What do you do with your cats/dogs when you go away on vacation?

[samy23]

Do you put them in a boarding kennel? Give them to a friend/relative to take care of? Or something else?

[alicia622]

We just have cats and have had people check on them in the past but have also left them with no visitors. This past spring we were gone for 6 nights and just left them loads of food/water and an extra litter box. They were fine although they were a bit standoffish when we returned

[gumby74]

If we are going somewhere where we can't take the dogs, we have boarded them at http://www.auntbspetresort.com However, now that my MIL has a house we would probably just have them stay with her. Previous to this past year she was living in an apt, but now she is in a house with a yard. The cats are very elderly, so the director of our local humane society is a friend of mine and I have her just come to the house and take care of them. If she wasn't available, our local groomer pet sits for 25/day and she can either stay at our house or just come and go....depending on what we want.

[Sailor]

I take my dog with me.

My partner jokes that when we plan vacations, we have to plan it around the dog, lol. But, I just can't leave him behind.

[mrsbernstein]

We take our babes to teh Spa. Yes, our kennel is named the Pet Spa and Resort!

Our oldest has been going there since she was 6mo and loves it! When we go, she drags me to the door, runs up to the counter and says, "Hey y'all! I'm here!" If going away, but NOT to my dad's, all animals go to teh Spa.

If going to my dad's, the littlest one goes with us and enjoys my dad's 19 acres and pond. Of course, we do have to rent a van!

Mrs B

[griffin2004]

Our pup goes to the kennel. I got a recommendation from my vet when I was new to this area.

[jocelyndale]

We try to do pet-friendly vacations. If we really want to do something that just won't work for the dog, we board him at the same place where he's groomed.

If we visit family, he generally goes with us.

On longer trips, we've done a mix of keeping the dog with us and boarding him at one of our destinations. On a three-week camping trip out west, we boarded our last dog for about five days in Golden, CO, while we did stuff that wasn't pet-friendly (hiking in RMNP, cog railway up Pike's Peak, restaurants in Boulder, etc).

We keep an eye out for dog parks and dog-friendly parks when we travel. Even better are dog parks within larger parks--a playground for the dog and one for the toddler! We camp and our last dog loved camping. We hope our new dog does, too. We'll take him out for a test run after he finishes his heartworm treatment.

Obviously, there are trips which aren't dog-friendly. If we spend a week at the shore (rental house/apt) with the folks-in-law, the dog gets boarded at the kennel in our hometown.

[CarrieMF]

We leave them at home & a friend comes to feed them twice a day/put them inside at night.

Unless we take 2 vehicles the dogs can't come with us.

[kblackstone444]

If we can't take our dogs with us, we have friends and family who will come feed and walk them and check on them about 4 times a day. We've left them "alone" like this for up to almost 3 days, because they're together (they're very close), but wouldn't do it for more than a day with a single dog- dogs are social animals. If it was any longer, we'd have to board them together (My little one would flip out if they weren't together, probably even if they were together, in a kennel)or, ideally, find a friend or family member who could take them to their house or stay at our house for that long. Luckily, we've only once had to leave them for 3 days, usually it's only been a day or two at most.

When we had a cat (a very antisocial cat!), we'd have someone come in twice a day and make sure she's fed and her literbox wasn't overflowing.

[gumby74]

Originally Posted by mrsbernstein

We take our babes to teh Spa. Yes, our kennel is named the Pet Spa and Resort!

Our oldest has been going there since she was 6mo and loves it! When we go, she drags me to the door, runs up to the counter and says, "Hey y'all! I'm here!" If going away, but NOT to my dad's, all animals go to teh Spa.

If going to my dad's, the littlest one goes with us and enjoys my dad's 19 acres and pond. Of course, we do have to rent a van!

Mrs B

Ours is a spa as well. How much does your charge per dog?

[mama_daba]

we have cats and have always had a friend come to check on them but i tend to worry a lot when we do that so the next time we will probably take the cats to a cat boarding place that is near us that sounds like it is very nice

[swissgirl]

Some veterinarian offices board pets.

My cat has developed some untrainable behavioural problems so we can't leave him unsupervised roaming free in the house for days at a time. I usually board him at a "pet suite" place with "cat condos" that have outside views. That usually works.

We are going out of town this week for 3 days; while my cat was getting vaccinations at the vet, I asked if they boarded cats. The answer is yes, the price is the same as the pet kennel places and I know he will be in good hands. So for short trips, I will choose the vet boarding.

[34me]

My guys either go here http://www.creaturecomfortspet.com/ or http://www.boydlakevet.com/index.html . My pups love it.

[mistymama]

Our vet boards and they always make room for Beanie - he's rarely in a kennel while he's there, the girls let him run around and play with him. Often he naps at with the receptionist out front. They are there all weekend too, so he's rarely ever just put up.

He loves going, they give him a nice bath before I pick him up AND it's super affordable. It honestly can't be beat.

[it's just apples]

We've got a great homeschooling family in the house directly next door. Their 14 year old son takes care of the dogs. They get plenty of time out in the yard, and he is great about feeding them. There are two of them, so they have company, and the neighbor kids. I don't think they miss us much.

[soccermama]

We take turns between parents. We're going out of town this weekend and my parents will be watching the dogs. They have a dog themselves, so they've got a 'buddy' to play with.

[phatchristy]

Well, generally we don't go on too many vacations, but if we are I generally prefer to have the cats stay here with friends checking in.

It's just so much less stressful for cats to be in their own territory. If it's only a couple of days often it's fine to just put out an extra litter pan and extra food/water (we use water bottles, and they LOVE those).

[sagewinna]

We have 3 dogs, 2 cats and 4 rats. We have a college student who spends the night and either part of each day or comes in a few times during the day to let the dogs out and play with them.

[Alyantavid]

We leave ours at home and our 18 year old nephew usually stays there and takes care of them. Along with the cows and goats.

[panamama]

we have someone come in daily or at least every other day to feed them, give fresh water, and scoop the litter box. (2 cats.) it's anywhere from free (friends) to $25/day. we've never boarded them and hope to keep it that way.