Who took care of your pets while cruising?

[read52]

When our last dog died, that was going to be it. Then my husband got sick and we got another dog as a companion. She is a self taught seizure dog. Then we started cruising. We would either board her or my daughter would stay at our house. Now she has a house of her own so next cruise, our dog will stay at her house.

[iiramos]

Just wanted to share Toby's story:

 

We came home from our honeymoon cruise with a not so nice surprise...We had a friend checking in our our cat Toby every other day, well she had an emergency with her gallbladder and was not able to come by to see him for 3 days...of course we are new to the area and she did not know how to contact us and poor Toby ended up blocking and went into kidney failure...luckily we arrived home and found him and were able to take him to the vet. He is on life 8/9 now, but with some prescription cat food, lots of love, and an incredibly expensive vet bill, he is doing much better. We bought him a new cat tree and I told him we would never, EVER leave him home alone again. We can't board him because he is traumatized from his experience at the vet...So a house sitter is what we will be using for Toby and our two dogs this time around :)

[ZAL's Nan]

If my adult son is in town, he watches the pups (golden and labrador) otherwise they are kenneled in a nearby kennel. They are totally rambunctious when they get home and I pay for 2 kennels as my Labrador will drive my Golden bananas.

[sweetdarlin26]

We have a friend that just loves our dog and comes over to babysit. If she is not available then our sister-in-law keeps her so she can spend time with her fur cousin.

 

Here are just a few pics of our fur baby :).

[brillohead]

So far we've only ever had to leave Romeo (rescued black lab / possible border collie mix mutt)

for a weekend for my son's hockey tournaments, and he stays with a friend in town.

 

I take care of the friend's dog when she's gone as well, but I just check in on her three times a day

and spend a bit of time with her. Her dog has the doggie version of the eating disorder pica,

so it's easier to keep her at her own home where the only things she'll eat are things belonging to

her family. I like my phones, tv remotes, books, computers, shoes, pillows, blankets, and other

various items to remain unchewed. ;)

 

Here's my Romeo... hard to believe that nobody wanted him, he's a perfect gentleman!

 

[mare73]

We have a cat that requires daily meds. We lucked out that a vet tech from our vet office was available for petsitting. It's such peace of mind knowing that not only are our cats relaxed because they get to stay home vs. being boarded, but we have someone we trust who is experienced in medicating our oldest cat. :)

[Raptor2010]

*Raptor2010 - $1000 a week? Gack! How many cats do you have? People around here think $10 per visit is outrageous.

 

More than average but not enough to be newsworthy :D

[Guest maddycat]

What about cats? My neighbors tell me my cat sits in the front window all day waiting for me to come home from work, so, you can imagine how it tears me up to leave her when I go on a cruise. I got 2 cats from the local humane society so they could keep each other company, but, Ginger, my avatar, had FLV and crossed the rainbow bridge in 2010.

 

Maybe its time to consider getting a another cat to keep her company.

[Guest maddycat]

Just wanted to share Toby's story:

 

We came home from our honeymoon cruise with a not so nice surprise...We had a friend checking in our our cat Toby every other day, well she had an emergency with her gallbladder and was not able to come by to see him for 3 days...of course we are new to the area and she did not know how to contact us and poor Toby ended up blocking and went into kidney failure...luckily we arrived home and found him and were able to take him to the vet. He is on life 8/9 now, but with some prescription cat food, lots of love, and an incredibly expensive vet bill, he is doing much better. We bought him a new cat tree and I told him we would never, EVER leave him home alone again. We can't board him because he is traumatized from his experience at the vet...So a house sitter is what we will be using for Toby and our two dogs this time around :)

 

I can't believe that your "friend" didn't get someone to take over for her cat sitting duties. That was unconscionable.

[iiramos]

Madeline,

 

She had to have emergency surgery that very same day. Unfortunately it happened, and our vet said that it is very common for male cats to block, so either way we would have had a blocked kitty whether we were away on a cruise or home with him, we just would have caught it a lot sooner. I am just glad that we got him to the vet in time, and we will be altering our choice for a pet sitter next time, and actually have them stay in our home. :) Gotta learn from our mistakes...

 

It kind of makes me sad to think about all of the stray male cats who get blocked and do not recieve any help.

[k9x8]

What about cats? My neighbors tell me my cat sits in the front window all day waiting for me to come home from work, so, you can imagine how it tears me up to leave her when I go on a cruise. I got 2 cats from the local humane society so they could keep each other company, but, Ginger, my avatar, had FLV and crossed the rainbow bridge in 2010.

