How to handle cat care and travel during school breaks
Long school breaks force students to choose between stressful car trips, unfamiliar catteries that trigger hiding, and leaving pets behind. These options leave owners worrying about their cat's anxiety and feeling like they are abandoning them.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
How to handle cat care and travel during school breaks
- 1Hire a pet sitter2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Use trusted house sitting servicesDid this help you?
- 3Travel with the cat and keep essentials accessible in the carDid this help you?
- 4asking neighbors to drop in to feed and pet the catDid this help you?
- 5using a professional cat hotel or catteryDid this help you?
- 6installing cameras to monitor the cat remotelyDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“during long school breaks (generally 4+ days) I go home to be with my family which is about 2.5 hours away, and I’m worried that this would be too stressful of a trip for a cat.”source ↗
“However, I'm starting to have second thoughts about it. I'm wondering what is best for him. Is it better to bring him to a cattery?”source ↗
“I am worried that in a cattery he will feel like we abandon him – and also I have no idea how he would respond to other cats.”source ↗
“My baby was so stressed and kept hiding inside the cage. For the cat, nothing is better that being in his own home.”source ↗
Where this came up
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