What to do with cats while away?

[Nattyandcatty]

I need help from fellow cat people please!

I go away in June for a week and I have two cats who have never been left home alone before. I only go into the office one day a week, and usually when I go away, my sister stays at my house to house/cat sit. However, my sister will be with me this time. I’ve listed the options below and I am a very anxious cat parent so I really would love some opinions.

Option 1 - a proper registered cat sitter that comes in twice a day and keep my cats inside with no outdoor access. The pros for this are keeping them indoors means I won’t have to worry about them going missing or getting hurt outside while I’m not there. I don’t have a garden so I worry about the roads. I know the woman who owns the business too and I trust her. Cons for this are that being cooped up might be boring and I worry that they’ll have lots of pent up energy and one of my cats will annoy the other (one cat is chilled and the other constantly on the go and can be a bit much for him if he’s not in the mood).

option 2 - cat sitter again but get a cat flap so that they can come and go as they please. Good thing about this is that I won’t have to worry about them being bored or girl cat constantly trying to play with boy cat when he isn’t interested. But will be worrying about them being outside. With both option 1 and 2 I worry about them being lonely as well.

option 3 - a house sitter that will live in. I like this option because I don’t have to worry about them being lonely. However my cats are fearful of new people and I wonder if having a new person in their home for the entire time will cause them stress. It’s also a couple of hundred more expensive and I’m struggling to find someone who seems trustworthy as I have already started to enquire about this.

please could you tell me what you would do in my situation with 2 cats who are very used to me being home and attending to their every whim on demand. Cattery is not an option as they would not cope.

Crikey. Ours use the catflap whenever they want as they'd rather poo next to it than in the tray if they can't get out. They are home alone three days a week.

When we are away, the cat feeding lady comes in, in the morning to check up on them and put down wet and dry food and set the timer for 7pm. She's a vet nirse and has complete agency in an emergency.

They are spoilt rotten and because they are cats deserve their freedom. The caveat is that we have a huge garden and main roads are a fair distance away. They enjoy hunting, their freedom and the sunshine and stars. I think it's about quality ofblife rather than quantity although under the same regime cat 1 lived to 17 and cat 2 to 14 (cat 2 just dropped dead on the mat by the cat flap - had been recently checked over and vet thought a massive stroke or heart attack).

We have a cat flap and ours are used to being able to go out. A friend pops in daily to feed etc and sends us photos of the cats. So 1 would be my favorite option.

This is a good idea. I was thinking of getting some puzzle feeders too.

my boy cat usually sleeps most of the time and rarely goes outside. But girl cat has a lot more energy and will get bored more easily, even though it’s peace of mind for me knowing they’re inside and safe, I worry about her taking her excess energy out on him and chasing him around. They do play together regularly but boy cat needs to be the one to initiate it, or he doesn’t like it. If she starts chasing him around when he isn’t in the mood I feel like it’s not fair that no one will be there to split them up. This is why I’m considering the cat flap, but then my other worry is something bad happening while I’m not there! Argh. A live in person would solve this but I really am finding it difficult. I’ve contacted 6 people so far and not getting anywhere

Thanks for all the replies. I really don’t think a cattery would be a good option for them. It’s hard because I’ve never done it before. They are 7 and 3 years old and never been left for more than a work day. My boy cat gets so stressed and starts panting as soon as he is anywhere away from home

Ah yes I leave puzzle feeders too, but my food motivated boy has them cracked before they have touched the ground.

We have always done option 3. Our cats have settled v quickly with the housesitter and it doesn’t cost much at all if anything- plenty of people living in shared houses are delighted to have a place to themselves for a week or two and lovely cats to look after.

Option 1. Get cat cams for reassurance.