Where Do I Take My Cat?

Cats are very independent, invest in a self feeder and water system... ask the neighbors to check in on him a few times while you're gone and rest assured he'll be fine. Every time I've taken a pet to the kennel, they always end up with worms.

Check in the phone book for pet sitters. We had one but she has since moved. They are not very expensive and they actually come to your house 2-3 times per day and play with them and take care of their needs. we have threee dogs that were let out 3 times a day and played woth for about an hr each time.

L.,

We have 2 dogs that we take to daycare on Saturdays to Pete & Macs. They are very good with animals and have real resonible rates. Our dogs beg to go every weekend just to get their energy out. You can always go and ask for a tour. Check out their website for rates. Good Luck.

I used Critter Sitters and they were great. A lady named Debbie Wodrowski came to our house for years every time we went out of town. She loved our kitty, Milo, and the other reader is right, you only need someone to come every other day. Debbie ended up starting her own business called Peaceable Kingdom and we kept using her. Both of these places should be in the phone directory. Sorry, I don't have the number off hand as our kitty is no longer with us :(

You can try to find a pet sitter to come to your home and feed and take care of your cat daily. That would probably cost you less than boarding at a Vet clinic.

I would love to "cat sit" your cat. I have 3 so what is one more. I just don't know if all of them will get a long and I am willing to have your cat for a sleep over.
____@____.com

We always have a responsible neighborhood kid to pet sit for us. They always do a great job!

D.

Hi L.,

I don't know where you live, but our vet, Dr. Michael Webb, has space to board a few animals at any given time. He and his staff are so loving and our pets have been pretty happy there. He is located at 135th and Metcalf in the shops on the north-east corner. It's called Deer Creek Animal Clinic, or something like that. He and his staff are wonderful. Good luck!

I have seen in the paper recently about pet sitters, they come to your home and that way your pets can stay in their own environment... I would definetly ask for lots of references.

We just used Susan Nickell from At Home Pet Sitting. We were going to board them at KC Cat Clinic where their vet is, but they recommended Susan as a cheaper option. She also does work for KC Cat Clinic. For one visit a day it is $15, 2 visits is $22, and that is for up to four cats! She also administers medicine if your cat takes any, deals with litter, feeds fish, brings in mail, changes lights, waters plants, etc. Plus she is super-nice! Her number is ###-###-####. I'm not sure what areas of town she covers, but we live in Brookside/Waldo area. Have fun on your vacation!

we've always left our cat at home when we've gone away. you don't even need an auto feeder, just tip the bag over on it's side, ha ha. we always put a stopper in the sink and filled the sink with water as well as a water bowl on the floor. as others have suggested, have a neighbor check on it while you're gone, this would also take care of your mail being brought in as well. good luck!

L.,

I coworker of mine told me that setting out plenty of food and water and filling a couple extra litter boxes would be sufficient if you wanted to leave your cat at home. I was planning a trip as well and received this advice. You could always stick him in the garage or another large open area in case of accidents. I didn't want to spend the $$ on boarding either and since cats are extremely territorial, you wouldn't want to send him to a friends out while you're away. Plus, leave someone a house key and have them check on your furry friend while you're gone. Hope this helps! -- B.

If you live north of the river, I'd highly recommend Peg's Pet Care. She will come to your house as often as you like, and will also do things like bring in your mail, turn different lights on/off, etc. She is reasonably priced. You can contact her at ____@____.com or ###-###-####.

If you choose to leave your cat at home (which is the best option) if you only have 1 litter pan, buy an extra, and leave all the toliet seat lids up, and get an automatic feeder, or just leave a few bowls full of food out. Also leaving a radio on, or TV even, gives your cat some comfort of having voices around. If you're wanting a pet sitter, try looking at Craigslist.com in your area, there are always people that offer that service on there. Or check with your vet, or local groomer. Also you could always as a family member nearby, a friend or neighbor... Good Luck and have fun!!

When we have to leave our 3 kitties at home, we find some like-minded cat lovers among our group of friends who are willing to come over and feed/water them at least once a day. Most of the time we'll bring them back a gift from our trip, or one of them recently who lived in an apartment just used our washer/dryer to do her laundry while we were gone since it is so $$$ to do it at her complex, and she loved spending time with our kitties. If you can find a responsible teen/college age student in your neighborhood or church, I bet getting them a gift card to the movies would work! You can still find someone great to watch your kitty even without spending a lot of money. Hope that helps, and hope you find a solution that works for you and your cat!

We have left our cat home alone for 10 days before. You can buy those automatic feeders for food and water relatively cheap and make sure the litter box is cleaned well before you leave. Cats can take care of themselves pretty well which is why we have a cat instead of a dog right now with our over busy lives. You may want to have a neighbor or friend come in every 3-4 days to make sure the cat still has water and food and check the litter box. We actually use those feeders all the time but our cat isn't one that over eats so we don't have to worry about his food being out all the time and him getting overweight where other cats have to have their food set out 3 times a day and not have food accessible for them to eat when they want.

