What to do with cats at Christmas?

[Elbels]

Partner and I have two darling monsters who are obviously the best cats in the whole wide world...

We have Christmas at my parents, who also have an adult cat. She grew up with other cats but for the last two years has been a spoilt only child. Last Christmas they were still little kittens so we took them with us, left them in a bedroom with litter tray and toys and checked on them regularly / slept with them at night.

This year they're obviously a bit bigger. They are super super sociable, they went out a fair bit in the summer and essentially made all the neighborhood cats be their friends. One historically is foul to everyone but with ours he follows them around and lets them in his house (bad I know).

We don't know what to do with them at Christmas though. I'm loathe to leave them at home and ask a neighbour but I worry if we take them we'll stress out my parents cat. We can hopefully keep them separated but I'm aware she'll know that they're in the house.

Any ideas for minimising stress?

Check FB/ local ads for a cat sitter. Ours comes in twice a day whilst we are away and also checks on the house, opens and closes curtains etc. Doesn’t cost a huge amount and is great peace of mind for us

Taking them with you is likely to be very stressful for them and your parents cat. I'd look for a good cat-sitter - I found mine via Cat In A Flat, she's a qualified veterinary nurse which is super handy as one of my cats has a heart condition and daily medication.

Knowing our cats I don't think they'd find it stressful, they're weird little things.

We do have a cat sitter already, I may ask but not sure if she's covering Christmas.

Mine are going to the cattery. They will be spoiled rotten and will have special Christmas dinner and a Christmas stocking.

How long are you away for? I leave ours at home when we go away and MIL pops on once a day and checks on them. I don’t think they really notice we’re not there tbh!

I did our one of ours in a cattery for a fortnight when she was about a year old. When we can back she was seriously stressed and seriously fat so I vowed never again.

When we went away at Christmas we put them in a cattery. It was double the price for Christmas and Boxing day and no pick ups allowed those days.

Mine doesn't charge extra over Christmas. But I was quoted about £150 for another cattery. Fortunately my usual one had room.

What? No photos?

I think cats find it very stressful to be taken somewhere else. They're very territorial and dependent on smells etc to feel at home. I never took mine anywhere including catteries. Getting a cat sitter is the best option IMO. If yours is busy there will be plenty of others locally.

Unless you're going for a long time (several weeks), cats much prefer staying in their own environment with daily visits from a cat sitter/friend/neighbour.