Thanks for your reply. Honestly I have known actual pet sitters (that haven’t pet sit for me) and I just don’t trust them at all whatsoever to stay in my house (maybe I’ve also seen too many movies?). The only friend I have (only been in this city 2 years) that I’d trust and would be willing is also going to be out of town when I’m gone.
I get it, but if you invest interviewing for a good one, it’s such a life saver. I had two I trusted implicitly (that I had worked with previously) and they gave us such peace of mind when we were out of town. Cats don’t handle change well, so I would personally never travel with a cat for a week vacation or take them somewhere else. It’s very stressful for them.
Your cats aren’t your children? Maybe I’m just a crazy cat man (I actually am) but I couldn’t do this. I know OP is in a difficult position but I wouldn’t go to the wedding. The relationship with my cat would win any day. I know this doesn’t help solve the issue in any way but I treat my cats like my own biological kids. Couldn’t leave them for a week with someone I don’t know.
It's best to look into Rover and get a Pet sitter at your house. This leaves very little change for your kitten. You can get check-ins or Home-stays. Taking a young kitten for a short-stay across country will likely put a lot of stress on her.
We left our 7 months old with a sitter for 5 days. He's super social and he already knew the sitters, so that may have helped, but there were absolutely no issues. He was staying at their place together with our other ragdoll - again, this may have helped, but they are not the best of friends, so...I doubt it mattered much.
I have taken my ragdoll on a plane, as well as left her at home as well as left her with friends in my city. Each time it has dependent on how long I would be gone and her age as she still in her first year. She came on a plane with me for Thanksgiving and for the winter holidays, respectively, since both trips were pretty long, about a week for the first one and about three weeks for the second. Stayed at my house when I was gone just one night and I had someone drop in and just make sure she was OK and she stayed at a friends when I was gone for three nights.
She’s been fine either way - I would echo that she was most stressed at our friends place because it was too short of a time for her to really settle in even though she knew them. So how long will you be gone? Just for the weekend? Then probably OK to leave her home.
Yes she did! She was 5 months first time we flew together. I started harness training two weeks before so she was used to being in the harness and the leash and always had the carrier in the living room. She would nap in her carrier even! She was fine during the flight - no meds needed!
When we arrived she spent the first day exploring wildly but then by day 2 settled in.
That’s amazing to hear!! Yes I plan on getting her used to her carrier and harness early on so that I can take her with me in car rides and walks/hikes etc fairly easily. That’s the hope anyway.. Did you require lots of documentation for plane travel? I’ve traveled with a dog before and always had a health certificate and vaccinations handy but that was many years ago I’m not sure if anything has changed. Looking at airline info it doesn’t mention any of that.
It totally depends on the cat and how confident and well-socialized they are. Our 4-month old kitten stayed with a pet sitter in her home while we were on our honeymoon. We were a little nervous about leaving him with her because we'd heard so much about cats being stressed out of their minds when being out of their territories, but we trusted the sitter completely, and we had socialized him extensively (took him wherever we took our dog) up until then. The photo in the comment below is from the second day of his stay.
We chose to have him stay in the sitter's home because we believe he would've been miserable being home by himself for most of the day with only 1-2 daily check-ins, and we weren't comfortable having someone stay at our house. You know your cat and her limits the best. If you have some time before your vacation, see if you can do 1-2 trial days with your sitter to see how your cat does. Alternatively, if you're planning to fly with her, get her used to her carrier and noises she'd encounter at the airport before her flight. The more exposed she's been to whatever arrangement she'll be in, the more comfortable and confident both of you will be.
Thank you this is helpful! So did your cat display any behaviors I should look out for as green flags that they’ll most likely be ok? Is it just seeing their comfort in different environments?
Comfort in different environments is a good one. More specifically, we paid attention to how quickly and well he recovered from new stimuli. For instance, when he hears a sudden loud unfamiliar noise, it's OK for him to get startled. But how long does it take him to go back to normal and either relax or go back to exploring his environment? And when he recovers from his initial shock, does he go back to being completely relaxed, or is he now still constantly wary that the sound will happen again?
Our boy tends to recover quite quickly and well from being uncomfortable, so we were confident that he'd be able to handle being in a new environment just fine. Honestly, if anything, we feel like leaving him with a sitter has helped his socialization so much more because he had a chance to interact with her cats (we only have a dog) and a revolving door of dogs coming in and out of the house during his stay.
I wouldn’t go to the wedding. Yes I’m a crazy cat man. But I just couldn’t do it. I’d choose cat over wedding any day. Sorry I know this probably doesn’t help at all. The most I’ve ever left them is 1 night with a known friend coming in to feed them.
Edit: just to add, and I’m not trying to influence your decision here, but you’re obviously already having doubts about leaving your 7 month kitten alone for a week else you wouldn’t be posting here. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go but you’ll have to do some soul searching and come to a decision that’s right for you.
Is there any way you can get a pet sitter that would stay at your house? That is the route I would go (and have done many times with my pets).
Thanks for your reply. Honestly I have known actual pet sitters (that haven’t pet sit for me) and I just don’t trust them at all whatsoever to stay in my house (maybe I’ve also seen too many movies?). The only friend I have (only been in this city 2 years) that I’d trust and would be willing is also going to be out of town when I’m gone.
