Going on vacation for 5 days, trying to figure out feeding. (eating, weight)

[Bluefox]

As the thread title says, I'll be gone later this summer for vacation for 5 days and am trying to figure out the feeding situation. Right now my two cats Renly and Patrick are fed twice daily, dry food in the AM and wet in the PM, at set times each day. I have a friend who has been gracious enough to agree to come over once a day to make sure they are okay, play with them, etc.

The only thing is to keep them on the feeding schedule I would need someone to come in 2x/day at their feeding times, and I'm not comfortable asking my friend to do that as I feel like that would be taking advantage of our friendship. I was thinking about maybe asking a second person but that would require both people coming in at the same time each day, which again I feel like is asking a lot, especially as I recently moved to Kansas City so my friendships here are fairly new. I've found a few businesses online that will send someone over, but they all charge per visit per cat, which adds up to a lot of $$$ having someone come twice a day. Boarding would be a last resort scenario. I'd rather they stayed at home if possible and I think they would too.

The other option would of course be free feeding. That's not my number one choice, but it's the most practical by far. My only issue is that Renly was overweight when I first got him and has finally now dropped back down to average size. He has a huge appetite and I can see him just binge eating on free food. I think part of it was that he was a stray so food wasn't always readily available, so he feels like he needs to just eat and eat and eat because he still doesn't know when his next meal will be. I just really don't want to come back and him be overweight again. Also he is not a very active cat. OTOH, I'm thinking to myself it's only five days. But then how much of an issue will it be getting them back on schedule after having them free fed for 5 days?

I guess I'd just like some feedback about whether others have been in similar situations and what they chose to do. Really any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Rene S]

If at all possible, I'd try and keep the feeding schedule the same. We have the same feeding schedule (plus a cat who needs medications), necessitating twice-daily visits. I have a friend who comes twice per day. While she won't take money, I usually slip her a gift card to the pet store she shops at. It helps her out, isn't cash, and is still way less expensive than a pet sitter.

Perhaps you can offer the friend a small amount of money, a gas card, or a gift card as payment for the second visit? Or offer a nice dinner out after you get back?

[30to66at55]

Look...they aren't infants...they are cats.

Go buy an automatic feeder...two if it makes you happy...one for each cat. You can set it to feed twice a day.

And its only 5 freakin' days. Nothing is going to happen to the cats.

[JLB1228]

Could you have the friend come once in the evening to check on them and give them their wet food feeding? And leave out some dry food for them? Then they can just free feed on the dry food until she comes back again the next evening. 5 days isn't too long and they're still getting fed and checked on once a day. I think they'll manage. You can feed them this way a few times beforehand also so they adjust a bit too.

[Pikantari]

Does your friend have pets? I have a friend who has pets I care for when she leaves, and she helps me when I am gone.

If it is just a few days I free feed and it is no big deal.

We were just gone for 7 days and I got a sitter. She charged 15 bucks a visit and we had her come 2x a day.

I normally feed them 4x a day so I am sure it was an adjustment but she took good care of them and it was well worth the money. She came by yesterday to drop off my key and the cats remembered her and took to her.

I felt like 7 days was too long for my friend to have to take care of the cats and then she found out she was pregnant. I did not want her to change the litterbox while pregnant.

I was very happy with our choice.

[Sonic_Spork]

30to66at55 is not alone in that advisement, I've heard it from others too...although I know many here might not agree. I'd say if you followed that advice and used automatic feeders or free fed, odds are that nothing disastrous would occur.

The next step from there would maybe be to ask a friend to stop by daily if possible, but have it set up so they'd be OK if your friend did not make it over.

Or you can find a friend with, say, a room in their home where they could keep your cats, separate from any other pets or whatever, and personally, I'd feel more confident about the cats being fed on a schedule that way, but they (the cats) would not necessarily be happy about it. But it's for five days, so hey...not the end of the world if they're less than thrilled about things for all of five days...

Or you could board them, again, they may not be thrilled about their surroundings but they'd be fed according to your wishes.

Or you can research your options with pro pet sitters. The standard rate I've seen here has been $20-25 per visit. More on holidays and sometimes more per pet.

And ultimately, for most of these options, odds are good that the cats will be alright. What it's really about is: peace of mind for YOU.

I recently went out of state for a week. I agonized about what to do with my cat, because I feed him an all wet diet 3 times daily and don't want that routine disrupted. I will not put out dry food, I don't even want him eating it. So what to do? I thought about taking him with me. Checked prices on big wire multi level cages that could have filled up the back of my minivan. Ultimately decided that he'd be happier with a petsitter in his own home, than on the road with us.

The petsitter wasn't a bad idea anyways. Because she was bonded and insured, I trusted that she wasn't going to rob us, so she added a bit of security checking on the house while we were gone, on top of taking care of Nimbus. All the same, I also cat-proofed the house before I left. I took fragile things off shelves, unplugged all electronics that didn't need to be plugged in, and policed the house for anything that could do a bored and mischevious cat any harm. I had one room besides the main areas that I wanted left open, so I blocked the door with a doorstop, because I've seen the cat actually push a door shut and close himself in a room before.

Had I not gone to all of those lengths, had I simply ensured an adequate supply of food and water and maybe an extra litterbox...would it have been OK? I don't know...maybe...but I would have spent a week worrying about my cat instead of enjoying my family. It was worth it.

[Ohiogirl81]

If I'm going to be gone for only 5 days, I won't even bother with a pet sitter under normal circumstances.

Have your friend come over once a day, and leave out both wet and dry food. For that short of a time, it's not a big deal.

[Bluefox]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I was thinking about an automatic feeder but the larger cat Renly will bully Patrick when it comes to feeding so they have to be fed separately. I'd rather have Renly overeating than Patrick not getting enough food because he's being bullied. I'm probably overthinking it. I think the free feeding is going to be the course I'm going to take, and just have my friend give them the wet food when she comes by. If they gain weight they gain weight and I'll address it when I get back. It is only 5 days after all and once they get back into their routine things will go back to normal. Hell, I'm sure I'LL gain weight on the vacation too :P.

[catdad7x]

Don't think they'll gain enough weight in 5 days to be much of an issue. My cats are all seniors and have semi free-fed most of their lives. None are overweight, or ever have been.
FWIW.

[Threestep2]

Free feed dry food, have the friend feed wet and clean boxes. Do you have a back up for the friend just in case? We were in Europe when the sitter decided not to show up.