 

Well, your neighbors may have kind intentions, but they don't really know what's going through that kitty brain, and they are most likely guilty of anthropomorphizing. Cats have an uncanny ability to "zone out," and cats like windows, so I wouldn't feel too guilty. I'm sorry about your Ginger, and maybe it's time to find another cat for company.

 

Then you get to go through the whole adjustment routine. That's entertainment. :D

[nomarfan5]

Thank you k9x8 for your post. My 13yo going on 1yo bundle of energy gets kenneled when we are away. The cat stays home and my mom comes to visit with her every couple of days. This will be her first solo extended vacation from us so mom will probably need to give her extra cuddling time. She's a very skittish cat so kenneling or going to mom's is not an option.

 

Anyway, I appreciate your post because I need to remind myself that Maggie has no sense of time so she doesn't really feel like we've left her for good. And she does enjoy her time there - a little too much since she has to be put into time outs quite often for excessive barking with her friends. I usually have DH bring her because I get too emotional and he tells me she runs right over to the kennel owner or just completely ignores her and runs right back to the kennel area to see her friends. When we get home she does drink a lot of water so thank you for that. Other than that, she's excited for a couple minutes when she sees us and then it's just another day for her.

 

We used to have a cat that would become very clingy as soon as the suitcases came out. She would lay on or in the suitcases and you had to literally move her because she wouldn't budge off of them. When we came home, she would forget for a minute that she was supposed to be mad and she would come running over to see us. Then she would remember how we left her behind and wouldn't speak to us for a couple days.

[k9x8]

Just wanted to share Toby's story:

 

We came home from our honeymoon cruise with a not so nice surprise...

 

Something similar happened to my sister. One of her cats became deathly ill, and the pet sitter didn't call my sister or a vet. It's always important to give blanket permission to take your pet to the vet - better to err on the side of caution. Everybody should leave an authorization note for treatment with her primary veterinarian, and a credit card for emergency clinics.

 

I am in the same boat because our kitty is the only cat we have and I worry because everyone says bad things about leaving a single cat home alone for any length of time. This our first time owning a cat and we are going away in the fall and worry about how she would do with someone only coming in twice a day. She too is a very social cat and loves being around people. Trying to decide what is best for her also :( I heard taking them to get boarded can stress them out also. Hope you found a solution for your cat. Cute picture.

 

Please, don't pay any attention to negative naysayers. Chances are, your cat will be fine whether at home or a cattery. You need to decide which would stress her out less, being kenneled with people and other cats around, or having the run of her own house.

[maynard123]

We are fortunate to live on a farm, well off the road and plenty of room for our 8 dogs (all rescues of various breeds) to romp and play. And farm cats that could give a meow if you are around or not. For years we didn't travel due to the "livestock", but then our daughter returned from college, got a job and married. Now she and her husband happily brings their dogs to "the farm" for us to pet sit our grand dogs, and in exchange, we get to cruise while they stay at the farm (kind of a vacation for them too)! The kids know her, she knows them, ours love hers to visit. We can count on her to follow the presciption schedule. As much as the kids love her, they are always delighted to see us home again. The cats could give a meow.

[wwallydoc]

Camp Bow Wow is a wonderful franchise that we leave our great dane and or mastif/dane mix with. They love it. More like doggie daycare. Dogs get great treatment. Check your area to see if they are near your location

[motherof]

Just wanted to share Toby's story:

 

We came home from our honeymoon cruise with a not so nice surprise...We had a friend checking in our our cat Toby every other day, well she had an emergency with her gallbladder and was not able to come by to see him for 3 days...of course we are new to the area and she did not know how to contact us and poor Toby ended up blocking and went into kidney failure...

 

Yikes! I am glad he is doing well now. A house sitter should be better, but see my earlier story. Even with a house sitter, I've learned it is important to have backups. Luckily I have a neighbor who can look in from time to time. I don't want to stick her with the full responsibility for five raw-fed cats, but she is willing to fill in for a few meals.

 

One of my cats also has kidney disease. She is doing wonderfully on a homemade raw diet for kidney cats. Feel free to contact me privately for details. The prescription diets often leave cats malnourished -- the kidney diets in particular. Good luck!

[imnocleaver]

For our dogs, it depends on whether or not the kids (our actual kids, not the furry variety) are travelling with us. If the kids are staying at the grandparents, sometimes they'll watch the dogs, too. We believe they would agree to watch a pet skunk if grandkids came as part of the package, but we try not to take advantage. Otherwise, we take the dogs to a pet day care/boarding facility that we love. One of the dogs loves it and doesn't even seem to care whether or not we come back! The other dog does not like change and is less than thrilled about the whole situation.

