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#1
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stay home versus board out?
My wife and I are going on a month long trip to Australia and are wondering
what to do with our 2 year old cat Elvis. We may be able to find 2 places where the people might take him but they are not experienced cat owners and I'm afraid he'll eat their plants, shred their furniture, spread and track litter all over the place (he's a real digger) and escape out the door and get lost etc etc I know cats don't usually like strange places and often go and hide for a few days but he adapted immediately to our place a few months ago. I'm wondering how our very sociable cat would fare if he was left at home and just visited once a day by one of our (grown up) kids. We can't leave him with the kids because they have dogs and Elvis has attacked every dog he has been exposed to. He has claws and is an indoor cat. We got him from an outfit called 'friends of abandoned pets' and he was in pretty bad shape when they found him. We don't know what he went through but don't want him to get lost again. Any ideas, opinions? Wayne in Ottawa |
#2
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stay home versus board out?
"Wayne" wrote:
Any ideas, opinions? I would stick with the home visits but why not get all your grown up kids to pitch in so he gets more than one visit a day. Also maybe they could stay overnight once in a while like on weekends. You could also supplement their visits with a pet sitter but don't tell the kids they're off the hook :-) -mhd |
#3
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stay home versus board out?
"Wayne" wrote in message ... My wife and I are going on a month long trip to Australia and are wondering what to do with our 2 year old cat Elvis. We may be able to find 2 places where the people might take him but they are not experienced cat owners and I'm afraid he'll eat their plants, shred their furniture, spread and track litter all over the place (he's a real digger) and escape out the door and get lost etc etc I know cats don't usually like strange places and often go and hide for a few days but he adapted immediately to our place a few months ago. I'm wondering how our very sociable cat would fare if he was left at home and just visited once a day by one of our (grown up) kids. We can't leave him with the kids because they have dogs and Elvis has attacked every dog he has been exposed to. He has claws and is an indoor cat. We got him from an outfit called 'friends of abandoned pets' and he was in pretty bad shape when they found him. We don't know what he went through but don't want him to get lost again. Any ideas, opinions? Wayne in Ottawa There is no way to know how your cat will react to daily visits and spending most of his time alone, until you have actually tried this. When it comes to my cat Matilda and the way she is, whenever I have holiday plans that don't include her, I take her to Eastway Kennels in Navan. Over the past five years she has spent a lot of time there. Longest time at a stretch being 21 days. http://www.eastwaykennels.com/cattery.html Nicole is very knowledgeable when it comes to cats and so are the rest of the staff, so if kennelling is an option that you're open to - Eastway might suit you. Judy in Ottawa. |
#4
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stay home versus board out?
On Sat, 11 Nov 2006 22:49:11 -0500, Wayne wrote:
My wife and I are going on a month long trip to Australia and are wondering what to do with our 2 year old cat Elvis. We may be able to find 2 places where the people might take him but they are not experienced cat owners and I'm afraid he'll eat their plants, shred their furniture, spread and track litter all over the place (he's a real digger) and escape out the door and get lost etc etc I know cats don't usually like strange places and often go and hide for a few days but he adapted immediately to our place a few months ago. I'm wondering how our very sociable cat would fare if he was left at home and just visited once a day by one of our (grown up) kids. We can't leave him with the kids because they have dogs and Elvis has attacked every dog he has been exposed to. He has claws and is an indoor cat. We got him from an outfit called 'friends of abandoned pets' and he was in pretty bad shape when they found him. We don't know what he went through but don't want him to get lost again. Any ideas, opinions? Wayne in Ottawa For my cats when we travel, we found a nice young lady (20 years old) who is reliable, dependable and lives at home with her parents. She loves coming and staying at our house (she housesits for us). She attends the local community college and works. We've had her coming for about 2 years now and she does very well. Before her, we had a niece (college age) come and stay. I found that my cats do so much better with someone staying at our house than just someone coming in once or twice a day to feed them. She feeds them, plays with them and even scoops the litter box. We pay her for coming and staying. I realize that this is not an option for everyone (sometimes it's hard to find someone you feel you can trust with your home and kitties), but it's worked very well for us. Patty |
#5
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stay home versus board out?
That's a tough one. It would really be wonderful if you could get a
live-in house-sitter. I used to do that for people in my unattached, apartment days. The pets would get to stay home and would get my full attention. If that's not an option, I'd hate the thought of my own cats being home alone for that long with just daily visits. It would be easy to miss any health changes. As for the two other places he could live, the only thing that worried me in your description was getting out the door. Do you think he might try? I'd probably judge on the cat's temperament to new surroundings and if you think the people are diligent about keeping him safe. Do they have small kids that run in and out and might leave the door open? If you decide on that option, maybe you could take him to visit for a few times beforehand so he can get used to the place with you there too? Whatever you decide, I'd make sure he's chipped or has a collar and tag. Good luck with your decision, Rhonda Wayne wrote: My wife and I are going on a month long trip to Australia and are wondering what to do with our 2 year old cat Elvis. We may be able to find 2 places where the people might take him but they are not experienced cat owners and I'm afraid he'll eat their plants, shred their furniture, spread and track litter all over the place (he's a real digger) and escape out the door and get lost etc etc I know cats don't usually like strange places and often go and hide for a few days but he adapted immediately to our place a few months ago. I'm wondering how our very sociable cat would fare if he was left at home and just visited once a day by one of our (grown up) kids. We can't leave him with the kids because they have dogs and Elvis has attacked every dog he has been exposed to. He has claws and is an indoor cat. We got him from an outfit called 'friends of abandoned pets' and he was in pretty bad shape when they found him. We don't know what he went through but don't want him to get lost again. Any ideas, opinions? Wayne in Ottawa |
#6
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stay home versus board out?
Wayne wrote: My wife and I are going on a month long trip to Australia and are wondering what to do with our 2 year old cat Elvis. We may be able to find 2 places where the people might take him but they are not experienced cat owners and I'm afraid he'll eat their plants, shred their furniture, spread and track litter all over the place (he's a real digger) and escape out the door and get lost etc etc I know cats don't usually like strange places and often go and hide for a few days but he adapted immediately to our place a few months ago. I'm wondering how our very sociable cat would fare if he was left at home and just visited once a day by one of our (grown up) kids. We can't leave him with the kids because they have dogs and Elvis has attacked every dog he has been exposed to. He has claws and is an indoor cat. We got him from an outfit called 'friends of abandoned pets' and he was in pretty bad shape when they found him. We don't know what he went through but don't want him to get lost again. Any ideas, opinions? Wayne in Ottawa See if you can hire a college student to stay at the house with the cat. Many students like to get out of the dorms and have a place of their own. I would have *killed* to get a gig like that when I lived in the dorms. otherwise, someone really needs to be with the cat at least an hour a day. Boarding is not a good option - a month is *far* too long unless it is an exceptional boarding facility that has huge enclosures and daily exercise. -L. |
#7
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stay home versus board out?
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#8
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stay home versus board out?
"-L." wrote:
See if you can hire a college student to stay at the house with the cat. Many students like to get out of the dorms and have a place of their own. I would have *killed* to get a gig like that when I lived in the dorms. Especially since you can't throw really large parties in a small dorm room. -mhd |
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