I've never had this issue with my boys because we got them when I was 13 and now that I'm 26 and they live with me my mum comes round to feed and keep them company when I'm away and they know her.

I'd advise keeping him home, at least it's a familiar place and smells, he'll be grumpy when you get back but chances are he might not understand the difference between 3 days and 3 weeks.

 

How nice, you hv ur mom to come round to feed. None of my family members like cats and none my kitty is comfortable with. You mean cats can't differentiate between 3days and 3wks? that's new.

How long is your vacation going to be?

If it's going to be short, I'd go the boarding route. If it's going to be long (say a week or more), I'd advise looking into a pet sitter. Try to find a sitter who will interact with ET and spend time with him. Some sitters will only offer feeding and litterbox services, but others truly love animals and will be happy to spend time playing with them.

I have family members who were willing to look after my pets in the past, but on times that this was not feasible, I boarded my cat at my veterinarian's. She was displeased about the situation and was standoffish for a few days after she came home, but she wasn't permanently emotionally damaged by the experience.

Since ET is a bit more sensitive, he may not adapt so well. See if your boarding-place is willing to use Feliway diffusers - they work amazingly well and could help ET feel calmer in a strange environment!

Oh, planning a 5day trip. My kitty will ran away from everybody except me and husband, so doubt if he will ever get familiarised with pet sitter within a short period of time. I hv asked the pet sitter, her services includes playing but doubt if ET will come out when she is around, haha. Whenever my neighbour comes round for a chat, the mere sound of someone at the door, ET will ran off and hide.

Actually I wouldn't mind providing Feliway at boarding house if it works to help calm him down, I never thought of that. That's a good suggestion, thx. Oh, another thoughts, would Feliway help too if he is home alone? But I also have an air purifier to eliminate poo odor, would it interfere with Feliway?

 

How long is your vacation going to be?

If it's going to be short, I'd go the boarding route. If it's going to be long (say a week or more), I'd advise looking into a pet sitter. Try to find a sitter who will interact with ET and spend time with him. Some sitters will only offer feeding and litterbox services, but others truly love animals and will be happy to spend time playing with them.

I have family members who were willing to look after my pets in the past, but on times that this was not feasible, I boarded my cat at my veterinarian's. She was displeased about the situation and was standoffish for a few days after she came home, but she wasn't permanently emotionally damaged by the experience.

Since ET is a bit more sensitive, he may not adapt so well. See if your boarding-place is willing to use Feliway diffusers - they work amazingly well and could help ET feel calmer in a strange environment!

 

I would definitely opt for leaving ET at home and getting a pet sitter. Why put him through the stress of being in a new place when he has the option to stay home in familiar territory? Granted he might be afraid of the sitter at first, but maybe he'd come around after a few days. At least he'll have the comforts of home.

I boarded my cat Cosmo at the vet's office a few times when he was a kitten. He was fine at the vet before that but now he's a complete terror. I'm convinced it was the stress of boarding that made him so terrified to visit the vet. I now have a pet sitter come when I'm away for more than a few days and it's working out great. My younger cat Zoe is super timid like your ET and while she still hides, she seems fine when I come home.

Pet sitting all the way!

 

Ya, I thought he might just get used to having a stranger come in and leave him food for a few days. It's true what ET might turn out, a monster, after boarding.

About time passing. I don't know if it's a scientifically established fact but I've always heard gorwing up that animals can't tell time like we do, ie 1 day, 2 days etc. They know the different times during a day, like breakfast, play-time, bed-time because of our schedule, but for them it could just as easily be a never-ending single 'day'.

Not hard to believe with all the sleeping they do :-D

Ya, with the amt of time spent sleeping, I may choose to believe.

I generally have family/friends look after my cat.

If it's for a day or two, my sister will come over and feed the cat and play with him a little bit. She lives nearby, and is a marathon runner so she generally runs near my house when she trains.

When I go out of town longer, or my sis isnt available, my girlfriends mom will take him in. She has 2 cats, and one is a kitten so my Gadget has a good time.

So, whether its a pet sitter or family member helping out, most kitties should be fine on their own for a couple of days.

 

I generally have family/friends look after my cat.

If it's for a day or two, my sister will come over and feed the cat and play with him a little bit. She lives nearby, and is a marathon runner so she generally runs near my house when she trains.

