How many people dread leaving their pets?

[luddite]

Dread?

No.

[brisscoe]

I have been a professional pet sitter and dog walker for 5 years and worked at a doggie day care and boarding facility for 3. You would think that prepared me.

 

I am going on my first cruise this october. I realized I don't know any other pet sitters. I can't take her to doggie day care because she doesn't do well with other dogs. Finally one of my brothers agreed to watch her.

 

I'm still so nervous. I get panic attacks and I'm hoping I can mange without her. She's my service dog for my panic disorder and anxiety issues so in theory I could take her, but her training is basic and I don't think she is ready. I think (and hope) the relaxation of water will be enough to keep me at ease. We shall see!

 

[Lionesss]

Nervous about leaving all the pets.

We have two cats, one now 20 years old that does not adjust to change, and the psycho cat 6.

We also have 3 large aquariums, and 3 turtle habitats.

I am lucky that one of our family members lives at our house when we are gone.

He arrives with his girlfriend, and they have there own get away.

And in this day and age it is great to have a house sitter in place.

We stock the refrigerator with food and beer, and when we come home all our happy.

In fact this year they asked when we were leaving, and could not wait to come.

We miss the cats, but, cats being cats, only wake up when they want something. But, at least there is no stress for them.

Sea Ya

[CanadaDeb]

When we cruised for the first time, we had 2 Bassets, one of which was older and had some issues. My parents moved in to take care of them.

 

Now we have 1 Basset and 1 miniature Dachshund ( we downsized lol ) and we take them to the kennel a few times before the cruise to get them use to it. But, yes, I still hate it and worry about them all the time.

[CanadaDeb]

Not me.

It's an animal.

 

 

No, they are not 'animals', they are family.

[Winnigirl]

Not me.

It's an animal.

 

And I sincerely hope you don't own any pets.

 

This is the only concern I ever have when going on holiday. Especially this year. Our oldest cat is 16 and she's doing pretty well for her age, but I dread leaving her, even though my daughter will be here with her. It will break my heart if the worst happens while we were away.

[Nana212]

How oh so sensitive of you! :rolleyes::mad:

 

You have to understand that to some (most) of us, they are not animals.

They are members of the family. We have a cat, age 2-1/2, and for our 7 night cruise will give just as much thought to his care as we would to that of a 10 year old child or grandchild.

 

My first choice for our winter sojourn was 6 weeks in a condo on the Gulf coast but my husband wouldn't leave the cat for 6 weeks. Therefore, a 7 night cruise.

[n0w0rn3v3r]

Yes...about this time last year, we went home for my mom's birthday leaving my 18 and 19 year old cats in the very capable hands of a dear friend. There were never any issues, we had left them "on their own" many, many time before.

 

A week after we got home, the 18 year old was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in her abdomen. Our leaving her did not cause this, and it did not spring up during the week we were gone. Knowing all of this did not help when we did what we felt was in her best interest.

 

7 weeks after letting "the little one" go, the 19 year old succumbed to "old age". Her organs just shut down.

 

After the new year some well intentioned friends introduced us to two very adorable kittens that needed a home. I swore I would never have another pet....but what are you going to do? It was either take them in, or off to the "humane" society for them.

 

All of that to say - we haven't been anywhere since we lost "the girls", and just thinking about leaving these two sweethearts for even a long weekend makes me nervous (ok, maybe it is because they are kittens and I had totally forgotten how active kittens can be). Our first trip away from them will be in October. We are actively looking for a house/pet sitter. I know they will be fine, and I am sure we are only doing this for my comfort.

 

But to answer the question....what was the question? :o

[Gingee]

We will take them on driving trips and we just did last weekend and one last month for a week to a lake. (The one loves to swim). Have two trips planned after our cruise. One a short one and we plan to take them with us and another one that they can't come. Errr

[mytank]

It worries me to leave my 2 dogs the most... We also have 3 cats, but I honestly think they enjoy the run of the house while we are gone... But my border collie is a handful and likes to escape...(easily jumps our 6 foot fence). It worries me that he will run away while we are gone when our house /dog sitters are there. I went out of town for a long weekend in February and my husband managed to loose the dog while he was home! Fortunately now he has a GPS device that tracks him and alerts us when he leaves the safe zone... But even my husband is worried the dog sitters won't charge it while we are gone, it only lasts 10 days we will be gone 14.

 

And yes our animals are like our children, they provide so much love and compassion without asking for anything in return!

