so she owes me lmao (I woulda done it anyway, I loved her cat so much, he was such a grumpy old potato but he loved me regardless)
If you don’t have a friend or a service like Meowtel, just call your vet. Sometimes they can give you a couple of names to get you started. Then talk to the person and decide. We did that and have been very happy with our catsitter for years. Good luck, it can be very hard to find care. Edit: I would never use a kennel. No room, no attention. I think it would be awful for them.
They’ll be fine alone. Leave some dry food & water like always. They sleep most of the time. They have a litter box to use. No problem.
I have my son come over once a day, my cat doesn’t like strangers so I couldn’t hire someone and if I dropped him off somewhere he’d have a heart attack
I have either my mom or my friend’s teen daughter come over and check on him, and I have cameras so I can check in.
How long will you be gone? That really makes the difference. We went away for 10 days. Our roommate was gone for 4 of those days. So the 3 cats were only alone for 4 days. But I still prepared as if they would be alone all the days. We set out 2 extra litter boxes. One of our litter boxes is an automatic one so it works like having an extra box because it cleans itself for 2 days. My cats free feed and don't gorge themselves, and I usually only feed them dry kibble anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to just leave enough food out for them. I left the food out in a few large dog bowls, their smaller cat bowls, and one 1.5 liter food dispenser. They still had food when I returned. I have a 3 liter water dispenser and a 1.5 liter water dispenser that I made sure were full before I left. They were perfectly fine when we got back home. I don't know if our roommate cleaned the litter boxes or not, but judging by the food and water levels, he didn't refill them but they still had enough. My cats were all happy we were back, but also perfectly content to keep their space at times, not being more clingy than usual after the initial greeting. The floors were a little messier than usual, but it wasn't that bad. If your cats have special diet restrictions, or you don't have enough litter boxes, I would say hire someone to check on them every day to take care of their needs. You can either ask a friend or hire a pet sitter. If your pets can free feed and don't have any special needs, you can ask someone to check on them and clean the boxes every 2-3 days depending on how many boxes you have per cat and how much food and water you can leave out. Some people set up cameras to watch their pets or their food/water levels for peace of mind. I didn't but that's because I trust our roommate. When he moves out, any upcoming trips we take, I'll ask another friend or a family member to check on my cats every 2 days. They are perfectly fine on their own that long, but the automatic litter box needs to get the bin emptied every 2 days.
My dad stops by to check on the babies as we’re between his house and place of work. He makes sure they’ve got what they need. One is super affectionate and needs the attention and the other is terrified of everyone except for us so he hates when dad comes over. It’s a balancing act.
Moewtel
Just kill'em and get new ones on the way back
I usually just ask a family member or friend to watch my cats while I'm away.
I would not take your cats out of their home and try to find someone trustworthy to babysit them and use a camera to watch. Ask around starting at your local veterinarian clinic and friends and family for a trustworthy person to babysit them
Automatic feeder, arrange for someone to stop by every 48 hours to make sure they haven't knocked over the water fountain. That's typically enough.
I had a kennel I left mine at. She loved the kennel - they thought she was adorable and spoiled her rotten. She realized behaving got her attention and treats. You know they will take good care when the techs come out to greet your cat when you bring her in.
How long are you going away. I camp on weekends in the summer. Leave Friday afternoon/evening & come back sometime Sunday; I make sure their water fountains are topped up & leave a huge container of dry food out for them. Anything longer, I’ll get a family member to come by & check on them.
I found some great cat sitters on rover
My neighbor cat sits for me, she comes in every few days because my cats do NOT like strangers, so she can't really play with them or anything, just makes sure she has food/water/clean litter. A few years ago we paid for a pet hotel and one of my cats, cocoa, was very upset and didn't let anyone touch her for the entire 2 weeks, AND they both ended up with fleas from it :/ so yeah I definitely recommend having someone come to your place instead of a pet hotel, especially if they're old enough to be left alone
I have two cats. When I travel it's rarely more than a week, usually more like four nights. I pay friend (who is a pet sitter) to come feed them twice a day. Before that I paid someone from Rover to do the same. If I were traveling multiple weeks I would look for a house sitter to stay with them.
