How to keep your cat at home? This is the question that must be asked! Indeed, whatever the reason for your absence (hospitalization, business trip, travel, etc.), it is much better to have your cat kept at home rather than in another environment (with friends, at a boarding house or other).
So, if you have chosen the best solution for the well-being of your cat by deciding the keep at your home, you are probably thinking:
Have your cat kept at home, yes, but how, at what price and by whom?
These are the questions I asked myself when I had to leave my little Mistee for the first time to go on a trip abroad.
So, in this article, I will present the 3 solutions that can be considered when you want keep your cat at home with confidence and without breaking the bank:
- Have your cat kept at home for free (for a few days);
- Have your cat kept at home for free (for the holidays);
- Keeping your cat at home without breaking the bank.
Keeping your cat at home - Why?
For his well-being
In fact, the cat being very attached to its territory, it hates change even for a few days. If you choose to board it or have it kept by a third party elsewhere than at home, you risk disrupting it because it will be in an environment other than its own. It can even make him miserable.
For the practical side
Keeping your cat at home is the most comfortable solution for your cat but also the most practical for you who do not have to move his bed, his bowl, his kibbles ...
To save time
By leaving your cat at home, you will avoid 2 trips (1 to take him to drop him off and 1 to go look for him). Keeping your cat at home therefore also saves time.
For less stress
You will leave with a lighter heart and less stress than leaving it in an environment unfamiliar to your cat. Thus, you will not worry about the idea that he might run away, be run over, get lost or be in contact with other animals ...
It is less stress for your cat who generally does not like transport, does not like to change his habits.
For all these reasons, the best solution is to keep your cat at home.
Keeping your cat at home - How?
You will find below the 3 solutions for keep your cat at home that you can select according to the duration of your absence, your entourage and your budget.
Have your cat kept free for a short time
If you are only going away for a few days and you have good neighbors, family or friends who don't live too far from you, you may keep your cat free. It will suffice to ask nicely if one of them can free themselves for a moment every day to go and take care of your cat.
You will give him all the instructions to feed him, give him a drink, change his litter box, pet him and play with him a little.
The most important thing, if you choose this home care formula, is to find someone you can trust and trust who will not forget your cat after 2 days ...
What I do (but shhh ...) is that I ask the person who takes care of it in my absence to send me a small photo every day, justifying this request as a need to have news of my adored Mistee!
This solution of bringing relatives to your home to take care of your cat is nice, inexpensive but cannot be considered for long periods.
If you are going on vacation for 3 weeks or 1 month, it will be better to choose another solution. This is what I will develop in the following point.
Have your cat kept free for a long time
Do you know house-sitters?
It is the ideal solution to go on vacation and have your cat looked after for free full time!
House-sitters are volunteers (often retirees) who keep houses free of charge simply for the pleasure of discovering new regions, to be able to travel to France or elsewhere in the world at a lower cost.
They come and stay with you during your absence. Thus, they take care of your home (gardening, watering plants, collecting mail, etc.) and your animals. Suddenly, these are free home pet sitting !!!
How do house-sitters work?
Here is a specialized site where you can understand how the supply and demand for home-sitters works and where you can find the ideal couple to keep your cat for your next holiday : https://www.maisongardee.fr/
Keep your cat at home without breaking the bank
The last inexpensive solution to have your cat kept at home is to bring in a cat sitter to to take care of his cat.
Just as there are babysitters for children, there are cat-sitters for cats. It is a solution that allows your cat to stay at home with a person who comes to take care of him every day in your absence. It's up to you to decide if you want the cat sitter to stay 1 hour, 2 hours, half a day or overnight ...
There, it is no longer a free service but a paid service. However, it is a form of childcare which remains more economical than the pension.
How to have your cat looked after by a cat sitter?
In fact, just search person-to-person ads for the right spot or ask your vet if they don't know of a student, neighbor, or retiree who offers this type of service. The prices are not very high.
You will of course have to meet the person beforehand to make sure that you can trust them completely to give them the keys to your home and especially your cat! It will be necessary to define with the cat sitter the frequency of visits, the duration of the visits and the actions to be carried out during each visit: water, food, games, hugs ...
You can also search websites that connect cat owners and cat sitters. The advantage of going through a site specializing in the care of cats or animals is that you can take out insurance. Thus, in case of health concerns or other problem, the insurance will cover the costs of veterinarian or repairs ...
Unfortunately, going through a website is quite expensive.
Can we leave a cat alone for 3 days?
I learned that cats don't have the same sense of time as humans. You have surely noticed it too: A cat sleeps a lot and tolerates loneliness rather well.
This is why, generally, a cat can stay alone at home for 2 or 3 days without it affecting it. Besides, I had the experience of leaving Mistee alone for a whole weekend in my house and everything went very well. When I returned, she didn't seem to be saddened or upset.
It will be necessary to make sure to leave him enough toys so as not to your cat is bored...
And above all, it will be necessary to provide a good distributor of croquettes and another distributor for the water. Here are the models I ordered from Amazon: Automatic kibble and water dispenser
It is a solution that you can adapt in addition to a passage of cat-sitter by organizing visits every 2 days for example.
You haven't decided to leave your cat during the holidays and you prefer to take her with you?
So here are my tips for choosing a rental that accepts cats !
Are you afraid of losing your cat?
Here are all my tips if you were to experience this painful and distressing situation:
Does your cat pee all over your house?
Here are my solutions to a cat urinating everywhere
And to prevent him from hurting you while having fun, consider cut your cat's claws !
Ping: Vacation rental with her cat
Ping: How to stop a cat's diarrhea?
Ping: Cat in car - Solution
Ping: Organize your vacation - My advice to avoid unpleasant surprises
Ping: Bored cat - How to occupy your cat?
Ping: How to feed your cat naturally