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Neither, LOL.
I went 'home' for 2 weeks for Christmas and I drug her with me. I made sure she is used to riding in the car from the get-go. She got restless the last hour of the trip (out of 12) and I thought that was good. She is a good car-rider, so I rarely put her in a cage. She sits on the console and sleeps the whole time I put a small litter box in the back seat and she has no problem using it.
She also loves it at my parents house. She loves playing with my mom's dog. I actually think she was sad to come back home since she lost her play mate.
We too take, Jax, the youngest, whenever we can. He travels wonderfully. For the most part he sits on the console or on the passengers lap. We have a huge kennel that holds his litter box and him whenever the car doors are to be opened. I've never seen a cat that enjoys a car ride so much!
We too take, Jax, the youngest, whenever we can. He travels wonderfully. For the most part he sits on the console or on the passengers lap. We have a huge kennel that holds his litter box and him whenever the car doors are to be opened. I've never seen a cat that enjoys a car ride so much!
That's great-I think we should start taking our calico for rides in the car. Maybe she'll like it and not always associate with going into car then the vet.
I'm out of town right now and have been since Thurs. Because my cat is only 6 months old I decided to board her at the cat hospital (they have boarding too) since she was too young to be left alone. My dog is at a sitter's house 25mi away and that's the dog's norrmal routine, but the cat couldn't go there. I'm sure my kitty misses her dog, but I felt it was the best thing to do for her while she's still so young. My trip is 6 days (I'll be back on Tues). I miss my bratty kitty! And my dog.
Also think of this... Your pet is put in jail while you are gone. They have done nothing wrong, don't understand WHY you did this to them or why you abondoned them. Being left at home, they have all their comforts and surroundings.
It depends on the cat. We had one years ago who was furious the first time we left him (with a neighbor dropping by to feed him); he peed on the carpet, knocked plants over, etc. After that we boarded him. The cat we have now doesn't mind being left at home as much.
We always leave our cats home. When our dogs were younger, they were left home, too. And, we have always been blessed with great friends or family nearby to feed and check on our babies.
My mother-in-law keeps asking us to bring the cats when we go visit her since we already bring the dogs. I am afraid that if they escape at her house, they might not come back.
Well my cat did pretty well at the cat hospital/boarding facility. She's now 6.1 lbs (at 6 months old). They gave her an appetite stimulant her 2nd morning there just to be safe and said she did fine. I was gone a total of 6 days. She meowed LOUDLY on the way home, probably because she didn't like being in her carrier AND she was confused, but after a couple hrs she was back to her bossy/spunky self.
OH! And it took TWO PEOPLE holding her on two consecutive days to be able to clip all of her claws because she put up such a fuss/fight. Remember how I said my kitten hates having her nails trimmed? I wasn't kidding. I can only do 1 at a time/day. They said she REALLY HATES IT!
I was so happy to have my 'family' back together once again. I missed my spoiled fur kids greatly.
Location: Los Angeles>Little Rock>Houston>Little Rock
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We never board our cats. We use a pet sitter so they can stay comfortably in their own home. She comes once a day and feeds, cleans the litter box, brings in the paper and mail, waters plants, plays with the kitties, medicates them if necessary, just about anything that needs doing. I consider it a bargain at $20 a day.
2. The dog was going to a sitter's house--someone she has stayed with over the past several yrs when I go away (and that sitter is 25 mi away and the cat can't go to that sitter's house) and
3. The kitten was too young to stay by herself in the house for more than a few hrs at a time (she's a WILD thang) and she's never been alone.
So this time I decided to board her. In the future she'll be old enough to have a sitter come in and maybe the dog can stay home too and a sitter can do overnight stays.
We were taking a trip out of town for the long holiday weekend so we boarded our two cats for the first time because we needed somebody to give our elderly cat her medicine while we were away. We boarded the younger cat as well because we didn't want her to be alone in the house for days.
Well, needless to say the experience has traumatized them, moreso the younger cat than the elderly cat. Although the boarders had a very nice facility our elderly cat peed on her bed so they had to wash it. The younger cat tried to escape from them several times, she bit and scratched them, and when we brought her home she growled at us, hissed at the elderly cat, and wouldn't let us pick her up. She didn't eat for a day.
With Christmas coming up and our having to be out of town again we are dreading the thought of boarding them again. Should we leave the younger cat home alone next time? She may be alone but at least she'll be in familiar surroundings.
How have pet owners dealt with traumatized pets after boarding? How did you prepare them for boarding again? We don't know anybody who can pet-sit for her while we are away, friends live too far away and most will be out of town for Christmas as well.
Thanks for advice.
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I put a small litter box in the back seat and she has no problem using it.
