Cat Sitting

[Pugsley]

My neighbor who has always taken care of my cats is moving away, so I’ve been looking into professional pet sitters. Holy cow – they are expensive! One of my cats is diabetic so the person needs to come twice a day, plus they charge extra for giving the shots. I’ve been quoted up to $46/day (and that was pretty standard). I ended up getting a girl from my vet’s office to do it for $25/day. Anyway, do you think I’m crazy for not being willing to board my cats at the vet when I’m gone? I just can’t bear the thought of them being out of their environment and locked up in a cage for a week. But whenever I tell someone that they look at me like I have two heads. I don’t understand why that seems so nuts to them. To me it would feel like I was locking my children in a room while I’m off having fun. Am I the only one who feels this way?

 

[Tina]

I know exactly how you feel. We've only boarded our cats once. It was a very nice place inside our vet's office. We thought they would like it since it was a cats only room with a view of a big atrium of plants and flowers. They didn't. We called several times during our short trip only to be told they refused to eat. They had taken their little lamb's wool blanket and pushed it up against the cage door and they cowered in the corner the whole time.

Later we moved to Virginia (the previous account happened in CA) and found a great pet sitter who came out to our house. She charged us $20 per day for 2 visits. She was just fantastic. We referred to her as "Aunt Jill." She would even bring our boys new toys to play with while we were gone.

Now we live too far North in VA for Jill, but we have a great neighbor that we swap with. They watch our 2 cats and we watch their cat and dog. Its a great arrangement. I'd never consider boarding my boys again. I think keeping them at home is much less stressful for them.

 

[peg2001]

You are not crazy, you are a loving pet owner! Cats definitely do best if they are kept in the same environment.

When we are away, we usually board our dog and have someone come in once a day to care for the 4 cats. By the time you have 4, pet sitting is cheaper than boarding anyway!

Peggy

 

[MinnieMe2]

Not crazy at all. Your cats are definitely better off at home if you can find a good, reliable sitter for them. I would do almost anything to avoid bringing any of my animals to a kennel, not necessarily because I don't think there are good kennels out there, but because I don't think the dogs or the cats would be happy anywhere but home. Well, I have to clarify. We show our basset, so Charlie does a little traveling around with us. But usually we stay in a hotel that accepts pets, and he sleeps in his own crate in our room. Our elderly cocker stays home with the two cats, and I'm sure they all think they've got the better end of the deal !

 

[Poohbear123]

My 2 fur babies have NEVER been Caged, and NEVER will be. This is why I travel alone to WDW so DH can stay home and watch them. When we do travel together, a friend stops by once a day and feeds P.W. the dachsund and MY fur Babies.

 

[KCritter]

Cats don't like changes to their routines. I don't blame you for not boarding them.

 

[catsrule]

Simba and Cali stay home, and I have everyone looking after them. Brother has a key, so my nephew will come over and even stay over night with them a few nights. My neices used to stay over the house the whole time but they are married now and have kitties and doggies of their own. My mom also has a key and she and my brother will stop over and visit them too. Cali doesn't mind, Simba however does. He will hide from everyone and won't come out till they leave. He only loves his mama.

 

[Pugsley]

Thanks everyone. I feel better now. I figured that the kitty lovers of the DIS would understand.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

I won't board my cats either. We have a pet sitter who charges $12 per day for a 1/2 hour visit. She feeds them, cuddles them (well, the one who will allow himself to be cuddled), and scoops the litter box.

It's well worth it. On our last trip, she called to tell us that Mo sounded a little wheezy. She took him to the vet for us which gave us peace of mind.

 

[Robinrs]

I agree, a cat, especially one with health problems, does not need any more trauma and a change of environment is VERY traumatic to them. I agree with the others, you're a concerned parent of a furbaby!

No one ever said the care of a cat was cheap. I called Rambo my "small car" because I basically paid as much for his health!

I'm blessed that my sister lives right down the block from me now. She is at the house with them right now while I'm at work. Lucky for me my cats and my kid are easy to take care of so she doesn't mind!

 

[sixcats]

We swap cat watching chores with a friend. If we are away together I have my mom stop in. I board my dogs because they require more than a once a day visit. I'm lucky because they love my vet. They are so excited when the carriers come out!

 

[Ted and Holly]

I'm with you on this one! Our wonderful neighbor just moved an hour away!!! And thiough she says she'll still dirve over to watch our cats while we're on vacation, I would never ask her to! I'm so sad about it because we could go away and not have to worry! We're going to try and use her babysitter... but she's young and I don't know her very well.

I can't bring myself to leave my babies anywhere. Being away stresses them out enough. I can't bear to think of their reaction to being in a cage for a week in a strange place.

Best of luck. Let us know how things work out!
Holly