Later this year I’ll be going on my first real vacation since rescuing my cat. I’m not sure whether to try to get a cat sitter to check on him, feed him wet food, and take care of the litter box or if it’s better to board him somewhere. I think I’d feel a little more comfortable just keeping him at home but I worry 10 days spent mostly alone is a long time. He is a covid kitty, so while he’s never had separation anxiety because I worked in the office for most of the pandemic, he has not socialized with people very much. Thoughts?
Hmm, what’s his overall personality like besides not having socialized much? That will make a difference. For instance, the cat I adopted from my Grandmother would probably be fine boarding if I was going to be gone for 10 - 14 days. He’s very outgoing, and adjusts to new environments without any fuss. He loves to travel with me. I’m sure he’d prefer to have a catsitter over being boarded, but he’d be fine if he went.
My parent’s cat? She’d be traumatized being boarded. She is shy, and very much likes her routine. When she has check-ups, we don’t see her for a solid 48 hours when she comes back from the vet. In her case, 10 days is a long time to spend mostly alone, but ultimately being lonely would be better than the emotional trauma of being boarded for her.
I say spend some time before your vacation making your home extra fun for a kitty if it isn’t already - lots of trees and perches, toys, etc - and see if some friends will stop in on top of the catsitter, and it should be fine unless there’s a reason you think boarding and more attention would be important.
Sitter, always. Cats are such place animals. Leaving them in their home is better for nearly all of them. Some dog-like cats can do okay boarding (but they’d probably be happier at home, too.)
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This! Nothing, and I mean nothing, stresses out cats more than being removed from their home environment. If the cat is sensitive enough, it will also lead to vet bills for things like UTIs as well.
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Cat Sitter
Enjoy your vacation !
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Cat sitter if you can find a reliable one.
Cat-sitter 100%
Cats are territorial homebodies.
My own 2 get seen twice a day when I’m gone by my overzealous friend & catlady.
In some 5yrs of this, she has yet to see either of them on her visits.
Before I knew her & had different cats, I left them on their own for as much as 10 days. I’d ask my farmsitter to check they had water (left a huge bowl) & dry food (same) a couple times a week when he was there to feed horses.
I’d buy disposable litter boxes too, so no scooping was needed.
Came home to a slightly stinky house, but cats were fine…
After they let me know what they thought of me going missing 
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Sitter!
We boarded an old cat that we obtained custody of when my MIL died. Our first vacay we boarded him out–did not know better. I don’t think they took him our of the crate for a week. When we got him home he was stiff and stressed.
Never again, for him and all following cats–after that we had sitters.
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I always used cat sitter ( my neighbor which is a luxury) I dont think the stress and potential for virus in boarding is worth any perceived benefit .
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