Dick Yeager

We just returned from a week in California and had boarded out 6 year old cat at the Vets. Needless to say, he was VERY happy to see us.<BR><BR>Next month, we are going to Europe for three weeks. I'm trying to think of alternatives to the entire time at the Vets. We are thinking of a week and a half at the Vets, then having a neighborhood high school senior perhaps stay at the house with the cat until we return.<BR><BR>Any suggestions??????<BR><BR>Dick

Tony

I always hate to leave my cat at the vet, etc. We have a neighbor that comes in once a day, play with our cat and do the feeding, etc. They have a cat so we can return the favor when they leave for a week or so. Could you get a cat-sitter to visit once a day for 30 minutes to 1 hour? The cost would probably be less than boarding and I suspect your cat will be a lot happier.

liz

What city are you in, Monterey, CA has a great good option where your cat lives with a family, that for some reason (like being moved around alot) they don't have their own pets but would love to house yours temporarily.

xxx

perhaps a little rat poison would do the trick. "the only good cat is a dead cat."

Juli

When we got out ouf town, I also get the neighbout to look after the cat.<BR>She comes to the house once a day, feeds my cat, scoops her litter box, etc. We return home to aq MUCH happier cat!<BR>As long as you are willing to return the favor, it shoudn't be a problem.

canuck

Cats hate their routine to be changed - very much creatures of habit. We have friends who have a daughter going to university who loves to get out of her parents home for a few weeks and comes to "live" in our house. We've also had a friend's mother who lives with her daughter come and "live"..great breaks for them and our house and kitties are well looked after.

MMM

Eat it!! It tastes like rabbit, cassarolled though with a glass of Brunello!!

Susan

We have 2 cats who would freak if we tried to board them anywhere. Even getting them into the carrier to take them to the vet is an ordeal. When we go on holiday, we usually hire a housesitter to come in every 2 days to feed them, clean the litter boxes, etc. He was originally with a company that provided the service, but they've had financial problems so we are dealing with him privately now. He also picks up mail, shovels snow (if it's winter), waters plants, etc. We find a visit every 2 days is fine for our cats, although one of them in particular sticks to us like velcro when we return. I may try hiring the daughter of friends next time around - she is dying to get a cat of her own and her mother is anti-cat. I would pay her the same as the housesitter and she's already said she would love to do it. I realize that the responsibility could fall on the parents' shoulders (she's only 12), but the parents are keen for her to do it as well. <BR><BR>Recently a friend was leaving town for just a day and a 1/2 over Easter weekend. She was going to her mother's and in the past, would have taken the cat with her. Her cat - senior, very overweight and diabetic - doesn't like to travel anymore, although she was fine when she was younger. She needs her insulin twice a day so I volunteered to stop by. It was actually much easier than I thought it would be - the cat seemed to know why I was there and was just fine with it.

Dick Yeager

Susan,<BR><BR>About 3 weeks ago we had to put down our 21 year old Brown Tabby who was diabetic. He would have been 22 a week and a half ago. <BR><BR>I know what you mean about the 2 shots a day. It was very hard, and VERY expensive to leave him at the Vets when taking a vacation.<BR><BR>Now that he is gone, we feel a little more flexibility with our 6 year old. By the same token, we want the best for him (also a Brown Tabby with some Maine Coon (sp.?)<BR><BR>I think the neighbor high school senior is looking like a better option. We leave windows open for the cat to come and go. That is only a problem when he brings in a bird or a vol.<BR><BR>Thanks for you opinions. Will probably include our decision and experience with a possible trip report when we return.<BR><BR>By the way, Liz, we live in North Carolina.<BR><BR>Dick<BR><BR>

Ms. Tiger

To X and M:<BR><BR>I knew there would be some smart _ _ _ types to reply as you both did. X, perhaps a dose of rat poison for yourself would do us all a favor and M I wonder how you would taste with a glass of whiskey? It would probably help your miserable flavor go down a lot easier! It would have to be a really good whiskey and a lot of it!<BR>GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!<BR><BR>

Julie

A catsitter is a great option. Cats are very attached to their own territory, and hate disruption to their routine. A professional catsitter will come in once or twice a day, feed your cat, scoop the litter box, and visit with kitty for a little while. <BR><BR>Our catsitter is great - she even leaves messages on our answering machine so we can call from out-of-town and know that everything is O.K. with our cats. I think your cat would probably prefer this option to being boarded for 3 weeks.<BR><BR>Julie

Ms. Tiger

If someone has [email protected] my apologies, I used it not realizing it could be a valid address. X & M this message is coming live from a pure animal lover who would rather have a rat than humans like you around!<BR>

