Vacation time - time cat?

The holiday season is approaching and so is many pet owners again asked what her favorite can do when they go on trips. Each year opt still the owner of almost 70,000 animals in this situation to their house comrades simply suspend (Source: German Animal Welfare Federation). An alarming number and not a solution - especially not for people who have their four-legged friend wähend leave her in good hands want to know.

Fortunately, there are also other possibilities. Most pet owners have already proven methods, the holiday care for their protégés to organize and neighbors or family members eingspannt. But what if the times does not work?

There are basically three options, the Tigers office during the holiday season to accommodate:

• Pussy stays at home and there will be supplied by someone
• Mieze pulls while on leave to
• pussy or go on trips with!

In cats is probably the first option the most common:

Care at home

... By neighbors, friends, acquaintances or family

Surely this is a very convenient variant - both for the owner as well as for the cat. The supervisor will probably know in the apartment something and know the cat (s). Cuddling necessary units are mostly self-evident and even if the animal is something wrong, remember friends or family members realtiv quickly. Under certain circumstances can anyone from this district also something longer stay in the apartment (for example, a TV dinner) or even stay overnight. However, there is also a downside. Just neighbors, friends, acquaintances or family members leave for their "services" sometimes do not like to pay, so that under circumstances of the unpleasant aftertaste remains, the other to be guilty of something. Small gifts from the holidays, an invitation to dinner or help to offer this mutuality in any case.

... By a pet sitter

Pet sitters can be found either on an individual basis through classifieds ads in markets (including online), posted on bulletin boards (eg supermarket), mouth-to-mouth propaganda, such portals or animal sitters Exchanges on the Internet or professional pet sitters agencies. A pet sitters, depending on the agreement will also take on other services such as watering flowers or mailbox empty. The offers range of agencies here to complete house-sitting service, with one person for the duration of the Abwensenheit distance in the house and all the work done. The problem is the use of an animal Sitters if no references available. After all, it is a strange person into the house, and trusts that his comrades at home. In any case, there should be an individual with selecting a pet Sitters give a preliminary to get an impression of the candidates to make. In an emergency you should just when you have a pet sitter to erstn time posts, a neighbor, friend or family member informed that the supply of the animal once controlled einspringt and under circumstances, if all knitting tear.

Links to pet sitters Exchanges:

• Zergportal
• Tiersitterboerse.de
• enimal.de pet sitter search
• Catsitter directory in the info portal Pets

Agencies

• Pet sitters Express

Classifieds

• Your Wildlife

(The list is constantly being expanded)

... You take my pet I take your pet

It is an initiative of the German Animal Welfare. The local clubs bring in this action together keeper who, during the leave in exchange for the four-legged darlings care. From 2 May can pet owners and animal lovers on holiday telephone advice of the German Animal Welfare at the telephone number: 0228-6049627 from Monday to Thursday 10:00 to 18:00 clock on Friday and 10:00 to 16:00 clock reported. More information is available in a press release of the German Animal Welfare from April 2008.

Care outside the home

... At neighbors, friends, acquaintances or family

Here is the same as if neighbors, friends, acquaintances or family members of the cat in their surroundings gewohtnen supply: Most of these variant for pet owners and the pleasant, as you already know the supervisor. Caution is warranted only if it home in time to other pets there, because that can mean stress. In the best case for the cat to leave an extra room available, so that they can not adapt to new roommate on time must be used. Some cats are sensitive to radical move and catch in rare cases, their uncertainty by impurity or scratching furniture or wallpaper to express themselves. If it is somehow possible, the supervisor rather then the cat returned to their ancestral home and bring them once or twice a day supply. Under certain circumstances the animal will suffer under the loneliness less than under the strange surroundings. This is not possible to remain in the worst case, only the Umquartierung into the bathroom or an appropriately insensitive space. In this case it is essential to ensure that the cat as much affection as possible and under the supervision gets a lot of time with her supervisor spends holidays to the situation is not worse than to make it already is. There are also holiday home cats, it is vital to ensure that no disease can be transmitted. As in a good animal pension should be a more effective vaccine and regular Entwurmung the selbstveständlich his animals. Clear unsecured corridor is definitely taboo on holiday!

