10 Fabulous Tips on What to Do With Your Cat When You Travel
Are you curious about what to do with your cat when you travel on your honeymoon? Cats love familiarity and basically despise car rides. Plus, taking your kitty on a cat vacation may not always be feasible, especially if you are flying or staying somewhere that isn’t pet-friendly. We have 10 tips so that you can confidently leave your fur baby while you enjoy your honeymoon.
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Are you thinking, “I want to travel but I have a cat?”
While there are boarding facilities for cats, this may not be the ultimate choice for pet care while on vacation. After all, cats like being in their own environments. Many owners also worry about cat separation anxiety.
Vacation days aside, pet owners can also experience anxiety about leaving cats alone during vacation and their honeymoon. It is normal to worry about whether the cats have enough food and water.
Additionally, many owners wonder what if something medical happens while they are gone to their cats? On vacation, you want to relax and not worry about what is going on when you are leaving cats while on vacation.
What to Do With Your Cat When You Travel
So if you’re thinking, “I want to travel, but I have a cat,” we have solutions to put your mind at ease. Wondering what to do with your cat when you travel is very common.
When you need to leave your fur baby at home, here are a few tips to get you – and your cat – through. We want to relieve anxiety about leaving. Cat moms and dads, get ready for 10 great tips!
1. Hire pet care while on vacation.
Yes, there are boarding facilities for cats, but it’s not necessary to have a professional caregiver. Asking a friend or family member to check-in is perfectly fine. You could also look to see if there are local cat sitters in your area.
It will make you and your cat feel at ease having someone check on them daily. Don’t worry about cat separation anxiety—vacation with peace of mind.
Another idea is trading pet care with a like-minded cat owner. For example, you would also check in on their cats when they go away. It’s a great way to go! Can you leave your cat alone for a week? The answer is yes if you have someone go and check on them.
2. Leave a key to reduce anxiety about honeymooning.
Cats are normally ok on their own for a bit. However, there are cases where the pet sitter can’t get there or needs to skip a day. Therefore, leave a key in a hidden spot or give one to a trusted neighbor.
Doing so can alleviate worries if your kitty needs a last-minute check-in. When you are laving cats along during vacation, it is important to be sure that they are checked on regularly.
3. Utilize technology to keep in touch with your cat.
Consider how dependent you are on each other. Then have your pet sitter text, email, or – our favorite – FaceTime you. Your fur baby would be happy to see your face and hear your voice!
Another way to use technology is to leave the TV on for the cat so that he or she can watch some shows to keep entertained. Having a nature or pet channel playing can be really soothing for a cat.
4. Stock up on kitty treats while you’re on your trip.
The caregiver may need something to coax your cat or just to make friends. Having treats for your pet sitter to give your kitty may make things a bit easier for both of them.
This is true whether you are leaving cats alone for 3 days or leaving a cat alone for 10 days. It’s a good idea to give them a bit of special treatment as they are on their own mini-cat vacation.
5. Put vet information out so that your cat sitter can find it easily.
Leaving a cat home alone during vacation? Unfortunately, emergencies can happen. Whether it’s stuck to the fridge or on the counter near the cat food, leave the telephone number and address of your vet.
If you have an emergency clinic nearby, be sure to include that information. You never know if your pet will need care while you are gone. This is especially important if you are leaving cats alone for 2 weeks or any longer length of time.
6. Close doors that your cats won’t need to access.
Have rooms you don’t need your kitty to explore? Close those doors. If your cat sleeps on your bed, you may want to leave your bedroom open. However, blocking off unnecessary bathrooms and bedrooms is a good plan.
As a side note, check that no pets are in the closed-off rooms before you leave! You don’t want to have to worry if you are leaving a cat alone for 4 days or more.
7. Create a safe environment while you’re on your honeymoon.
If you know where to leave your cat when on vacation at your house, be sure your windows are closed and locked. Also, unplug any unnecessary appliances – toaster, coffeemaker – before you leave.
You may want to leave a blind or two open so that your cat can find outside entertainment. Having a well-stocked birdfeeder outside for your kitty to peek at is a big bonus.
8. Fill multiple water bowls to keep your cat hydrated.
Felines love water – the fresher, the better! Leave lots of water bowls in normal—and even unexpected—places. Doing so is a fabulous way to make sure that your cat is well-hydrated.
Investing in a self-waterer is smart, too, although still supplement with extra bowls. Can you leave your cat alone? For a week, you will need multiple water sources for them as hydration is really important for kitties.
