ER! So much free time to travel! But how do you handle... cats?

[GalaxyBoy]

If I left a week’s worth of food out for one of my cats he’d finish it in ten minutes! Rescued strays never forget I suppose.

 

[W2R]

And you have a cat avatar because....?

Hey, it's pretty! And I don't have to feed it, or pay for its vet bills.... OK, point taken. I really DO love cats even though I don't have one. I also utterly adore toy poodles. Not so much of a fan of big dogs that lick people on the face, though. I have my limits!

As for my avatars, Google images is my friend and the source of this photo and some others that I use.

 

[NW-Bound]

I have been cat-less since mine died a few years ago. Really miss having one, but my wife insists that we not have any until we can no longer travel.

 

[googily]

I have been cat-less since mine died a few years ago. Really miss having one, but my wife insists that we not have any until we can no longer travel.

Yes, I think once these two are gone I will probably stay cat-less until I'm not traveling much. But the house would be mighty quiet without my talking to them all day.

 

[ohyes]

This has been a wonderful thread for me to stumble upon.

We have 3 inside cats and between 3-6 (depending on the day) community cats that DH feeds. The last couple years, we have had a young lady from the neighborhood come over twice a day to feed and interact when we are on trips. We pay her well, hoping she won't quit on us.

The inside and outside cats are a major consideration when we travel.

I won't bring up the issue of the outside cats when I talk about moving. It is a quandary.

 

[Badger]

We have 2 indoor cats now and 2 strays that visit daily. One indoor cat is 9 yrs and the other is 18 yrs with diabetes. Since the older cat needs insulin 2X/day we hire a person that has experience with diabetic cats and giving insulin to stay with them. It costs about $60/day but she stays overnight and it then gives us the peace of mind that the house is lived in and secure.



The older cat seemed to always know when I have had multiple surgeries and require bed rest/recovery during the past 6+ years and stayed by me during recovery in bed. I will do the best for him with the little time he has left and stand by a loyal friend. People who don't have or care about fur-buddies may not understand this but animals of all kinds have been one of the great joys in my life.



Cheers!

 

[Badger]

I have been cat-less since mine died a few years ago. Really miss having one, but my wife insists that we not have any until we can no longer travel.

When that time comes please consider adopting older cats that hopefully won't outlive you. I volunteer at a "no kill" shelter and it is sad to see older animals living their last years without their friend and in a strange environment.


You could also foster care cats of any age now. It can be for a few weeks or a few months and not interrupt travel plans. It's a win-win for you and the cats.



Cheers!

 

[GravitySucks]

DD calls herself the world's most expensive cat sitter. She moved back in when DW was sick and never left. She cat sits alot, and dog sits when necessary.
I'm surprised people say the cats are all over them when they return. CaliKitty won't talk to me for days after I come home from a longer trip. Completely ignores me.

 

[1242Vintage]

We are down to one pet, a very very old but thriving outdoor cat. We live on a very quiet lane with awesome neighbors that refill the food and water dishes and look out for kitty when we travel. About half the neighbors on the lane are retired too, so we trade pet sitting and house watching duties when anyone is out of town.

Years ago when we traveled we would hire neighbor kids to feed and walk pets. But the neighbor kids grew up and moved on.

 

[SheitlQueen]

You should get the disposal litter boxes for that! Made of cardboard, and you could just put them in trash bags and be done.

I've never heard of disposable litter boxes. I will definitely check them out for next trip!

 

[googily]

When that time comes please consider adopting older cats that hopefully won't outlive you. I volunteer at a "no kill" shelter and it is sad to see older animals living their last years without their friend and in a strange environment.

You could also foster care cats of any age now. It can be for a few weeks or a few months and not interrupt travel plans. It's a win-win for you and the cats.

I was actually thinking about this earlier--the two cats that have been the most attached to me were the ones I got as six-week-olds. I think they think of me as Mom. My orange cat was 5 months old when I got him, and he's much more independent. So, no more kittens for me. (Plus, kittens are too nerve-wracking! But they sure are cute.)

 

[googily]

I've never heard of disposable litter boxes. I will definitely check them out for next trip!

Try these:
https://www.chewy.com/natures-miracle-disposable-cat/dp/47595

 

[calmloki]

We were adopted by an Ankara Angora down in SoCal. Our old cat was not amused. Still, they made the two day trip back to Oregon together. Old cat passed; new cat went south and north again with us. She likes people around but isn't a lap cat. We did a 10 day trip to Nova Scotia and left her alone in the house with a feeder and water. Also upgraded her litter box to a high volume mason's mud box: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Plasgad-Black-Medium-Concrete-Mixing-Tub-887101C/205451550
Left the upstairs deck door open cat width so she could commune with nature and the birds and squirrels. We left and sister checked in every day - cat managed her solitary stay ok. I figure fewer changes are better, so familiar surroundings rather than boarding.

