My partner won’t go on holiday because of the cats

I suggest your partner goes to therapy because to have cats rule their life like this there is obviously an underlying issue.

We all have some issue with leaving our home, possessions and especially a loved pet or loved one with anyone that isn’t a mirror of ourselves. Of course with babysitting, you have references, and organizations to help you find the right match. With animal sitting, its quite different and difficult. However daunting the situation may seem, don’t despair.
First get a recommendation from your veterarien. They may recommend their own kennels but if you explain that you want less stress for the animal, a good one will understand, and probably know a great person to hire. As for testing your kitty sitter… Have you ever seen the small motion activated cameras hidden in kids toys, or the kitchen fruit basket that catch the abusive nanny? Yes, I went there! We all love our cats dearly, so why not go to such lengths? Whilst testing out a short holiday (maybe over a weekend) have your cameras set up in each room. Nowadays it is quite inexpensive and set up is a breeze with wireless to your home computer software for recording such things for this purpose. Scan your video when you get home to find out if you are happy with the results.
For those of you concerned with legalities, I have heard of some people telling said sitter that they have video surveillance set up (not being specific on their locations)
for the purpose of burglars or habits to be caught on ‘tape’.

My boyfriend and I just went away for the weekend. We went to his family’s house in Michigan. We live in Illinois about a 5 1/2 hr. drive away. I had my older son whom the cats know stay in our house while we were gone. The older cat Lia immediatly had an attitude when he saw the maps and bags coming out. He had quit an attitude while we were gone to the point where my boys had to lift him and put him over by the food dish when they gave him his wet food. My son said he also refused to sleep in his bed that he loves so much. MY younger son came and fed them while my older boy was at work. He had to clean the litter box once or twice a day. I filled all the dry food dishes before we left. I use a Bistro feeder and waterer. But I left two extra dishes of their wilderness brand dry food. Midnight has taken to sleeping in the cat cage that we bought for the other Savannah kitten that we had and we keep a dish of dry in there for her. We came home late last night and we left last Friday morning. Lia still had a little bit of an attitude and both my boys are worried that he might be sick or something. He was however back in his bed this morning and came galloping when it was treat time. He did go 4 days without any afterall. I think he was just worried that he was deserted again. Hopefully all will be well and those are only a few suggestions. I dont know how long you plan on being gone. Last summer we boarded Lia and Midnight at the Enchanted Cat boarding. Now we have one more kitty so that will probaly be out of the question again. We plan to go away for a week in May so well see what we can work out for that. The Savannah is a kitten and we were worried about her getting enough to eat. My son said there was no depression there she ran on him all night long.

Hello George.I can understand both yours and your wife’s points of view but I think in this case it would be very wise of you to agree with your wife. An old cat and a cat with diabetes do need a lot of love and caring for and a cattery would be too stressful for them.
And even the best and kindest cat sitter in the world wouldn’t know all their little ways and the cats would fret for you and your wife if you were gone very long.
Imagine if your wife reluctantly agreed to go on holiday, to please you.She wouldn’t enjoy it and you’d be conscious that she was doing it against her will and you’d end up not enjoying it either.If anything happened to either cat when your wife wasn’t home with them, she’d never get over the feeling of guilt.Nor would you !
Cats lives are very short in comparison to ours and when the sad day comes that both cats have gone, your wife will need a holiday then.
I think if you can bring yourself to understand her now and put your holiday on hold or even arrange a few days for yourself with a friend,your wife would admire you for your understanding.
If you are desperate for a break together, would she agree to a weekend break if you had a cat sitter ?Is there someone you know, or maybe a nurse from your vets would do it ?
If your wife does agree to this, suggest the sitter comes for a few visits first, so the cats get to know her and relax with her.
I’ve done voluntary cat sitting for CP and always found it best to get to know the cats first and to put the person’s mind at rest that the cats liked me and I loved them (I love all cats)
If your wife sees the sitter with your cats and all is well if you have a weekend away, then she may consider a longer break later.
But if I was you I wouldn’t push her.
Good luck.

Hi George,

What you need is a trustworthy person who can live in your house while you’re away and one who is medically oriented. A vet tech (I don’t know what they call them outside of the US) would be ideal, because they know animals and would see immediately if one of your cats was in distress. If this works out, you would need to sign a paper giving your housesitter the authority to take your cats to the Vet for care.

If you can find a person who fits the bill, your partner would feel that your cats were in good hands. Maybe even relieved!

A short weekend trip before a vacation to try them out wouldn’t be a bad idea. Also, ALWAYS check out the applicant’s references and watch how they interact with your animals before you go. Have them over for a “get to know you” meeting and watch how they act toward your babies.

Good luck! Everyone needs a vacation, but with peace of mind to go along with the traveling. You can’t have a good vacation if you’re worrying about your animals.