OT- what do you do with your pets while you are on vacation?

[2busy4life]

Sorry but I need to vent a bit.....We have not had a vacation in over 21 years and have done everything possible to make this one work but it seems that everything possible has been thrown at us....Now I am mad....ok I am more than mad

Thanks for listening....

The latest one is my BIL who was to come everyday and care for our three cats (feed them and give them water...maybe 20 minutes) says he can't and when my DH asked him when he was planning on telling us he did not answer. The thing that has us upset is that he has done this for my other BIL and SIL just last year and we were going to pay him to do it. My BIL and SIL did not even leave him enough food for the time they were gone. Why do people treat people so different.

So my question is what do you do with your pets while you are on vacation?

 

[Carol17]

We have a pet sitter come in everyday when we are away to feed/clean litter/check on our cats. One of my cats is very shy, and will not come out when the sitter is there. So, we have a video camera directed at the cats food area so we can check in on them and see that they are both eating(and when the sitter came to feed them). The camera can take still shots every 5 minutes and email them when something comes into camera view. Being able to check on the via the camera any time I want to has really put my mind at ease and I dont worry about them so much because I see what they are up to!

There are many pet sitting services in our area(Ontario). Do your research, check references and meet with the sitter first.

 

[chimo2u]

We board our cat at a Cat boarding kennel....it is great!! set up just for cats complete with windows to look out of, cat toys, bright cheery bird houses hung outside the windows, garden that is fenced in for them to go and sit in the sun, free room to roam. large roomy cages for when they need to have quiet time. My cat LOVED his time at his "cat hotel" and they even have larger runs for "family cat" situations where there is more than one cat. It was great and I felt completely comfortable knowing they where getting one on one individual care and having a better time at the kennel than they would even have at home!!
Try looking around your area for Cat Boarding....you may find a nice kennel dedicated just to cats. It helps you relax and have a better vacation when you know your furry friends are being taken good care of!
~ Marie

 

[Gigi22]

We have tried a lot of different approaches, depending on our circumstances. We had friends who lived at our house while we were away and took care of our cats. We have sent the cats to board at our vet. Now we are trying a very highly recommended cat sitter--she is going to come to our house twice a day to take care of the cats, check on our house, and bring in the mail.
Our vet has a number of cat sitters advertised on his bulletin board in the vet clinic. If you are really in a spot, check with your vet clinic to find a reputable cat sitter.

 

[stefanospops]

We have a dog and have used the Royal Pets Hotel (who also board cats) and were very happy with them. we used them twice and the only real issue is that they are out in Barrie. Recently we have been lucky that we can leave our dog with our BIL.

3 cats in one suite is $37/day at their "resort". Google them to see their website. Definitely recommend them.

 

[aristocat65]

We have always boarded our cat at a nearby cat kennel. She's 12 now though and I get a little more nervous about leaving her there, the older she gets. I'll probably have to look at other options soon.

 

[ChisJo]

We've done all options. We've had people stay at our place to cat-sit. We've left them with their "grandparents". We've boarded them in a cat kennel (highly recommended if you have one in your city....they'll give you a tour before hand if you are nervous!). Our kennel even left updates online for us to check daily to see how they were doing!
We've also had the neighbour come and check in on them everyday. Our one cat is getting older (14 years) and she just can't handle too much stress anymore, so we leave her with my parents. She gets along with their cats and loves their house. The younger cat though, she doesn't do well with cats she doesn't know, so she usually gets stuck at the house by herself with someone checking in on her, or we put her in the kennel. Honestly, the kennel wasn't as expensive as I thought it was going to be, she had 24/7 care, the best "private" room, and she got to play outside (she doesn't even get to do this in OUR house!), she had her own scratching post, and they provided all of the food. I only feed my cats good quality food (no friskies for them!) and they fed my cat an organic locally made food. She came back and her coat was so shiny! She even got brushed EVERY day, and her claws were even cut. It was only $15/day for all of that. To me, worth every penny. I didn't worry one bit about her.

 

[dancin Disney style]

We are really lucky that we have had a neighbour take our dog and now my mom likes to have him visit. She wants to get a dog but has decided that it really is not for her, full time, so having our Max over does the trick.

 

[magickingdommommy]

I know it seems unfair but try not to let this ruin your vacation. There are many solutions out there.

We used to take out cat to board at the vet, but then as she got older it was easier to let her stay home. My SIL would come and take care of her daily. (sadly she is no longer with us)

My dogs go to a kennel.

You could always ask a neighborhood student to come in for 30 minutes a day. Or check with your vet - I know at ours some of the technicians make extra money by cat sitting.

 

[tribus121]

We hired one of our neighbors kids to look after our cats while we where away ( and asked their parents to check up on them to make sure they did )( We have really great neighbors )

 

[mom22belles]

We use Redwood Pet Resort in Milton for our dog. Have used them several times and never had a problem. In the past we have hired my DH's niece when she was a poor college student !

