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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Original poster

to leave cat home alone or cattery for 2 weeks

34 replies

knittedsoxer · 25/11/2015 09:52

our 2.5 yr old cat goes to pil when we go away but we are going away for christmas with them.

our cat is very outdoorsy, we live in a rural place and she loves the outdoors, shes very affectionate but can be a bit jumpy with people she doesnt know. do i:

take her to cattery where she will have some human affection and be looked after but trapped in a cage and i suspect find it very stressful?

or

have neighbour feed her, with free access in and out cat flap, its cold in the house and no one to cuddle?....im worried she might feel abandoned and just bugger off, the neighbour would feed her but not be able to give her a cuddle as she is a bit skittery

poor cat!

OP posts:
MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 25/11/2015 09:55

Cattery. OldBoy hated the cattery but would have hated no human contact even less. Also you will know that she is safe.

thecatneuterer · 25/11/2015 10:23

I disagree with Milk. Most cats seem infinitely happier in their usual surroundings and with their freedom than they do in a cattery.Yes they miss their people, but at least everything else isn't stressful for them the way it is in a cattery.

ThisFenceIsComfy · 25/11/2015 10:25

Stay at home. Even a skittish cat might come for a cuddle when the owners aren't around especially if that person is feeding them. Much less stressful than a cattery.

berylbainbridge · 25/11/2015 10:26

I would say keep her at home too. I stopped using catteries as my cats would come home jumpy, miserable and sometimes flea infested. I've used cat sitters for years - cats are infinitely more happy in their own environment.

Curiouserandcuriouser30 · 25/11/2015 10:27

Personally I always leave mine at home, I don't like to disrupt them by moving them away from where they feel at home.

SoupDragon · 25/11/2015 10:27

After a spectacular year when one cat ended up at the vet (and subsequently a cattery) and one disappeared for 4 days whilst being fed by a neighbour when we were away, I put mine in a cattery!!

Previous cats at a different house were looked after by a neighbour though.

LikeASoulWithoutAMind · 25/11/2015 10:31

My cat was always much happier at home with a cat sitter.

Original poster
knittedsoxer · 25/11/2015 10:34

thanks for all the different opinions!

safe at cattery but stressed (she definately will be)

happy at home but possibly lonely

decisions!

the cattery she would go to is small but the pens look small too, cant imagine her there, it would be like locking her in downstairs loo

OP posts:
NameChange30 · 25/11/2015 10:35

I put mine in a cattery because I know they're safe and get fussed over by the crazy cat lady nice lady who runs it. They're friendly cats and they'd feel abandoned if we left them at home alone with just a cat sitter popping in once a day.

It depends on the cat, I guess. If they're used to going out a lot and don't seem to care about attention or cuddles, leave them at home.

NameChange30 · 25/11/2015 10:37

Cross-post! Are there any other catteries near you? A good one could make all the difference (and you could use feliway to keep the cat calm).

A couple of the catteries we visited weren't great, they felt rather prison-like, so if we hadn't found a good one I would definitely have been tempted to keep the cats at home.

Original poster
knittedsoxer · 25/11/2015 10:41

dont want to out myself but this is it

to leave cat home alone or cattery for 2 weeks
OP posts:
Original poster
knittedsoxer · 25/11/2015 10:42

the pens look small

i need to stop procrastinating!

OP posts:
MrsHooolie · 25/11/2015 10:44

We always leave ours at home if we go away,it's only a week or ten days a couple of times a year(he uses a cat flap). I wouldn't even consider a cattery.

roundandroundthehouses · 25/11/2015 10:48

Ours is a former feral kitten, hates being confined, and is very territorial. So we always leave her at home, with our neighbour coming to her a couple of times each day. That way she has access to outdoors and won't lose her precious territory to other cats. But she isn't particularly sociable with humans so barely notices that we're gone.

borntobequiet · 25/11/2015 10:51

Up to 4 nights: home with neighbour popping in to feed them.
More than 4 nights: nice cattery with heated cat beds.

My cats are generally OK but both have injured themselves while out roaming in the past necessitating stitches/surgery and though I'll risk it for up to 4 nights I feel happier if they are safe and professionally cared for over longer periods.

NameChange30 · 25/11/2015 10:55

Come to think of it, if you're going away over Christmas, the good catteries will probably be booked up already. Our cattery gets booked up months and months in advance for Christmas and the summer holidays.

zzzzz · 25/11/2015 11:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KatharinaRosalie · 25/11/2015 11:04

Home. Especially with an outdoor cat, ours get very stressed if they just have to stay indoors for some reason - combined with a strange place and other cats would be too much.

BuggersMuddle · 25/11/2015 11:34

Our old bruiser has been to the cattery once for a few days as we had safety concerns (building work going on and he finds wet concrete fascinating Hmm). Similar sized pens. He was fine but ordinarily I prefer to keep him at home with visitors to top up food as he seems to cope better with this.

Ours is independent and territorial, so if I absolutely had to put him in the cattery I'd try to find one with bigger pens.

We also have a wee IP camera (nickname 'mog cam'), which lets us see his food area and where he usually snoozes.

I think it depends on your cat and area tbh. Aside from concrete ours doesn't tend to get into scrapes and is well known locally so if we're not around he'll go and visit the neighbours (and claim he's starved / neglected Grin).

Seawig · 25/11/2015 16:04

We leave ours at home. They are used to having the run of the house and catflap to outdoors. DM pops in once a day to top up food and give a fuss. We have done this a few times for weekends, a week on occasion and once two weeks.

They have each other for company and a sure flap to avoid other unwanted company!

Both are rescues so I want to avoid any stress of being in pens again or thinking we have returned them.

They sleep 17 hours a day or more so hardly a lot of time to ponder how quiet it is before they doze off again. They have always been fine when we get back, happy to see us but mostly keen to have a fuss, some dreamies and then carry on as normal. No major sulks.

pilates · 25/11/2015 16:08

For that length of time I would say cattery. You need to shop around for a good one. At least she will be safe. Quite a responsibility for someone if she doesn't come home/has an accident.

Sparklingbrook · 25/11/2015 16:10

Cattery. but I fear any decent ones will be fully booked at this sort of notice.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 25/11/2015 16:11

I asked our vet about this and she said it's a question of territory. Apparently if you remove them from it, they "lose their place" so to speak and have to go through re-establishing it on their return, which she regarded as cruel

Far better, in her view, to get a cat sitter in - similar cost, too

Original poster
knittedsoxer · 25/11/2015 20:45

thankyou all x looking at lovely cat looking like a melted puddle in front of fire and feeling all sorts of bad!

OP posts:
acatcalledjohn · 25/11/2015 22:08

Cat sitter. Whenever we come back the cats are no different to when we left. I would never put ours in a cattery.