 

The cat is a different story. On earlier trips, we would set out massive amounts of food & water, and employ a neighbor kid to come over daily to just call out her name and change her water. (The cat generally hates other people, and wouldn't come when called by a stranger, but likes to know she is wanted.) Then, as she got older, we were afraid we would return to a dead cat, so off she went to a boarding facility. She hated it. Now that she is as old as Methuselah, and is in the midst of a slow-mo death march, we're back to having someone come over to check on her in-house, just more frequently. Even though she is senile and generally hates us (being humans), she still gets her nose out of joint about being left, LOL.

[iiramos]

Motherof,

 

I would love to know the homemade diet that you use. Toby actually likes his prescribed food, but he is actually getting a bit chunky on it :) and I think he would enjoy some meat in his diet. You can email me at iiramos12@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

[CruisingChristine]

Long story short, three of our pets (1 dog and 2 cats) will be boarded at the vets office. One cat is 16, angry and old and although I would prefer she be at home, house sitters, etc are hard to come by during the Easter break. Cat #2 is a cat we recently found that has been an outdoor cat that we are currently working on assimilating him into being an indoor cat, so being boarded at the vet is our best course of action. As for the dog, as long as she is being loved, fed, and walked, the vets office is best for her. She loves it there.

Now, as for the rabbit, he is going to our friends house for the week. They love rabbits.

I will miss them all but know they will all be in very good hands.

[jmjmann76]

Just wanted to share Toby's story:

 

We came home from our honeymoon cruise with a not so nice surprise...We had a friend checking in our our cat Toby every other day, well she had an emergency with her gallbladder and was not able to come by to see him for 3 days...of course we are new to the area and she did not know how to contact us and poor Toby ended up blocking and went into kidney failure...luckily we arrived home and found him and were able to take him to the vet. He is on life 8/9 now, but with some prescription cat food, lots of love, and an incredibly expensive vet bill, he is doing much better. We bought him a new cat tree and I told him we would never, EVER leave him home alone again. We can't board him because he is traumatized from his experience at the vet...So a house sitter is what we will be using for Toby and our two dogs this time around :)

 

Our cat, Max, is a Persian and he is on a prescription diet because the vet detected crystals in his urine. Is this what caused Toby's issue?

Both Max and our other cat (ragdoll) enjoy eating his prescription food.

We always have friends or family keep any eye on our babies when we are gone. We also provide them with our vet's info in case anything should happen while we are away.

[Gigi11111]

Our Little Cairn Terrier will be at Camp Bow Wow....I think she really does like it there but will not be happy how long she will be there(9 days)

Hopefully she will not be too upset.

[baldilocks]

Our three feline girls get visited once a day by our sitter from Reinging Cats and Dogs. She is a former vet tech from our vet's office. She decided that sitting was better for her back than trying to lift 60-80 pound dogs. She feeds, plays and when necessary even cleans up after a fur ball episode. A truly pet caring individual.

[Moonlitherial]

My daughter or son stays at our house on when we're away and looks after the dogs here. We usually schedule our trips around their availability.

 

My daughter has been away since September so my son has been getting all the dogsitting jobs. We pay them the same as we would if they were going to boarding but they get some extra cash and the dogs prefer being home. It's a win/win for us.

 

We do have an awesome kennel that we use when the kids are unavailable or when we prefer to have them with us than with the dogs :).

[Iamthesea]

Our Little Cairn Terrier will be at Camp Bow Wow....I think she really does like it there but will not be happy how long she will be there(9 days)

Hopefully she will not be too upset.

 

When our daughter cannot come over and stay with our Jack Russell Terrier, our dog goes to Camp Bow Wow. I think she likes going, but I worry about leaving her so long for our next trip/cruise. We will be gone almost 3 weeks. :eek: She is not in good health. :(

[iiramos]

jmj,

 

That is exactly what happened to Toby. Except we did not catch it in the early stages. But basically the crystals blocked his urethra, and his bladder just filled and filled. My poor Toby, but he is back to his normal self. We are so thankful to still have our kitty, and we won't ever leave him alone again, we take him and the dogs with us when we travel to my parents house and the in-laws. Now we just have to find a reliable house sitter for our cruise in November :) ...lots of our friends don't particularly like cats or dogs...and I am not very comfortable hiring a stranger to have access to my home...