Ever board your cat in a Kitty Kennel long term?

[Submariner]

I have wanted a kitty for a long long time, but traveling 4 to 5 months a year has stopped me. Thanks to the Cheney/Shrub junta, my workload has diminished to only having to travel about 2 months a year, so I am reconsidering adopting.

I would like to know if any fellow cat lovers have ever put their kitty in a boarding kennel for 3 to 4 weeks at a time, a couple of times a year, and if the experience was way too traumatizing for your kitty cat?

I do not have the option to have someone live-in with kitty, or leave it with an acquaintance, so a boarding kennel is my only option. I feel guilty just thinking about it. I would be home almost 24/7 with kitty from now until October, but would then drop it off at a boarding kennel for almost the entire month, and again the following March. Abandonment issues? :scared:

My concern is the psychological affect and harm doing this might cause to kitty. Dropping off kitty in a strange place for so long a period. I want to adopt a Wilbur or Edna from the local PetFinder shelter, and was wondering if I asked the shelter to do the baby-sitting for me, if they would board her/him while I'm away.

My rationale is that at least kitty would/might remember the surroundings and be more comfortable in my absence. I don't know if the shelter would help in this way, but am prepared to ask and pay them a standard boarding rate if they would do this for me. But my first concern is what this kind of experience might do to kitty's psyche and behavior patterns. If this would be harmful, I would rather not mess up kitty's head and further my oncoming guilt complex.

Any advice based on your experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[japple]

1. My vet always sponsors a few stray kitties that she hopes to

find homes for. Maybe you could find a vet that does that and work out a boarding option. My only concern with "boarding" a cat at an animal shelter would be the possibility of him/her contracting a disease. Even in the best animal shelters, there are things they can't/don't screen for unless they have a vet.

Maybe you could find another catlover who would share a cat with you when you're not traveling--sort of a "rent-a-cat" arrangement. You could share the costs of vet care.

I hope you can work this out. I would be miserable without my little critters.

[Submariner]

3. Thanks for that advice about boarding in the Shelter

that makes sense that kitty might pick up a sickness. I'm new to the neighborhood and so don't have access to knowing anyone to share a kitty. I want my own happy cat. I'm miserable without one, I know what you mean.

Thanks.

[badgerpup]

2. I boarded my kitties for 3 weeks once...

...it was during The Nightmare of the Bathroom Remodel :scared::hide::yoiks:...
during which I stayed with a friend's at his (small, assisted-living) one-bedroom apt (sleeping in the recliner).
They stayed at the local Cat Sanctuary...lots of stimulation (about 40 other cats in the section they were in) and volunteers came in to feed, clean litter boxes and play with and help socialize the other kitties every day.
At that time I had only two cats; Misha (male) and Kaminari (female). They had the option of going out and playing with the other cats or staying in their own enclosure- 4' X 4'square and 8' high with perches to give them vertical space.

Misha took advantage of this freedom and apparently collected quite a following among the kittens and younger cats...
:headbang:"He's so COOL!".
He was by nature an "Uncle Cat" and enjoyed giving Cat Lessons^TM to kittens and young cats. He was an extremely VOCAL boy with the lungs and stamina of an operatic tenor...and he'd frequently harangue the volunteers about things he felt needed improvement...or so they told me. They were quite amused by this.

Kaminari had an exquisite sense of borders and territory. She stayed in the enclosure, repelling all boarders...except for one cat with whom she struck up a sort of friendship. This turned out to be Esme (then known as 'Howler')...and led to me adopting her after Kami died a year or so later.

I did visit them as much as I was permitted...the ladies who ran the place told me it wasn't good for them for me to be constantly on tap since it was sort of 'teasing' them; "Do we get to go home now?" and interferred with their adjusting.
When we finally WERE able to return home, they both had lost weight and had respiratory infections. I got them on antibiotics immediately...
and they both just slept for about three days. :boring:

The only other facility available was my Sainted Vet's office, and while they would have cheerfully boarded my monsters and cared for them tenderly, Misha and Kami would have been confined to a much smaller cage..."confined" being the operative word here...and in an environment which would probably have had them in a state of constant stress.


There might be better facilities where you are...but there are also pet-sitters who are animal-lovers and will come in and spoil your Wilbur or Edna rotten care for your furkid while you are away in their own environment. I've done this a time or two, and I know of three right off-hand...they take care of things like meds, brushing, walks, even putting 'Mom' on the speakerphone so the furkid can hear their human's voice.
You may want to check out petsitters rather than boarding...

[Submariner]

4. I notice a lack of pet sitters in my area

but did notice one vet facility that boards critters. I'll have to check out the cage vs. open community room to share with other kittys. I didn't know that option was out there, I thought it would be all small cage confinements. Thanks so much for your input here.

I'm sure you DU guys and gals will help me make the right decision in the long run.

Cheers.

[ceile]

5. Once for 3 weeks

My vet offered to kennel them at his office. He was kind of out in the country so he was never very busy and the cats had the run of the place. They were very happy there. It was also a blessing because my boy is diabetic and needed shots 2x a day. Who better than his doctor? I would definately do your homework about kenneling facilities: go look at them first, ask a lot of questions, and look on line to see if they have a good reputation.

[Submariner]

9. I have an SPCA shelter and a private shelter I found on petfinders.com

in the local area, and 4 different kenneling facilities, including one that is incorporated into a vets office. I indeed have some homework to do. I will probably find out about fostering kitties along the way, which may be preferable until the 3-4 week out of town business trips end.

