Cat Sitter vs Cat Boarding

Once you’ve weighed the pros and cons of a cat sitter vs cat boarding, you’ll opt for the former. A Cat Sitter is someone who looks in on your cat , or lives in your home to care for your cat when you travel. Investing in a cat sitter may be more essential than you think. Cats are fiercely independent as well as sensitive creatures. Cats do not particularly like being in multi cat households, though they adapt especially if they’ve been together as kittens. Therefore, displacing them from the comfort and security of their home to a cattery, is traumatising.

Lets quickly elaborate on the multi cat household, and what you can do to make your cats comfortable. Cats do not do well in multi cat households unless they have access to their own resources. What does that mean? Each cat must have its own litter tray, feeding bowl and toys. When cats grow up and live together, they may get along and even play with each other, but its is still vital to give each one their own resources. So while this may make little sense to us as human beings, for your feline this is a deal breaker. Another deal breaker- individual litter trays because, well wouldn’t you want your own??

It is also advisable to have kittens grow up with each other. Not always possible but if you can bring them up together it makes it easier on the cats. As we see in the video, introducing adult cats to one another, can be a tedious process, but necessary to have cats co exist happily.
Descended from desert dwellers cats, do not like to have their food and water resources too close to each other. A fun fact, because water can contaminate food.

Now that we’ve established that cats are easily stressed and change and the introduction of new animals traumatises them you may want to rethink leaving your cat at a cattery. (Catteries are if two kinds- boarding and breeding)

A simple Google search “moving with my cat” shows “About 29,40,00,000 results”– we cannot list or transcribe them all, but, we can give you the top 5 tips.
1. Make sure your cat gets used to his/her cat carrier well before the move
2. Make sure pet id tags are upto date or get a GPS tracker for your cat
3. Keep them indoors, when you move into your new home, i.e keep them in a bathroom or room, locked up so they do not run out the door.
4. Make sure all the windows and doors stay closed in your new home
5. If you are moving within a city feed them a light meal on moving day

If you believe, your cat is social and gets along with other animals. Think again, cats like people behave differently when they are secure in the knowledge that their tribe/ pack is present.

There are hundreds of great articles and advice from experts and fellow owners, please make sure you research any potential threats to your cat before you move. If you think your cat needs a sedative, speak to your vet. Pheromone therapy works for some cats, again, seek your veterinarians advice.
The common thread from a behaviourist or a cat owner tells you, when you move make sure your cat is kept indoors for days. Make sure you’re around to reassure them that they’re safe.

Dropping your cat off at the cattery or worse pet boarding (they frequently board multiple species) is essentially packing, moving & new house day all rolled into one for your cat.

Pet Peeve – facilities claim, its just like home! It’s a kennel or cattery, never mind the catchy names & flashy advertising.

Pet boarding facilities/ homes/ hotels are playing to a market demand. They are filling a void that comes with the explosion of pet ownership. New pet parents in many instances are ill equipped to have their pets cared for when they travel. The rise of the nuclear family, has exacerbated this problem. The rise of the pet parent replacing children with dogs, has the unwitting side effects of leaving these “children” in the care of strangers while they travel. When you go out and get yourself a pet like the superior cat you owe it to the cat to meet all its needs.

Cats are solitary hunters & pretty much solitary beings.

What are the primary problems with pet boarding facilities?
Unless a facility, is professionally planned- and run, by behaviourists or in consultation with one, ‘Free range facilities’ are not safe. They are not designed to give maximum safety to each animal, unfamiliar

How do you ensure your cat does not escape? If they do escape, they’re lost. The situation has quickly changed from pet boarding, to a lost traumatised cat in a strange area, with little hope of being found. In fact, most free range facilities will cause an animal, to be unduly stressed. Now you have the facts, what will you choose for your cat? Cat sitter or Cat boarding?

Kennels and cattery’s must be managed by people who are knowledgeable in kennel management and design. Kennel and cattery management and design are the first step to your choosing a facility.