Is there a way for Mom to email you a few times to give you "they're doing fine" updates? That really does increase my ability to let go and relax when we're traveling.

We have a surveillance system in our house - the first trip we took after installing it, we could see our dog sitting in chair by the window, dozing, then laying out on the floor, dozing, maybe a brief trip out the pet-door to back yard, then back to dozing. The sitter came most every evening for the night and played tug-o-war or football with her. She really didn't seem affected by our absence at all. Now that I've seen that, I don't worry so much.

Worst case is they get a little bored. Anything beyond that would most likely happen anyway, regardless of your whereabouts (most of us have jobs so we're still not at home), so pointless to worry about it.

I know exactly how you feel. When we spent two weeks in Italy/Austria/Germany this past March/April I felt horrible for leaving my three cats behind. I wanted to cry! Sad, I know, but they are like my children. We had people come by everyday and play with them, feed them, etc. but it still didn't feel right. And I swear they were mad at us when we came home...they wouldn't come out for over an hour!

They will be fine, but its hard. Just give them lots of kisses before you leave and after you get back...they'll forget about it after a few days.

Tracy :)

Until this March we only had one cat, and he seemed quite contented to stay home, with a pet-sitter coming in once a day to feed him and give a little attention. Nattie, is now 10 years old. In March we adopted Gordon, who is now about 1 year old. With two cats our concern is greater! They get along for the most part, but still rely on us for attention and affection even more than food. Anybody can give food. We are leaving in 10 days for a two week stay on St. John. We love our cats, but we love to travel too...so this time we'll hire my brother as a live-in petsitter and attention giver. Hopefully our cats will stay contented even though they'll miss us and we'll miss them for sure. It will give us peace of mind to know someone is there with them so we can enjoy our trip. We love travelling too much to give it up!

We'll bring them some treats when we get back, and hopefully they won't be too mad at us!

Good to know we're all in the same boat!

The absolute worst thing about travelling is not the cost, not the jet lag, but leaving behind my dog!! I feel so bad because she doesn't know where I am or when I'm coming back. I don't have any kids, but if I did, at least they would understand the situation, and they might enjoy a couple of weeks w/Grandma anyway. I'm glad to know I'm not alone in this!!

We have too many pets, some are getting very old and need their medecines daily..

Therefore I hardly travel with my DH to Europe, because someone had to stay home and babysit our babies..
So the lucky one that goes abroad is me..
My DH, does not mind, he knows that being European I need to go back every so often to visit my country and other beloved places.It works great on my well being..

Travelnut, thanks for the suggestion - I will ask her to email me and let me know how they are doing.

I just read the post above mine, which I did not read before posting. Its a good thing too, because it is a letter from a pet to their owner and it is really really cute and kind of sad (especially the part about difficult journeys...I just about started to cry). Scroll up and read it, its really cute, but almost makes me feel worse!

I am glad that my two kitties have each other, though (they are both still under a year old, so I think they really depend on each other) and my Mom is an excellent "Grandma", so I am sure they will be fine. A bit mad at me when I come home, maybe, but fine.

Our much loved Siamese is now very sick with kidney disease, which she has had for a few years. She must have medicine to lower her blood pressure twice a day and subcutaneous fluid every third day. She cried so when we tried to give that to her that we drive her way over to the vet for it as the staff there does it painlessly. She now must take an appetite pill twice a day as she is losing weight fast. She is not a cooperative pill or liquid medicine taker. The end for her is near and soon we will even be able to go to Paris for a year but it will be a very sad time round this house!

My wife and kids are always upset about leaving our two dogs. We usually baord at the vet-- but have a house sitter this time. They're feeling much better about that.

daph: I feel your pain. We just had to put our second cat down because her kidneys just totally gave out. It was awful, she could barely walk by the end. you have my sympathies and when the time comes for your lovely cat to depart this world, know that you gave her a good life and she loved you for it.

We also have a dog and we kennel her when we travel. I HATE to do it and I know she hates it too, but it's the only way I feel safe. We tried a sitter once but I just didn't feel as comfortable relying on one person as oppossed to a staff of professionals. it's the worst part of travel because I know she isn't happy and I miss her terribly. but we all do what we gotta do when we love travel as much as we do!

Daph, I was in the exact same boat as you about a year and a half ago. Our beloved 14-year-old Pekignese was very sick, getting thin, and needed daily meds. The day we finally had to put her down was the worst day of our lives. However, after a few days or so passed, we felt some sense of peace and the healing began. That doesn't mean we stopped grieving so soon, but it is a relief to know that she is now in a happy place where all of her questions have been answered, therefore she knows how much we loved her, the lengths we went to in order to keep her alive and comfortable, and she knows how hard we cried when we had to let her go. In retrospect I can see now that our dog was speaking to us for months, asking us to let go, but we were so caught up in our own grief we just weren't hearing her.