Thanks for your advice, now I can release the guilt feelings and get back to more serious matters.

[Sanity Claws]

6. That sounds hard on the kitty

Have you thought about fostering kitties for a rescue organization? That way you could have a cat or a few cats around for a while without the commitment of having to board a cat during the times you have to travel.

[Submariner]

7. That sounds hard on the kitty

I guess that's the kind of response I was watching for here. I needed some convincing that my suspicions were valid about making the kitty feel abandoned after 6 months of getting spoiled 24/7, and then finding itself seemingly abandoned in strange surroundings. If only they were smart enough to understand that Daddy will be back, life would be a lot easier.

I Googled fostering this morning and it looks kind of attractive. I can maybe avoid not getting too attached to the foster kitty, because I know it's going back or being adopted, and then travel away for long term work assignments without being on a depressing guilt trip.

In a couple of years when I don't travel anymore I can load up on my own kitties.

Thanks.

[Walk away]

8. My next door neighbor is in a similar situation. She adopted two...

"have to go together" cats from the shelter who were older and would have been euthanized. I stop by with my coffee in the mornings and come back at night to feed them while she is away and they are happy as clams. They have each other and they seem to be fine with me just sitting on the couch and reading the paper to them. Check at your prospective Vets office for pet sitters.

Kittens can find perfect homes but some cats would be happy to fit in where they can.

[Submariner]

10. I was actually thinking about an older cat ot two

I think I live in sort of a kitty-cat Utopia.

A little old cottage at the end of a dirt road on the edge of a cranberry bog surrounded by high deciduous trees and nectar producing flowery bushes, and the little ecosystem is infested with singing tweety birds. Cardinals, tufted titmouse, chickadees, woodpeckers, sparrows, hummingbirds, and a red-tailed hawk that swoops in from across the bog, visit the bird feeders just 5 feet away outside my usually always open and "screened" windows.

When Mr. Hawk isn't staring from his dead tree perch across the bog, doves and squirrels hang out below the seed feeder and chomp away, and occasionally about 20 ducks will waddle over for a look see and a little snack.

If I was an older cat lying on a heated window sill bed, I would probably think I had died and gone to birdy heaven. Little ball of energy kitties would probably be running hog wild around here, which is a good thing, but with all the critters chirping and quacking and chattering just feet away, I'm concerned they might go into over-stimulation overload and pop a blood vessel....or maybe that was me I was thinking about.

An older cat or two it will be.

[Walk away]

11. They don't have to be seniors. If you could find a needy pair about four or five...

years old, it would be heaven for them. These days we are getting a lot of "multiples" at our shelter because of foreclosures. They try to adopt them out together whenever they can.

[Vinca]

12. I'll never board a cat long term again. We put 2 in a facility

that had great reviews and nice, big cages and runs when we went to Hawaii for a couple of weeks. We got back a day early and I showed up at the place without calling. It was filthy and the pleasant, middle-aged woman who owned it had been replaced by 2 young thugs with prison tattoos on their knuckles (one turned out to be an arsonist). The cats looked as if they had been fed, but nearly flew out of the cage at me to go home. They were none the worse for wear overall, but one had a spot of blood on his muzzle as if a whisker had been yanked out. I couldn't prove anything, of course, but that was the last time I ever boarded them for a long period of time anywhere. They go to the vet's boarding kennel now. It's not as plush, but I think it's safer. IMHO, you should wait until you're home more before adopting a cat.

[Submariner]

15. Thanks for the kennel intel

I've decided to find a dependable cat sitter that can visit my place a couple of times day when I'm away, such as cleareye below mentions.

It will be another 3 years or so before I no longer travel for long periods, and I don't want to wait that long to have a pet, so the cat sitter method appears to be the way to go. The kennel thing sounds traumatic, and I wouldn't want to upset my kitty. Thanks again for convincing me to drop that strategy.

[clear eye]

13. Petsitters the best way to go, IMHO

Most vets have a list of at least a few. Have you asked? There's nothing like the familiarity and safety of home w/ all their favorite things and your scent everywhere to minimize stress on the cats. Many petsitters are local college students (usually young women) who often develope a good relationship w/ the cats and sit w/ them for a little while after they've taken care of the pets' needs.

I don't believe I would adopt if it meant the cats would have to be caged 2 mos. a year, but of course that is a grey area judgement-wise.

[rpannier]

14. I had to board my cat when I was moving

Had to move out and the place I was moving into wasn't finished.
He was boarded for almost 4 weeks
He began biting himself after 3 weeks. I had to find suitable accommodations for the last week

The boarding place was actually very good.
They fed him, changed his water, played with him
He was fine for a while
He just hated being away

[rox63]

16. I've had better luck with cat sitters

First of all, I don't travel for long periods like 3-4 weeks at a time. When I only had one cat, I would board her if I was going to be travelling for more than a couple of days. Once I got a second kitty, it became more affordable (and less disruptive to the kitties) to have a cat sitter come by a couple of times a day. Cats really hate change, especially a big change to their environment. I hired one of the vet techs at their vet's office to come by twice a day to feed them, scoop out the litter box, and try to engage them in some play time. It turned out to be less expensive than boarding two kitties at once.

If I were in your situation of having to travel for long stretches of time, I probably wouldn't have a cat. The idea of sharing a cat with another household that could take the kitty into their home when you are away sounds like a possible way to make it work. That would give them another environment and other humans that they were already familiar with when you aren't there.