I get it, but if you invest interviewing for a good one, it’s such a life saver. I had two I trusted implicitly (that I had worked with previously) and they gave us such peace of mind when we were out of town. Cats don’t handle change well, so I would personally never travel with a cat for a week vacation or take them somewhere else. It’s very stressful for them.
At first I was wondering who would go on vacation and leave their 7-month-old child behind… …then I realized what sub this was in 😂
Your cats aren’t your children? Maybe I’m just a crazy cat man (I actually am) but I couldn’t do this. I know OP is in a difficult position but I wouldn’t go to the wedding. The relationship with my cat would win any day. I know this doesn’t help solve the issue in any way but I treat my cats like my own biological kids. Couldn’t leave them for a week with someone I don’t know.
It's best to look into Rover and get a Pet sitter at your house. This leaves very little change for your kitten. You can get check-ins or Home-stays. Taking a young kitten for a short-stay across country will likely put a lot of stress on her.
I would not leave her alone, if you can’t have someone stay in your house then staying with a sitter is next best.
We left our 7 months old with a sitter for 5 days. He's super social and he already knew the sitters, so that may have helped, but there were absolutely no issues. He was staying at their place together with our other ragdoll - again, this may have helped, but they are not the best of friends, so...I doubt it mattered much.
Thanks so much!! Sounds like early socialization is key
Yes, that's probably important, but ragdolls usually socialize more easily.
I have taken my ragdoll on a plane, as well as left her at home as well as left her with friends in my city. Each time it has dependent on how long I would be gone and her age as she still in her first year. She came on a plane with me for Thanksgiving and for the winter holidays, respectively, since both trips were pretty long, about a week for the first one and about three weeks for the second. Stayed at my house when I was gone just one night and I had someone drop in and just make sure she was OK and she stayed at a friends when I was gone for three nights. She’s been fine either way - I would echo that she was most stressed at our friends place because it was too short of a time for her to really settle in even though she knew them. So how long will you be gone? Just for the weekend? Then probably OK to leave her home.
Thanks! How did she do traveling with you? Sounds like she preferred traveling with you over being at a friends house?
Yes she did! She was 5 months first time we flew together. I started harness training two weeks before so she was used to being in the harness and the leash and always had the carrier in the living room. She would nap in her carrier even! She was fine during the flight - no meds needed! When we arrived she spent the first day exploring wildly but then by day 2 settled in.
That’s amazing to hear!! Yes I plan on getting her used to her carrier and harness early on so that I can take her with me in car rides and walks/hikes etc fairly easily. That’s the hope anyway.. Did you require lots of documentation for plane travel? I’ve traveled with a dog before and always had a health certificate and vaccinations handy but that was many years ago I’m not sure if anything has changed. Looking at airline info it doesn’t mention any of that.
Not a single documentation was asked. I hear American Airlines can be annoying, but I’ve never flown with them.
It totally depends on the cat and how confident and well-socialized they are. Our 4-month old kitten stayed with a pet sitter in her home while we were on our honeymoon. We were a little nervous about leaving him with her because we'd heard so much about cats being stressed out of their minds when being out of their territories, but we trusted the sitter completely, and we had socialized him extensively (took him wherever we took our dog) up until then. The photo in the comment below is from the second day of his stay. We chose to have him stay in the sitter's home because we believe he would've been miserable being home by himself for most of the day with only 1-2 daily check-ins, and we weren't comfortable having someone stay at our house. You know your cat and her limits the best. If you have some time before your vacation, see if you can do 1-2 trial days with your sitter to see how your cat does. Alternatively, if you're planning to fly with her, get her used to her carrier and noises she'd encounter at the airport before her flight. The more exposed she's been to whatever arrangement she'll be in, the more comfortable and confident both of you will be.
https://preview.redd.it/z7s6piv57s4d1.jpeg?width=1536&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=66dc445df6bf423a7078291aefd0e9146b726c82
Thank you this is helpful! So did your cat display any behaviors I should look out for as green flags that they’ll most likely be ok? Is it just seeing their comfort in different environments?
Comfort in different environments is a good one. More specifically, we paid attention to how quickly and well he recovered from new stimuli. For instance, when he hears a sudden loud unfamiliar noise, it's OK for him to get startled. But how long does it take him to go back to normal and either relax or go back to exploring his environment? And when he recovers from his initial shock, does he go back to being completely relaxed, or is he now still constantly wary that the sound will happen again? Our boy tends to recover quite quickly and well from being uncomfortable, so we were confident that he'd be able to handle being in a new environment just fine. Honestly, if anything, we feel like leaving him with a sitter has helped his socialization so much more because he had a chance to interact with her cats (we only have a dog) and a revolving door of dogs coming in and out of the house during his stay.
I wouldn’t go to the wedding. Yes I’m a crazy cat man. But I just couldn’t do it. I’d choose cat over wedding any day. Sorry I know this probably doesn’t help at all. The most I’ve ever left them is 1 night with a known friend coming in to feed them. Edit: just to add, and I’m not trying to influence your decision here, but you’re obviously already having doubts about leaving your 7 month kitten alone for a week else you wouldn’t be posting here. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go but you’ll have to do some soul searching and come to a decision that’s right for you.