The combination of being a traveler and having pets - does it work?

[Pauline]

We had our cat Buddy put to sleep on Tuesday. He was 15 years old and very sick. Steve and I have had a cat or cats for the last 24 years.

Before we got cats we lived in the city and worked (no time for pets) then stopped working and traveled for several years (not settled enough to have pets). Once we settled down in Santa Fe in 1991, after buying a house, we got two kittens and had them for 14 years. After Butch and Spike we said "no more cats" because we wanted to move to Europe. Five months later we got Buddy. And five years later we moved Buddy to England.

Now that Buddy is gone, I am saying again "no more cats". We have had a difficult time in England finding rental houses (we have lived in three houses in five years) that are well located for a cat and where the landlord will let you have a cat. We ended up in a great place, but if we have to, or want to, move again, not having a pet will make it easier. We could even move into an apartment in Bath if we wanted to!

As Bud got older, we did not want to leave him in the cattery for more than two weeks at a time, so we changed the way we travel. Now we can do longer trips to the continent. And we can do last minute two or three night trips in England. There are several places that I want to see, but it did not seem worth all the angst of putting Buddy in the cattery to do the trip. It will be interesting to see if we change our travel style now that we are cat-less.

Do you have pets? Do they change the way you travel?

 

[Chris]

Yes, I have cats. My entire adult life I've had two at a time, sometimes three because when one of the two died, I'd get another pair of kittens.

I've always been able to make arrangements for my cats to be cared for at home while I'm gone, because I think they're more safe, comfortable and happy if they don't have to go to an unfamiliar place. Some of the catsitters over the years have been better than others. Now that my mother lives across the street, she takes care of them. This is perfect because my cats know her and love her, and I trust her completely.

I also have sort of a personal limit of three weeks for trip length. Part of this is because I miss my cats, part is because I love to travel, but I also really want to go home after 2 or 3 weeks.

Cats aren't practical. They shed, they scratch the furniture, my clothes are usually covered with cat hair, my living room looks like a daycare center for spoiled cats (because it is), and I have to live in the same house with litterboxes. Still, if I had to choose between cats and travel, cats would win.

Because of this:

 

[Pauline]

What beauties! Baxter is much bigger than Zoe now.

We had a good arrangement in Santa Fe with a house-sitter who knew Buddy well and looked after him well. In England we had a good cattery, but even though the cattery was very good and the cages ("runs") are very large, we did not like to leave him there long. And it was a bit of a production getting him to the cattery (he did not like the drive) so we were reluctant to take him for just a few nights. Our neighbors had offered to look after him for shorter trips, but Buddy really liked to have someone around the house, not just to be fed. So our arrangements here were not as ideal as in Santa Fe.

We will see if we change our travel ways now. Maybe we will find out that he did not influence us that much.

 

[chachalaca]

Oh the dilemma! We, too, live with cats and have ever since we first got married years ago. We always have two, and at one time had a bonus cat. I love life with cats. They turn the mundane tasks into a great adventure (sheet changing!) and lift a foul mood.

Like Chris, I like having someone here at the house. We've usually been lucky with adequate to great sitters and now, for summer travel we have the "cat's meow" of a situation because my parents live with us when they are not snow birding in AZ. But we scramble for mid-year sitters or for the week all four of us go away.

When our three cats left us after almost 20 years, we chose to have a few cat-free years. We had a remodel coming up and thought it best to wait. We did travel during that time and I must say not having cat-guilt-missing and the worry was awesome. But a few years ago, after about 3 - 4 without, we just knew we needed them back in our lives. So, here we are…in the dilemma zone.

Laura

 

[Chris]

Sheet changing made me laugh out loud! My cats can be sound asleep at the other end of the house, but the minute they hear the rustle of clean sheets, they are there, ready to PARTY! Daily bed-making doesn't interest them at all.

 

[BJinNM]

We have two dogs and have left them with housesitters for up to close to 6 weeks at a time. I always feel like I am looking for a date for the Prom when I try to get a housesitter to come for any of our away time. We travel 6 or 7 times a year, so that's a lot of Proms. Sometimes I think the cost of the housesitters is more than the cost of the trip but having a caring person interacting everyday with our dogs is worth it. As far as the dogs are concerned, they are as excited to see us when we are gone for an hour as they are when we are gone for a month plus. The housesitters also care for my plants and the garden, mail, etc., so it gives us even more peace of mind.

 

[Rachel Queen]

I don't have cats but I have 2 dogs.. One is 1 year old a big one and one is 7 years old. I really can't go to long trips with hubby because we were always thinking where to left them or if they are well taken care. But now my mom is leaving with us.. we can travel for few days but we can't all travel together (with mom) because no one will be left with them.

 

[Pauline]

We had a great housesitter in Santa Fe and we would go away for 6 - 10 weeks with no worries. In England we took Bud to a cattery, and it was a very good one, but we did not like to leave him more than 2 weeks.

I think we might end up as @chachalaca did - cat-free for a number of years but then thinking about it again. For now it makes no sense for us to get another cat. We are still renting and I think we will move at least once more before deciding where we want to "settle down". Not having a cat will make it much easier to find another rental and will give us a few years of being able to do extended travel. I would like to spend a month or two in France in the off season.

 

[Sue]

Because I spend 2-3 months in Italy each year, I put off getting a dog for many years until last August. I've taken a few short trips in the past few months and have been able to find a young lady who will walk him twice a day and stay overnight with him. Even though she seemed good, I still felt like I didn't know how he was while I was gone.

So now as I am planning to leave the middle of May, I'm really stressing out. My family has offered to keep him, and while I know they love their pets and take really good care of them, all of my family's dogs are large, independent guys and my Lucca is small and loves to run away I know it will all work out...and I wouldn't trade him for all the tea in England...but it is definitely a challenge.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Just started reading this post. We have 2 dogs. Miniature Schnausers. Getting older now. And it is a challenge. And it does affect my travels. For our 3 months in Oxford, I began planning almost a year ahead. We were so incredibly lucky with the house sitters we found. My biggest fear was that something would happen to the house sitters not the dogs and I wouldn't be able to go. I would love to just be able to take advantage of a seat sale and on the spur of the moment, take off. But no can do. They are into their last couple of years and I don't want them dying on a poor house sitter. I've never kenneled these dogs but they have in the past, gone to the home of a professional sitter. That added considerable expense to the trip. So now I am committed to looking for folks who either house sit or will mind for a nominal sum.
I adore my doggies but....

 

[scottw]

We have one dog and two cats. We've had good house-sitters over the years, which has been a huge help. We find the time of year can affect whether or not we can travel -- asking a house sitter to stay at our place over Christmas usually doesn't work.

 

[Joan M]

Hello, I am new to this forum and this topic really drew me in. We have had small dogs for years, cavalier King Charles spaniels. Mostly we have had a house sitter stay with them but when we had only one dog we took him with us. He went to France 4 times and it was wonderful. He flew under the seat in front of us and nobody knew he was there. Once we arrived he was a great way to meet people. We found this website to be a great help: www.dogjaunt.com. A small dog is an ideal traveling companion. We lost our older dog a few months ago and our younger dog will be taking her first flight in a month.

 

[Lisa in Ottawa]

Joan,
Thanks for that info. I think my dogs are a little too old for long distance travel. I think for international travel, its better the longer one is away. I don't think it's worth it for a short vacation of 1-2 weeks. of course, if one has a small youngish dog might be different. Mine are 14 and 13.
The site is fascinating. Amazing what people will do to take their pets with them.