Take my kitten to noisy Thanksgiving or leave her home with a sitter?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I would set all her belongings in to the room you are staying in. Give her a day to adjust to that room. Then open the door and allow her to come out of the room if she wants. If she is a shy cat she may never leave the room if you are only there for a few days. I would hope that after 1-2 days she will venture out. By keeping all her things in one room she will know that is her safe place to run back to if scared. Cats are hard and it depends on her overall personality.I would just be patient and don't force her to do more than she wants. I wish you the best of luck!

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.

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!

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your cats. They would likely enjoy being able to stay in their own home while you are on vacation. If your neighbor can check on them twice per day, this is most likely a good solution. She can provide food and water, clean their litter boxes and most importantly provide social interaction. Be sure to give her your veterinarian's contact information in case the need arises. The only other consideration would be to board the cats. They would receive more supervision, but it can be a stressful scenario for a cat to be kennels. I hope this information helps!

I think you need to prioritize what is most comfortable for you and your cat. Some cats are very stressed by changing locations, others enjoy it. Personally, I leave my pets at home and have someone trusted check on them daily to make sure they are eating and drinking.

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!