9. Invest in multiple litter boxes for your felines.
Cleaning out the litter box is probably everyone’s least favorite task. Therefore, give the ones you have on hand a fresh cleaning. New litter can also help with odors.
Additionally, putting out an extra box or two can only help—especially if your local cat sitters can’t make it every day. Leaving cats home alone while on vacation can result in a big mess if you aren’t prepared with multiple, clean litter boxes.
10. Encourage your kitties to play with new toys while you’re honeymooning.
Purchase a few new toys to occupy kitty while you aren’t around. Getting a few interactive toys for your pet sitter to use can also help your cat bond with him or her. Bonus points if you already have another fur baby to keep your kitty company.
Thoughts on What to Do With Your Cats When You Travel
Are you leaving cats while on vacation or honeymooning? Hopefully, now you’ve figured out where to leave your cat when on vacation and what to do with your cat when you travel. There really are a lot of options, although keeping kitty in familiar surroundings is best.
Yes, you can leave your cat alone for a week. However, ultimately, it is best to seek out pet care while on vacation. Doing so will help your cat and relieve your anxiety about leaving.
Pin tips on what to do with your cat when you travel!
Photos: Ramiz Dedakovic, Kote Puerto, Kari Shea, Pixabay, Buenosia Carol
This is a perfect post for me since my husband and I are hoping to plan our honeymoon for sometime next year! Although we don’t have cats, we do have two corgis and we’ve been looking for ideas on what we should do while we’re away. These are all such great ideas for cat owners!! 🙂
These are awesome tips. Up until last year, my parents lived around the corner, so I was able to just have them take care of Luna when B and I went on longer trips to visit his family… but now? They’re almost an hour away. Thankfully, we haven’t traveled but when that time comes, we’ll need to consider these kinds of things, so thanks for sharing!
Really good tips! We don’t have a cat but my best friend and my dad both do!
When I had a cat (passed away just before the Covid pandemic) I used to save costs etc by leaving him at home and getting my friend (who has a spare house key) to pop over, feed him, clean him and make sure he gets enough attention. I can remember also closing all the doors where I didn’t want the cat to go in the house, not because of toilet problems or furrballs, but because of long cat fur. I didnt want that all over the beds. For those who have cats for the first time but travel a lot, then this is a great guide and good tips here. For me, do I get another cat….probably, but my girls want a dog, and they can be a nightmare if traveling a lot espeically when it comes to long haul.
Great tips! We have a dog, no cat, but we utilize similar methods when we have to leave our dog at home for an extended period of time. Last time, we had a friend come and pet-sit. Another time, we just sent our dog to a dog boarding center where he was well taken care of!
Love all these tips! I always wish I could bring my cat with me on vacation although she would absolutely hate it. Another great tip that I found are relaxing pheromone wall-plug ins! Humans can’t smell them but they release pheromones into the air that relax the kitties. Worked great for my cats while our house was under construction!
These tips are all so good! As a cat mom, we often leave our cats while traveling. We usually have a friend or family member stop by to feed them and hang out with the cats for a bit.
Interesting tips for people with cats. I like the idea of getting interactive toys. I often look after friends’ cats when they go on vacation. I will send them this article because it is exciting.
These are great tips! Having cats is definitely an easier pet option if you like to travel. They are much more low maintenance than dogs! But I would want someone to check on them for sure. It would give me much more peace of mind!
I have been thinking about having a pet for long. But my mother doesn’t like the idea. Your post certainly gives some thought on how to enjoy a vacation without worrying about your pet. I wonder if pets survive long spells without their parents.
My cat loves traveling in our cat and she’s very comfortable roaming inside the car. Although we haven’t tried bringing her in any of our vacation coz we don’t want her to be stressed. Gladly, our Grandma is always happy to babysit her together with her little dog. They are besties.
It is indeed not very easy to have any pet if you love traveling. Making arrangements for pet care at home or traveling with them incl booking flight tickets for them and finding pet friendly hotels. That is why, these days pet-sitting is really a good thing. I really wouldn’t want to impose my family or friends, but having a pet-sitter is really the best choice.
Great tips. Yes it always is a worry when you plan a holiday but can’t take your pet with you. For us here in India where we do not yet have such facilities, you have to depend on neighbors and relatives if they are at all willing.
I agree with your first tip to hire pet care. I have dogs instead of a cat and it is somehow the same. We do not want to stress by subjecting them to a new environment so, letting them stay at home with just a sitter is a better choice for us.