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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

Kitten and going on holiday?

78 replies

Blossom4538 · 06/05/2017 22:47

Hi all,
Just after some advice/experiences pls.

We are getting a kitten in a few weeks but have a holiday abroad booked in July, for ten nights. Kitten will be almost 5 months. Not sure what to do, whether leave with family, cattery...I don't know!! Don't want to traumatise the cat and for her to become lonely.

OP posts:
Radishal · 08/05/2017 15:53

Is it a dander allergy thing? Are you getting a Sphynx or whatever they are called?

PersianCatLady · 08/05/2017 16:13

I cannot understand the urgency here about getting this specific kitten and then going on holiday two months later.

There will always be kittens to buy for pets or rescue cats needing homes.

I cannot understand why any body would get a kitten and then go on holiday just as it is getting used to its new home.

PersianCatLady · 08/05/2017 16:15

I know it's not ideal though
It is far from ideal, it is ridiculous.

Wolfiefan · 08/05/2017 16:18

Old girl died a couple of years ago. She was pts in July and I was desperate for another cat. BUT we had a holiday booked in August. It was torture having an empty house and haunting rescue sites. We found two kittens in September.
Our first cats came from a rescue with cattery attached. They went back when we went on holiday about three months after we got them. BUT they were a pair of adult cats.

PersianCatLady · 08/05/2017 16:28

She was pts in July and I was desperate for another cat. BUT we had a holiday booked in August
You waited so that you wouldn't make a cat have to experience being left alone so soon after getting to their new home.

I can't understand the mentality of the OP at all.

Kittens are really playful and inquisitive and can get up to a lot of mischief even when they are only left alone for a few hours.

I would hate to think what the OP's carpet and curtains would look like if a stressed kitten was left alone for ten days except for a few little visits.

Radishal · 08/05/2017 16:32

We waited until after our summer hols. Our cat didn't have her first taste of s cattery until she was nearly 1.

Wolfiefan · 08/05/2017 16:35

I waited because it was the right thing for the cat. Old girl was 19 when we lost her. Delaying getting a kitten for a couple of months was hard at the time but they settled well and it was a year before we had to leave them.
And mine are torties. Left to their devices they would have shredded the house!
We have a pedigree dog. For lots of reasons I wanted a certain breed. Took two years. Animal welfare over human desire.

PersianCatLady · 08/05/2017 16:43

Animal welfare over human desire
Absolutely

Original poster
Blossom4538 · 10/05/2017 22:50

We can't really postpone the holiday as we will loose a lot of money.

I read to avoid rescue as they may have many issues as a result and not to go down that route with SEN child. Not sure where I read but remember reading it a number of times. Sure it would have been fine but just erring on side of caution. Glad all worked out well for you.

OP posts:
Wolfiefan · 10/05/2017 23:12

No rescue cats don't tend to have lots of issues. Dogs maybe due to lack of training.
Kittens on the other hand often have a whole bunch of issues.

Original poster
Blossom4538 · 10/05/2017 23:16

Goodness, one or two posters on here are particularly hostile. Appreciate the help of others, thank u. Was also going to ask, clumping or non-clumping cat litter?!!! Been out shopping today and wasn't sure. I am going to use same brand as breeder has been using but hadn't checked on that.

For my DD's special needs, it has been proven that having a pet, specifically, cats, can help. In response to a previous poster, we are a loving family and certainly will not be leaving her on her own for ten days with just the odd visit. We will love our kitten.

I think she will most likely go to Grandparents who have had many cats over the years. She will be very well looked after.

OP posts:
NoSquirrels · 10/05/2017 23:32

Grandparents is the right choice, OP. All others are non-choices really, due to age of your kitten and how recently (relatively) you've got her.

Generally speaking, kittens from rescues have no issues - they're just no-pedigree moggies looking for a warm bed and a human to lord over. Rescue dogs are different, due to socialisation issues, but cats aren't the same at all. So if you fancy a fine addition to take you up to 2 cats, do seriously consider rescuing next time - plenty of kittens in rescues from June onwards.

