Going away? Prepare your cat and choose the perfect cat sitter

3rd July 2019

Before you go on holiday, you will need to make preparations to ensure your cat stays happy and healthy while you're away.

Even for the most independent of cats, leaving them alone can be a stressful experience. This guide will help you prepare your cat for your time away.

Catteries or a caring cat sitter?

There are many reputable catteries that will have great facilities to house your cat whilst you are on holiday, but cats can find catteries unsettling. If you decide to use a cattery, be sure to visit it prior to making a booking to ask any questions you have and inspect their facilities.

You could choose a cat sitter as an alternative to a cattery. A cat sitter may be a better option, as this will allow your cat to stay in its home environment and stick to its daily routine to help reduce stress. Meet the cat sitter at least a few days before you go away to make sure you are completely comfortable with them and to find out about their experience. It will also give your cat the opportunity to meet them too to ensure they are comfortable in their company.

House and pet sitting

If cat sitters sound more suited to the needs of your cat, why not look into a house and pet sitting platform, such as TrustedHousesitters?

TrustedHousesitters has thousands of trusted cat sitters waiting to love and care for your pet, just like you do. They do it purely for the love of pets and the chance to experience life somewhere new, and they won’t charge a penny. Whether it's a long weekend or a 3-month retreat, TrustedHousesitters have a wide range of experienced cat sitters ready to keep your cat happy at home in their own environment. Not only does this remove the stress of travelling to a cattery, it also keeps their usual routines in place. This means food is in its usual spot at the right time and they can still pop out for their late afternoon stroll.

Keep things the same

Before you go away, don’t be tempted to make any changes to your home, apart from keeping certain objects out of harm's way. It can take a cat some time to get used to new furniture or other changes to its territory, which is added stress they don’t need while you are away. If you want to make any changes to your home, do so when you return from holiday.

Provisions for your cat

Before you go away, make sure you have enough of your cat’s usual food in stock and any medication that they may need. They’ll need to have access to their favourite toys, beds and scratching posts. Leave the contact details of your cat’s registered vet at home so that the cat sitter or house sitter can contact them in an emergency.

If you have a Sure Petcare product, such as a Microchip Cat Flap or Microchip Pet Feeder, then it’s a good idea to change the batteries before you go away if you haven’t done so recently. This will ensure that the product continues to work whilst you are away, without a cat sitter worrying about needing to change the batteries.

Helping pet lovers travel

TrustedHousesitters is the pet care solution keeping pets happy at home and helping people to travel. How does it work? Made up of both owners and sitters, members pay once a year to connect and exchange home and pet care for the chance to stay with pets in unique places. As neither member charges money, it’s a special exchange that helps owners travel with true peace of mind while pet-loving sitters get to experience life somewhere new.

With members in over 130 countries and more five-star Trustpilot reviews than any other house and pet sitting platform, TrustedHousesitters is officially the world’s largest and most trusted community of its kind.

Visit TrustedHousesitters.com.