When I go out of town longer, or my sis isnt available, my girlfriends mom will take him in. She has 2 cats, and one is a kitten so my Gadget has a good time.

 

Cats feel secure in their own territory. Its hard on cats when you have to board them. Find a cat sitter who can either be in the home the whole time and understands how to be around shy cats. Even just sitting in the room with a cat so he can get to know you helps. I definitely would utilize the feliway. I dont know if the air purifier would take feliway out of the air. Maybe turn it off in his room while your gone. Spray feliway on his bed or favorite places he perches or sleeps. That might help too.

When I take care of cats. The go in feed them, scoop boxes and check the house. I give the client 30 minutes. I usually bring a lazer toy and play with the cats. I end up spending longer than 30 minutes but that is just me. Have a cats sitter bring toys with them to play awhile and spark their interest and break up the boredom since you aren't there to be with.

 

Oh, then regardless of whether I have him stay home or board, I had better go get Feliway spray and diffuser, since the review is so positive.

I have asked cat sitter if she has handled difficult cats before, she assured me she has handled more difficult ones before. I have actually met this young lady before, she looked very friendly and someone I am comfortable to leave my kitty with, though I have yet to try her. I actually have laser pointer and DaBird (his favourite) that she can use to play with ET, if he does and is willing to come out. But what will a timid cat, being left all alone, turned out. Maybe I shouldn't worry too much and just give it a try.

This would make me suggest you board ET. On the off-chance that something bad happens (he ingests something, gets sick, etc), there will be no way for a pet sitter to know whether he's hiding because he's sick or because he doesn't like strangers.

Yes, it's worst-case-scenario thinking, but at least a boarding house will not only be able to notice day-to-day changes in behavior, but their facilities are likely completely cat-safe in a way a house or a room isn't.

(In my experience, bored and lonely cats will get into stuff and places that they've ignored for years beforehand).

Very very true, that is why I am still so undecided. You just reminded me of an incident recently, where I left my kitty home for more than 5hrs. He actually bitten off the carton boxes that holds a carton of canned food inside. This box had been left in his room for mths and he hasn't even bothered to look at it, but that day, he actually destroyed the box and when I got home, he bit me real hard. He had everything he wanted in his room, scratch board/post, toys, food, water, litter, but he just doesn't wanna be left alone for too long. :roll: I really can't be 100% sure ET's room is 100% cat proof, though he hasn't done anything drastic or injured himself as yet, but that was because we hardly leave him alone for long. Thx for highlighting about what a bored and lonely cat may do.

 

My kitty is such a timid cat, he will hiss at every stranger and go into hiding.

This would make me suggest you board ET. On the off-chance that something bad happens (he ingests something, gets sick, etc), there will be no way for a pet sitter to know whether he's hiding because he's sick or because he doesn't like strangers.

Yes, it's worst-case-scenario thinking, but at least a boarding house will not only be able to notice day-to-day changes in behavior, but their facilities are likely completely cat-safe in a way a house or a room isn't.

(In my experience, bored and lonely cats will get into stuff and places that they've ignored for years beforehand).

 

I would never board unless it was a last resort and I could find no one to check on my cats. My cats would be exceedingly stressed being boarded and have zero interest in unfamiliar people or animals. This is especially true if it's only for a few days! I'd rather leave them at home with a bag of kibble and no human companionship for 5 days than board them.

Meanwhile, a cat left at home will do what it does best... sleep! Having someone check every day for feeding and attention (if the cat is remotely interested) is all that's needed.

 

I would never board unless it was a last resort and I could find on one to check on my cats. My cats would be exceedingly stressed being boarded and have zero interest in unfamiliar people or animals. This is especially true if it's only for a few days! I'd rather leave them at home with a bag of kibble and no human companionship for 5 days than board them.

Meanwhile, a cat left at home will do what it does best... sleep! Having someone check every day for feeding and attention (if the cat is remotely interested) is all that's needed.

Thx, looks like most of you are for staying home.

 

Considering he's FIV positive makes me say leave him at home even more strongly, stressing out an FIV kitty as little as possible is very important.

 

You are very very right, the last thing I wanna do is to stress a FIV kitty. That is why till now, I wouldn't even consider sending him to the vet for a nail trimming, he is **** of a timid boy. I was hoping he will outgrow his timidity but looks like it is too idealistic of me to expect he will change.