Clyde's Mom

I absolutely second what Julie said. Your cat would rather be in his own home alone most of the day than surrounded by his feline bretheren in a cage. A cat sitter would probably cost the same or less than boarding. My cat sitter came once a day, fed him, gave him fluids, (kidneys), kept the box clean and played/pet/kept company for 1/2 hour. I came home to a much happier<BR>cat.All for 10 bucks a day! If the high school student is reliable I'd do it in a minute over boarding.

tondalaya

those two are sick puppies.poisoned minds like xxx alias MMM.<BR>Their Karma is the have very unhealthy lives and will have violent endings.<BR>My cat is an outdoor cat so I board it with a vet, a lot safer and I know he's in good hands.

Poor

Leaving a cat at a vets is pretty awful for the cat,for even a few days.They hate to be in cages, they have to listen to the other animals,their routines are upset.<BR>We had a cat for 18 years and I never would leave him at a vet or a kennel. There must be someone you know that could either come to the house and stay or come in and feed and take care of it each day.There are pet services where people come to your house, take care of things, brush the cat, feed it, take care of the litter-see if you can find one of those,they are usually bonded so they are trustworthy.Ask friends.<BR>Good luck.

chris

We always just have a friend's trusted teenage daughter who loves cats come in every other day or so to feed (we also have an automatic feeder) and play with the cat for a while. He seems happy and healthy enough when we return-but we also use a spray on his favorite blanket while we're away called "Feliway" (from the Vets, a gentle synthetic phenomnes) that helps keep him happy.

gary

Cats (and dogs) hate changes in their environment much more than being left alone. Try to get a friend to come by daily or spend the money to engage a pet sitter. But not boarding.

Lisa

First, let me emphasize that this really happened. Second, let me encourage you to find some kind soul to pet-sit for you.<BR><BR>When I was in high school I worked for a vet clinic doing some lab and kennel chores (thought I was going to be a vet at the time). We occasionally boarded a cougar (some of you know them as mountain lions) for an eccentric woman in town who kept one as a pet. <BR><BR>Kong, the cougar, was never any problem. But one Sunday, all alone, I let myself in to do the afternoon feeding and walking and found that Kong was not in his run. I looked up and there he was, stalking along the tops of the cement-block inner kennel walls. I didn't have any desire to stay there and figure it out, because he had the high ground. I stepped back out of the kennel into a hallway for a minute to figure out how I, and 120-lb 17 year old, was going to get a 120-lb. carnivore to do anything I asked. <BR> <BR>But I sucked it up, went back inside with no plan and found Kong missing. He wasn't up high. He wasn't in his run. I snuck along the wall and found that he'd passed up a black lab with a brand-new litter of puppies, ignored the Doberman who'd just had its hid leg amputated, and skipped an elderly blind mutt. <BR><BR>No, he'd dropped down into the one run holding two healthy dogs, pets that had been brought in for boarding. And he skipped the kind and quiet dog, choosing instead to attack the poodle that had been driving everyone (apparently including the cougar) nuts with its barking for several days.<BR><BR>The poodle, poor thing, died. But I still have the scar on my finger proving that I tried to save it. Kong was exiled from the city limits and eventually died on the "nice farm" he'd been retired to. He strangled on his tie-out chain.<BR><BR>Hire, borrow, cajole or beg a pet sitter. Vet clinics are great places for sick pets, but healthy pets are safer (from other animals, and from other animals' diseases) at home.<BR><BR>Lisa

ja

Although my beloved Pookie died a decade ago and I now have a massive cat-dander allergy, I always got someone to care for him in my home - either staying there or coming in once or twice a day to feed him, oplay with him, clean litter, etc. There are several companies in our city that offer house/pet/plant-sitting services (I use one for palnts and home safety when I travel)- the employees are bonded, licensed, and insured.<BR>ja

Chris

Pet sitter, co-worker, friend. And have a back up come every few days to check up on the pet sitter -- only because you're going away for so long. If something happens to the pet sitter (or if they just decide not to show up, as ours did) you have piece of mind.<BR><BR>The petsitter we had hired was insured and bonded (and was referred to us by a friend) -- obviously not a "given" that they are responsible. She just "got busy". I do still recommend pet sitters (our friend is a pet sitter, and a very good one).<BR><BR>And don't forget to leave the number of the vet, directions to the vet's office, a note of permission to make decisions (don't know if this is even necessary, but it doesn't cost anything but a few minutes of your time), the location of the cat carrier (which closet), etc, along with your contact info in Europe. <BR>