... In an animal Pension

Kennels now offer not only care for dogs, but mostly for cats and even small animals. The prices vary and are also in the quality of accommodation and care, there are differences. Not every institution, the "animal boarding house" is called, also deserves the name. Therefore, you should receive a pension necessarily predict good look and not only on equipment and look appearances. In the housing of cats in a pension you must make sure that an effective vaccine, Entwurmung and Flohfreiheit recording condition for all guests. Obviously it is also his own animal timely treated accordingly. Hygiene is at large, often-changing animal populations in the alpha and omega, because nowhere else can improve diseases are spreading. The head of an animal requires a pension expert evidence from the Veterinary Office must be provided. If such evidence is not available, the pension should be informed immediately of the holiday list for pussy deleted.

Links to directories with pensions:

Cats pensions when info portal Pets

... In the shelter?

Some animal shelters will also allegedly holiday care for pets offer. Is this a pet sitter service, which comes into the house, on the other hand, is absolutely nothing wrong. However, I would strongly advise against a pet while on leave in the shelter to accommodate, even if it is "only" is to care. First, animal shelters during the holiday period more than busy and should not leave guests with even more filled. The employees already have enough with the supply of emergency and Conciliation animals to be done. Moreover, for a shelter the same as for the animal board: large, constantly changing animal stocks offer optimum conditions for the spread of diseases. But unlike a pension coming in the animal shelter frequently sick animals - the danger of contagion is much higher. Moreover you should be very carefully whether it's the stress a pet shelter stay with his somewhat "different atmosphere" would like to expect. Because the animal does not know that you get it back.

... Just run?

A colleague who was totally katzenunerfahren, asked me in the canteen once, because what one with a cat makes when it goes on vacation. His somewhat naive suggestion: Why can you not just animals outside rumlaufen so long? In a free-goers should probably yes no problem!

I am already too long with these issues, not to know that there are people who really as the handle. This approach is in any case, but totally reprehensible. Even with a pure free-goers who only rarely comes into the house, someone must regularly monitor whether the animal and it goes well with food supplies.

Pussy goes on tour!

What is normal in dogs, cats is rather unusual: The animal with on trips to take. Under certain circumstances, however, this variant also worth consideration. Cases in which cats their owners around the globe have accompanied, are real exceptions, and even something special for individualists with corresponding nerve costume. But even here there are cases in which the bond between cat and owner is so strong that longer stays abroad with the travel related strains are justified. After a journey must not always be on holiday. In our mobile, globalized world requires sometimes the job longer stays abroad, where one is the pet may accompany can.

As a rule, but the travel, for the pussy as companion in question, rather the shorter tours especially with the car, even if one also in the train and airplane travel cats in the baskets can take (necessarily after conditions for external dimensions ask!). The length of the possible route by car is aimed mainly depends on how the cat can tolerate car trips. While, for example, for my Norwegian Forest cat Tass already short way to the vet was almost too far, is my grandmother Devon Rex Izi even after six hours by car cozy zusammengerollt on the lap of the crew. Obviously, I must say at this point: Cats must, of course, buckled in properly secure transport boxes or with a Autofahrgeschirr be transported. Izi is not very exemplary ...

What Izi, however, is a good example, that cat is certainly a vacation "enjoy" can be. Wenn wir aus der Eifel zu meinen Eltern an die Ostsee fahren, ist unsere Izi oft dabei, während die anderen Katzen zu Hause betreut werden. Izi has absolutely no problems with car rides and enjoys the extra-long stroking, it gets underway. If we make a break, we Izi even. The house of my parents Izi already knows well and also comes with the cats who live there, excellently cope (because they do most of the time simply ignored). In good weather is like Izi on the terrace in the sun-backed chair and plays the luxury Urlauberin. As long as they are at night between "their" people can sleep, is the world for them in order.

But some points should be at the travel office with the Tigers strictly observed:

• If it goes abroad, have any entry requirements (immunizations, vaccination, passport, etc.) are respected.
• Is a stay in a hotel or an apartment planned, of course, must ensure that they have cats
  are allowed.
• When traveling by bus, train or plane must first be clarified, the cat should be transported. Especially for air travel there are certain rules for transporting boxes, which must be strictly adhered to. Information indicates the airline.
• On the road should feed, water and a small emergency toilet into it. Even if the cat this is usually not needed, but at least it helps the owner to travel relaxed to survive if he does not need to worry about it.
• And in any case: no unsecured Freigang on holiday!

The image "Palmero sube a la palma" was written by Marianne Perdomo on Flickr under a Creative Commons license available.