 

I'm a pet sitter. In my biased opinion, I would get a pet sitter. Some people have me check on their cats 3x a day and others 1x a day. You usually get the benefit of having someone get your mail and check on the house daily.

Personally, I wouldn't board. I know someone who boarded their chihuahua and the idiots let it escape and they found it 30 miles away a week later. They boarded it at a grooming place and it turns out it wasn't even licensed as an animal care facility.

 

oooh, missing dog! I hv checked a few places b4 considering pet sitting. Some petshop I checked, sent kitties to dog kennel and kitties will be locked up in cages, which I really do not like. Though I finally found one 'cat only' place that confine boarders to a room with scratch post provided, umm...anyway, looks like staying home is the best option for most.

 

I boarded my first cat over Thanksgiving; she came back sick. Never again. Like your kitty, my Celia runs away whenever the doorbell rings, whenever there's a noise, whenever someone comes in...Until I moved here, I had the luxury of having various friends with cats and we'd catsit for each other. When I had to go overseas for 4 months, I had a student I trusted, and who had a cat, apartment sit for me. I left a message on my answering machine and asked her to play it now and then. I don't know if that was good or bad; somewhere, I'd heard that it was helpful for stressed kitties.

Then I had to find a catsitter. I contacted one and she actually came for a "consultation": she ended up spending almost 1 1/2 hours at my place (part of that was just that we were chatting), sitting quietly on the floor and chatting with me until Celia ventured out. Celia took a good long sniff and rubbed her head against my catsitter's hand. A *very* good sign. And Celia's been fine with her ever since.

I have her come twice a day when I'm gone. She spends 45 minutes each time and plays with them. This past May I was away for 3 weeks; the cats, while super clingy when I came back, were fine otherwise.

One recommendation that I'd gotten from somewhere and that I always use is to leave a piece of your clothing (unwashed, of course) somewhere where your cat likes to sleep. I know Margaux always curls up on whatever piece of clothing I throw somewhere.

Love my catsitter - although the May trip cost almost $700...

 

I boarded my first cat over Thanksgiving; she came back sick. Never again. Like your kitty, my Celia runs away whenever the doorbell rings, whenever there's a noise, whenever someone comes in...Until I moved here, I had the luxury of having various friends with cats and we'd catsit for each other. When I had to go overseas for 4 months, I had a student I trusted, and who had a cat, apartment sit for me. I left a message on my answering machine and asked her to play it now and then. I don't know if that was good or bad; somewhere, I'd heard that it was helpful for stressed kitties.

Then I had to find a catsitter. I contacted one and she actually came for a "consultation": she ended up spending almost 1 1/2 hours at my place (part of that was just that we were chatting), sitting quietly on the floor and chatting with me until Celia ventured out. Celia took a good long sniff and rubbed her head against my catsitter's hand. A *very* good sign. And Celia's been fine with her ever since.

One recommendation that I'd gotten from somewhere and that I always use is to leave a piece of your clothing (unwashed, of course) somewhere where your cat likes to sleep. I know Margaux always curls up on whatever piece of clothing I throw somewhere.
.

How fortunate, all your cat friends helping each other out. Thanks for sharing your experience with Celia, it sure is an added assurance that a timid cat will do well being home alone. Boarding certainly do have their prob which I have heard from friends who boarded their dogs. Umm..I do not have an answering machine, doubt I will go get one. Anyway, sure, I will certainly leave a piece of my clothes behind.

I have done both and definitely cat-sitter. Even if the cat doesn't come out except to eat when the sitter is there, that is better than a cage. I do one thing that you might try. I have a clock radio as an alarm. Just music, no bells, etc. Having music/noise seems to make the house seem more "normal" or something and when I get home the cats are not anxious or needy. Just "normal." p. s. I don't feed my cats first thing after I get up so the radio doesn't trigger calls for food. Feeding time is a bit later in the morning.

Wow! more suggestions coming in - Feliway, leaving my clothes, making room 100% cat-proof and now leaving a radio on. I happen to have a radio alarm clock. I'm more assured things will work out for ET, now that I have so many ideas to keep him calm throughout the period.

