Pets

[lego7191]

I have two crazy kitties at home and an awesome pet sitter company that comes to visit and play with them and feed them while we're gone. She rearranges their toys, makes sure the litter box is working properly and adds litter to it if necessary (and changes the bag on longer trips out of town) (it's a Litter Robot - if you have cats and you don't have one, you MUST get one!) The pet sitter will get the mail and newspaper, water plants, open/close blinds, rotate lights on or off, etc. Basically a full service house/pet sitting deal but I don't have them stay overnight, just the daily home visits. They leave notes each day with updates, etc. It's awesome. I knew my kitties would not do well being boarded (or maybe it was me who would not do well boarding them!) even at my vet's office (they see a cat only vet) so I knew I'd have to have someone come to my house. Totally worth it. They keep my house key so if anything ever comes up at the last minute (if I went in the hospital, got stuck out of town, etc), they have my key and can be there in a heartbeat to take care of my babies if necessary.:D

[chasinraynbowz]

I had a wonderful, dear friend whose daughter is in college. We pay her to come house sit. She's done it for a few years and our dogs LOVE her. She loves coming over as it gives her quiet time away from the dorms.

[Lacaena]

Our 3 fur-babies (shih-tzus) get to either stay at Grandma's or Grandpa's and get spoiled rotten or we have a house sitter come and again they get spoiled rotten. I have often thought that I would love for them to come with us because I miss them so badly but then I think about what we would have to do when we are in port either a) leaving them in the cabin or b) them being with other dogs they aren't used to and I know I would feel really bad. But I think I could get over that my main concern is what they could be exposed to abroad. Maybe I've watched one too many shows about parasites on the Discovery Channel but what types of parasites are lurking abroad in tropical places in soil and then tracked onto the ship on thousands of shoes for my dogs to then sniff, lick up, and possibly catch. It's just not worth it, in my opinion. I'd rather know they are safe at home with their extended family, even if I do miss them terribly :)

[kayhold]

My mom will keep our dog. Our cat will stay home and my sister in law will come clean the litter box every couple of days.

[Jasalth]

We have 2 kitties and they both have VERY different personalities.

 

Our older boy (almost 4 now) is the picture perfect scaredy cat! Even when my mother or grandmother come over to the house (3-5 times a week..) he STILL will run and hide. I know the mail man is walking up to the door, he bolts under the couch!

 

Our little girl (almost 2) loves everyone! It doesn't matter who it is, she wants them to know she is there, cute, and needs to be petted! We had a plumber come in a few months ago, and we had to go lock her in one of our DS's rooms since she didn't even care about the plumbing snake running, there was someone in the house!!!!

 

Our first cruise since we have had them my grandfather came and fed them. He still to this day insists we only have one cat since he never saw the other one. My grandmother who watched them the last cruise we took, has seen our little boy before, but not once when we were gone (though his bowl was always empty!)

 

We don't have anything booked for a long time now, but I do have back-up plans if something happens with my grandparents in that time. Called our vet for a pet sitter recommendation, and one of their Vet Techs pet sits on the side. VERY reasonable prices ($15 per day for feeding, litter box, and play time if a kitty shows her face) and also will do it w/o any warning since we are less than 2 miles from the Vet's office.

 

Because of our boy cat, I could never ever board them. He already has anxiety issues and will chew all the fur off his paws if we don't catch him at it. I could just see coming home to a cat who chewed off his own paws!

[CBCGirl]

Our son will be staying here watching our spoiled little Yorkie!! She gets so upset when we leave - I don't get suitcases out til the night before we leave because she sees them and starts whining!

 

 

My Doxie does the same thing! I have different family members that come and take care of my two dogs. I love my girls, but I don't think they belong on a cruise, and I'm pretty sure they would agree. I once flew with my Doxie, she is small enough that she was able to be my "carry on" she was so afraid. I would never want to put her through anything like that ever again.

[Cashya]

Our 2 Cats stay home and a cat/Housesitter come 2 times a day to feed them, clean the litter box and play with them. The sitter stays 45 minutes each visit and get the mail and take care of our plants.

Every other day we get a text with updates :) but still i miss my kitties very much.

[Room Service!]

We have 2 dogs. My daughter and family take them to their house while we are gone. The younger dog loves it for the kids. The older one loves my daughter.

We sit their dog when they go away. Sometimes the dog AND the kids. yikes!

I don't think our pets belong on a cruise. Some people are pretty inconsiderate themselves. Don't think we need to add pets to this. I can see it now ... dog doo outside cabin doors, tossed off balconies. Urine raining down. I'm also pretty sure the room stewards would not appreciate the extra chores a pet would bring.

Can you see people using their pets to save chairs at the pool? I can.

[gadan1]

I have two cats. I hire a cat sitter to come in once a day and feed them, take care of their litter box and play with them for a little while. For the Hawaii cruise, I had my mom come cat sit while i was gone (she's since started cruising with me). But my oldest cat will not have anything to do with my mom now. She's holding a grudge towards my mom over me leaving her for two weeks.

[Funsince1983]

Our October cruise will be our first time leaving our baby. Not sure what we're doing yet, our friends volunteered to take him, they're his best friends mom & dad, but we feel like it's a lot to have them watch him for 12 days. We might board him when we leave Wednesday and my sister will pick him up when she comes home Thursday and stay with him at our house until she goes back to school Monday morning and she would drop him back off then, pick him up again the following Thursday and then we'd be home Monday. Orrrr maybe we'll ship him off to my mom's, her old crotchety dog doesn't really care for our energetic little Bentley though. :(

[gunther619]

We used to have a friend come house sit. But this year we had our close friends offer to watch our boxer for free.....I'm going to pay them.

