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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

Taking a cat on holiday with you

26 replies

mermaidsariel · 02/05/2021 23:18

I have a nearly four year old cat which has never been in a cattery. She is quite anxious and is not used to being left alone for long. We always leave her with a family member at home usually but she still gets stressed when we are away. This time we are going to a SC cottage and I am wondering if we should take her with us because we can't leave her with the family member this time. There is no one to leave her with and I think she would hate a cattery. Before we moved into our current house we had four weeks in a holiday cottage between moves and had to take her with us. I was quite worried about it but she adjusted really well and was going outside quite quickly. She didn't use the litter tray we brought with us at all. I would never have considered doing this with previous cats, but now I wonder if we could take her with us for a week ? Does anyone do this?

OP posts:
memberofthewedding · 02/05/2021 23:32

Does the cottage have any attached conditions about bringing animals? If not and you think you can keep the place clean why not take her.

AJTommo · 02/05/2021 23:45

I used to take our cats with us when we had holidays in a Cumbrian cottage. They really enjoyed it so I would say give it a go. I wouldn't have wanted to be near a road though.

Toddlerteaplease · 03/05/2021 04:09

I wouldn't risk it. Too much danger if loosing her. I was really against putting my two in a cattery, until medical issues with one of them, forced it. They love it. They get really excited when they see the staff, and are not happy to see me when I pick them up.

Roselilly36 · 03/05/2021 06:44

Cats usually like being in their own home, have you a neighbour that would feed her? Or a hire a pet sitter. Based in my experience with cats, they aren’t keen on journeys in a car box by car. Cats are territorial, and may start marking in the holiday cottage.. Is your cat a house cat or does your cat go out? What if she got lost, and you couldn’t find her on the day you were coming home? Personally it sounds problematic to me I never took any of my cats on holiday OP.

mangodreams · 03/05/2021 06:47

My cats would find the car journey and being in a new house way more stressful than being left at home. We usually leave them at home and get someone to come in and feed them every day.

Thisyearcandoone · 03/05/2021 06:48

You can only try it?

My auntie takes her cat when they go away the camper van, even when they go to Europe!

ivfgottwins · 03/05/2021 06:52

There's a difference between taking a dog on holiday that 💩 outside to an animal that 💩inside the house.....I wouldn't like it if I was the cottage owner sorry (and I have cats!)

mayblossominapril · 03/05/2021 06:55

I would check it’s ok to take the cat. We used to take our cats. We also took a larger dog crate in case we needed to contain them

amylou8 · 03/05/2021 06:57

I wouldn't with my cats. The stress of the journey, then adapting to a new environment for a week, only to have to travel back again wouldn't be fair. I'd also be concerned about them getting out of the holiday home. Can you get a pet sitter to pop in once or twice a day?

whenwillthemadnessend · 03/05/2021 06:59

In my opinion cats prefer there own territory and taking them away in hols is more stressful to them.

I'd keep her at home with a pet sitter

helpfulperson · 03/05/2021 07:05

I take mine away with me and have done since I got them from a rescue. If you've done it once and it worked dont see why you wouldn't do it again.

RedPandaFluff · 03/05/2021 07:15

I reckon a pet sitter visiting your home would be less stressful for your cat than the car journey and new/strange environment, @mermaidsariel. And as a PP said, imagine the cat got out just before you were due to come home, and you couldn't find it - what a nightmare that could be!

UpTheJunktion · 03/05/2021 07:32

I am surprised that holiday cottages accept cats.

So last time, did she shit in the cottage garden? Did you clear it up?

Original poster
mermaidsariel · 03/05/2021 08:22

We only did it before because we were forced to due to moving house. We would never have considered it possible with any other cat. It was a very rural environment and the owner agreed. This particular cat has quite a lot of separation anxiety. I think if someone was popping in to feed her she would be extremely anxious about where we were. It’s hard to know what to do. She never goes far from home and always wants to be fed first thing in the morning!