NoSquirrels · 10/05/2017 23:33

PS the main danger is whether the kitten prefers it at the grandparents... or if the grandparents fall in love and find it hard to give her back!

PersianCatLady · 10/05/2017 23:42

People aren't being hostile at all.

If you think that getting a kitten and then going on holiday two months later is the right thing to do then I would really question whether you should be getting one at all.

Honestly a kitten is a real live animal, not a toy.

Radishal · 11/05/2017 06:23

Non clumping litter. Kittens can ahem eat the litter and it can clump in their tum.
Still not sure why you need a specific breed. A loving black or black and white rescue would also have a therapeutic effect . This colour is especially loving and, sadly, often the last to get adopted. Our black and white (a tuxie girl) is a gem and very therapeutic for me (I have health problems).

CatchingBabies · 11/05/2017 06:28

Do you have to get this kitten? Can't you get a different one once you return? There will be loads looking for homes in August!

Gallavich · 11/05/2017 06:29

Kittens from an animal shelter won't have 'issues'
It's really not fair to your cat to do this. 5 months is a baby in cat terms and she will be distressed either by being on her own most of the time or by being moved to a new place.

LightYears · 11/05/2017 07:28

I agree too regarding waiting until you return from holiday. You sound pretty stubborn OP, this is obviously not best for the kitten. What came first, the booking of the holiday or kitten decision?

Lancelottie · 11/05/2017 08:02

Surely, though, there are hundreds of kittens born in March-April and rehomed in May-June to families who then go away at some point over the summer. If no one with a holiday booked over the summer period adopts, that means a shortage of adopters for the early kittens.
That sounds worse for animal welfare than a fortnight at granny's.

Lancelottie · 11/05/2017 08:06

However, this thread is very bad for me. Turns out our local shelter has dozens of kittens all looking for a home right now.

Lancecat would not be impressed.

Original poster
Blossom4538 · 11/05/2017 09:14

Was almost going to go for clumping but will go non-clumping on the litter front. Thanks for that.

OP posts:
VerySadInside · 11/05/2017 09:16

Why are people suggesting to get two kittens?

Cats are naturally solitary animals and most find sharing space quite stressful. Yes a few are happy but it is not best to advise two.

NameChange30 · 11/05/2017 09:23

When we got our two kittens, it was October, and we already had plans to go away over Christmas, so we put them in a cattery and they were fine. They were 4 1/2 months old and they'd had their vaccinations but not been neutered yet (they were neutered in Jan/Feb at 5/6 months, I forget when exactly). It must depend on the cattery because the one we used was obviously fine with that.

The difference is that they had each other for company. I know the cattery made a fuss of them too. But when they're young I think they're quite adaptable. I think it would be harder for an older cat who had never been to cattery.

The ideal is a family member who can stay at your house to look after the cat(s), so they're in their own territory but don't feel abandoned. Not always possible though!

KittiesInsane · 11/05/2017 10:27

Given we also have a dog and a noisy houseful, I rather suspect our cats think 'Thank god for that' when we go away for the week.

I work from home. DCat1 permanently ignored me unless it was food time, but would snuggle DS1. DCat2, much friendlier all round, would plonk herself on my mousemat and chat. DCat3 interacts with people strictly on her own terms for no more than a few minutes a day.

This may be a result of early emotional neglect on our part, but I rather think it's just cats for you.

KittiesInsane · 11/05/2017 10:33

DCat3 is a rescue kitten, by the way. The shelter was absolutely fine with our plans to go away in the summer provided someone came in to look after her at home a few times a day. They wouldn't have been happy for her to go to a cattery at that age.

Mind you, they did describe her as 'Billy-no-mates' and warned us that she wasn't a cuddly sort of kitten!