Need Some Advice

[sueluvshalloween]

I have a dilemna & maybe you guys can give me some advice. My family & I will be going away for the Christmas holiday for nearly two weeks. Honestly, I don't even want to go away -- it's my husband who wants to, & I do understand why he does. We're going to Punxsutawney, PA, to see his family. His mom has Alzheimer's & it's getting worse -- she's in her early 80s & at the rate she's declining, she's rapidly reaching the point where she won't even recognize us anymore. So my husband wants to see her one last Christmas before that time comes. The problem with going away is my cat. Tiger is a very good pet. We're driving 24 hours. We've gone on this trip before & sometimes we drive the entire way without breaking up the trip, while other times we've stopped at a hotel once. Tiger travels very well & is really well-behaved when she's in the car. The problem is getting her in her carrier -- it's a full-fleged battle (she's never been declawed -- OUCH!). Although I can give her a sedative to get her in her box to start the trip, we don't dare take her out until we've reached our destination. I feel that's too long for an animal to be cooped up with no food, water or bathroom break. I can try to sedate her again when if we stop at a hotel, but when you're rushing to get up & out, it's hard to do this because you need to give her the pill an hour-&-a-half before the stressful situation is about to happen. I don't want to board her because I hate the thought of her being in a kennel during Christmas because she's part of the family. I know she doesn't really know it's Christmas, but I do. Professional pet sitters charge about $15-20/day, which is expensive, & during our summer vacation, I had a neighbor pet sit. It turned out to be a disaster -- everything was fine, until the day when Tiger had a hairball & the girl picked her up in the middle of puking to move her from the carpet to the tile so the carpet wouldn't get messed.

[sueluvshalloween]

This is my post continued since I used up my character allowance.

The neighbor was too scared to come back and had to have her mother come over to take care of Tiger. The mom said that Tiger hissed at her before she even came into the house.

What would you guys do? Has anyone here ever been in the same situation?

[MacPhantom]

I guess the first thing would be to find out if you or your husband have any friends, family, or co-workers who are cat owners or cat lovers, or at least know how to deal with feline eccentricities. Then find out if they'd be close enough to come over and check on Tiger, feed her and scoop the litter box. Neighbors offer proximity, but, as your previous situation demonstrated, not always expertise. If that's a no go, I guess it comes down to what is better for the cat; a long, stressful trip, or being boarded? As long as the boarder is reputable, I'd say that's almost certainly the better option. We used to have poodles when I was little, and when the family went away, we boarded them at a kennel with the groomer. It was hard to leave them, but we had the security of knowing they'd be cared for by someone who knew HOW to care for animals.

It's a rough situation all around, and I hope it works out for you...

[Spookymufu]

I would say if you can take the cat with you, take her, just stop at a hotel over night so she can get out, use the cat box and eat then go again. Thas what I would do, yes the carrier is a pain but maybe if you had one of those bigger pet cages it wouldnt be so bad?

[witchy]

I let my cat stay in my lap when I went on a trip once & she did great, the only set back is if you get in an accident, that scares me to death, but so far so good. Oh I also put a leash on she just in case she try's to get out without me. I take her out with me when we take breaks but she is a bear getting her back in sometimes. She is very laid back cat!!! Good luck!!!

[Belladonna]

I used to take the cat I had before on long trips with me.
She really did pretty well, considering. I put her in a large cage and put her food dish and toy in with her. The only thing she was really vocal about was her dislike of the windows being down.
But since it is the cold time of year now, that won't be a worry for you.

However you handle it, good luck!