Traveler and Potential Cat Mom

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Melbornico
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Traveler and Potential Cat Mom

Post by Melbornico »

Hi everyone! I'm new to this cat owner life. My story is as follows- there were kittens born under my neighbors porch about 4 months ago. The mother died not too long after, as well as one of the kittens in the litter. Two kittens remained, and over the past month or so I've been feeding them and interacting with them. I managed to pick them up and work with a vet to socialize them and they've been in my house for the past week, making great progress. I originally planned on getting their health needs cared for then finding them a loving home, but of course I got attached and I'm not sure I'd be able to get rid of them at this point. My only concern is traveling. I'm in my 20's and I don't know where life will take me and I'm the type of person who enjoys the freedom to pick up and travel somewhere every once in a while without a fixed timeline. Luckily I have family and some close friends who would probably be able to watch them in those hypothetical scenarios where I'm away, but I also read that in some instances cats generally hate traveling and even when their owners travel. I really do love these little guys and they've really been helping me with my mental health as well, but I also wouldn't want to be unfair to them if me going away every once in a while would stress them out in some way. I was wondering if there were any cat owner/travel lovers out there who have figured out how to make their situation work, and how. Worth a shot to seek more information! Thank you so much in advance.
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Ruth B
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Re: Traveler and Potential Cat Mom

Post by Ruth B »

You have two options really when you go away, a cattery, or someone to come in and look after them. Catteries can be very good, but the good ones do book up well in advance so aren't really suitable if you want to travel more spontaneously.

Friends or family who will come in and look after them twice a day is the best option in my mind. Not only are the cats being looked after in their own home the house is also getting the once over each day which is always good for security reasons. There are also pet sitters available that can be booked to come in and look after any pets, but in the UK (not sure where you live, I live in the UK so that is what I can tell you about) the profession is unregulated so you need to be careful to find a good one if you go down that route. I have also heard of people using cameras to monitor their pets while they are away, just make sure that you let whoever is looking after them know the cameras are there and are for the pets. My parents used to look after one of their neighbour's cats, there neighbour used to be a travel consultant and liked to travel, I would say they were away 10-12 weeks each year, normally only for a week to 10 days, but they were gone frequently. They did have a catflap so the cat could come and go as he pleased which meant he could visit my parents or other neighbours if he wanted some attention, but he never suffered from being left.

I would suggest that you get them used to being left on their own gradually, start with a few hours, then day trips away from them, and then just the odd night building up to a week or so. Getting them used to you not being there will hopefully mean they don't suffer from separation anxiety so much.

Finally a last thought. Could you take them with you on some trips. They are still young so training them to wear a harness shouldn't be too hard which would mean they were much safer when traveling. If you have a search on Youtube, Jackson Galaxy has done some really good videos about how to train a cat to harness and lead. I would also suggest making sure they are microchipped (I would suggest getting them chipped anyway it is always worthwhile), and having some good photos available, renew them as they grow up, showing any distinctive markings. Sorry if that sounds a bit paranoid, many cats can travel quite safely but I firmly believe if you are prepared for the worst, it never happens. You may have to hunt around a bit and pay a bit extra but there are plenty of places that will accept pets staying with customers.

Good luck with what ever you decide and thank you for taking them in and looking after them, even if it has turned into a longer commitment than you first intended, I'm sure they will make up for it in the love they can give back.
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Mollycat
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Re: Traveler and Potential Cat Mom

Post by Mollycat »

I'm with you. When I got the first one he was chosen carefully and planned for, he was a retired stud used to shows and travelling and going different places. I was going to let him get used to our home then get him used to my mother's house as a second home. I'm sure it would have worked very well, given his character, but he had other plans. He needed company of his own kind so badly and the suitable cat we found is not suited to any kind of moving about. My mother has no choice but to come to my house, although I don't have that job any more so it's much less often.

If you get them used to going to a different home from early on there should be no problem, just make sure they still go there regularly if you don't travel for a while, to keep them used to it. My Misha many years ago came and went between my house and my mother's very easily after the first holiday even though she was 8 years old the first time she was moved. Once she got used to the idea she was easily able to go to different houses as well, one she specially loved I couldn't keep her indoors and she was going in and out from the second day.

Cats are mostly adaptable to whatever you start when they are young, at least that is their best chance of being adaptable. There is always the risk of a cat that takes whatever you want them to adapt to very badly and forcing a change of plan.
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