 

I have done both and definitely cat-sitter. Even if the cat doesn't come out except to eat when the sitter is there, that is better than a cage. I do one thing that you might try. I have a clock radio as an alarm. Just music, no bells, etc. Having music/noise seems to make the house seem more "normal" or something and when I get home the cats are not anxious or needy. Just "normal." p. s. I don't feed my cats first thing after I get up so the radio doesn't trigger calls for food. Feeding time is a bit later in the morning.

 

Yep, leaving dirty laundry can help. I recently moved into a temporary living arrangement. My 2 cats used to have the run of a 2 storey house but now they're going to be in a bedroom for about 1.5 -2 months. So far the 1st 2 weeks have been good. I found though that one of my cats loves to hang out in or on my dirty laundry hamper. I think it's comforting to her in an unfamiliar environment.

 

Thanks Alpaca, for the double assurance that dirty laundry can help. Will certainly leave something behind when I'm away.

 

Yup. Cats love a laundry basket.

 

Thx, I have never left my laundry basket out and ET have no access to the toilet where I kept my laundry basket, so I never got the chance to know, but guess will leave a pc of my dirty clothing behind when I go away.

 

I've done both and by far prefer the pet sitter route.

When I boarded, I had an initial interview and tour of the facilities, and it was very well maintained, the manager was extremely knowledgeable, had a vet on staff, they were willing to accommodate any kind of dietary requests, they had activities and entertainment for the cats, let them out of their very spacious "condos" twice a day, and had someone come by to pet them and give love and attention at least once a day. I used this facility several times and while I absolutely felt they were being well taken care of, this was not cheap, and they always came home a little spooked and stressed.

More recently I've used a pet sitter and they've seemed much less stressed when I come home. There was an initial interview where she came over and asked me about a million and one questions about them, their personalities and habits, their schedule, how I usually did things, how I wanted her to do things, and how much I would allow her to do in an emergency. I don't know that every pet sitter is as awesome as she is but she's in constant contact with me while I'm gone, she does everything exactly the way I ask, she plays with them and leaves treats, and my cats get to be home where they're comfortable and familiar.

If your cat is spooky and nervous around new people you can get a pet sitter to come over while you're home and have ET get used to them while he feels safe because you're there too. A good pet sitter should know how to interact with a shy cat and get him to come around eventually.

 

Thx Arianwen/Penguin Dreams, good that you find a good pet sitter you can trust. If ever I go away, it will my 1st time whether its boarding or pet sitting, hope I can trust the pet sitter I found, to handle my timid and fierce ET.

If your cat is spooky and nervous around new people you can get a pet sitter to come over while you're home and have ET get used to them while he feels safe because you're there too. A good pet sitter should know how to interact with a shy cat and get him to come around eventually.

It will be my 1st time leaving ET with a total stranger. He hissed at every visitor that comes round. ET used to be fed by a few of us, when the other feeders came visiting, ET hide and refused to come out. He knew all of them, but yet its difficult to get him to come out of hiding. Anyway, think I can't be too worried about that, if he is hungry and when pet sitter leaves, he should come out to eat. I just hope ET won't start biting or scratching pet sitter like he did at the hospital, he had a "FIERCE" tag, lol. Hope Feliway will help with that.

Pet sitter should come round for a briefing and to collect keys before I go. Will see how ET respond to pet sitter then, even if ET doesn't respond well, I'll still go ahead, if I don't try, I will never know.

 

I would go for the pet-sitter. We have a very good one who we trust with the cats and the dog. She copes brilliantly with our motley crew which ranges from daft youngsters to a semi-feral.

 

It's hard to leave them for the first time. I had separation anxiety with my two when I first left them with someone else, so I know how that is, but (so far, knock on wood) it's always turned out to be just fine.

A lot of people swear by Feliway. It's a great idea. If you do end going with a pet-sitter they should offer a free in-home consultation, be insured, and have a physical office. They will pick up your keys at that time and get familiar with where you keep the food, litterbox and anything else. You can get a sense of how patient and knowledgeable they are and how well ET might get along with them. If you don't feel entirely comfortable with them, find someone else. They will understand that sometimes personalities or approaches just don't work with every potential client and their pet.

Best wishes to you and ET.

