Cat friendly holiday accommodation.

[Gingerkittykat]

Do cat friendly holiday lodges or cottages exist?

I want to book a short break for a few days in some kind of lodge to celebrate a family event. My 4 year old ragdoll would probably be fine for a few days in a cattery but my elderly boy would not. He has been in one before and barely ate and now he is older he only eats wet food so needs fed frequently.

I'm in Central Scotland, looking for somewhere no more than 2 hours drive away.

If you Google cat friendly cottages there are a few places that allow them.

I really would advise against taking a cat to a holiday home, especially an elderly one.

You would be better off finding a house sitter.

There is absolutely no way I would take a cat on holiday. The risk of loosing them is too high. Get a cat sitter instead.

As others have said, get a home sitter/pet sitter and keep both cats home. It's really not in the best interests of the cat to take them on holiday.

Lots of holiday cottages accept cats , but I would say it’s probably around 25/50 % of the ones that list as pet friendly. When we made enquiries, we normally found that not all were happy with the prospect of a cat being in the property while we went out .

However for fair warning , two of our cats had absolutely no issues coming with us , for various reasons cat three never came on holiday with us . Cat four hated coming to a holiday cottage to the extent that he refused to eat , drink or come out of the furthest dark corners he could find , and we had to rush him back home 2 days into the week we had booked .

Realistically going to an unfamiliar holiday cottage is going to be almost as stressful for an elderly cat as going to a cattery. If you can I think it'd be far better and kinder to try and get an in house cat sitter so he can stay in his comfort place.

It looks like the holiday idea is out then. I thought Simba would do better in a strange place with familiar people than in a cattery but when I think about it the reason I want a short break is to have 6-9 people spend a couple of days together nd that will also stress him.

I don't know if he would like a pet sitter, he is also really scared with new people. When he was younger my sister could go in once a day and she would never see him as he would hide under a bed. He gets fed several times a day now and won't touch dry food so would need someone to go in at least 4 times a day.

You need to find a good boarding cattery.
I have lots of elderly cats in mine, and we spend time making sure they are happy.
We make sure they eat, even if that means roasting fresh chicken or fetching fresh prawns etc.
A good cattery won't make you book an appt to view, they will allow you to view at your convenience during their opening hours. They will use your vet and carry box if required, feed the same food as you and keep in regular contact.
Unfortunately I'm nowhere near you else I'd say come and look, but try all the local ones in your area.

My cattery is absolutely brilliant. The staff are amazing and the care they give is first class. Could you get a times feeder. So the cat sitter only has to go in a couple of times a day?

We used to take Harry on holiday. MIL had a holiday cottage and when my Mum could no longer look after him we started taking him with us. He loved it. He'd meow on the journey but as soon as he was there he'd settle down watching the pigeons and rabbits from the window.

@Gingerkittykat what about someone doing visits and a timed feeder so the only need to go in twice?

I do this for a semi feral cat who hates people - feed one meal, set a timer for the next two meals then come back and repeat.