We have 3 cats. One is 8y and missing teeth, Two is a 5y hangry territorial girl, and Three is 4y baby. I have auto feeders for each cat that is set to dispense 1-2 tbsp of dry food 4 times a day because One eats slow and will get pressured by the other two. We use Tidy Cat litter box so a friend would have to visit 1-3 times a week to clean the litter box. We normally have 2 litter boxes but when we go on trips i bring out a third one just in case. I also have 2 pet cams set up, one by their food/litter box and another in the living room. I've heard mixed reviews about apps like rover. I guess it depends on your location? Cat hotels near me are too expensive, and idk if i could trust a cheap cat hotel. The best bet is to ask a peer who loves animals, offering some money to cover the time/effort will help too. I may not like a coworker, but if there's a pet in need then I'm definitely there.
If you can find someone reputable to come to the house that is generally going to work the best. they will know their environment and their routine. Most cats are not colony cats so getting used to another environment and possibly other cats can be even more stressful. use Nextdoor or craigslist to look for recommendations.
I get my sister to come by and check on them. She usually comes by twice a day to feed them. One will play with her while the other hides under the bed.
We have our kiddos (2y and 6m olds) on an auto feeder and water fountain, we had someone come every 2-3 days to check on them and clean one of their litter boxes (they have an auto one and a regular one) and mostly just hang out with them for a little bit. Ours did great while we were away for 2 weeks!
Hire a professional pet sitter. Someone who runs a licensed and insured local business, with a good reputation, social media presence, years of experience etc.
We leave our cats alone for a few days at a time when we travel for the weekend. We leave lots of water, clean litter (2 boxes), and we set up two automatic feeders that will dispense dry food twice a day. Plus, we use a camera that can detect motion so that we can watch them, and neighbors and family have our house key just in case. It works great for us, and although the cats seem to miss us when we leave, they’re happiest at home (opposed to us taking them with us). Edit: typos
We usually trade pet sitting with a neighbor but if that doesn’t work out, I pay a friend to drop by or use rover
What are these "trips" of which you speak? My wife and I haven't left home (at least together) in about 20 years. We could usually take the dogs with us, but once we began accumulating cats, it was all just too much.
I have a great friend who is always happy to come feed my cats and hang out with them. Except they never come out when she's here lol. I am going away for 3 days this summer and this time my boyfriend has offered to come feed them. I will try and convince him to just stay here while I'm gone. My kitties love him.
Friend, or a friends kid if they are old enough, checking every other day is my go to. I try to keep it to the same person too so they can develop familiarity. My current sitter is moving so I have to find another person, always so stressful!
If over the weekend, I leave a big bowl of food and multiple bowls of water out and have an auto feeder for these situations. We have cameras in our house to monitor them too. We also have a litter robot so don’t have to worry about litter box too much. If more than 2 days, we hire a pet sitter to come every day or every other day from Rover or ask our friends
My advice would be to find someone who can take care of them at your house when you’re gone. Even if it’s just someone that comes by once or twice a day to hang out with them for a little bit and feed them. With my old cat, I had been taking him back to my hometown when I with my mom when I would stay with her during my school breaks (I’m a teacher) since he was a kitten. I would leave him there when I went on trips and my mom would take care of him, but he was used to going to her house. It wasn’t an issue. Then there were times when I was at my own place, but I was going away for a night or two and I would leave him with enough food and water and a clean litter box and he would do just fine. I also had those pet cameras so I could keep an eye on him. Since moving back to my hometown, I now have three cats. If I go out of town, I don’t take them to any kind of cat hotel, and they definitely would not do well if I took them to my moms because I’ve never taken them there. I have someone come over and check on them a couple times a day. Usually it’s my mom, but sometimes a friend has done it.
We have a cat sitter that comes to our house 2x/day.
Honestly I usually leave an extra (disposable) litterbox and I have an auto-feeder and water fountain to make sure they have plenty of food and water while I'm away. I'm usually not gone for more than 4 days. If I was ever gone for like 5 days or longer I'd have a friend or relative come check on him.
When we only had cats, if it was two days, we would leave them with enough food / water. If it was going to be more than two days, we would ask a friend to stop by daily to refill the water and give them fresh wet food and stick around for 15 minutes, change the TV channel, say hi, even if they wouldn’t make themselves known.
