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.

Another here who is wondering why you didn't wait until after the holiday, but since you're in this position I think you should cancel the trip away.

If you don't cancel the holiday, then the best option here would be a house sitter who would stay and also take care of your kitten. A decent cattery is likely to be booked up, as lots of people travel over the Christmas period, and a pet sitter nipping in once or twice a day means the kitten could be left home alone for 22+ hours. At least with a house sitter the kitten will have company throughout the day / overnight, and they will be in a familiar environment.

I'm not sure why wanting more than 15 minutes is amusing

I've seen quite a few offer 30 minutes visits in their advertisements but even the ones less than that say 20 minutes in the advertisement

I'm not sure why wanting more than 15 minutes is amusing

I don't think the poster is saying wanting more than 15 minutes is amusing. I think she is saying it's ironic that the thread is full of people saying their sitters stay for a lot longer than that yet she runs a business offering longer visits and no one has ever taken her up on them.

OP, I would use a cattery I think as at least you will know the kitten is ok. With a sitter there are too many unknowns, unless you get one you have used several times before or through people you know.

I personally pay £12 per hour which I think is very good value

Yes that is good for an hour!!

Cattery. A very nice one where they each have some outdoor space overlooking a garden with hens and kids playing. £15 per night and they upload a photo of your cat every day.

We don’t have a cat flap so I wasn’t happy with him being left for hours on end every day, and I didn’t think it was fair to expect a cat sitter to have to get him in every night. I feel much more reassured knowing exactly where he is when we’re away.

I didn't say it was amusing

I'm saying it's a service I offer and despite what people are saying on here, nobody has ever taken me up on it in almost six years of business.

Yes, thank you @pinotnow that's exactly it.

I've always offered full hour visits to my clients and they've all looked at me as if I'm slightly crazy, aha. They just want someone to come in, feed them, sort the litter trays and basically make sure they're alive, lol.

Sorry if I misread.
Maybe it was just the 'lol' at the end that made it come across that way

The "lol" was more that I find it amusing that so many people on here are talking about hour long visits as though they're the norm, whereas my experience is that nobody is remotely interested in paying for that amount of time :)

Of course there's nothing amusing or wrong about wanting an hour, but in my professional experience it's a very rare client who wants to pay for more than 15 minutes a visit.

I think the website where people come and stay in your house in exchange for pet sitting would be best for the kitten, if you'd be up for that.

I think a move to a cattery and back is a lot at that age, but equally it's far too many hours at home alone without any company. I'd be less worried about leaving a pair.

Definitely a pet sitter and if possible, I’d book them for multiple visits throughout the day. However, I would ask around and see if anyone can have your kitten to stay with them for the fortnight first of all because a six month old kitten is still very young and needs lots of interaction and two weeks is a long time for them.

Cats are super territorial - moving them to a new house isn't a good idea. It's why so many cats struggle in catteries.

Having someone move in would be better, though obviously not easy to find over Christmas without it costing a fortune.

Trustedhousitters.com so that the kitten has company the whole time

Ideally see if someone you know can take the kitten in for that period - at that age they need as much company as they can get. If not, pet sitter who can come in twice a day and ideally also get them to stay as many nights as possible too.

Look at the Rover app. I regularly book drop in visits for my cat; twice a day; I think all their employees commit to stay for half an hour each time. And they send photos for peace of mind!

Op you should look for someone willing to live in on this occasion though. Your cat’s too young to be left for 2 weeks.

We have used Trusted House-sitters as well as Cat in a Flat. Both are excellent and we got really nice sitters, but be aware no-one will guarantee to be with your kitten 24/7. The sitters have lives to live and on some days, spent less time with our cat than we would have done. However, it was still good to know that our boy was safely in his own home, with company at least some of the time. That being said, I think getting a cat at least familiar with the cattery experience is important, if emergency care is ever required. We are away for one night at the end of October, and have booked Marvin in for an overnight stay, just so that he's not so freaked if we ever need to put him in one again. He is a more confident boy than Elton was though and is used to being with other cats, so I'm hopeful he will just get on with it -Elton definitely would not have done!

I think a kitten of that age needs more supervision and enrichment than someone popping in to feed them twice a day.

If you live in an interesting area/ have a nice house then getting a house sitter over Christmas is relatively easy. I used to house sit over winter break as a way to see a new area cheaply. I've stayed in some fantastic houses and in return looked after cats / dogs / horses for free.

If you just have a normal house in a smaller town then you'd be very likely to have to pay a house sitter.

Rover don't have employees - the website is just a search engine for pet-sitters.

I'm a cat sitter and i think a 6 month old cat is far too inquisitive to be left alone for the majority of the day.
For older, quieter cats i think home is best but too much risk of a kitten coming to harm left alone.
A pp suggests trying a cattery overnight that's a good idea.

You’re right; technically they’re not employees.

They still stay for half an hour though; the booking process states that each visit is for half an hour, and photos of the visit are sent.

Cattery. Mine goes to a really good one. I don’t worry when she’s there.

I just have a lot of issues with how Rover operate and wish people wouldn't recommend them. They're a company that's great for the customer but awful for the business at the other end.

A pet sitter but look for one now. Most of them get booked up months ahead.