 

 

Kari

[dmwnc1959]

This is my baby. Leave for a 2-week cruise in December and am lucky enough to have an ex-roommate take care of my cat over at his house while I'm gone. He did the same last year so she is already familiar with the larger house and the stairs she can run up and down, which I don't have in my small apartment.

 

[cb at sea]

Your pets will be fine....I know they make you feel quilty about leaving them, but in reality, they don't have the same sense of time that we do. And when you return, they will be overjoyed.

So, go and have fun. Your "babies" will be perfectly fine and happy to see you when you return.

[Gingee]

I know they should be fine but gad that look they give you when they see the suitcases. Now we have kept our suitcases in a room where they don't usually go in there. That way I can pack a little ahead of time.

[jjtimes2]

But, I do have one quandary - we have an apartment rented for the month of August + 1 week of September at a popular Gulf Coast Beach community. The building does allow pets with a WHOLE lot of regulations and hoops to jump through, you can tell that the regulations are for if someone wants to bring a dog and the building/owners are worried about the chance of a bite, etc. All the requirements would have nothing to do with us bringing a cat, that would stay inside. Which is all beside the point as the person we rent from said 'no pets'. Our cat is old, no claws, is a female, so does not spray (only males do that). She does not and really cannot damage anything. We just put down a shower curtain put a disposable litter box on it and change the box about every 5 days. BUT - it would not be honest to take her when we are not suppose to have her. SO I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. ????????

 

They may say "no pets" not because of damage (which is a consideration) but because of allergies. My DH is horribly allergic to cats. If we're in a house that has cats he cannot breathe within 10 minutes. In your case, the owners may have allergies or they may be worried about allergies of future renters. Whenever we rent a place or go to a B&B we have to ask "do you have cats" because even if they are not in the home at that time he will have a reaction, and sometimes the reaction is bad enough to end up in the ER.

 

My dog is my sweet companion. When I take a vacation, he does, too. But, his vacation is going to his favorite kennel. It is one of the cool new kennels where they have a huge indoor and outdoor play area, a pool, things for them to climb on (ever see a dog slide down the slide from one of those kids' castles??? a hoot) and lots of employees to play with them. He has his "buds" that go there for doggy day camp and a few dogs of the employees. When I drop him off, I watch him say "hi" to all the dogs through the window. He could care less that I'm dropping him off for a day or 2 weeks - he runs right in and starts playing. The kennel that he went to when he was still a puppy had webcams installed around the play areas so you could go their website and watch the dogs! That was definitely an eye-opener that he was enjoying himself on his own vacation!

 

Same here - isn't it wonderful that there are places like that available? Our sweet boy goes to a place with outdoor play, indoor play, a water park, and video cameras (not that I watch the link because I'd miss him). He plays with the other pups in day care and boarding and has his little doggy friends. They take photos of his daily activities and write a little daily diary of what he did so I get a scrapbook when we pick him up. He loves it there and I love how they care for him. DH will often say, "he's staying at the Ritz and we're at a Day's Inn! He got the better vacation!" Hahaha!!

[Seago2]

This is my baby. Leave for a 2-week cruise in December and am lucky enough to have an ex-roommate take care of my cat over at his house while I'm gone. He did the same last year so she is already familiar with the larger house and the stairs she can run up and down, which I don't have in my small apartment.

 

 

What a beauty!!

[Seago2]

It worries me to leave my 2 dogs the most... We also have 3 cats, but I honestly think they enjoy the run of the house while we are gone... But my border collie is a handful and likes to escape...(easily jumps our 6 foot fence). It worries me that he will run away while we are gone when our house /dog sitters are there. I went out of town for a long weekend in February and my husband managed to loose the dog while he was home! Fortunately now he has a GPS device that tracks him and alerts us when he leaves the safe zone... But even my husband is worried the dog sitters won't charge it while we are gone, it only lasts 10 days we will be gone 14.

 

And yes our animals are like our children, they provide so much love and compassion without asking for anything in return!

 

 

Kari

 

I have a Newfie, a Golden, and three cats. The Golden- of course- now has an upset stomach AND somehow knocked a board out of the fence in the last few days- and we leave tomorrow night. Arghhhhhnhhhh :(

[spellczech710]

I don't like leaving my little guy and now I am traveling a whole lot more than I used to when I first got him. It's tough to find someone who "wants" to watch him although he is a very sweet pup that gets along well with most other dogs. I just have to go and trust that he will be fine at the kennel.

