Should I use a cat sitter or a cattery?

In this blog post we’ll take a quick look at the pro’s and con’s of each.

As cat owners I’m sure we’ve all been there at some point; the dreaded trip to the cattery! Cats were not meant to be transported in a car, and if you ask anyone who has ever had the experience they’ll tell you the same.

Constant crying, sweating, panting – and often that’s just the owner 😀

Not to mention the mess and little accidents! (though these are the cats!)

Cat sitting in your own home cuts out all of that. Your cat gets to stay in its comfortable surroundings with access to their usual haunts, sights and smells. As most cats sleep during the day, they can be allowed to indulge in their favourite hobby, with a friendly face popping in once or twice a day to keep them company.

I know from being owned by a variety of cats over the years that trips to the cattery can cause unsettling behaviour in your cat for anything from a couple of days to a couple of weeks afterwards. My big cat Jenson has only been to the cattery once and he spent the entire week tucked up in the rafters where the cattery owner couldn’t get to him. When we returned home, he was timid, fearful of going outside (he’d always been adventurous until that point), and it took him a few days to settle back down.

As my other 2 cats, Cedar and Winnie reached old age I just wasn’t happy to leave them somewhere strange so I hired a cat sitter and it was really the best thing I have ever done. She visited twice a day and it completely put my mind at rest. In fact, that’s where I got the idea of becoming a cat sitter from!

Catteries do have their advantages home. If it’s a long term stay for example, or maybe your location would mean a longer travel for a cat sitter which could increase the price per visit.

What do you think? Do you use a cat sitter? A cattery? Or maybe a mixture of both? Let me know via the Facebook page, I’d love to hear from you.