Dear all, I'm new in the forum and a proud owner of two 8 months old beauties: Leo and his Sister Millie :-) . They are a lovely pair with totally different personalities who love playing (and 'chat'!) together. They have been with us for 5 months now. Leo has been neutered (he is very loving) but The vet suggested to wait a bit longer (until spring) for Millie (the independent and 'nutty' one of the two!). For this reason, they are house-bound, which is sad as we live in a little village in the country side and they both are desperate to 'explore' the world outside that they can see from the window!, but we are waiting until both are 'done'.

We are going to a relative wedding in two months and we were wondering what is your experience on leaving bengals in catteries, and if, by any chance, anyone knows of a good one in the Preston/Lancster area?.

Thank for any tips and I'll look forward for any feedback.

I really don't understand why the vet would suggest waiting so long to neuter Millie. Did he give any sort of explanation?

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~ Kyenta

There really is no reason to wait to spay Millie. She is way beyond the time of a spaying! I know you UK'ers are big on letting your kitties outside to roam free. Cats are naturally curious about the outdoors, but there are so many dangers out there for them. I suggest you build a safe enclosure for them so they can enjoy the outside, yet be safe from harm's way. You can also walk them on a harness and leash, although I'm sure walking two of them might be a problem when both go off in opposite directions. As for boarding at a cattery -- I'm going to strongly suggest you have Millie spayed before that. There is always the chance she could be in heat and somehow get impregnated. The ideal situation would be to have someone come to your home and care for your kitties. Boarding them is another solution. But either way, I would not risk having an unaltered female in the care of someone else!

Personally I wouldn't leave any cat in a cattery but particularly a Bengal who I would imagine would get very stressed.

I swore I would never do it again after I left my two cats in a cattery (it was one in the North West and highly recommended but this was a long, long time ago) and they were both ill when I collected them.

I told them the MUST be housed together but were separated when we collected them. My lovely black and white moggie who I had raised from birth (rescue) was extremely ill and had to be put to sleep. The vet told us he had leukaemia not the contagious type but the type that can be brought on by stress.

My other cat was very thin (stopped eating) and it took a while to build her back up again.

Never, ever again!

I would strongly recommend a house sitter it's also cheaper.

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Oscar and Jasper (or one ear and two ears as dh calls them) black rescue mogges

RIP my sweet baby Dexter, Snow Bengal 19/5/14 to 5/3/15 and my lovely dear old friend Muskey, Brown Burmese put to rest aged 15 on 14/11/15.

Debbie

It would be great if you had a family member or trusted neighbor that could take care of your kitties while you are gone. I agree that boarding can stress a kitty, however, not everyone is comfortable in giving a key to a stranger (pet sitter) to take care of their kitties. I board Raiden at his vet. They have 3-level condos and a cat room with a huge cat tree. I have an escape artist and there is nothing worse than reading a message on Facebook from an owner who is out of town and their dog/cat got out by the pet sitter. Other options include taking them with you on the trip or not attending the wedding. I'm not trying to scare the original poster, but there are limited options and all of them have their risks, except not attending the wedding.