how far away is your cattery?

[tara738]

I have to put my 8month old kitten in a cattery in a couple of weeks. I was angsting so much about it because she's never been alone for more than 6 hours and I hate thinking of her cooped up so I bankrupted myself and booked her a super swanky fancy cat hotel.

Problem is, I didn't realise how far it was! It's at least 30mins, prob more like 45 with traffic. How far would you travel/do you travel for a nice cattery? She isn't great in the car and meows a lot but we've never gone further than 15 mins to the vets. Wondering if the journey itself will stress her out so much she would be happier in a more basic place closer to home...

Have never used a cattery. I use a cat sitter that comes over twice a day to feed and play with them

Are there any nice ones closer? We’re lucky, we have a lovely one just round the corner so dcat doesn’t even have to go in the car.

unfortunately there's no nice ones closer :(

this place promises her loads of attention and play time so it seemed a better option than leaving her at home and getting someone round once or twice, as she would be really lonely.

We now travel with our cats for up to three hours travelling. They are fine. When we’ve need a cattery - we also went down the swanky cat hotel line, the cats loved it and it was about 20-30 minutes away.
My fingers are crossed the kittens will be the same after a bit of car journey practice!

that's reassuring - and that they loved the hotel! I do think she will have a nice time (if not enjoy it then at least tolerate it!) I just have visions of turning up with her stressed beyond belief from the journey.
She isn't even too bad in the car, I don't know why it's worrying me so much

Because you are a loving slave!!!

When we do use a cattery I take blankets from home and some toys. The cats like a duplex apartment where they have upstairs and downstairs plus an outside run and a double glazed window to gaze out of if they want to see but not go out. They get the radio on all day and have extra heat lamps. I even send them with a goody bag of treats.
The lovely cattery lady texts pictures and daily updates. Last time they didn’t want to leave. (I was both gutted and pleased)

I don't use a cattery - we have three cats and they stay at home. My SIL comes over twice a day to feed them, play with the youngest one and sort their litter trays. If she's not available I use a local sitter for £10 a day.

With multiple cats, it's much cheaper for us to do it this way, plus it means the cats can stay in their own environments which is far less stressful for them :)

About 20 minutes' drive.

Years ago, we were between cars and had to put the cats in the cattery. I took a taxi and was horrified when the driver put the cats in the boot (saloon car)! Strangely, they seemed much calmer when we got there than when they'd travelled on the back seat.

that sounds like the dream cattery bargebill.... I really want to ask them if I can bring a radio to put on for her but I really am straddling a fine line between concerned cat owner/completely insane!

Ask them! They may provide one or request that it’s a battery operated one if you provide it. A good cattery won’t mind you asking and will do what’s best for your cat.

I do want to stay at my cats cattery - but she
said no🤣🤣

Ours was half an hour away. I liked knowing he was safe and had feline company even though he didn’t like other cats it was better than no company.

We left him overnight to get married and he was very upset. Perhaps he thought dh was punching 🤨

yea I think if I had other cats I'd be happier leaving them together but as she's a solo kitty I just feel better knowing she's safe and has people checking in all the time. even if it does cost almost as much as our hotel! I'm glad 30 mins doesn't seem too much, I'm hoping she'll enjoy a little adventure after she gets used to the idea

What about if you try her going just for one night? So she remembers that you will come back for her?

I only used a cattery once. Never again! My poor boy wasn't the same for around 6 weeks afterwards. That was only a couple of miles away.

Always ask friends and family to feed them now. I'll usually ask 2 or 3 people so someone will sit with them for a bit and not one person is schlepping back and forth.

We're only going for two nights ... oh I couldn't bear it if she was unhappy for weeks afterwards! the problem is we live in a flat and neighbours can be noisy and stuff and she sometimes gets unsettled.... I just feel so wary about leaving her alone at home

Honestly, for two nights I don't think it's worth all the potential upheaval for her - cats get stressed so easily.

I would get someone to check in on her instead. It'll be much less stressful than a couple of hours travel and 48 hours in a strange place.

I guess it's more about seeing whether she can handle it for when we want to go away for longer when she's a bit older... it's more of an experiment than us being desperate to send her away. if she hates it we'll obviously have to go back to the drawing board. but I definitely wouldn't want to leave her at home for a week or more ... but I also don't want to be housebound!

I think the problem is, two days is such a short amount of time that she won't be have time to "settle" there before she has to come home again.

I would honestly leave her at home and have someone pop in twice a day to feed her and play with her. I do cat visits and would happily pop by for a couple of hours a day to keep her company and make sure she's fed and happy.

A lot of cats don't like being uprooted - my youngest would be fine in a cattery, the middle would probably adjust after a few days but my oldest would absolutely hate it and I imagine if I sent him, he would be miserable for weeks afterwards. He hates strangers and any kind of change!

Your cat will be absolutely fine as long as she's being fed!

oh man... I see what you are saying... I thought it was best to not leave her there too long so I could see how she felt about it. I really am unhappy about the idea of leaving her at home but maybe it is the lesser of two evils. I will have to have a think!

My cattery is a good 40 min drive. But they are absolutely fantastic. They post loads of photos. And One of the staff absolutely loves one of mine over all the other cats. I get messages saying how excited she is to see her. And she came flying out of the gate to meet her when I dropped them off the other day! Her best friend who also works there gets loads of random pictures of my cat!
When one of mine died I got a lovely card from her saying how upset she was. It's £20 a day but worth every penny!

See my 'Well charming thread'

this is what I want to hear! I have already paid now so I think I will have to give it a try. my main concern was about the drive but I do understand it's a short time to cause such upheaval. I was kind of hoping as she was small exposing her to these things would be good training. However I am painfully aware cats aren't predictable like that!

Also cats are experts from birth at making you feel guilty. Thus cats maintain the upper hand at all times and command the best treats from their slave.
Don’t worry and enjoy your break.

Mine never want to come home. They take one look at me and hide. They have to be physically prized out of their 'castle'. I don't blame them, My garden doesn't have horses, ducks and chickens to watch all day.