Hi everyone, apologies in advance about the long post! I've got a similar issue to a recent thread someone posted about taking cats to their dad's house over Christmas.
Mine is slightly different in that my cat used to live at my mum's but she didn't get on with my mum's cats so I took her when I moved out - only a 10 min walk away from my mums. Over Christmas I'll be going to my mum's on Christmas Eve and my dad's on Christmas Day - they aren't seeing other households so it's a bubble of 3. There are two options:
Option 1 - take her to my mum's on Christmas Eve (obviously with her litter tray, bowls and familiar things). She can stay in my room where there is plenty of space and she can be kept separate from the other cats. She'll stay there until I pick her up when I'm back from my dad's - probably Boxing Day. Pros: she'll be well looked after, in a semi-familiar environment (if she even remembers it?) and I'll probably be less worried. Cons: being back there might stress her out, she'll be stuck inside for a couple of days (doesn't go out much anyway)
Option 2 - leave her at home for 2 nights with visits a couple of times a day. My mum can pop round to feed her and give her attention. Pros: she'll be in a familiar environment, will sleep all day anyway, probably won't give a shit. Cons: I'm so worried she'll be lonely/think we're not coming back (ridiculous I know) - we're coming to the end of isolation due to me having covid so she's become used to us being around 24/7. I've convinced myself she'll get separation anxiety. She's also super fussy with food so usually prefers about 4-5 separate small feeds per day with bowls washed in between (I know 🙄) so may not eat properly.
Some useless background info: she's 9, I adopted her as a stray when I was at uni. She's very lazy and sways between grumpy and affectionate. Sleeps on our bed every night and loves cuddles when she feels like it. I definitely worry too much about her
Any opinions/advice would be much appreciated!