Is it better to board cats or leave them at home?
Cats generally prefer to stay comfortably at home than a cattery or cat boarding facility. A happy cat has access to food, water, mental and physical stimulation in a safe, familiar environment. As such, consider hiring a house sitter, or sitter that can drop in and visit your cat during the day.
Why do cats prefer to stay at home?
- Cats relate most strongly to their environment
- Cats love routine
- Cats prefer familiar people and pets
- Cats don’t like to be transported
1. Cats relate most strongly to their environment
Cats are very sensitive to the space around them. Daily company and affection are super important, but above all: a cat will feel far more secure with consistency in the sights, smells and sounds.
The unfamiliar environment and stimuli in a small cage or room in a cattery can be super stressful for many cats, and as such it’s best to engage the services of a house sitter to stay in your home. Your cat can stay right where they feel most comfortable, with no disruption to their sense of security.
2. Cats love routine
Cats just love a consistent routine: getting up on their schedule, napping when they want, and of course, eating their favourite food promptly on time! It can be difficult to maintain this in a cattery where there are many cats that need feeding and attention, and individual routines can be tricky to follow.
When booking a house sitter, you can leave instructions to let them know the routine that your cat is used to: including feeding times and amounts, medication and playtime. Knowing that you have a single cat sitter that can give all their focus and energy to your precious cat is incredibly reassuring.
3. Cats prefer familiar people and pets
Cats can be very particular about the company around them, and as creatures of habit, aren’t always super outgoing when it comes to meeting new cats and people. Shy cats can find exposure to lots of strange new felines and cattery staff to be quite stressful.
Booking a regular house sitter involves a free meet and greet, so your cat can get to know their new human friend in advance (and of course, if the meeting doesn’t work out, there is no pressure to book). And if you want, you can always book a trial visit so your cat can really get to know your house sitter well. At best, your sitter can become a regular fixture in your cat's life when you go away.
4. Cats don’t like to be transported
Generally speaking, most cats aren’t big fans of being transported in a cat carrier. This is connected to all of the above: the uncertainty and change in routine, the new stimuli from different passing environments: some cats even suffer from motion sickness in cars, which isn’t pleasant for anyone.
Rest assured that there are ways of reducing stress when transporting your cat in a carrier, which is a necessity when your cat needs a vet visit or you are moving house. But if you want to avoid this situation for your cat when it isn’t necessary, then arrange a house sitter to come to you.
Ready to skip the cattery and book a house sitter to come and care for your cat? Head to Pawshake today – we have plenty of house sitters waiting to help in the lead-up to Christmas.
