Hi everyone

Need some advice as I'm going in holiday and not sure what to do with my Bengal. He's quite attached to me and follows me everywhere, hates having his routine disturbed and gets jealous of my friends stay too long for a visit! He also tends to pee in my bed or my sons (more often) when he doesn't get his own way.
He also goes out in the morning for a few hours but stays in for the rest if the day. I don't have a cat flap and it's not my house (rented).

I have two options while I'm away...
1) a friend has offered to come feed him twice a day and keep him company when she can.

2) another friend has offered to stay in the house for the week (but not sure she likes him very much and wouldn't panda to his obsessional spoilt needs in anyway shape or form!)

I've lost all rational thought of what to do for the best, he is my baby after all!

Any advice? He's 16 months old

Hayley

Hi Hayley:

I just had the same dilemma with my Diablo. He just turned a year old, and has been with us for 5 months. We went away for a week. Boarding him was not an option, as we wanted him to stay in his own environment, so we had a dear friend come by twice a day...once in the a.m. before work and then for approximately an hour in the evening.

We purchased a feeder for his water and dry food. All went well. Diablo was a little clingy for the first few days we were back, but soon reverted back to his mischevious ways!

Hope this helps! There are plenty of other more experienced (and wiser :) ) posters on here, who will be able to advise you better.

Thanks Jacqueline, that does really help! And oh my gosh, my boy looks just like yours! Separated at birth?!

Hayley

Hi H4yz
How long have you got till your holiday?

If possible use the time left to try to socialise your sitter further with your boy... have them feed him and play ect... maybe you should offer the sitter something (a gift from the holiday or something?) as a pre-arranged thankyou to impress upon them (before you go) how much of a big deal it is for you to have peace of mind during your trip.

If you want someone to take care of him while you're gone, make sure you introduce them beforehand and let the friend spend some time with your kitty. I boarded my kitty for a week at the vets and he did just fine. I called to check on him daily. They have a playroom with a very large cat tree that they put him in for 30 minutes each day. There was no difference in our kitty. I've had a pet sitter before, but that cat was so mild-mannered. This one is a pistol and I was just afraid he would run between her legs and get outside and she'd never be able to get him. This way I knew where he was and that he was okay. He had a three-story kitty condo to enjoy while he was there, in a separate soundproofed cat room.

I would love to see a pic of your little one, Hayley....

Thanks Bengal Daddy, that sounds like a really good idea, I'll give that a go.

Unfortunately the vets here don't do boarding Sherry, though that does sound like a nice safe option.

Hayley

We usually take Quasar with us everywhere, even camping this past week.
This past June, we took a trip for 1 week where he and our dog simply could not go with us.
We got to know the family across the street and they and their 4 children came and watched the fur-kids. They came a couple of times ahead of our trip and played with them to get to know their behaviours a little bit. I left a detailed note along with our contact info and the vet's phone number.
Although I worried a little while we were gone, all went well.
Quasar ignored me for about half a day on our return but soon things were back to normal.
We are going to Vegas in December for a few days and I intend to try the same thing. I think sending the pets to a boarding facility would be very upsetting to them both.
Good luck!

_________________
~ Kyenta

We always send Diego to a very good boarding cattery when we go away and he is always happy as ever when we come back.

Our cattery sounds similar to what Sherry described in that they let him out in a big run around area several times a day to get lots of exercise and the area that they are kept in is very large as well with multiple levels and toys.

My sister and my parents also use the same place for their cats and the lady running it knows each of their individual traits so i have no doubt in my mind that she spends a lot of time with them and they are extremely well cared for.

Personally i think that if you spend some time finding the right one, a boarding cattery can be just as good an option as a pet sitter, if not a tad safer given that they are checked on far more often than someone popping into the house once or twice a day. Plus there is the added safety that a) they won't get out and then not come back in because they don't really know the person calling for them (if they are outside cats) b) most good catteries have insurance so that if your cat needs vet attention, they can immediately take them to the vet and any treatment is paid for and arranged asap which is always a worry for me if it was just a friend checking on them who then had to somehow pay a vet bill they weren't expecting if you can't be contacted straight away.

However i do think you have to really look carefully at where you choose, not just any old cattery. And the same goes for if you choose a friend or a professional pet sitter.

In your situation i probably wouldn't choose the friend who doesn't like my cat very much because regardless of them being there a little more, will the cat benefit from it if they aren't particualrly cat friendly?

Another reason I chose to board my kitty is that a vet and a tech are there overnight while they are closed mainly to keep tabs on the animals in their hospital -- but they also check on the boarded animals and I just felt my kitty was getting 24/7 care.

Thank you to everyone who contributed. I decided to get my friend to look after him twice a day and he was absolutely fine. I'm very relieved that he survived the week without me!

Hayley

So glad everything worked out, Hayley!

Diablo was so delighted when we returned from our trip, that he stuck to us like glue for a couple of days.

Now, whenever we go out, I tell him, "We're coming back soon", so he knows we won't be leaving him for a long time. (The poor baby was waiting at the door for us whenever we went out the first couple of days.)