If you have a vet you could call and ask about pet sitters. Perhaps a neighborhood kid you can trust could come in every other day. A friend of mine recently found a woman that keeps cats only for people that travel in her neighborhood and went to inspect it and found it to be just what she needed when she travels. Some babysitting services also offer pet sitting.

L.:
You may want to check out some of the in-home pet services. With a cat, you would only need someone to come every other day.
A. L

When we lived in CA, we had a pet sitter that would come to our house and take care of our dog. We paid for her to come 3 times a day and she would stay for up to an hour with him. At least with a cat, you would only need one time a day. I don't know of any here in Wichita, but you could call or ask around for a reference. You could also consider someone to house sit for you, then the cat wouldn't be alone at night. Just a thought. Now that I've gone and read a few of the other advices, I realize I've just repeated them. Sorry!

Hi!

I am a cat fancier myself and have a 5 year old kitty. My previous kitty I had for 18.5 years. Our family has taken trips and we left them at our house, and had family and neighbors that the kitties knew come into the home to feed, water and even spend a few minutes with them for companionship. It was also good to have someone come into the house, bring in the mail etc, and just be able to check on the house, etc. It kept activity going on so that the house never looked empty. The other thing to do would be to have a scoopable litter in the box to keep it cleaned up, without having someone having to do that chore. Another thing to do would be if you could perhaps set a couple of different alarm clocks to music if your cat would enjoy a little voice/vocal stimulation. By setting the alarm, it would eventualy shut off so as not to be constant annoying stimulation.
Hope this helps, and you can enjoy your vacation
Sincerely
SAP

Boarding is very traumatic for most cats...I know of several boarding kennels, but even at the Vet's office the animals are largely ignored...the cages small and the prices high. I do Pet Sitting in your home for a nominal fee...I charge $100.00 per week which is negotiable. I have 27 years of experience working with animals...giving meds/shots/special diets etc. I am not with a company...just an individual..the pet siiting companies charge up to $30.00 per visit. I do have references.

A.

We always had a friend take care of our cat while we were away. She would come over everyday for an hour or so and feed him and play or just be a presence in the house. It is cheaper and you can give your friend or neighborhood teen a gift card for payment.
We now have a dog and when we can't take him with us, we have some dear friends who take him and he plays with their dog. If we are just going for a day, our neighbors sons will come over a put him out for a while and play with him.

I have boarded three cats at my vet: http://www.stlouiscatclinic.com/
I don't think you have to be a patient to board here, but you will have to show current vet records.

I felt very safe having my cat here because if anything went wrong, it is a vet! And it is cats only, w/competitive rates, which I really appreciate. ~ L.

i wud take him in if u need a place to take him...give me a call if u like and we can talk.i have a photography studio here in town so im not just anyone one off the street. we take in foster animals and find them homes. i have 2 dogs and a cat and 5 ferrets have a good day

if you are like me and don't want someone coming in your home (I used to run my own petsitting company for 6 years so I have NO idea why this thought scares me), then I would suggest having someone take your cats, or take them to PetSmart. They have a PetsHotel in most of the stores and the animals are watched 24 hours. The cats are also allowed to room the kitty cottage several hours a day so they won't just be cooped up.

i have a very spoiled cat, and when we go anywhere, i have my neice come every day to feed her. she lets her outside (if she wants to go), and she gives her a lot of attention. i told her that she has to tell her "shes a pretty girl"because i tell her all the time and shes used to hearing it. silly, huh. like i said shes very spoiled. anyway, my neice took care of her when we went on a cruise. she stayed all night at our house part of the time. so, maybe you have someone like that, who you trust, that could do the same for you

Please - there is no more independent animal than a cat! Ask a neighbor to come in every day or so and add water/food and clean the litter and you will have one happy animal!!! They don't need you - you need them!! Remember, the cat owns you, and you own the dog!! From a homeowner with both animals.

Many hotels and motels allow pets, so bring the cat along!

Have you tried asking your vet's office what they charge? Maybe a neighbor could drop in and give the cat food and water. They make litter boxes that clean themselves. I don't know how long that works, though.

we are going on vacation in a couple weeks, and we always have family come over to check on our 4 cats. We ask various people so the burden isn't all on one family member. It works out great.

I would leave the cat at home..with lots of food/water and see if someone can come over not necessarily daily, but every 3rd day or so to check on the cat. I think it would be tramatic to the cat to be taken somewhere. I've left my 2 cats for over 2 weeks with this type of situation. I did board my dogs though as they have a tendency to get out of my yard at times and they actually like where I take them. My younger one especially gets exited when I get to the boarding place. That is a good sign.

We ask our neighbor next door to look in on our kitty when we're gone....could you trust yours to do that?
Sincerely, B.

If you live in Northeast OK he can come stay with us, we love kitties.

Maybe find a house sitter--maybe a college age neighbor or close friends daughter/son to stay at home and be company for the cat!!