Should I leave my cat home or take her to a friend's when I travel?

Cats generally don't do well either way, but taking them out of their environment is typically more stressful to cats. I would suggest keeping her there in the house and let your friend take care of her needs while you're away. You can also look into a supplement called Zylkene which is a natural way to treat anxiety in pets. It is available online and in some veterinarian clinics. It is a capsule tht can either be given by mouth or potentially sprinkled on your pets food daily. If you are interested in this approach, I would recommend trying it first at home with Bitsy while you are still there to ensure she still stays interested in her food, especially if you decide to sprinkle it on top. A good tip here is to mix it in with the food to hide it well. If you are using dry kibble then adding a small amount of water will help to mix in the contents. Other options for stress management can be discussed with your veterinarian, but most require giving the medication by mouth and I'm not sure how comfortable your friend would be with this approach. I hope that this information proves helpful. Best of luck with your pet Bitsy moving forward. Take care!

Most cats do best in familiar environments, and since you will be gone short term, it is probably better for Olivia to stay at home and have a sitter or neighbor come in when your husband can't be there. That way she isn't dealing with the stress of a new place in addition to being away from you. I highly recommend adding in some calming devices such as pheromone diffusers that can help her relax some while you are away. Leaving behind a shirt or blanket that smells like you that she can also snuggle may help as well. Some cats may also respond to voices via phone or voice chat, but it depends on the individual cat.

Hi. It sounds like you're trying hard to do what is best for Daisy. Some of it depends on her personality, some cats enjoy traveling and new places. I've known several that travelled the country in an RV! That said if you do bring her with you there are certain things you should do for her health and safety. First make sure she is up to date on vaccines and parasite prevention. This is to protect her as she may come into contact with other animals on travels. I would also ensure that she is spayed, as an intact female will try to get outside every heat cycle. She could get lost or injured if this happened someplace she was somewhere unfamiliar. Also, please make sure she has a collar with your cell phone number and I would recommend a microchip as well. If she doesn't enjoy the new places, consider someone to come to your house while you are gone to care for her and keep her company. In these cases, sometimes a companion cat helps ease boredom if people are absent for long stretches. I wouldn't recommend leaving her for more than 24 hours without someone checking food, water and litter boxes.

I think the bigger question for me is whether being away from you for a few days would be a bigger stress than the change in environment. if so, then I would take her with you. If not, then leave her in her current environment so she doesn't stress out and ask your housemates to take care of her if you think they wouldn't mind. I hope this helps!

If you have someone that can bring her food at least once a day, you can leave her at home without any problem and this would be the best option, otherwise you could take her with you but she might get stressed from the car ride and the new place.

I am glad your kitty is bonding so well with you. I would think, however, that a flight and trip in a strange place would be more stressful than staying home without you. You may consider having your pet sitter come over a few times to meet your kitty before your trip. You can also use a Feliway diffuser https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected and a calming supplement like Zylkene http://www.vetoquinolusa.com/content/zylkene or Composure to try to decrease stress while you are away.

You're a super thoughtful owner for considering Liam's health. In my opinion, and as owner of 2 cats, I can tell you that mine (and most that I know) prefer to be at home, and pretty much despise travel. If you don't have to take him, leave him at home, and have the neighbors feed him and interact with him, so that he's comfortable and happy at home.