[FawnRiver]

First of all, I have to thank all of the other posters for their great pictures.

 

I don't feel guilty about leaving them, but I do worry rather excessively (in DH's opinion). Our three bearded collies go to grandma's house (our breeder boards them for us), so they are kept busy playing with their relatives while we're gone. Fortunately, our breeder knows how much I worry, so she'll email us the occasional "they're fine, relax and get back to your vacation".

[royal girl]

We don't mind leaving our cats... we know that they will be fine.

 

But leaving our miniature schnauzer....:(..... ugh... I get stomach sick just thinking about it. She is so attached to us. Two cruises ago my mother had to take her to the vet. The vet said she had seperation anxiety. Wouldn't eat, barely moved. And my mother tells me this mid-cruise!! :eek:

 

We love cruises but we HATE leaving her. It's the only bad part of the cruise.

[spunkyhungry]

I LOVE my cats. I'm obsessed with them and consider them my cat daughters. In fact, my username is named after my old cat Spunky who died a few years ago. However, I don't feel bad about leaving them with someone I trust when I go on vacation. They are usually scared the first few days we're gone but then soon start exploring their new environment and interacting with their babysitters. They're always fine when we come home. I've left them with family many times, and I had a neighbor come to our home to take care of them every day last time we went on vacation.

[Truluv]

Royal_Girl: I understand completely! Our mini schnauzer will be baby-sat by a kid's girlfriend. He'll get a lot of attention, and might not want to come back!

 

I'm worried about our cats though. We had used an elderly "Cat Lady," who took great care of our two cats in the past. She is now in very poor health and I have to find a replacement. Unfortunately, one of our cats is bulimic (vet hasn't found anything, and we've tried everything from special foods to feeding him in a private place). If the bowls are full, he'll eat everything as fast as possible and then throw it right up...under chairs, on chairs, on the kitchen table...yech. I'm afraid a new cat sitter will just fill up the bowls or even show up every other day. That's the worst way to feed this cat, and it would be a lot to ask a catsitter to look for and clean up his "gifts" during the week we're gone.

 

The vet won't board, so we're trying to find good cat boarding at a kennel. Our alternative would be to leave the cats in an air-conditioned 8 X 10 storage room off the garage for a week. A new "Cat Lady" would take care of their litter and feeding, but the cats would have to stay in that room. It's bigger than a kennel cage, but it would still might be very stressful for the cats not to have the run of the house. Some of my kids' friends are offering, but frankly I'm not comfortable turning pur house over to these kids.

 

Simplest thing would be to get rid of Mr. Bulemia, but we've had him for 9 years. His bulimia has just gotten really bad in the last year. We feed him in a bathroom and wait an hour or two to let him out, which at least minimizes the clean up.

 

I'm very stressed out about this.

[Mierin828]

I have two bunnies, and leaving them is definitely the worst part of cruising, especially as I don't live in my home country any more and am single, and one has a minor health issue that flares up every now and then. Luckily I've arranged a trusted sitter for one cruise and one flight to visit family this year, but I'm moving next year and will need to find someone new.

 

But they're so much fun and adorable, gotta love them, even with the logistical issues.

[mytank]

I have a Newfie, a Golden, and three cats. The Golden- of course- now has an upset stomach AND somehow knocked a board out of the fence in the last few days- and we leave tomorrow night. Arghhhhhnhhhh :(

 

:( I think they know we are leaving and do these things on purpose...lol. Hopefully you have a good dog sitter.

 

 

Kari

[willow028]

Love these stories - not only do we miss our dogs like crazy, but my husband and oldest dog have a routine at home - 2-3 times a night she puts her head next to his pillow, he (never waking up) pets her, and they both go back to sleep. Guess who gets "petted" on the head when we're on vacation?! I'm NOT the dog - stop petting me!!!!

 

And oh yes, that "suitcase coming out look"!! CC won't let me copy over but it's my first pic on my Valor review...

[maureencruiser]

a few years ago, she became very needy, first of all she was 16 years old (now 18) and she does not do well 'at all'. When we are gone, we have someone come in, everyday, and feed her, as the vet now has her on olive oil mixed with her food, plus 1/4 of a baby aspirin, every other day. She misses us and cries so much that when we get home her 'voice' is hoarse. Now, this does NOT stop us from going on cruises, or stop us from going on vacations.

SO I DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO. ????????

Can you have someone stay with her, it seems like she is lonely. She misses human touch and the sound of the TV, etc...