 

[DFDubb]

I've never had cats, only dogs and I definitely don't mean to sound judgmental, but leaving an animal that is used to people caring for it alone for a month? That seems pretty cruel to me. What happens if you mis-judge how much food or water they need? Have some sort of medical event and need tended to? Tough luck?

I don't know if this exists for cats, but I'm sure google can tell you. We find our dog sitters on rover.com and have had really really good luck. Sitter will sit them in their house, take great care of them, send you pics and updates, etc........and much cheaper and more humane than a kennel at the vet.

Again, I do realize this is a cat thread and maybe a month is perfectly acceptable.

 

[RunningBum]

I would never do a month. I've gone as long as a week with no one checking on them and that concerned me. But the thing about cats is they can be good hiders. When I had people who they didn't know come, I told them not to worry about actually seeing them. As long as the food looked like it had been eaten regularly, and the litter box used they were probably ok, but it could've been one OK, the other not. But I searched for 2 hours once before I finally found one cat, and I know the house and where they are likely to be, so there was no sure-fire way for someone to check unless they were really good seekers.

 

[NW-Bound]

When that time comes please consider adopting older cats that hopefully won't outlive you. I volunteer at a "no kill" shelter and it is sad to see older animals living their last years without their friend and in a strange environment...

Both of my children are cat lovers, so that would not be a problem.

 

[Gumby]

Our 2 girls are good for about 4 days on their own. We just fill extra bowls with food and water. If it will be longer than that, we pay a lady to come over to feed them and clean out the litter box daily. They are always fine when we come home.

 

[JoeWras]

When that time comes please consider adopting older cats that hopefully won't outlive you. I volunteer at a "no kill" shelter and it is sad to see older animals living their last years without their friend and in a strange environment.

We did this. We had a great year and a half with a mature cat.

We rescued her from a growing family who had problems with the kids overwhelming her. Her adult guardian warned us that she "never plays."

Ha ha ha. We got her to play! We also gave her a new more mature name.

All in all, one of the most satisfying things DW and I ever did.

BTW, for travel, we have neighbor visits. We return the favor for them. Works well.

 

[NW-Bound]

We were adopted by an Ankara Angora down in SoCal....She likes people around but isn't a lap cat...

I had an Angora cat. She was the sweetest cat I had. Never failed to come when I called. She would wake me up in the morning to go to work, and she would jump up on the bathroom counter, waiting to be brushed after I went through my morning routine.

 

[Yarnstormer]

I’m 56 and have an 11 yr old cat. This is the reason she is my last pet - so I will be free to travel. Otherwise I would totally go crazy cat lady!

 

[calmloki]

I had an Angora cat. She was the sweetest cat I had. Never failed to come when I called. She would wake me up in the morning to go to work, and she would jump up on the bathroom counter, waiting to be brushed after I went through my morning routine.

Here's our girl: first picture of the heterochromic cat is during a transit betwixt north and south. She is a good car cat.

 

[swakyaby]

So we take them to PetSuites. It's a chain for dog and cat boarding. The cat's are in their own "wing" away from the dogs. They offer "condos" and "villas". Both are multilevel and offer a "view" - either a bird feeder out a window or an aquarium view. It's far from a cage and they stay together.

Our cats get along there well. They're always a bit needy when we get home, but after a day or two of extra attention they are back to normal.

I feel a bit guilty about it, but they are really are perfectly fine. Safe and well feed.

We also used to board our indoor-only cat at a similar type of place for a week at a time for $17/day. He was safe and well-fed, but . . . mostly unhappy. The other cats would hiss at him and he would spend most of his time hiding in a box they provide for shy cats. Then at home he would sulk for 2 days. The last visit, the employee reported he was enraged the next morning and didn't know why. When I picked him up, I smelled a strong odor of cat urine on the top of his head and his chest. Some cat had apparently sprayed him in the head and neck, and the only place he could reach to clean off was his face!

So I began taking him with us camping this year. He would ride with us in the SUV in a soft-sided playpen with a water bowl and a covered cat bed inside. The leather seats in the back would have a pet protector cover on it when we let him out, and we had a small catbox on the rear passenger seat floor. At our campsite, he would stay inside the travel trailer, looking through the screen door at trees, squirrels, and birds. I can tell he's much more relaxed, and no more sulking when we reach home. Our driving trips have been between 4-7 hours, and so far he travels well.

 

[swakyaby]

Calmloki, that’s a beautiful cat.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here's our girl: first picture of the heterochromic cat is during a transit betwixt north and south. She is a good car cat.

Looks just like my deceased cat, except that mine had both blue eyes.

We adopted her when she was less than 1 year old. The first night home, she cried and clawed at the bedroom door begging to be let in to stay on the bed at our feet.

She was an indoor cat, and never knew to catch or kill anything. A trait I have not seen on any other cat: she loved to eat sweet corn kernels.

 

[googily]

Calmloki, that’s a beautiful cat.

+1.