 

[rjan67]

I was going to say, do you have a neighbour around 12 yrs old? They would love to get some extra cash and will often come in to see your pets a couple times per day. Much cheaper than a kennel and your cats get to stay at home.

 

[2busy4life]

Thanks for everyone's ideas ....I have a bit of work to do before we leave Just one more thing to add to the to do list

 

[Sue M]

When my daughters and I go to WDW, hubbie stays home and takes care of the dog and cats. When we go together on a trip usually to visit friends in BC, we take the dog and have had neighbour kids look after the cats. They have cats too, so know how to care for them. They come over once a day to make sure they have clean water and clean the litter. We have one of those self feeders for dry food.

 

[chimo2u]

When my daughters and I go to WDW, hubbie stays home and takes care of the dog and cats. When we go together on a trip usually to visit friends in BC, we take the dog and have had neighbour kids look after the cats. They have cats too, so know how to care for them. They come over once a day to make sure they have clean water and clean the litter. We have one of those self feeders for dry food.

Oh Boy! Did I ever think I had struck the lottery on Cat Care solution for our 5 day trip to BC this summer when I saw the self-feeder at my PetSmart. I bought it ($70.00) and tried it out at home for a couple weeks prior to see if it would be what we needed.....

Well, I must have a genius for a cat because imagine my surprise when the little bugger managed to stick his paw up into the hopper to dispense his kibbles whenever he pleased!!! Needless to say, that was not going to be our solution as our little glutton would be feeding himself ALL throughout the day regardless of the "timed Dispense!"

DARN!! because for a minute it looked like the ideal solution for shorter haul trips!!!
He ended up at the Cattery, which he loved much better than staying at home anyway!

 

[2busy4life]

Oh Boy! Did I ever think I had struck the lottery on Cat Care solution for our 5 day trip to BC this summer when I saw the self-feeder at my PetSmart. I bought it ($70.00) and tried it out at home for a couple weeks prior to see if it would be what we needed.....

Well, I must have a genius for a cat because imagine my surprise when the little bugger managed to stick his paw up into the hopper to dispense his kibbles whenever he pleased!!! Needless to say, that was not going to be our solution as our little glutton would be feeding himself ALL throughout the day regardless of the "timed Dispense!"

DARN!! because for a minute it looked like the ideal solution for shorter haul trips!!!
He ended up at the Cattery, which he loved much better than staying at home anyway!

We have two of those smart cats and two feeders that are now broken. Darn cats they are smarter then we think.

 

[Sue M]

Oh Boy! Did I ever think I had struck the lottery on Cat Care solution for our 5 day trip to BC this summer when I saw the self-feeder at my PetSmart. I bought it ($70.00) and tried it out at home for a couple weeks prior to see if it would be what we needed.....

Well, I must have a genius for a cat because imagine my surprise when the little bugger managed to stick his paw up into the hopper to dispense his kibbles whenever he pleased!!! Needless to say, that was not going to be our solution as our little glutton would be feeding himself ALL throughout the day regardless of the "timed Dispense!"

DARN!! because for a minute it looked like the ideal solution for shorter haul trips!!!
He ended up at the Cattery, which he loved much better than staying at home anyway!

That's too funny! We have one of the "low Tech" ones from Petcetera that is just a gravity feed. We were using it for every day use too. And supplement with some wet food daily. But one of our fur balls (we have 2) is looking more like a butterball these days, so we've had to take it away, and go back to regular feedings!
But we'll still use the feeder for when we take off for a weekend trip.

 

[ChisJo]

We have two of those smart cats and two feeders that are now broken. Darn cats they are smarter then we think.

Ditto on that one....our two cats are craftier than we thought too. They have learned to open cupboards to where their food is. I swear if they learn how to open the container too then they would eat us out of house and home!

OT: Have you ever seen that temptations commercial where the cat is outside and hears the temptations treat bag rattle? It has to run home for the treat, and it runs across a yard with dobermans, swims across a pool, etc? That is our cats. They hear us open the cupboard where they are kept and they lose their minds. Its like their crack. I should never have started giving them to the cats.

 

[snickerboo]

Personally, I leave mine (cats). One hates strangers a lot, one is extremely nervous of new situations. Both hate the car. I think leaving them at a pet resort would be hell for them. The older one runs out the door everytime you come in our house & I'm afraid to have a pet sitter because I'm afraid he'll get out.

So, we leave tons of fresh litter & tons of food and water. So far, they seem to be fine. They have each other for company. Neither cat is an outdoor cat so there's no problem with them not being let out.

Ditto on that one....our two cats are craftier than we thought too. They have learned to open cupboards to where their food is. I swear if they learn how to open the container too then they would eat us out of house and home!

Our cat food is in sealed container (the Friskies crunchies container comes with a lid that hads to be twisted on so they couldn't figure it out!) and we keep it inside the over-the-range micorwave so that they really can't get in it.