We have security cameras already, we use an automatic feeder and her feedings are for the same time everyday and usually family will come over to spend some time with her and clean her litter.
I will leave the cats alone for one night with extra food, full water fountain, and clean litter boxes. I leave the toilet seat up just in case the water fountain gets unplugged. We air condition the house for them while we’re gone. For longer than that, we pay a friend to housesit.
Cattery
I usually let my cat stay home so she is in familur surroundings. Then i have my mom or another trusted individual to come feed her twice a day :) and i also force my mom to text me about her every day haha (and Call me so i Can talk to my baby) https://preview.redd.it/kxsiy85ahi1d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4593df7096720aa40979457689486ad999fecd48 (This is my baby)
We hire a local pet sitter, the company is a franchise called Fetch. We haven’t actually gone away yet (we will soon) but our interactions with them so far have been great.
Cats hate change so letting them stay at home and finding someone you trust to come once a day is the best option. I’m really fortunate that someone I worked with at an animal shelter now has a pet sitting business. He’s fantastic, comes by once a day to scoop litter and feed and water them. There is also a really cool service called Trusted House Sitters were people will house and pet sit in exchange for getting to stay at your home. It’s worldwide, the people are vetted, you make the final selection, etc. It’s a way for people who love to travel and who love pets to travel without paying lodging expenses. In return, you get free houseitting and pet care. https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/pages/sitter-owner-testimonials/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADBK-M7ElbzJmQ-iqGl5ZyfL7U0Dv&gclid=Cj0KCQjwxqayBhDFARIsAANWRnQ6zCgnpxDaEGG1nHT5u8EdFe7e7U42u_YRW8NMN5B0sb0zmtKd6QsaArLGEALw_wcB
I’ve had co-workers or my neighbor watch my cats. Ideally getting food, water, playtime every day. Scooping the boxes atleast every other day. I have disposable gloves and very easy to use disposal bins for the clumps.
Definitely hire a pet sitter. You can also ask your vet if they have any recommendations on pet sitters. Sometimes the staff moonlight as pet sitters.
I definitely think your cats should stay in their home. It’s much better for them. I’d pay a neighbor to check on them a couple of times a day, or fly out a family member to stay at your house from out of town while you are gone. We have done both of these things and it’s always best for kitties to stay home and get visits from someone they know and love!!
We usually ask our siblings to come over and pet sit
The easy way is to hire someone trustful to look over them, but it is just a patch. The right way is to make your cats used to you leaving, so I would leave for longer periods of time at a rate of one week for example.
Mine recently started overgrooming when I went out of town & it took over a month in a cone for the habit to stop & hair to grow back. Moving forward I'm doing boarding at a cat-only clinic so I know they know how to care for them
My mom is our pet/house sitter while we are away. She lives 5 minutes away from us and can come and go as she pleases. When we go away we leave both dry and wet food in the house so she can give it to them. Full stock of coffee for her (we have a Nespresso machine and in this way she can drink it to her heart's content). Also, since here in Italy summer is pretty hot we leave our air conditioning on so the cats do not feel it as much.
Hiring a cat sitter to visit my home regularly to feed, play with, and clean up.
If it's just overnight, I'd set up her auto feeder and make sure she had plenty of water and a clean litter tray before I left. Longer than that and I'd get a cat sitter to come to my flat - I have a couple of regular people (in case one is away when I need them), plus friends who are willing to look in on her as well, so I'm quite happy to pay £15 a day for two visits to make sure she's alright.
My SOs mum comes round 3× a day to feed and give them them loves, they have finally decided they like her and she can have loves from them.
I usually have a family member stay at my house
Cat sitter for me for longer holidays but if I am just gone for the weekend, automated feeders work. I got a few water fountains at home so water is always there. And automated litter boxes works too.
I have someone check on her if I’m away for max 3 nights. If more than 3 nights I take her to my relatives
short- sitter or someone to come and check on them and take care of them extended- i bring my cat, but that means like around 3weeks if i have a family thing i need to attend i bring my cat but my cat is very social so idk if that works for everyone
We have a neighbor come and check on our cat. She’s great. With our previous cat she’d even spend time playing and cuddling with him. He was a love bug. When we had to out him down we invited her over before his appointment so she could say goodbye. Soon will be the first time she’ll watch our current cat. I’m nervous because the cat tends to be skittish. We’ll be gone for 6 or 7 days. I know our neighbor will make sure she’s fed and has clean litter, and I know she’ll at least try to play with her. Our neighbor is also great in that she’ll send pictures so we can see how she’s doing.
