Leaving a Savannah home (without a sitter) while you took vacation?

[l.i.t]

We don't often travel...in fact, we haven't gone anywhere since June, and had a sitter come twice a day to play with Lotto while we were gone.

Well, we found out yesterday that our pet sitter moved....and we live in a place where most pet sitters come via word of mouth. So we've got a couple of feelers out, BUT, the problem is that we are leaving next week for a 5 day trip to Mississippi for Thanksgiving...then a 8 day trip to Dallas in early December...then 5 days in San Diego for Christmas. No planned excursions after that.

Has anyone ever had to leave their Savannah at home, without a sitter, while you went on vacation? We do have 2 other cats, so Mr. Lotto will not be completely alone. Our other cats are used to us leaving for vacation....but Lotto (of course!) is different. And being that we are in Southwest Utah, there aren't a whole lot of commercial options for pet sitters. Boarding is not an option.

If you have left your Savannah alone, do you have any tips for making them a little more comfortable?

Feeling awfully guilty.....

 

[admin]

I would not do it...we had a thread a while ago on this subject...let me see if I can find it...I would not leave any of my cats alone for that length of time, so I don't know what to tell you...

 

[l.i.t]

Thanks Paige. I'll try and look the thread up. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of our 'feelers' will pan out.

 

[Julie]

Care.com

I'm a nanny and use it for that but they also have pet sitting on there.

 

[Julie]

Also... the longest we have left ours was 4 1/2 days. Left Thursday came home Monday, but my parents stopped in once while gone to make sure everything was still okay.

 

[l.i.t]

Thanks, Julie....I put a post up on the website. We did leave Lotto for about 6 days in June, but our sitter came twice a day to play with him. We were totally caught off guard finding out that our sitter moved! I appreciate all the advice!

 

[Pam Flachs]

I would not leave your cats alone for that long. Wayyyy too much could go wrong.

Have you asked at your vet's office if anyone there would be willing? Sometimes those underpaid vet techs could use some extra cash, will know your cats, and they would be more likely qualified to see if anything was amiss...and have access to some advice from the vet they work for....

 

[l.i.t]

Thanks, Pam. That's actually a good idea. Our main 'barrier' here is that we live in a city that is 45min outside of the 'main' drag. Coming from the Dallas/Ft Worth area, it seems a perfectly reasonable distance to me. But here in Southwest Utah, it's FAAAAAAAAAAAAAR outside the normal person's tolerance! LOL Heck, even one of the places that is only 20 miles from us told us it was too far to drive. It's a different world, for sure!

Right now, we've got a line out to a groomer we trust who may know someone in the area. I've also got a posting on care.com (and there are a couple of people on there that live in the area), and our most hopeful option is to have the cleaning lady come in either every day or every other day to check on them and play with Lotto for a bit. I have no idea where she lives, but at least she is familiar with our house, and is infatuated with our little boy. The other cats we don't worry about because they are old and boring enough to be perfectly fine sleeping through the day and not getting lonely ;-)

Luckily, we have a few days....so if the other leads don't pan out, I may very well call the vet's office. Of course, they are on the outskirts of the opposite side of town....but you never know!

Thanks for all the great ideas!

L

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Five days is too long to leave them without anyone coming in to check on them, imho. Your cleaning lady option sounds good, just anyone that can come in and has the ability to realize when something is wrong and get a cat to the vet if need be! Things happen when you are away, they are upset and they are bored... plus their food and water needs to be refreshed even if they are eating kibble.

 

[Wyldthingz]

I had a well-meaning couple that went to France, the cat got board and started doing things she normally didn't. She somehow knocked a 40 lb plant down on her head from a balcony and her skull was crushed. They were devastated at her loss.