To put a 6 month cat into cattery or pet sitter?

[inabitofapredicament]

We've got a kitten who's 11 weeks old, playful and curious. We're going away for 2 weeks over Christmas when the kitten will be 6 months old. I know it's not ideal but this was booked long ago to see extended family. I'm happy to shell out quite a bit as long as kitten is happy! Would a pet sitter who comes in and cuddles, feed her etc be better or a really good cattery? I've got both options.

On similar circumstances I got a pet sitter.

i’ve had cats my whole life and some don’t do catteries well - change if food etc.

Definitely pet sitter I can't recommend it enough. My cat is now 8 and has been in an excellent cattery frequently in her life but does not fare well- she is much much better in her own space and have done this 3 or 4 times now. My cat lady spends a full hour with her each visit, also sends me reassuring photos and videos as well as the twice daily visits adding a security aspect to my home while I'm away. She even puts my bin out 😅

Definitely a pet sitter with visits twice a day.

This is why my local cat rescue won’t rehome cats, especially kitten, as singles. Your cats going to be really sad and lonely.

one of my cats died and we went away a few months later I didn’t think and left the cat at home for a week with neighbour looking after him. He went really mental that week and had a bit of a personality transplant and was like a different cat when we came back. I hadn’t considered it because we’d had him over 10 years and left him for a week every year. But obviously he had our other cat for company.

just telling you my experience. Can your cat go live with a friend for that time? If not a cat sitter at least twice a day for 45 mins or so would be ideal. Else a cattery I’d say. I think it’ll be really tough for them especially as they’re so young but I guess also depends on their personality.

I’d always choose a pet sitter over a cattery.

Personally I’d use a cattery. A good cattery will allow you to bring your cat’s own food etc if they don’t supply the brand your cat eats. They will also follow your cats feeding regime. The cattery I use does this and also spends one to one time with him. Chose one that’s council rated 5 star and one that is purely a cattery.
If you’re unsure perhaps but the cat in for a trial period and see how he fares.

I’ve always had cats and always had cat sitters. I am now one myself, I spend at least 30 minutes with the cats at each visit, making sure they are settled and they have eaten, ensuring they’ve got a clean litter tray and fresh water (if you happen to be looking in the Hertfordshire/Essex area). My cats are so nervous they wouldn’t do well in a cattery. They also need someone that’s going to Spend some time with them and help build their trust, all so they know not to flee as soon as the cat sitter comes through the door. I usually go for two visits a day when they are small (Under 1) and then, as they get older, I found that one visit seems to suffice. But obviously, it’s completely up to you!

We use a cat hotel, although we have two so they are company for each other.
They’ll need to have had their jabs though.

And I’d make it 2 visits imo. One isn’t enough imo. If they’re ill or injured then it’s far too long for them to wait.

I put mine in a cattery, I've used the same one for years and the lady who runs it is really lovely and knows her well.

But you say you had a neighbour looking after him? Are you sure the neighbour spent two separate full hours a day with the cat, and at set regular times? That's different to it being done as a favour and you can't be 100% sure of whats actually being done whereas I get time stamped updates and confirmations from my sitter. Its also why I pay rather than asking a friend or neighbour. My cat thrived on it. I noted you don't disagree with using a cat sitter I just wondered if your cat had difficulties because maybe the neighbour wasn't visiting regularly etc?

I use a cat sitter, he’s fabulous and looks after all my friend’s cats. My cat gets two visits a day, and I get videos and photos of all the fuss and cuddles.

We put ours in a cattery as DH won't have pet sitters in the house since the last time some years ago when the sitter failed to tell us one went missing for 5 days and had her girlfriend come to stay and various things got damaged and broken. (bad choice of sitters we think!).

My recommendation if you go the cattery route is to give your cat a one-night tester or two nights before hand so she knows what the cattery is, and knows you are coming back. It really helps IMO. One of ours was in a cattery for 4 months while her owner was ill, then the owner died and the next of kin put her in the RSPCA for what ended up being 6 further months while they looked for a home. So we wanted to be sure that we would put her in and then collect her the next day a couple of times before we went for an extended 2 week holiday. It really helped relax her and she is unbothered by catteries.

I’d get another similarly aged kitten now whilst your current kitten is young enough to accept it. It’s cruel to have a single kitten and especially when you know you will be leaving it alone for such a long period. I would then get a cat sitter, if you can because the kittens will be so young when you’re leaving them I’d try and get one ho will stay in the house for the 2 weeks but if not go for at least 2 visits a day.

Is there a reason you didn’t wait until after Christmas to get a kitten?

I'm sorry you had that experience with the sitter 😔 ours I chose by reputation, recommendation etc

Where are people finding these sitters who stay for half an hour each time?! Even the better one I managed to get this year didn't stay for half an hour a lot of the time

My sitter stays a minimum of an hour and she is fantastic. Cumbria.

Another vote for pet sitter here and two visits a day. My sitter spends a minimum of an hour and a half each day with them over two visits, playing with them, talking feeding, checking them and sending pictures and videos.

Can I ask how much you pay for that? Out of curiosity?

My sitter i used this year has got wonderful reviews and I don't think they're fake and she was better than the last one. And stayed longer than the last one (although that's not hard) but still not half an hour

Mine was my horse sitter first. She is pretty much fully booked always and gets all of her business through word of mouth. She does horses, house, cat and dog sitting with other animals by arrangement. She isn't cheap, but she is so reliable that she's always my first port if call.

We have our cat in a lovely cattery but they wouldn’t take her until she was 1 year old. It’s too soon to leave your kitten without someone in with them at least 18 hours a day. Sorry. If I were you, I would be skipping this holiday. We actually delayed getting our cat until after our 1 week holiday abroad for this reason.

We use the website trusted house sitters, so someone stays in our house and looks after our girl. She’s a rescue and we were worried about putting her into a cattery, equally we didn’t feel that a sitter visiting twice a day would offer enough peace of mind. Also our cat hates other cats but loves people - we were worried about her being alone for long stretches. Anyway we’ve done it twice now and it’s been great, would really recommend!

Lots of sitters will have different prices for different length visits but the default for cats will be 15 minutes, IME.

I do pet-sitting as part of my business and offer a huge variety of options from quick pop-ins for nervous cats to full hour visits for cats who love play and attention. Nobody has ever taken me up on anything longer than 15 minutes, lol.

OP, I'd normally be a massive advocate for pet-sitters but I think for such a young cat and for such a long period of time, I would go with a cattery.

Can you have someone actually stay? Kittens are usually very social and she would be lonely with someone just visiting briefly.