What age to leave kitten with petsitter?

[ADisneyQueen]

What age is ok to leave kitten/cat with a pet sitter checking on them once or twice a day?

I thought my inlaws could take our kitten for a week in June( she will be 8 mos)while we go on vacation but they are probably going on an extended vacation and can't do it. What about 10 mos or should I wait until December to take our wdw trip ( she would be a year and 2 mos.)?

I hate to put her in a kennel. I may try to find someone who can stay in our house, but that may be difficult.

What have you done with a kitten ( not full grown cat) when you are on vacation?

 

[maelstrom]

8 months old is plenty old enough to leave them alone with a petsitter coming to check in on them. The only thing that I would keep in mind is to make sure that everything is kitten-proofed, because at 8 months old, sometimes they still get into kitten-mode and want to destroy everything.

 

[pixiewings71]

I would leave my kitteh alone at 8 months. Find a good pet sitter and you'll be fine. Better yet, find a neighborhood kid (or a friends kid) to "house-sit" for you and things will be fine. We have DD15's friend house-sit for us, sometimes she just comes by and checks things out, other times she actually stays at our house (her house is around the corner so if she needs anything her parents are right there), we pay her, altho she says she'd do it for free. She loves our fur-babies.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

Thanks, this makes me feel better. It's hard to know what she will be like 4 mos. from now. It's been many years since we had a kitten.

 

[Callie]

My skittles is just shy of 6 months and I've left her for 5 days. My mom was watching her until today. Now shes online at the house, with one of my sorority sisters coming to feed her/

 

[cornflake]

Since she seems to be an only kitten, and has a houseful of people I'm going to go against the grain a bit and say I'd definitely try to get someone to stay rather than just check in on her.

If there's really no other option, I'd wait until as old as possible and have someone come twice a day and not just feed and scoop, but stay for a bit and play and pat.

If it were a quieter household, or an older cat (I dunno any exact age, partly certainly depends on the cat, but at least 2 or so) I'd be less inclined to be so pressed to have someone stay.

But, given she's an only kitten and she has a lot of people, and she's so little I'd think it'll be more confusing and scary for her when everyone disappears at once and stays gone. Also, as she will still be a kitten, she'll be bored and have lots of energy but no one to play with and... you see what I mean.

Hence I think having someone there will stave off both her being upset and her potentially getting into trouble I wouldn't really worry about an older cat getting into (like, I dunno, depends on the house, knocking something glass off a high spot and then stepping on a shard, getting stuck someplace (I know a kitten wedged her dopey self behind an entertainment center and then couldn't figure out how to get out, despite that if they got there they can get out, sometimes kittens get confused), etc. Obviously if you had someone in twice a day that's much less (as obviously can happen while everyone is at work/school or whatever too) of a concern but if it were just to feed like once or every other day I'd worry about a kitten finding some mischief.

I'd also have whomever come over before you leave for more than just to point to the litter and kibble - but to make sure whomever meets the kitty with you guys there and interacts, so it's not that you all disappear and a totally new person walks in; that might inspire hiding and more confusion and scariness.

 

[mikron]

Depends on sitter. Any age is ok if sitter can spend time with them and kitten is in safe area. Safe area is the most important factor IMO.

 

[englishteacha]

We leave our adult kitty for a week at a time, but she's always very cranky with us when we get home. My brother-in-law usually comes to check on her once a day, but she hates "strangers" and hides from him. So with your kitty, I'd have someone come to check on her and visit and play with her. Our cat was an ornery adult cat when we got her. It took her 8 years to admit we were her humans, and another year after that to actually want to snuggle us.

 

[ADisneyQueen]

If I have a petsitter come in, how long should they stay?