Cat Sitter vs Cattery? Opinions please.

[neverbeenskiing]

We are going away for 2 weeks and need to make arrangements for our cat. We've never left for that long before. Usually if we're going away for just a few days my friend who lives locally will pop round to feed and fuss her but she is due to have her first baby around the time we go away so not an option.

We have been recommended a local Cat Sitter who charges £9 per visit. The advantage of this is that the cat would be able to stay in her own environment so it may be less unsettling for her I suppose? My worry is that she occasionally brings in dead mice or birds through the cat flap and it seems unfair to ask the Cat Sitter to dispose of these if that happens. We can't lock the cat flap and keep her in as she refuses to use a litter tray.

The other option is a Cattery. Going rate locally seems to be about £15 a day including food. My worry with this is how she will cope in a different environment as well as being with different people. I am also worried about the litter tray issue as I assume she would be expected to use one.

Any advice or opinions on which is the best option, Cattery vs Cat Sitter and what I should look for when choosing a cattery or Cat Sitter would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I much prefer a cat sitter for mine, we have a lovely local lady who is very reliable and a vet nurse so experienced in looking after cats - I'm sure ours would get very stressed being away from home and in an unfamiliar environment... I think it does vary depending on the cat though, ours is an independent/territorial lady who cares very little about people/fuss but does like to spend lots of time roaming outdoors and patrolling her manor, a lazier, more people oriented cat might do very well in a nice cattery with a comfy bed and lots of attention!

The mice/corpses is an issue as ours is a vermin fiend, the pet sitter will pick up and bin any obvious ones (love her!) but last time we went away for 2 weeks we found on return that she'd stashed a few under the bed and the smell was somewhat, "fruity" let's say, when we came back - we dealt with it though and call me bonkers but it was a price I was happy to pay for her to be happy in her own environment rather than stressed at a cattery. Maybe shut her out of the bedrooms if you are worried about yours doing the same?

My cat would freak out if I put him in a cattery. I know other cats are OK with it but I really don't believe they like it. We always use a cat sitter or for long trips a house sitter (Trusted Housesitters - highly recommended). My cat has occasionally brought in animals and honestly they've all been fine with it. Every cat sitter I've had has been a cat person and often they have their own cats. They're used to it! They just tell me my cat tried to impress them with a little gift. Also it's very rarely happened. He doesn't bring in half as many animals when we're away.

I run a Cattery
Two weeks is a long time to leave a cat with someone popping in once a day
What if she is never around at time cat sitter visits or she is I'll or wanders off. That's the downside.
Cats are super smart and will use a litter tray when there is no alternative.
Issue now though is if you are going away this summer, you may well not get in to a Cattery. I'm turning away 3 to 4 people a day at the moment, am full till end of September. Am in a group of Cattery owners and everyone is the same. Perfect storm of increased pet ownership , everyone wanting post Covid holidays and many kennels and Catteries didn't survive Covid and closed.
If you do decide on a Cattery you will need to just sit down with phone book and work way down list.
Whatever you decide, have a lovely holiday.

Yes as a PP said - shut the bedroom doors so your cat doesn't take any animals there.

I much prefer a cat sitter; my cats didn’t like the confinement of a cattery and actually ignored us for a couple or days after we put them in……
I would imagine a cat sitter is very used to cats bringing animals in so I’d just have a chat and see what they say

Depends a bit on your cat, how sociable and laid-back she is, but on balance, I'd say that being in her own familiar environment will be better for her. And I'd think that a professional cat-sitter would be on board with feline hunting tendencies...

2 weeks is a long time in a cattery. I'd go for a house sitter who stays at your house while you're gone and sorts the cat. They can usually be had for 20-25 a day.

My cat has been to a cattery once and I wouldn't put her through it again. She wasn't herself when I collected her, and it took her several days to get over the experience. I have a lovely neighbour whom I trust completely, and in fact I'm feeding/looking after another neighbour's cat for two weeks soon - I will go round three times a day (I WFH) and spend time with her as well as feeding, litter tray etc. She is literally next door so this isn't an issue - is that an option for you at all?

Most cats prefer staying at home. You can ask the pet sitter if there is a surplus charge for dealing with gifts!

I look after cats in peoples homes. I never worry about clearing up “gifts” or toileting accidents it’s part of the job. I would worry if I didn’t see the cat when I visit although in 4 years this only happened once and my client had already told me not to worry if I didn’t see him as he likes to do his own thing.
If you do go down the cat sitter route make sure they have insurance, I also have a dbs and animal first aid. I message my clients every couple of days with updates. I have signed authorisation to take the cat to the vet if I feel it is necessary and to act in their best interest as advised by a veterinary professional. Hope that info helps.

Cattery all the way for me. Means there is absolutely zero worry because the responsibility is all someone else's.

What if the cat sitter doesn't see the cat on their visits for a couple of days? Maybe the food hasn't been eaten? (or maybe it has but they still don't see them). Cat could be ill/injured/stuck somewhere.
What if the cat is sick (as in vomits) - could be nothing (dodgy mouse, hairball etc), but could be something - who is going to keep an eye out/decide whether it needs the vet?
What if the cat gets into a fight/cuts itself/some other random injury? They're very good at hiding things like that.

