# Could Use Some Good Thoughts



## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

I was wondering if I may ask for some good thoughts that my cats will be okay while I'm gone on vacation? This is the first real trip that my husband and I are taking in over 25 years. We'll be gone 8 to 9 days. Leaving on Friday. We're renting a motor home and will be driving all along the Oregon Coast Hwy. 101, and down into the California Redwoods. I've very excited about this trip, but also nervous. I'm so very attached to my cats, and I'm going to worry about them. I wanted to either rent or purchase one of those petcams, but hubby said no. We're spending enough money as it is with renting this motor home, and we most likely would never use it again anyway, so I do understand his reasoning. 

We've got someone coming in every day to check on them and feed them and change litter. She did just recently tell me that she would try very hard to come over twice each day, so that gives me a little bit of reassurance. 

I really think they'll be okay, but I'm worried that they'll be wondering where we are, and then get depressed. We've never been gone away from them longer than, maybe 12 hours at the most. At first, I was thinking about taking them with us, but in reality, that's not a good idea. They've never gone anywhere outside other than to the car to go to the vets, so I don't think they would do well with traveling.

Anyway, I could use some good thoughts for my babies ( and for me too). Gracie is 9, Lacie is 5, and Abby is 3.

Thanks so much!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I am sure they will be fine. Ask your pet visitor to take extra care controlling doors and windows, put vet and emergency vet numbers somewhere prominent, make sure they are chipped and the details up to date just in case, and remember they have each other for company. Perhaps a daily text and photo showing they are fine would help to reassure you so that you can enjoy your holiday? They will have a thoroughly enjoyable time making you feel guilty when you get back - don't spoil their fun, and yours, by feeling too guilty before you even leave!


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

They'll be just fine, don't worry ! Cats, even more so than dogs, are totally okay being by themselves. Plus, they're amongst themselves, even better !


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

They're going to be fine! Enjoy your LONG overdue vacation!


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

I empathize with you 100% as I, too, have a much loved feline. I agree with your decision to leave the cats at home, though. They will be much happier in their own environment where they can go about their daily routine... just without you. Sad to say (for us) we miss our cats more than they miss us. Just a couple of tips- Make sure you remove any collars/harnesses since the kitties will be unattended for much of the time, and you wouldn't want them to get caught on anything... or at least make sure they have on safety collars. Also, warn your sitter if the cats have any "bad" habits of hiding in drawers, cubboards or closets, so that they won't get accidentally shut in. When you get home they will soon be purring on your lap as if you were never gone. Enjoy your trip!


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## murphys (Mar 1, 2012)

When going away and leaving the cats, now cat, at home we make sure our cat sitter has our emergency contact information, the name and contact info of our vet and my brothers info just in case. Also, our expectations, the cats were feed morning and night, litter boxes cleaned morning and night and her contact info so we could call and check in with her if we felt it necessary to do so. We have never had any issues. She would spend between a half hour and an hour at the house spending time with them. She discovered Mandy liked to sit in her lap while she was there. She would leave us a note on her final visit giving us an update.

We paid for two visits a day as we wanted the cats to stay with as close to a normal routine as possible.

They were fine and hopefully the same will be true for yours.

Have a wonderful vacation.


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

This is really helpful! Thank you all for the wonderful tips and advice, some of which I hadn't thought of! I'm feeling a little bit better about it, but it's going to be hard for me emotionally on the morning that we leave. I've got to just let go, and know in my heart that they'll be fine.

Emergency contact info will be on the kitchen table, plus my friend will also have it with her. I talked to her again today, and she's assuring me that she will stop over twice each day, once in the morning, and again in the early evening. I will be calling her every day too, so I'm feeling more comfortable now than I was a few days ago. 

I'm hoping that I'm paying her enough money for twice a day. She's coming over tomorrow and we'll go over everything step by step, and I'll discuss the money with her then. I just want to make sure that what I pay her will be fair. She's also doing two deliveries for me, so I want to make sure that's added in it as well. She does owes us some money that she had borrowed a few months ago, so we'll subtract that from the total. 

Thanks again for the good thoughts and advice! Really appreciate it!


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## StormeeK (Aug 3, 2015)

I take care of my daughter two Devon Rex cats when she goes on vacation. She and her husband are fairly young and these are their babies ( no kids and say that is the way it will be). The hardest part is the day that they leave - having animals my whole life I certainly understand. At first she says she does not want to go - but she knows that the vacation is important. I found the most reassuring thing is to email her everyday and send pictures. I do tell her that if I go over once or twice a day they are both stretching and yawning because they were asleep when I arrived. Never have seen any depression and these are SPOILED cats. I play and let them sit all over me for a while then they are excited to eat and then the run and play. Same thing every day. Just close any doors to rooms that have things they could get into and roll up any blind cords. They will have plenty of places to run and play and they have each other. Again when you get emails, phone and pics you will feel good and realize they are doing fine. You are lucky to have someone that you trust to take care of them and keep you informed on everything. Your friend is worth every penny you pay her ! ( though she may try to get out of payment you must insist because it is such a peace of mind for you ) Hope this helps in some small way!


