One thing to be clear with the sitter...she needs to see the cat each time, just to make sure your cat looks ok and doesn't need to get to the vet. I'm pretty sure that my cat sitter (I'm a pp that had a cat die while I was on vacation) never saw our cat that died eat and didn't search her out and couldn't really tell that anything was wrong because our other cat was eating enough for 2. My big fear is that she suffered more than necessary . I so hope she just died in her sleep...but I doubt it.

I would go on the trip. Your kids and the memories you'll make are more important than being there if something happens to your car. I'm hoping everything will by fine with your cat while you're gone. Sounds like the sitter coming twice a day is a good option. There's a good chance everything will be fine while you're gone, so if you stay home you'd regret not going.

You sure you can't take him with you. My cat had the same. Once he had first breathing probably and discover the mass he died a few weeks later.

I just found out about Au Purrr in northern Virginia. They do regular pet sitting, but also give meds and fluids too. A friend is using them now; I've only checked out their website, but I had no idea a service like this existed. Oh, they also can do overnights.

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you take 2 cars and get updates from cat sitter? Then you could go back if need be.

Also, when is your trip?

My trip is this Saturday.

^^ meant perked up.

Thank you everyone for the feedback. I'll keep you posted.

Anonymous wrote:OP, can you take 2 cars and get updates from cat sitter? Then you could go back if need be.

Also, when is your trip?

OP here and this is my plan. My cat has peeked up a bit in the past couple days. He's back to trying to steal my buttered toast.

I'm going to go to the beach unless he goes downhill this week. I'll bring a car so I can return home early if need be and will have the cat sitter come twice daily instead of just once. And maybe once or twice I'll have her do the "almost overnight" which is two hours in the evening and an hour first thing in the morning.

I will worry, for sure. And I'm prepared to come home early. But my kids were heartsick at the thought of me not coming st all.

I wouldn't leave either.

OP, can you take 2 cars and get updates from cat sitter? Then you could go back if need be.

Also, when is your trip?

So depending on how well your cat does with traveling and strange places you could take him with you...

I will tell you I lost a cat while on vacation (we did not know anything was wrong with her when we left) and I still regret not having someone sleep in the house with her,.

I would stay home.

I don't suppose you can bring your cat with you?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And one more thing - he's definitely not himself. So we would be leaving an ill cat.

I would not leave an ill cat for a week.

+1

I would do a staycation at home with him.

Can you take the cat and hire a local petsitter at your destination?

Are you driving? Can you take your cat with you?

If I were you, and it was my dog, I'd definitely stay, but I'm insanely attached to her. Have you looked at Rover.com? It's not just for dogs and you should be able to find a cat sitter. At this point, if you are truly worried about your cat, does money really matter over your cat's comfort? You can't have it all, so you either find someone who can be there 24/7, or you stay, or you make that difficult decision. The options aren't endless here and you do need to face reality in that regards. Not trying to be mean or anything, but you have to work within real parameters.

I will say it-- it is time to make the difficult decision.