Cattery or Cat-sitting?

[MyAngels]

Hi

We are off on holiday at Easter for 10 days and I'm in a worry about what to do for the best for my (beloved) new cat. We haven't had her long (adopted stray), and I'm in a lather of indecision between cattery and cat feeding/visiting service. We don't have any relatives nearby or neighbours we know well enough to visit her every day, but the idea of leaving her somewhere strange bothers me too (although I have a good recommendation).

She is a sociable cat, and we have a big garden for her to explore, but I worry that I we left her with just a feeding service, there would be no-one just to keep an eye on her.

I'm new to this cat business (obviously), so looking for advice.

Thanks

the last two times we have been away we have had a cat sitter come in. she is a cat lover and thus spends time with our cat, not just feeding/basics. she comes in twice a day and both times hangs out with her for a bit. when we come home she (for some nice reason) leaves flowers and a cake on the table for us!! when i come home i worry that our cat will miss her and love her more than us..

We've always had cat sitters and we've been very happy with them. We've used cat sitters in different locations now for 13 years. At first it was because we had 2 cats and it was cheaper than putting them both in the cattery but now, even with just 1 cat, we much prefer having a cat sitter.

I think the advantage for the cat is that it's in its own home and it has more room than in a cattery. Also, in my experience, the cat sitters have always ensured that he/she sees the cat and spends quite a bit of time with the cat fussing over her, playing with her, making sure she's OK etc.

We've always found cat sitters to be cat lovers. One was a lovely, if slightly dotty, old lady who used to come and just sit with the cats, show them photos of the family and talk to them about us. She always wore jingly bangles and the cats would hear her and always come out to greet her.

Another advantage of having a cat sitter is that the house gets checked on every day. So post gets picked up etc.

I put ours in a cattery and ring them every morning to check he's ok. They humour me.

Cattery here. I need to know she is safe, she has a major routine that could not be catered for by cat sitters.

Previous cat quite happy with my Mum and Dad popping in twice a day. Sparkling Cat would not be.

We always have a cat sitter, she actually lives in our house while we are away. In this way, the cat has company and the house is looked after as well.

Also, with a cattery there is always a small risk that the cat picks up some type of disease, plus most cats prefer to be home.

We found our cat sitter through a house sitter service. Now she works for herself. Before her, we also had other house sitters. All of them have always been properly vetted and all have been brilliant.

So difficult MyAngels - especially because she's a recent stray.

In your position, I guess I'd be making my choice based on the quality of any cattery available to me versus the quality of any local sitting service. (After doing just a little digging around for views on both.)

If it's evens, I'd pretty well toss for it if I didn't know her character and likes inside out.

Good luck whatever you decide.

Cattery here. I'm worried my cats wouldn't come back in for anyone else. (No cat flap. I call.) They are spoilt and someone is about for much of the day instead of popping in.
I would worry that she'd take off if you weren't about. Never forgotten the story of a cat that got itself run over whilst being looked after by a cat sitter. Worrier me!
You could do a night or two in a cattery to see what happened.

My boy is so old that I don't go for holidays any more. (He couldn't cope with any change and the saving nets off on the vet bills! )

id always opt to let them stay in their home environment if poss - less stressy for them. mine hated it in catteries - they always put them together and they loathe each other to start with!

much better to leave them somewhere familiar and have someone come in daily - probably cheaper too. and you know someone is keeping an eye on the house....

That's a fair point, Vicar. You get a Twofer.

I left my 2 the first summer I had them (with a cat sitter) and they got horribly stressed wee ed all over the furniture, towels, anything they could really...

I have put them in a cattery for the last 2 summers and whilst I am sure it's not their idea of fun, they were safer and more relaxed....

Tricky thing is making sure they don't run off when they see the cat baskets so it's worth booking them in the day before you go away so you are not stressing about a missing cat (can you tell I have had this happen to me??!!)

Thanks all for your advice.

I was erring towards a home based service, but am surprised to find little in my area.

A friend of mine offered to pop in to see the cat this weekend as we were thinking of going away. She offered to do the holiday period too - I'm more happy with this as she knows us and the house, but I am a bit worried about her disappearing if we're not about for an extended period, but my friend could also stay over now and then too.

We'll see how she gets on this weekend.

I can't believe I'm being so precious about this, I never thought I was a cat person, but she has stolen my heart...
Thanks
x