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Thank you Stormeek! I appreciate that advice. My friend stopped by today, and we went over everything. I love the emailing and sending pictures idea, except she has been having trouble with her computer for about 2 weeks now. I'm not even sure what the problem is, but because she's having some computer issues, I'm not going to ask her to do that. But again, what a great idea! I AM going to be calling her every evening, so that will be a relief for me.

One thing that I saw today, while my friend was here, was that all 3 of my cats went up to her, and started sniffing her, and she talked to them and petted them. And this is the first time they had met her. So that is a definite reassurance for me--just knowing that they won't be scared of her. I doubt if they will want to sit on her lap, but at least they will allow her to pet and touch them.

Thanks also for the reminder about rolling up blind cords! I had it on my mind, but now that you reminded me about it, I'm going to make a note of it ( along with some other things). They will have access to kitchen, living room, and their bedroom ( yes, my cats have their own bedroom, lol). The house is cleaned up, and everything looks safe, but I will do a walk through right before we leave. There's only one of our kitties that is a *naughty girl*, and if there is ANYTHING on the floor, she's the one that will find it. Such a naughty, naughty girl! LOL ;-) Seriously though, she definitely keeps me on my toes, lol. Just like today, I was cutting off a zip tie of something in the kitchen, and part of it fell to the floor. I didn't even have time to pick it up before that little stinker got it! I had to run after her to get it away from her. She is definitely fast, lol.

Thank you for everything, and when we get back ( prob. on the 27th), I'll update here to let everyone know how it went.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Have a wonderful trip, Kathy! I'll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts to the kitties


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

Awwww, thank you zooeysmom! That's so nice of you! And again thanks to everyone who commented. I'm feeling okay, starting to get a little nervous about leaving my babies, but I think after we're on the trip, I'll be okay. Tomorrow we're picking up the RV from the lady who owns it. It's a really nice RV, Class C, 24 ft. Just the right size for us. Then leaving Friday morning. I'll be so busy tomorrow that I won't be on PF, but will for sure check in when I get home from the trip. I have no desire at all being on the Internet while traveling. Some people can't live without it, but I won't have any problems at all, lol. There's a small TV in the RV, so we'll watch whatever channels we can get, read books, and enjoy the scenery! That's what it's all about!


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## PaddysMom (May 7, 2015)

Oh, Trixie, I have a feeling that they will be just fine while you are gone, especially with your great petsitter. In fact, you'll probably get home and find little kitty soda cans around and loud music playing. If the place is a mess, you'll know that they've invited a few kitty friends over for a little get together. I'd check your credit card accounts to see if they've charged anything at Petco or PatSmart. You never know!


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

We're home from vacation, and it was so wonderful! The cats were just fine, and were so happy to see us as soon as we came through the door! Thank you all again for giving me the confidence that they would be just fine, .
We were going to be gone 1 more day, but I was missing the cats so much, and we got to see everything that we wanted to see anyway, so we came home a day early.

The trip was awesome! We drove just a little over 1,200 miles. Saw all of our beautiful Oregon Coast, from Astoria, down to Brookings. Saw 7 beautiful Lighthouses along the coast ( there are 10 total). Some of them were up close not far from the parking lot, while others we could only see from a distance. Then into the California Redwoods. My goodness, those Redwood trees are GIGANTIC! Drove the whole loop of Avenue Of The Giants, and then back through the loop so we could see it again. Also went to Trees Of Mystery. Coming back into Oregon, we stopped off at the Oregon Caves. There are Tour Guides who takes groups of people deep into the caves. I didn't do the tour though because of my bad knees ( too many staircases and up and down steps). We were there about 30 years ago, and they said that not much has changed since then, so I was okay not going into the caves this time. I at least enjoyed browsing the Gift Shop!

The RV we rented was so comfortable, and it had everything we needed, even when we stayed at campgrounds without hookups. We just loved, LOVED this trip, and I'm ready to go on another trip! Hopefully we can do it next year!


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## TrixieTreasure (May 24, 2015)

PaddysMom said:


> Oh, Trixie, I have a feeling that they will be just fine while you are gone, especially with your great petsitter. In fact, you'll probably get home and find little kitty soda cans around and loud music playing. If the place is a mess, you'll know that they've invited a few kitty friends over for a little get together. I'd check your credit card accounts to see if they've charged anything at Petco or PatSmart. You never know!


LOL @ PaddysMom, you're too funny!  :Still laughing: 

Yes, I will be sure to check my credit card accounts. If any of them charged anything, it would have been Abby because she's our little naughty girl, and I could see her doing something like that, lol! 

Kitties were good! If they DID have a party, then Lacie would have been the one to tidy up before we could see the aftermath. They did leave a couple of gifts for us ( hairballs), and the mail that was left on the kitchen table was strewn all about the floor, and one thing knocked over, but all and all, they were good little babies, happy to see us as soon as we came through the door. Abby kept meowing and meowing, demanding her little treats, so that was the first thing I had to do after giving them love. 

LOVED the trip, but LOVE, LOVE my babies more. So glad to be home!


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