OP posts:
Original poster
mermaidsariel · 03/05/2021 08:39

@UpTheJunktion

I am surprised that holiday cottages accept cats.

So last time, did she shit in the cottage garden? Did you clear it up?

No she covers up her ‘doings’ as most cats do and we were on a farm .
OP posts:
Original poster
mermaidsariel · 03/05/2021 08:52

@mayblossominapril

I would check it’s ok to take the cat. We used to take our cats. We also took a larger dog crate in case we needed to contain them
The crate idea is a great one! We have an old dog crate .
OP posts:
Original poster
mermaidsariel · 03/05/2021 08:53

The terms and conditions say she takes pets but I would need to check.

OP posts:
DobbyTheHouseElk · 03/05/2021 08:55

I had a cat who was very bonded to me. I did use a Cattery after about 4 years. I did a weekend first. he really loved the Cattery. No problems. He never wanted to leave.

thecatneuterer · 03/05/2021 08:55

Generally speaking it's a dreadful idea. If the cat gets out, which as there are likely to be a lot of open windows and doors is quite likely, you might lose her for good.

Of course you know your cat and are confident she wouldn't run away, but really I wouldn't risk it. Plus, as everyone else has said, cats are happiest on their own territory. The car journey would be very stressful, as would the new place.

By far the best option would be for a neighbour or pet sitter to go in to feed her twice a day

BobBobBobbin · 03/05/2021 09:32

We did it a few times with our last cat but she was an extremely laid back cat who wasn’t fazed by car journeys, new environments etc. She was an indoor cat so she was happy to stay inside the cottage, and she didn’t scratch furniture so knew damage wouldn’t be a problem.

My previous cat would have absolutely hated the journey, was unpredictable, and was also very destructive so it would have been a big NO. So it really depends on the cat! I would be worried about relying on the cat going outdoors though - so much chance of them getting lost!

BeechTreeView · 03/05/2021 09:40

We had a cat when I was a kid who came on caravan holidays. She got knocked up with an unsuitable holiday romance. This was in the 70s, things were different then.

Our cat would rather stay at home. He’s happiest when whoever is feeding him stays and gives him a bit of loving for a bit. He’d hate a cattery ,loathes being in a cat box, doesn’t like change.

You know your cat.

AnnaMagnani · 03/05/2021 09:43

I personally would not. Mine would be stressed about being in a new place and I'd be stressed about losing them.

Mine get stressed being at home without me so they go to cattery.

The nervous one sits under a blanket the whole time but something must be fine, she comes back a lot fatter and after telling me off for an hour we are back to normal. I've found cattery a lot better than pet sitter.

Thirtyrock39 · 03/05/2021 09:56

I'm worried about leaving our cat when we are supposed to be away for two weeks this summer as haven't been away from her for this long but we have a really lovely cat sitter and I know she will be ok. Even the cats protection league etc recommend cat sitters for a couple of weeks . We pay for ours to come twice a day. I'm also going to see if any friends or family want to stop over while we are away or even just pop over for a couple of hours one afternoon to give some extra tlc.You can get house sitters to stay with your pets especially if you live in an appealing area.

Maryann1975 · 03/05/2021 09:57

I know a family who take their cat away in their caravan. They also have a backpack thing and take their cat out for walks in it and put it on a long lead when they are on the caravan site so it can wander about it a bit (like you would with a dog I guess).

My cat gets really upset on car journeys. Even just going to the vet, which is about 1.5 miles away. I can’t imagine taking her on a drive for a couple of hours but I’m aware that different cats would react differently to car journeys.
I’d be worried she would get out at the cottage and not come back when it was time to leave though.

ginandvomit · 03/05/2021 10:57

We've taken our cat on three holidays (pet friendly). The most traumatic part is the car journey. When we arrive I keep her in one room (usually one of the bedrooms as she sleeps with DC) for 24 hrs with food and treats etc. I then allow her access to the rest of the house ensuring all doors, windows are closed and we are very careful entering and exiting the property. I am always terrified she'll escape but I think she's happier coming with us than going to a strangers house without us. It can be done!