The long weekends and summer holiday travel is just around the corner, which means plenty of short and long trips are on the horizon. While most dogs are thrilled to be part of our summer adventures or do well playing with friends at doggy hotels or boarding facilities, this isn’t the case for most cats. Cats are creatures of habit and don’t do well with disruption or upheaval to their daily routine. It’s important to take the time and consider the best options for preparing your cat for the travel season.
Since majority of cats love their routine and familiar surroundings and don’t do well when uprooted and taken outside of the comfort and safety of their own homes, most cat parents opt for in home cat sitting services, like the one offered by The Cat Nanny. In home cat visits performed by an experienced cat sitter are usually the best option to ensures the comfort and safety of your feline companion.
Once you have found and arranged for a trusted and experienced cat sitter, there are still things you can do to minimize the stress and ensure everything runs smoothly. Here are some tips on how to prepare your pet and home ahead of your trip:
How to Prepare Your Cat:
- Ensure you leave enough food, litter, treats, medication, and other supplies that might be needed
- If you have a carrier for your cat, leave it out in case of any emergencies that might require the kitty to leave the house.
- Leave out plenty of water. Purchasing a water fountain like this one may help improve your kitty’s hydration.
- Consider putting a bird feeder either in your garden or on the balcony and leave the blinds open so that your kitty can be entertained by the birds gathering at the feeder.
- Leave a used item of clothing (a t-shirt, pj’s, etc) and place it in an area where your cat likes to sleep. Your smell will comfort your cat in your absence.
- Using pheromone plug-ins may help ease the anxiety.
- Create hiding spots for your cat (tent beds are a favourite among kitties!)
- Leave out plenty of toys and scratchers for your cat to play with.
- Let your vet know in advance that you will be out of town and leave your credit card information on file with them.
How to Prepare Your Home:
- Leave the thermostat set at a comfortable temperature for your pets while you’re gone.
- Potentially dangerous plants or decorations should be put away.
- Close the door to any rooms that contain potentially hazardous objects or materials (workshops, offices, etc)
- Leave blinds or drapes open in at least one window so the kitty cat look out on the world.
- Place cleaning supplies out of the cat’s reach.
- It’s a good idea to leave a radio on low or the TV to keep your cat company. If you do leave the TV on keep in mind that the lower channels go off the air late at night so leave it on a higher channel.
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