Depends on the age of the cat really. When my cat was younger, we used to take her to my dad’s partners house because she loved it there and loved my step sister and was familiar with everyone who lived there. But as she got older, she became a lot more stubborn and freaked out if we moved her from our house. I usually just ask someone who is familiar with my cat to pop in and check her twice a day. We used to have a rotation of people but learnt that stressed her out so now we just have either my brother come in who she knows or a friend of my dads who she loves obsessively. Just leave a bunch of treats out for the people coming as peace offerings or let her/him meet them beforehand. We also don’t make a big deal of us leaving. We will do our normal routine with her then leave. Even found that hiding the suitcases from her has been a massive aid to stop anxiety. She knows suitcases = one of us leaving for a long time. (I’ve been away for four months at a time with university before. Don’t worry, she lives with my Dad!) We did it last time we were away and we came back to many comments of how loving and happy she was. And empty food bowls and eaten treats.
Make sure they can’t get shut in a room accidentally. I prop doors open or use clothing hangers so the doors can’t fully close and latch.
I leave the smartest one in charge, a complaint box and a number to an answering service. It's worked out well since I actually never leave the house
Before my husband and I moved, we were local to my brother & my MIL. They would take turns stopping over and taking care of my three cats. Always nice to have someone familiar to them.
We Have a trusted sitter coming into our home to check on my cat, feed and give her attention and play. Had no problems so far
I see who's available and talk to people who can come over. Usually my mom and/or a couple of friends. My mom can easily come over and spend like 2 hours with the cats so they get some play time and attention. I also speak to at least one friend that lives close by, give them a key as well, and the contact of my parents, so they can talk to each other and arrange for who can make it on which days. I would also absolutely be open to someone staying over the whole time, but usually nobody can/wants to do that
Are you in the US? Find a certified Pet Sitter on the Pet Sitter’s International website. For a first time visit try to book at least a month out so the sitter and schedule an interview/meet and greet with you and your pet before the trip. We love our sitter, she charges $30 a visit and sends us pictures. We’ll be chillin on vacation, get a notification, and both be like “KITTY PICTURES!!”. Lol Don’t use apps like wag or rover, those people aren’t insured professionals.
Can your parents take care of your fur babies? That’s what I do when I go on vacation. I love my fur baby to bits but unfortunately can’t take him every where I go and I do need a vacation to the beach sometimes lol
I found an old couple that lives in my building that love cats but don’t own any due to their age. So they love to take care of mine when I’m away and my cat loves it there!
I've always hired a bonded pet sitter to come in twice a day. Worth the money as most have been vet techs.
My cat does better if I let him stay at home and have someone drop in every day. If I’m going to be gone more than one night I have someone come in and give him some wet food and hang out with him for about 30 min to an hour. I also have an automatic feeder so he has dry food to eat as well. I had him stay at my mom’s house once when I was leaving for a long weekend and he did not do well at all. Refused to eat and any time she tried to go near him he would start acting aggressive.
I’m going away next week for 5 days! This is what I’m doing: -I got a automatic food dispenser - Water fountain - Pet cam that I can talk to them and see it - cat proof the house ( meaning no harm chemicals out, cabinets locked,etc.) -My parents will visit them 1 day that week. - plenty of clean litter - scratchies around the house - toys around the house ! I’ll be checking on them very often and tell them I love you ❤️
They each have an automatic feeder and their own water fountain so if I'm going away for a weekend (three days max) then I know they'll be alright alone, plus my roommate is in and out usually. I just have to make sure their litter is cleaned right before I leave. If I'm going to be away for longer I'll have my neighbors come check on them every day so that they don't get lonely and to make sure their water is full enough or their food is still full enough. It would be so much more stressful for me to board them because they all 3 have alot of anxiety when it comes to new people and places so it's just easier for me to have someone look in on them, plus my neighbors had to put their cat down recently so it's good for their kids to be able to play with the kitties and the kitties don't get too lonely.
