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Original poster

Cattery or get someone to come in and feed them?

43 replies

Forgetmenot82 · 23/05/2021 19:18

Thinking ahead to August. We are going on first holiday Mon-Fri since we had the cats, they are about 1.5 years old. We were going to them in a cattery, but I'm worried they will be scared and unsettled. What do you do with your cats? What do you think is best? Get someone to feed them at home or put them in a cattery? TiA

OP posts:
Original poster
Forgetmenot82 · 23/05/2021 20:17

@Sally2791

There is a company called trusted housesitters you may want to look at
I need to look this up. We also have a couple other pets that need looking after too!
OP posts:
Purplecatshopaholic · 23/05/2021 20:18

I have done both over the years. Far prefer to get someone in. Much better for the cats, as less stressful. My cat sitter is brilliant - great with cats, they love her.

Snally82 · 23/05/2021 20:19

Housesitter (friend) - he’s an indoor cat though and I think that would make a cattery even more unsettling.

JorisBonson · 23/05/2021 20:22

We're planning a 3 week trip next year and I'm already thinking about what to do with our very clingy cats. If we go away for a few nights we have a great cat-sitter who comes in twice a day and feeds them, but I don't want to leave them with just that for so long. Thinking about trusted housesitters.

LittleCatDog · 23/05/2021 20:24

I tried a 'luxury' cattery for my house cats, it was just an overpriced, cold, crappy cattery with a nice website and they hated it. So I used a local pet sitting service, the woman came round and seemed very caring etc and noted down all their requirements. I came home a day early unexpectedly to find their water empty, no food out, cat tray overflowing and two very upset cats. I was absolutely fuming, I assume she was going to come in just on the last day so I'd never know. Bitch. Now I ask people I know to do it.

Gormless · 23/05/2021 20:30

We have two cats and always have someone from a local petsitting company come in to feed them daily. She’s really brilliant- stays with them for a while, makes a fuss, texts us to report all is fine, plus makes sure the house is safe, will put bins etc out for us (if you live in south Bham I can make a recommendation!). It means the cats don’t have to be taken to a foreign environment and can stay peacefully in their own home. Lot of peace of mind for us. The cats usually look gutted when we come home because they look forward to her visits so much!

Bythemillpond · 23/05/2021 20:35

LittleCatDog That is awful. I do know the woman who comes in to mine is coming regularly. She sends me pictures of them and her little girl who loves our cats. They all have very different personalities and are complete nutters. When we go anywhere where people have cats or places like the Cat Cafe type places we always think how calm the cats are. They opened a window once when we were away and escaped. (We have old fashioned windows and I remember one of them was watching me intently whilst I opened and closed a window to get a wasp out). They are house cats. They didn’t go far as they were cowering by the walls of the house as they are frightened of the sky.

LittleCatDog · 23/05/2021 21:01

@Bythemillpond awww mine are the same, one got into the garden once and didn't know what to do with himself and ran straight back in! We have a Ring camera now so if we ever needed another sitter we don't know at least I could check they've been looked in on

feelingsadtoday2021 · 23/05/2021 21:08

I have a cat sitter , she is fabulous

She comes twice a day and always asks me to message her when I am back to check that everything is okay
Lots of videos of the cats and as she works at the vets I know the cats are in good hands

ImInStealthMode · 23/05/2021 21:11

I have a very nervous ex-feral who's an indoor cat (through his choice). For 2-3 days away I'll get a cat-loving friend in to feed and fuss him, any longer than that he goes in the cattery where I don't need to worry about him having company or being an inconvenience.

Lucky to have a great cattery with an owner that treats them all like her own though.

JorisBonson · 23/05/2021 21:13

I know my boy would love a cattery as he's very curious and loves people and other cats. The girl, on the other hand, won't sleep unless DH is in bed. I'm not sure he'd fit in one of those little cages.

Letia44 · 29/06/2021 12:08

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GiantKitten · 29/06/2021 12:14

Nice cat-loving friend/neighbour best if you’ve got one.

We used to do cattery but the really nice one I found is a 30-min drive away and 2 of my 3 hate car journeys - used to get full set of panic, pee and poo, plus yowling (vet is fortunately a walk away!)

So now neighbour comes in twice a day and stops for a bit of lap time with them. They are always delighted to see us on return but are clearly much happier with this arrangement.

(It’s much cheaper too. I get her some wine and a gift or two and also water her potted plants when she goes away)

MilduraS · 29/06/2021 12:15

I had someone come in to feed ours for 2 weeks. It was cheaper than a cattery (3cats at the time) and one was a particularly shy cat. We were gobsmacked when the shy cat actually started appearing in the daily photos after a few days (she hides from visitors normally). They seemed fine when we got back and weren't particularly excited about our return Hmm

Kotatsu · 29/06/2021 12:27

I'm in this spot too - I've settled on having someone come in and feed them (and pick up the eggs the chickens lay, so there was already a second complication there) - I think they'll prefer that to being put in a cattery, because they'll have the pick of mine and the kids beds to sleep in and all their normal stuff around them.

GiantKitten · 29/06/2021 12:50

@Kotatsu

I'm in this spot too - I've settled on having someone come in and feed them (and pick up the eggs the chickens lay, so there was already a second complication there) - I think they'll prefer that to being put in a cattery, because they'll have the pick of mine and the kids beds to sleep in and all their normal stuff around them.
Yes, to the beds! Ours are normally shut in to back room/kitchen at night (with food, water, litter trays, cat flap, cushions etc), but I leave all the doors open when away and they use ALL the beds Grin
Coffee4Queen · 29/06/2021 12:56

@Forgetmenot82 another recommendation for trustedhousitters.com. I’ve been very lucky with the people that took care of my cat. I have or had (damn covid] 3 regular sitters that I could contact for sits.

A plus for me as well if I was away for a couple weeks, it’s much cheaper than a cattery or someone who visits an hour or two a day.

user1473450164 · 29/06/2021 21:05

I think it depends upon your cats personalities. Most cats are very attached to their home so typically I would say get some in to feed and play with them, it's the least disruptive to their routine. For my cat now that's how we do it, but my old cat was very much a people cat so could never leave her with occasional drop ins. She would go to stay with friends or my parents whenever we went away. If I didn't have that option, probably a posh cattery with lots of companionship.

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