OT- Boarding Advice

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Rachel

Rachel

Member Since 2013
Hi all!

Wanted to get some thoughts. First off, I have 3 civvies, no diabetics right now. I'm going on vacation in April for a week and am planning on boarding the cats. I wanted to know about your thoughts/experiences. I thought about having someone come by and feed/clean litter boxes, but we've had a lot of medical issues lately (UTIs, crystals, cystitis, etc) and I'm afraid if we have someone come in, they won't catch if there is a problem. Plus, I don't think my cats will let a stranger place them in a carrier...and I don't think a friend would necessarily be willing to take them to a vet.

I'm looking into facilities now, but what are your thoughts? I know boarding is stressful and staying home is less so, but at a boarding place, they will be looked after and can get vet attention if needed. I think they can be put together, which may lessen the stress (hopefully).
 
Maybe your vet has a vet tech that would come check on the cats on their way to or from work? At least they'd know what to look for and could "call for backup" if necessary to take one to the vet
 
Rachel said:
Hi all!

Wanted to get some thoughts. First off, I have 3 civvies, no diabetics right now. I'm going on vacation in April for a week and am planning on boarding the cats. I wanted to know about your thoughts/experiences. I thought about having someone come by and feed/clean litter boxes, but we've had a lot of medical issues lately (UTIs, crystals, cystitis, etc) and I'm afraid if we have someone come in, they won't catch if there is a problem. Plus, I don't think my cats will let a stranger place them in a carrier...and I don't think a friend would necessarily be willing to take them to a vet.

I'm looking into facilities now, but what are your thoughts? I know boarding is stressful and staying home is less so, but at a boarding place, they will be looked after and can get vet attention if needed. I think they can be put together, which may lessen the stress (hopefully).
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If at all possible I would try to keep them home as Chris has a great idea. The stress alone can trigger health issues. I don't know where you live but we have places here that have vet techs that work thru the facility that comes to care for the pets. I don't know if it is a chain but one is called
Out you go.
 
Some vet techs are willing to come to your house and take care of everything related to your pet. Also, care.com supposedly is a place to go to find pet sitters. I've never hired anyone through there but you can get background checks on whoever you pick as your pet sitter, set up interviews with them, etc. In my town there are a lot of private pet sitting agencies that make house calls. All of these resources should be more than capable of spotting urinary issues and calling for backup if they needed to get a cat into the car and to the vet. I would keep them home unless I absolutely couldn't find any other alternative.
 
If you do use a pet-sitting company/person, make sure they're insured/bonded. They'll come out ahead of time and you aren't comfortable with them, go with your instinct. I'd try to keep them home if you can unless you have particularly difficult kitties or a lot of medication needs. Your vet is a great place to start in either case though, as well as posting your location here (if you're comfortable with that) and asking for recommendations.
 
Thanks!! My concern with a pet sitter (other than having a stranger in my home) is my cats aren't friendly. They aren't aggressive but they might not even come out while a stranger is there. So there might not be a way to know who is sick if someone is or to get them in a carrier. Any advice on how to make that process easier?
 
Rachel said:
Thanks!! My concern with a pet sitter (other than having a stranger in my home) is my cats aren't friendly. They aren't aggressive but they might not even come out while a stranger is there. So there might not be a way to know who is sick if someone is or to get them in a carrier. Any advice on how to make that process easier?
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Do you have family/friends in the area who the cats know pretty well?
 
No family all lives out of state. My friends have met maybe 1 cat...but the others all hide.

I'm still considering a pet sitter just wanted to get some opinions.
 
If the only time they would get to eat is when the pet sitter comes, would that help? Could you have the pet sitter come over a few times before you leave, put food down and at least get to see them/ and them her or him?
 
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