I have not taken a vacation for the longest time for a reason that most pet owners may understand. I have a strong bond with my cat and I usually love to cuddle her and I end up missing her throughout the day with my busy schedule. I don't like leaving her alone or with strangers who dont' know how to truly take care of her. This creates an issue for me where I always want to be home by the end of the day to make sure she is okay. This is now stopping me from having a personal life as well as going away for long periods of time. Although this is strange what are your recommendations?
I can relate! I haven't been on a vacation since I adopted my bird over two years ago. It's partially because I simply can't afford to take any trip at the moment, but the thought of leaving my bird's care to somebody else scares me. My parents are fine with bird-sitting and I know they'd do a fine job taking care of him, but I worry about him thinking I abandoned him or something. I so wish there was a way we could communicate "Don't worry, I'll be back in a few days" to them. I also worry about rushing home after work to check on him.
The only recommendation I can think of (and one I'll probably do myself once I have the funds to do it) would be to go away for just one night. Before you go, have your pet sitter spend some time with the cat while you watch, so they get comfortable with each other. When everything turns out okay for you and the cat, try going away for a weekend next. That way, you'll be a little less nervous if you have to go away for longer, and your cat will learn that going away for a little while doesn't mean "never coming back."
My recommendation to you both is that you find someone who likes animals as much as you do, but doesn't currently have pets of their own. Get to know this person so that you can be comfortable with them as your pet nanny. However, having a cat or a bird at home is not the same as having to get home and walk/let the dog out. You could easily leave for a day and not have to worry about a cat without the need of a sitter.
I have quite a lot of pets, and we do go on vacation. We have a live in domestic worker, and she looks after them when we are gone. I also have a friend on back up that drops by to check that they are fine, and to take them to the vet if needed.
My suggestion in your case is to find a good local kennel or cattery. My cats previously stayed in a cattery where the housing was designed with cats in mind. They even had couches and tree stumps in the accommodation to make the guys feel right at home. The owner of the cattery even gives you daily SMS updates on how your baby are doing, and she grooms them and plays with them herself.
You do get pet friendly accommodation as well where you can take your baby with you on vacation. That is if she are a traveler, some animals do not like to travel. But if she does not mind traveling this could be a good solution as well.
If your only going to be gone over night or even for two days, your pet will be fine as long as you leave plenty of food and water out.
And if it is a cat a big clean litter box. We go off to out camp sometimes and by leaving a radio on our cat thinks we are still home and he is quite content.
We have somebody stop by and collect our mail and check on the cat once a day.
That way we can enjoy our time away without worrying about the cat.
This is the life we pet owners choose. If we have to leave home for extended amount of time, we will have to get someone to take care of our pets if we can't take the pets with us.
Only fish will be totally ok without anyone taking care of them for a week or two. Other pets will be confused if you leave them alone for that long. Either get someone they already know to come over to feed them on daily basis, or have that someone to take them home during your vacation.
The other option is to find some hotels where they allow pets in the rooms. You can find such pet friendly hotels here - http://www.petswelcome.com/
Another idea is taking your pet along. Some friends of mine go "geocaching," and they take their dogs and sometimes the cat in a special backpack they made. That way the pet stays with the owner and the geo tracking is done with a GPS unit or a smart phone with a special app.
They have gone to locations that support the ability to take their well-mannered pets and they are very environmentally careful to carry out anything that was brought in including pet poo.
I have been invited along each summer to catch the excitement of finding a geo cache and signing the log book, adding a new treasure for the next hunter and re-burying or hiding the cache in it's waterproof container.
I have actually considered this idea but I am really worried as to how my cat would react. She has been a very indoor type of cat so I don't know if it would be such a good idea to take her traveling along with me. I feel as though she would get sick from nervousness or something and I would end up going back.
I am very lucky that my in-laws live across the road from us and since they are always visiting the pets all know them well and consider them part of the family (which they are anyway) so if we do go away then my in-laws can pop over several times a day to see to them and we do the same for them when they go away, naturally this will only work as long as we are happy not to go away at the same time
It's not strange to me at all, Anna... I understand what you're saying, but we take our cat on vacation with us. I don't know where you're located, but many hotels and attractions here in the US are pet friendly and more are starting to be pet friendly all the time. We have a few things to make traveling easier but we've never had a problem and have been doing this for about 8 years now.
One thing we have is a large carrier for in the car (I'm talking about road trips here... if you mean flying then I've not flown with the cat, so I can't speak on that). The carrier gives her plenty of space and we've made cushions to put in it for the long rides. There's also a food dish that latches onto the side of the carrier.
When we reach destination and want to get around by foot, we have an enclosed pet stroller and the kitty loves moving around in it. When we stop pushing for whatever reason, she gets verbal that she wants to start moving again.
Bottom line is that we're all very close to our cat, too, and would never consider leaving her somewhere in someone's cage... so we look for pet friendly places (there are even restaurants in our favorite vacation spot that have outside seating for "pet families") and simply take her with us when we travel.
I understand completely as I also have a dog that I worry about and a cat as well. My cat I actually worry less about since of the two she can go to her litterbox if nature calls, my dog is a different matter and I often think it cruel to have the dog wait too long before she can do their number 1 or 2. Thankfully there is usually someone at the house that can see to them and they are only left alone for at most 3 hours at a time. My advice is to try and find a neighbor you can trust who has the capability and kind heart to look in on them. That way you know their needs are met and you can once again have a social life.
