Cattery or Pet Sitting?

jessicamb

Hi

A quick question for the cat owners out there - if you were going away for a week would you rather put your cat in a cattery or have a pet sitter come to the house? A pet sitter would be a couple of pounds more a day but thats irrelevant if my cat would be happier.

I'm stuck with the dilemma of my cat being stuck in the house on her own other than half an hour a day, or the cattery where there people around but its a strange environment and she probably wont get fussed/played with.

Thanks

DebtHater

jessicamb wrote: »

Hi

A quick question for the cat owners out there - if you were going away for a week would you rather put your cat in a cattery or have a pet sitter come to the house? A pet sitter would be a couple of pounds more a day but thats irrelevant if my cat would be happier.

I'm stuck with the dilemma of my cat being stuck in the house on her own other than half an hour a day, or the cattery where there people around but its a strange environment and she probably wont get fussed/played with.

Thanks

I am planning to go away for a week in the Summer and have 3 cats, 2 adult females and 1 male kitten. I wouldnt even consider letting someone "pet sit" my cats, I wouldnt trust them.

We have some brilliant local catteries, some of which have won awards.

My suggestion would be to phone your local PDSA/RSPCA and ask them who they use for their boarding - very rarely do they have their own and they outsource it to local firms. One local firm to us is used by both PDSA and RSPCA and they are recommended by both - so they are obviously doing something right.

ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS view the cattery before booking - any genuine cattery will always be more than welcoming. Then you will get to see how the other boarded cats are in the facility, how the staff are, etc. Our local cattery (the recommended one) charges £7 per cat per day, and you get a £1 discount if you house more than 1, so we are looking at £19 per day for the 3 cats. They have their own large run/kennel so they can live together like they do at home, they come out of the runs twice a day for playtime with the staff, the runs are big enough for them to exercise as and when they want during the day and they have a heated area when they want to have a snooze.
The cattery also has options if you want to bring toys from home (they must be washed first due to the risk of fleas, etc) and they allow you to bring your own food to make sure they feel at home.
The cattery has its own on-site vet which will treat your cats should they fall ill (you must have insurance - even if its only for the duration of their stay - and must be vaccinated)

Catteries win hands down in my book. Plus, you know your home is safe, secure and all locked up whilst you are away, instead of knowing someone is letting themselves in and out.

chris_n_tj

We always used the Cattery for our wee girl. It made me relax knowing she was safe and well looked after. Our neigbour used to leave her cat and it saddened me to see it roaming about and the person looking after it (if thats what you could call it) didnt bother.

As above do your homework, ask your Vet, turn up at your choice of cattery and see if they show you around striaght away. (thats a good sign) A good cattery is a place where they spoil your cat, and rememeber better safe than sorry. x

Take your time and look at a few before chosing. In fact think of it as finding your cat its own holiday and you wont go far wrong.

Enjoy your holiday x

bacardi66

It depends on your cat, Ive always opted for a cat sitter - not someone staying over but a qualified veterinary nurse who came recommended by friends - she pops in twice a day to feed the cats. She is great and will text me daily to let me know how things are going, she has a long established business in the area and plenty of experience of cats.

My cats were always nervous of strangers and got stressed away from home, also they had each other for company and would never seek the company of people they didn't know. In addition because Ive had outdoor cats (with a cat flap) they have always had the freedom to come and go as they want, so for my cats the less stressful option for them was to stay at home. Having said that Ive never left them for longer than a week.

However Ive only got one cat left now (he is 17) and I really can't bear to leave him for longer than 3 days, I wouldnt put him in a cattery now as I think the stress would finish him off. I tend to go away mainly in the summer when he spends about 23 out of 24 hours a day outside anyway so as long as the food is there I don't think he is bothered!

Friends I of mine who have mainly indoor cats which enjoy being petted by other people prefer catteries for their cats. I would just go with what you think would make your cat happiest.

podperson

I agree it would depend on the cat for me. My cat doesn't like strange people and gets very stressed in new situations so I would not be comfortable taking her to a cattery as I know that however good it was or nice the people were then she would not be happy. On the other hand a friend of mine has a very sociable cat who seems quite happy to go to the local cattery and get fussed by new people.

cjmumto2

I also think it depends on the cat, I prefer a cat sitter as I find cats tend to get stressed in a cattery. But if you are going for 2 weeks with one visit a day booked then your cat may get lonely, unless it is loner in the first place. I am a pet sitter and look after most of the neighbourhood cats and none seem bothered by being left alone.

If you choose a cattery do you homework as some of worse than others. A cat sitter may not be more expenisve either. I charge £5 a visit and it doesnt matter how many cats you have. It also means your garden gets watered, lights turned on etc so you house gets a lived in look.

betti911

My husband and I have just come back from honeymoon and have two housecats. The vet advised us that it would be stressful putting the cats in a cattery so my mum and dad popped in once a day to feed, water, play and clean up after them. We were on holiday for 2 weeks which is longer than usual but it all worked out well and saved us money

KiKi

I always have a cat sitter - someone from my church moves in full time, and I leave them gifts! I'd much rather my cats stayed in an environment they know - even if it means they're a bit lonely - rather than moving to a very stressful environment with other cats which they won't cope with.

But it really depends on your cats.

If you use a sitter, don't get someone who likes to 'house-sit' for a living. I recommend that you find a qualified vet nurse as per the poster above, someone who loves animals and knows the signs of stress and unhappiness.

KiKi

libgysig

I'm in a similar situation. We're off on holiday in a few weeks and we did plan to have my MIL pop in once a day to feed our cats Ginny and Molly. Unfortunately, the girls have started to fight every time they see each other and we're currently living with one upstairs and the other downstairs.

I don't know what to do for the best.

BitterAndTwisted

In my opinion it is much less stressful for a cat to be left in its own home territory, even if it's alone for most of the time, than to be shipped off to a strange place with lots of other cats around.

gettingready

Cat sitter - always.

I would not stress my cats with strange surroundings, people, other cats.

The girls that used to walk Zara run a very nice little company - they do dog walking, dog day care, dog boarding and cat sitting where they go to cat's house once or twice per day to feed them, play with them, give them cuddles and change the cat litter.

They are in East London - if anyone is interested, I can PM the details.

When I went away at Xmas for few days, they were coming in twice per day to see my 4 then cats (now got 5). The dog was staying in one of the girl's house with her dogs.

Would nto put my dog in a kennel, would nto put my cats in cattery - they are family