This story is longer than it should be but has a point and a happy ending. Years ago without a sugar cat we had nine cats and a dog. We had a great pet sitter who did a great job. The days of kids shoveling your walk for $10 are long gone just like pet sitters coming twice a day for $50. Ask your self what you'd want for walking a big dog twice a day, cleaning five litter boxes, feeding wet food, cleaning up the occasional puke and washing all those cat dishes. I wouldn't do it for less than $125, with travelling time it's easily six hours so that's only $20 per hour. Now our pet sitter has gone from a staff of six to just one, those stories about people leaving their jobs during the pandemic really hits home at times like this. She baled on us with two weeks notice, it was not a vacation and cancelling was out of the question. Then we remembered Redwood, an enormous place with an in-ground pool that now boards cats. A week before travelling we got an e-mail, the place had been sold and was undergoing renovations, sorry, you're SOL. What saved us was a place we had driven by hundreds of times but never considered. The bill was fairly high but nothing compared to coming home and finding a cat hiding in a closet or buried in the basement under something that had fallen. The point is nobody wants to spend that kind of money but it's nothing compared to the life long guilt of coming home to a dead or near dead cat. It happened to me once 30 years ago because of my idiot cousin and although it wasn't a tragedy I can tell you almost nothing feels worse. Look at the first line in my signature, it means something.
Three years ago we had to attend a family memorial, again no way out and I had to board Noah. If a stranger came in the house he would hide behind the furnace so boarding was my only option. I wrongly assumed neither of my vets couldn't board but the smaller clinic (small as in three parking spaces) was well equipped to board cats and even gave Noah a double wide crate. He was old by then and had so many problems I gave the vet a DNR which he completely agreed with. I honestly gave Noah a 50/50 chance of making it but he came home with perfect numbers and even gained a little weight.
I know money and love aren't the same thing but if you're like us a forever home means something. Please don't make my mistake and assume certain things won't work. You'll find a way and remember Christmas isn't and never has been about money, it's about the things we love. Best of luck.