This is a really big issue for pet owners who care about their pets. I have friends and family who're not bad people, but I could never trust them to take care of my cats. None of them have been serious pet owners, and I just couldn't go away worrying that my cats aren't taken care of properly. There are really nice cat hotels out there, but I would be worried how they would react to new people and a new environment. I'm not even completely relaxed at the idea of a pet friendly hotel, I couldn't take them around with me and leaving them alone in the room doesn't seem too different then leaving them alone at home with someone checking on them from time to time. It seems to me that it might be a bit easier with dogs, since they're usually more friendly and a lot more people seem to like dogs. You can also put them on a leash and take them around with you during the vacation, if it's a pet friendly place.
My husband and I have traveled via car, RV, charter plane, commercial airlines and always with our dog and cat. We sailed the Bahamas and West Indies for several years and they were part of our crew. It wasn't always easy, there were times when the pets were a bit inconvenient, but we were gone a long time, so their staying home was not an option.
We made their care and safety a priority. They were always secured on leashes and had their safe houses (pet carriers), and all the necessary papers and vaccinations. Fresh water, food and shelter and they were happy campers.
Overall, we had a great time traveling with our pets they make great ambassadors. We met many good friends and acquaintances because they were dog or cat lovers. Knowledge and common sense got us through all the good and difficult times.
Just be prepared and you don't need to be afraid to travel with your pet.
Traveling with or without your pets is very hard. Most people vacation and don't take their pets along with them. Pets are not included in vacation not because we don't want to include them but because they aren't welcome in most resorts/airlines/amusement places. Airlines do allow small pets that fit in carry on bags but large dogs must be stored in the luggage area which is not climate controlled and very dangerous. I personally would never allow my dog to fly in a cage with no supervision. Otherwise you have to have your dog trained and certified as a service animal for it to fly in the cabin with you, and even then some airlines have breed restrictions. No amusement parks, such as Disney, do not allow pets. While you may find a hotel or resort that allows pets, you would have to leave them in a room unattended while you are out doing activities. Or you would have another expense in boarding your pet while you are away from the resort. If you have a specific breed that falls in the "dangerous" category, such as a pitbull like myself, your travel and boarding options are even more limited.
Does anyone know of any resorts or pet friendly vacation places?
I know vrbo.com has many pet friendly vacation rentals all over the U.S. because it is individual owners renting their unit directly to people. I also know most LaQuinta Inn's allow pets but they do not offer any type of other services for your pets.
We usually have short vacations and not so long trip so we can bring Dodge along. And we are lucky to have couple of neighbors who love pets too that can check out the house, feed our pets or take out for potty break when no one is around, we do the same for them.
Thanks for the reply. In our case, because we were gone for several years our choice was to take our family with us, mind you, our dog was small and used to a leash and quite well behaved in public. Where we were headed, the Bahamas and West Indies, it took extra effort to locate and respond to the local regulations. We found animal clinics, marinas, and the "cruisers network" very helpful. Other boaters, and locals were a great help in telling us what we needed. Checking on all islands that we visited was mandatory (some islands have long quarantines). Most islands welcomed our animals, cats are much easier than dogs because they usually don't go ashore. When we dined on outside decks, the dog was made welcome as well. As long as we had them on a leash and they did not cause a disturbance, it was fine. We had a few years of enjoyable retirement vacation with our family.
It is truly a difficult situation to try and be away from home when you have pets, or even farm animals that you care for every day.
I think that it is actually easier to find a farmhand that can properly feed and water livestock, than it is to find someone to take care of your pets.
I don't want to leave my dogs at a vet or other kennel situation, so that only leaves the choice of having someone come into the house and take care of them, and let them in and out to go to the bathroom.
It is not easy to find someone trustworthy enough to just give them free access to your house, and also hard to be sure that they are taking proper care of your pets.
Pretty much, we have either traveled with the little dogs, or one of goes somewhere at a time, and the other stays home to look after the house and the dogs.
We would love to go on a train trip, or even a short cruise, but deciding what to do with the dogs is always a big issue.
Pet Lover Again…When we have traveled by commercial airlines or a charter it is hard on your pet no doubt about it. But, sometimes you have to get them from point A to B. People in the airline industry say they would never put a pet in the cargo hold. Most airlines do not allow cargo dogs in tropical zones or really hot weather. Because our cat and dog were small (under 20lbs) we were able to have them with us in the cabin when we flew commercially. The cat had to go on a diet cause he was a little heavy, he's a fat cat. Sherpa carriers are one brand that is certified and approved by most airlines. For the cat, disposable litter boxes were attached to his carrier. Baby benadryl, if approved by your vet, helps calm nerves. If we had to stay overnight to get a connecting flight, we found La Quinta Inns to be very pet friendly. Does anyone know if there are other hotel chains that are pet friendly? One word of caution, if you have a cat or a small dog that likes to explore, always check for any kinds of openings they can escape into before letting them out in a motel/hotel room. We had an experience with a false wall under a bathroom sink. Pet adventures make great stories but they can cause real concern at the time. Our family traveled thousands of miles safely and if they could talk, oh the stories they could tell.