OK, I'm sitting here sniffling, so let me end this on a happy note. I did not want a new dog right away because I thought I could never love another dog. But my husband insisted and I knew there would be no stopping him, so about 2 weeks later, we got a new puppy. It did not erase the pain of losing our other dog, but I was constantly amazed at how she has breathed new life into our home. She is energetic, playful, fun, and very healthy!! So the joy of being a pet owner has returned. The only bad thing is that I absolutely hate leaving her when we travel, as I mentioned in my earlier post. But she's worth it, and when we come home, the reunion is so happy!!

I know we have strayed from travel issues, but anyone out there isn't a pet lover, then this thread isn't for you.

Hugs to all the travelin' pet lovers out there, especially to those of you who are hurting from a loss or dealing with a difficult situation.

We have a dog and beaucoup cats. When we travel, the cats stay at home and we have friends who live nearby who come in to take care of them. I don't feel quite as horrible about the cats because they do have each other and they are still in their home environment.

The dog is another story. Because she is reactive and fear defensive, I have yet to find a dog sitter/walker whom I trust to know how to handle her on the street. So it's off to the kennel for her. It's a very nice kennel and I know they do a great job of looking after her, but still it pains me to leave her. I love all my animals so much, but she is my soulmate. I'm always a little empty without her.

We are getting a pet/house sitter for the first time for our dog and our cat. Last year, a neighbor girls came over four times a day to feed, water and walk. What is a fair rate in So. Cal to pay a house/pet sitter who will be at work and school part of the day and night? I paid the neighbor girl $10 per day last year.

There was a very long detailed thread about paying House/Pet Sitters on here not long ago - I am sure you will find it if you do a Search.

It's always been hard for us to kennel our dogs in the U.S., but now we are living in France (temporary assignment for a year) and travelling ALOT. France is not big on kennels, and anyone you ask says "it's better to leave them with a friend". Unfortunately, our dogs are not friendly with other dogs (and they hate cats), so that's not really an option. We FINALLY this week found a kennel that we like, and the owner seems to treat the animals nicely. For some reason, the other ones we checked out were very harsh - like many things in this country - it's just different than what we are used to at home. The first place said something like "they are just dogs, after all" and would not even allow us to bring the dogs' beds or blankies to sleep on. Nothing but the cement floor. No thanks. Nothing is heated in the winter, and it gets cold here. The place that we found is the most "luxurious" and accomodating, and I think our dogs will like it there - they'll have their own personal chalet. : ) It's expensive, though, 27 euros/day for both dogs, but with all our trips coming up, we feel relieved to have found something, even if it is a ONE HOUR drive each way!!

I paid a relative of a friend about $25 day to come over after work and spend the night. We have a pet-door so no need for multiple visits in a day or anything. I looked up some pet services online and would say the average is around $10-15 visit for one animal and $25-35 overnight for one animal.

The last trip we took our sitter was not able to come every night - he spent 3 of 8 nights and came nearly every day for a few minutes. I gave him $140, sort of a compromise. He does those 'comfort' emails almost daily, really likes dogs, so I feel great having this option.

I am worried sick about my little kitties. I spoil them rotten and they follow me around like little puppies - wait by the door for me when I come home, they never let me out of their sight. I know they are going to be really lonely with me gone for so long! :(

I have a few folks from the vet's office coming in to petsit for me (I figure if anything goes wrong they know what to do or know where to take them) as well as a few friends will stop by just to check and make sure nothing has happened.

I could leave them at the vet's, but I think they would be scared to be in a cage for 2+ weeks so they are better off at home. plus my brother may stay at my house on the weekends. I know what you mean when you say you want to go on a trip but you won't want to leave the pets behind!!

We have always hired a professional pet sitter who is the world's best. She is retired so spends day and night at our house. We live in California and she charges $30/day but this may go up to $35 soon. I know it seems like a lot of money but our dear 'children' are very important to us--we just consider it part of the trip expense.

--a neurotic pet owner

My dog is older now and has some ills so I feel guilty. Note to Rocco: I pay more than that for the kennel. I hate to spend that much, but all the other kennels around are gross and don't care for animals like this one does. I'd love to spend $30 a day for someone to take care of him in my house.

My kennel charges $16 for my dog the rate for "medium" size, though she's a little on the large side of meidum), $11 for my cat. I used to have two dogs, but now have a dog and a kitten. I feel much safer with a good kennel than with having someone come to the house to care for my dog. I'd be so afraid the dog might run out and get lost, or that a petsitter might become unable to carry out the visits (car accident, etc.) and the dog would be alone and untended for two weeks.

I can't believe I missed this thread! My dog is blind arthritic, and has dog alzzheimers ( canine cognitive syndrome) his vet bills are huge and boarding him for special care is very expensive so we only travel once a year. To others it may seem stupid but he is like a child to us. We always had cats too but the last one like the others died of old age and while my "pup"is still cheerful but needy , getting another cat is on hold.