Even if the cat sitter notices things like that, who then makes the decision that the vet is needed? Takes the cat to the vet? When do you make the decision to come home?

Cattery just takes all that out of the equation. Cat is well cared for and out of harm's way. Yes, they may not thank you for it, but they are safe and guaranteed to be well looked after.

Maybe for an indoor only cat I'd get a sitter, but for our outdoor-loving, hunting, adventurous cat, the price she has to pay for complete freedom for 50 weeks of the year is being totally out of harm's way for the other 2. I would be on edge and nervously waiting for a call if I left her home!

For a couple of nights, it's different - a neighbour will come in and feed her. But for anything 4 nights plus, off she goes on a holiday of her own.

I've always taken mine to a cattery for several reasons

1. My cat is a keen hunter and often brings in live rodents or birds which can be tricky to catch and when they hide they can do a lot of damage in 2 weeks!
2. she's also excellent at stealth-puking in random spots around the house
3. I once looked after my friends cats whilst she was on holiday and one of them got run over, and whilst it wasn't my fault I felt awful and as the friend was uncontactable when it happened I had to make decisions about burying the cat etc in her absence and I wouldn't wish that on anyone else!
4. my cat is 16 and has been going to the same cattery for years and I know they take excellent care of her and I think if she were to become ill it would be spotted more easily than if someone was just checking on her twice a day iyswim

Why not visit a few or ask on local Facebook groups for recommendations? Good luck!

Sorry forgot to add as @ReviewingTheSituation says - I can relax more knowing that the cat isn't up to no good/sick/pissing someone off while I'm away too!

Depends on the cat.

My highly anxious cat sits under a blanket the whole time she is in cattery and eats. But once home she is fine after a morning of cuddles

We are still recovering from having her at home for 2 weeks with a sitter months later. She couldn't cope with the idea of being at home but us not being there and went completely insane. Her bladder disorder hasn't totally gone either.

Next time it's cattery.

Have to say we have one that doesn't give a stuff where he is and who looks after him.

The others would have hated it but tbf the longest we went away was a week.

I've done neighbours/parents/cattery/combination, but mostly used to have someone to stay. I was lucky at the time that I had a variety of teen/20's god children & staff who were happy to stay to have the house to themselves!!

I did the same in teens/20's.

This week I'm staying at a friends for 2 nights with their puppy. Puppy cuddles in exchange for dog sitting! Works for us.

hope you find a solution you're happy with.

@MyGirlDaisy Why would a cat sitter need a DBS?

2 weeks is a long time in a cattery. I'd go for a house sitter who stays at your house while you're gone and sorts the cat. They can usually be had for 20-25 a day.

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with the idea of a stranger staying in my home for 2 weeks. I can see that its a practical solution though, will have to have a think about that one!

My cat is a keen hunter and often brings in live rodents or birds which can be tricky to catch and when they hide they can do a lot of damage in 2 weeks!

This is a good point! There have been a couple of times she's brought in live animals. On one occasion a poor mouse managed to hide behind a massive bookcase that was screwed into the wall so that was a pain moving it and retrieving the mouse. Not much a cat sitter could do about that.

Agree that it depends on the cat. Ours are both strays that we brought back to the UK when we moved back here from Portugal. The younger one would freak out in a cattery (he caused mayhem at the border when they had to get him out to check his microchip). He definitely still has a bit of feral in him.

I've been lucky to find a good local cat sitter but we've never been away for longer than a week. He usually sulks and ignores me for about half an hour after we come back but I think a cattery would totally freak him out (plus I usually sustain major scratches while trying to get him into his carrier).

I have a lovely neighbour whom I trust completely, and in fact I'm feeding/looking after another neighbour's cat for two weeks soon - I will go round three times a day (I WFH) and spend time with her as well as feeding, litter tray etc. She is literally next door so this isn't an issue - is that an option for you at all?

Our neighbours are lovely and have done this for us when we've been away for a long weekend, but it feels like an imposition asking them to do it every day for two weeks. They are elderly, although they're very fit and healthy for their age. I would also feel bad if the cat got sick or something and they had to deal with it. We'll be in the US so its not like we can pop back.

Issue now though is if you are going away this summer, you may well not get in to a Cattery. I'm turning away 3 to 4 people a day at the moment, am full till end of September

Its not this summer. Its early next year we're going so I'm trying to plan ahead.

Fair points. My neighbours will be in Canada but have set up a WhatsApp group so I intend to send daily updates - it'll be a break from work!

It‘s obviously an individual decision, but getting a live-in catsitter is the much the best thing for our cat. We don‘t pay by the day though, we use the Trusted Housesitters website like a PP above (the cheapest plan is 119 quid per year, but we pay a bit more to include extra house insurance). Our cat would hate a cattery (total control freak who hates other cats) but also really disliked only having someone around for a few minutes each day to be fed.
I put up my ad last week for a sitter in August and got 15 responses, but that can depend on whether or not you live somewhere ‚popular‘. The people who‘ve sat for us so far have been brilliant, and DCat loved them once he worked out they opened the cans, faithless beast that he is.

I use a catterty, it’s safety first for me.