 

f you do end going with a pet-sitter they should offer a free in-home consultation, be insured, and have a physical office. They will pick up your keys at that time and get familiar with where you keep the food, litterbox and anything else. You can get a sense of how patient and knowledgeable they are and how well ET might get along with them. If you don't feel entirely comfortable with them, find someone else. They will understand that sometimes personalities or approaches just don't work with every potential client and their pet.

Thanks, at least I kinda know now what to expect from a pet sitter.

 

I don't have a problem with a home office as long as the home address is being used in a way that also serves as a business address. What I'm mostly concerned about is if things go absolutely pear-shaped, I've got somewhere to send certified mail to and someone is going to be there to sign for it.

That has never come up as an issue, but it's reassuring to know that if there ever was some kind of horrible negligence or emergency that was handled incorrectly, I've got somewhere to send legal documents and know they're going to be received, and a paper trail that is verifiable. That's why some kind of office is important. To me, anyway. YMMV.

 

Hi, my hubby was suggesting that we go on a short 2day weekend trip 1st to gauge how ET cope being left alone. We were thinking to go w/o the help of a pet sitter for the 2days.

We have a spare litter box, which means ET's gonna have 2 litter box in his room, of course, he's gonna be confined in his room. My question is, with 2 litter box, would there be problem with poo odor, given that cats have a very strong sense of smell. I would need to switch off the air purifier/freshener just in case it interferes with Feliway.

As for feeding, I would probably have to invest in an automatic feeder and portion his food for 2days, which will be just kibbles.

Do you all find any problem with this arrangements? Pls help/advice.

 

I'd test and retest any automatic feeder before using it. One of the biggest complaints I see is that they don't open on time (or at all) or that the cat can open it themselves.

When you say 2 days do you mean 2 nights or leave one day and come back the next?

Overnight is probably the longest I'd go without having someone checking in.

Just bc you put out 2 litter boxes, doesn't mean he'll want to use both. When his favorite gets dirty, he might just use elsewhere.

That being said, 2 days isn't that long and chances are everything would be ok, but its definitely not ideal.



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I would set up the automatic feeder a few days before you plan to leave and just let it do its thing, to make sure it works like it's supposed to and to make sure kitty doesn't knock it over, or otherwise wreak havoc on it.

 

I would not trust an automatic feeder. I bought one and took it home to try it out. Yikes, it went straight back to the store.

 

I tend to be a bit distrustful of technology - I don't think anyone is wrong to use a feeder but I would be a nervous wreck!

 

I looked at reviews for automatic dry feeders. The kind that drops X amount of food on a schedule you set. They are CRAP. People say it doesn't work for cat food because it's so small and just pours out. A lot of people even said they cats could put their paws up the shoot and it would pour out.

 

Wow! thanks for checking. Think I won't get one then, not worth paying high price for a crap.

Will he overeat if you don't use a feeder? For that amount of time, I've left out dry food, but my kitten stops before he eats too much. That is down to the individual cat.

ET don't usually overeat. Even if I like him to eat a little more, he will usually eat that much and stop.

If we are just leaving for a weekend and no one is checking on them I just leave out extra kibble. It is way more than they would normally eat in a 2 day period and they never finish it but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Same with water.

But leaving so much kibbles exposed for 2days is another of my concern, wonder if it will attract flies, cockroaches, lizards. Ants is not a problem cos I am currently using an anti-ant tray. I have a water fountain, water is not a problem too. My main concern is probably the poo odor. Paper pellet and pine pellet doesn't cover poo smell well. Poor boy, he may have to live with the stench for 2days?

Headache, its hard, hard to leave kitty behind the 1st time.

 

If we are just leaving for a weekend and no one is checking on them I just leave out extra kibble. It is way more than they would normally eat in a 2 day period and they never finish it but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Same with water.

 

It is really stressful to leave kitty alone, because you keep thinking that kitty doesn't know why you're not there and when you'll be back, and that's so hard.

I don't think I'd confine my cats to a room. I think they'd feel trapped, be really stressed, and panic and possibly wreak havoc in the room. But that's my cats. Maybe ET will feel safer in a small space.

My cats often don't eat all of the food that's left out. I think they're stressed and not that hungry. But the catsitter just leaves it out and I haven't had a problem. Do you normally get a lot of bugs? We don't have cockroaches here, thank goodness (though we have these nasty things called stink bugs - but they don't seem interested in food).