 

Every time they go away I watch their cat and there's always a 6 pack of twister teas waiting for me.

 

I was going to pay them in 30 racks of bud light as a joke, but I'm just going to give them cash.

[dremn2004]

We always have my mom or sister come dog/house sit for us.

[LUVMYGSDOG]

We have 4 dogs. For our upcoming May cruise, my son will come and stay with them. For longer trips, I have a wonderful petsitter who will come twice per day and feed them, medicate them (for the two who need it) and play with them. I have tried to board them but my German Shepherd gets really upset about leaving home. He is a rescue dog and had a bad first year of his life so as a result he is very, very OCD and does not like any changes in his life!

[gunther619]

Our October cruise will be our first time leaving our baby. Not sure what we're doing yet, our friends volunteered to take him, they're his best friends mom & dad, but we feel like it's a lot to have them watch him for 12 days. We might board him when we leave Wednesday and my sister will pick him up when she comes home Thursday and stay with him at our house until she goes back to school Monday morning and she would drop him back off then, pick him up again the following Thursday and then we'd be home Monday. Orrrr maybe we'll ship him off to my mom's, her old crotchety dog doesn't really care for our energetic little Bentley though. :(

 

 

Funny you say this. My friend has our dogs brother. Both Boxers-high energy-young. I've watched her dog a few times and the dogs together are OUT OF CONTROL. I feel bad, but I stopped watching the dog so much. She always offers to take my dog when we go away, but I know how agrivated I get with the 2 wild animals, and I wouldn't really want to put that on someone else. We both have small houses...and they just go nuts when they are together! They're having fun, but I'm not.... tables are getting pushed around, fur flying after I've cleaned the house, drool from being so worked up, sometimes blood from playing too hard... I wish I had a fenced in backyard...it would be SO much easier. They could tire them selves out and THEN come inside...Once they got older an lazier, it will be easier.

[beachbum53]

We have two dogs and four cats. We board the dogs at a kennel, and our daughter comes over once a day to clean the litter boxes and make sure the cats have food and fresh water. As much as we love our four-legged family members, I would not want to take them with us on a cruise. We humans have no problem relaxing on a cruise, but I think bringing cats and dogs on a cruise ship would be too stressful for many of them.

[stormynow]

We have a Shih Tzu & 2 cats. DD takes care of when we cruise. Only book 5 day or less, can't leave them any longer. Miss em 2 much.

[LoriTX]

Up till now we always had a family members watch the 2 dogs. Split them off or have a DD come stay here. Now that our Special Needs baby(dog) has passed away we will probably put Scooter in a nice kennel. She is very outgoing and loves to be with other people and dogs!!:D

[bunchesofun]

Until the last cruise we would board the dog and leave the cats with enough food and water till we get back. Last time we were able to find someone to come and stay at the house with them. It was cheaper than boarding them all. Hopefully she can come for the next cruise as well.

[cece9922]

I have two pups that I would love to bring with me, but I know its selfish and they wouldn't be too happy being stuck in a stateroom while we are out on the islands or walking around the ship. I will miss them terribly, but my friend will be here to watch them.

[Celandine]

My parents and I have done a few things.

 

Dogs got boarded until recently - last summer I simply stayed home and took care of them, this summer my dad will stay home and take care of them... the last time they were boarded they were 11 years old I think, now they are 14 and my mum just doesn't want to put them through it...

 

when we had the cat, alone we just had a family member check in on her every few days, and then once she was driven to spend 2 weeks with me in my apartment where I was going to university (4 hours away from home)

 

 

None of our animals like travelling, (past or present) and I would NEVER want to bring them on a cruise.

 

 

Now, if a cruise had a puppy/kitten play room with some random puppies and kittens that I could play with, that I would support.

[RWolver672]

It's bad enough that "Fred" laid on my shirts while I was packing. I can't imagine him laying on my black tux while I was getting dressed!

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2384549490030186251zHRIyS

 

Last cruise SIL stayed at our house and watched the cats.

[YubaSutter]

What do you do with your pets when you cruise?

 

Has anyone else ever wondered why cruiselines have not become pet friendly? Im not talking about pets roaming free on the ship. But I thought kennels would be a good idea, and maybe have some play rooms to be able to play with them during the cruise. Obviously, they would not be able to leave the ships in port.

 

I'm sure that there are a lot of laws preventing pets, but there must be someway to figure this out.

 

I have 2 horses as pets. Would they have kennels onboard big enough?

[maldenmusic]

I usually cruise with my daughter and I leave hubby at home to care for the pets :D

[stormynow]

It's bad enough that "Fred" laid on my shirts while I was packing. I can't imagine him laying on my black tux while I was getting dressed!

 

http://travel.webshots.com/photo/2384549490030186251zHRIyS

 

Last cruise SIL stayed at our house and watched the cats.

Fred could lay on my black suit anytime.

[gryffynsgirl]

Between family and a teenage family friend, the basset hound and 2 kitties are well loved & cared for. The amazon parrot gets boarded and loves it w/a;; the other talkative birds around. Although the heart would love to take the babies, the mind realizes the pros AND cons of pets on a cruise.