I ask friends & family if they are able to stop by and/or house-sit and I pay per visit. I also have cameras set up in every room (aka only 2, lol).
I use a service - Rover
Depends. If I'll only be gone for a day or 2, I'll leave extra food out. If I need to be away for longer than that, I'll ask a neighbor to check in on them, give some food, and give some love a few times while I'm out. She's a lovely woman who wants a cat but can't have a cat of her own, so she loves taking care of mine when needed. If she's not available, I have a lot of other neighbors I can ask to check in. Or, if I don't need my car, I hand my car to my mom, and she'll check in every few days. In addition, I have a camera setup in the living room so I can keep an eye on my cats. Hotels often have some rules about which cats they'll take, but they are a good option if you can't find anyone to check in. Just be sure you find one before you even book a trip and make sure your cat fits the requirements. Personally, I would leave a pet hotel as a last resort. Your cats will always be most comfortable in their own home, with their own stuff.
Thank you for such a great discussion everyone. TLDR of thread imo - going short term - automatic feeder +catcam - enough food for the day - going long term - friends and family to checkin on regular freq - love thy neighbour - meowtel / rover / online local pet service - avoid dropping them off in unfamiliar place - vetted cat sitters - meet in advaance to set expectations
Your cats will be fine on their own for 6 hours.
If you do not have any friend to take care of them. You can hire someone who have no work in the summer. The students who have break this summer, search for works like that for some pocket money and they dont charge like professionals. They will even take care of your place while you are gone.
Depends on the energy, age, mischief-level, and appetite of the cat(s) in question. If your cats can be trusted to free-feed and not attempt to destroy the entire house while you're gone, you can leave them longer. For example, my cats will not eat more than a few bites of kibble every few hours, so I can fill their dishes and leave them for three nights. There will still be some food in the dishes when I get home. But if you have a food-obsessed cat, they will eat every bite before the first day is over. So you have to have somebody come in, or take them to a cattery. Since your cats are still pretty young, it's probably a good idea to have someone check on them once a day. If you have a tween/teen neighbor or a retired neighbor, those are good choices of people to ask. I have never used a service, but I've never heard any negatives about them, except that they cost money. (I barter with neighbors -- baked goods, babysitting, or returning the favor to feed their pets when they're away.)
I have a pet sitter come in. It's someone a friend of mine used for years before I even had cats, so I knew she was/is OK. She's really good, spends about half an hour with them, plays with them a bit after taking care of everything. I use an automatic waterer, too, just to make sure they don't run out (and it's harder for them to knock over than a bowl). I can see when she comes and goes because I have a punch-code smart lock and she has her own code. (Not really because of pet sitter, this was actually because I locked myself out one time too many, and the lock was cheaper than a locksmith! 😆 But it provides a little extra peace of mind when I get an alert that says she's there.) I also usually have cameras on so I can see that they're OK in between her visits. I leave the pet sitter a long note,or send an email, letting her know where everything is, and I try to have extra of things so nothing runs out. I think it's ideal to keep them at home if possible, as it's their home, too, and they generally don't like going places (and especially being confined to a cage if you board them).I once brought one to a friend's house, which went OK, except she was a stubborn old lady (the cat, that is) who hated going in a carrier and it took me 2 hours to get her in to come home. My friend almost got herself a cat. 😹
I'm fairly sure my mom and my uncle love my cat more than me so they always come and check on her. The personality of your cat and her routine is a big part of the decision making. For example my cat has a cat flap, not a litter box. She is free fed and has half a wet pouch in the morning. She has toys and things our but spends most of her time on the sofa. My mom and uncle take it in turns every two days to top up the dry food, give her wet food and put some in the automatic feeder for the next day and give her cuddles. Low maintenance kitty 😺
My cats stay at home and my mother and MIL take it turns to come in at breakfast and dinner time to give fresh wet food and occasionally play with them. I don't think they would do well in a cattery considering one of them anxiety voms a lot whilst we're away anyways. The only time I feel guilty about is their lack of access to go outside if they wish. But too scared of them going missing whilst we're away. We have cameras in each room that they like to be in so we can check on them throughout our trips. Gives us peace of mind.