Dilemna

Hi to all

I will be abroad for a whole month soon. My cat is 4 years old. and
never goes out.. I am a living alone in my appartment.

I am asking you which of the following solutions is the best for my
pet:

1) My brother can be here at 2 or three days interval to take care of
water, food ... and stay about half an hour each time.

2) My brother can take the cat at his house for the whole month, but
another cat is living there.

3) Another friend can take it to he place for the month. She lives in
an appart not far from here, and she has no pet.

4) Any other solution that you can provide me

Thanks for your help and you may reply via emai at

I think it depends on the cat. Number One Cat is very much a People
Kitty - a total petting slut and very talkative. I'm in a LD
relationship, so I bounce around a lot. If I'm gone for a short
period (5 days or so) I use a professional pet sitter. Otherwise, he
gets depressed if he's alone too long, so I either take him with me
(if I can) or I have him boarded.

The visit every 2 or 3 days doesn't sound promising - if for no other
reason than that the litter box is going to get really disgusting
during this interval. Also, I should think the cat would get lonely
unless it's really anti-social.

Some questions:

How territorial is your cat, and your brother's? Do you think they
could get along? Or is there somewhere in his house that your cat can
live in quarantine, as it were, if they don't?

Does your friend's lease permit her to keep a cat on the premises? If
not, how likely is it that her landlord will discover the cat? One
thing you definitely want to avoid is having the landlord drop by,
discover the cat, and tell her it has to go while you're still on the
road.

Professional pet sitters can get kind of expensive if you use them
over the long haul. The going rate in my area is around $19-20 per
visit (this is for a bonded pet sitter, who will come once a day,
clean the box, feed and water the cat, and give it some loving). If
you have a decent kennel in your area (check local vets) it may be
cheaper to do that. The boarding fees for my kennel are $19 a day
(for food, space, some petting, and some out-of-kennel playtime).

Another alternative - do you have any reliable friends to come
house-sit for you, maybe move in for the month? This would have a
couple of advantages - be cheaper than boarding or pet sitting, lower
stress on the cat, and someone would be visibly at home, thus
deterring thieves.

Good luck,

TG

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:01:47 -0400, Pierre Desjardins
wrote:

Hi to all

I will be abroad for a whole month soon. My cat is 4 years old. and
never goes out.. I am a living alone in my appartment.

I am asking you which of the following solutions is the best for my
pet:

1) My brother can be here at 2 or three days interval to take care of
water, food ... and stay about half an hour each time.

2) My brother can take the cat at his house for the whole month, but
another cat is living there.

3) Another friend can take it to he place for the month. She lives in
an appart not far from here, and she has no pet.

4) Any other solution that you can provide me

Thanks for your help and you may reply via emai at

I think it depends on the cat. Number One Cat is very much a People
Kitty - a total petting slut and very talkative. I'm in a LD
relationship, so I bounce around a lot. If I'm gone for a short
period (5 days or so) I use a professional pet sitter. Otherwise, he
gets depressed if he's alone too long, so I either take him with me
(if I can) or I have him boarded.

The visit every 2 or 3 days doesn't sound promising - if for no other
reason than that the litter box is going to get really disgusting
during this interval. Also, I should think the cat would get lonely
unless it's really anti-social.

Some questions:

How territorial is your cat, and your brother's? Do you think they
could get along? Or is there somewhere in his house that your cat can
live in quarantine, as it were, if they don't?

Does your friend's lease permit her to keep a cat on the premises? If
not, how likely is it that her landlord will discover the cat? One
thing you definitely want to avoid is having the landlord drop by,
discover the cat, and tell her it has to go while you're still on the
road.

Professional pet sitters can get kind of expensive if you use them
over the long haul. The going rate in my area is around $19-20 per
visit (this is for a bonded pet sitter, who will come once a day,
clean the box, feed and water the cat, and give it some loving). If
you have a decent kennel in your area (check local vets) it may be
cheaper to do that. The boarding fees for my kennel are $19 a day
(for food, space, some petting, and some out-of-kennel playtime).

Another alternative - do you have any reliable friends to come
house-sit for you, maybe move in for the month? This would have a
couple of advantages - be cheaper than boarding or pet sitting, lower
stress on the cat, and someone would be visibly at home, thus
deterring thieves.

Good luck,

TG

On Fri, 27 Aug 2004 00:01:47 -0400, Pierre Desjardins
wrote:

Hi to all

I will be abroad for a whole month soon. My cat is 4 years old. and
never goes out.. I am a living alone in my appartment.

I am asking you which of the following solutions is the best for my
pet:

1) My brother can be here at 2 or three days interval to take care of
water, food ... and stay about half an hour each time.

2) My brother can take the cat at his house for the whole month, but
another cat is living there.

3) Another friend can take it to he place for the month. She lives in
an appart not far from here, and she has no pet.

4) Any other solution that you can provide me

Thanks for your help and you may reply via emai at