Pet hotels vs cat-sitters vs stay-at-home cats
I’m in Iloilo. My feline masters (I have been warned — telepathically — not to refer to them as “my” cats as the pronoun implies that I own them when I am in fact possessed by them) are in “my” apartment (again enclosed in quotation marks as this implies I am master of the place when my official designation is cat dish refiller/litterbox cleaner). I’m not sure what the cats are doing at this exact moment, but one thing is certain: they are more relaxed than I am. I am full of feline substitute parent guilt because I have gone on a trip and left them at home.
It’s not as if this were a rare occurrence — I travel a bit, and after more than a decade of trips, my cats are accustomed to being left at home. Yes, they stay at home while I am away. Cats are independent creatures: leave them with enough food for one month and they will stick to their rations, unlike dogs who will gobble up all the food at once and give themselves indigestion.
Your dogs will be lonely without you. They require human companionship; when you travel you have to entrust them to family or friends, put them up in a pet hotel. (We’ve seen one near the Mandaluyong municipal hall), or board them with their veterinarian.
I assume my (sssh) cats miss me while I am away, but they would never deign to show this. Cats are not demonstrative sorts. On the occasions that they express their affection by rubbing their face against your leg, you must not act surprised or pleased. It embarrasses them to be caught showing tender feelings; they must maintain their image as ruthless killing machines. If you have the temerity to say, “Awww, the cat wuvs me,” they will express their displeasure by digging their razor-like talons into your flesh. Who’s tender now?
Cats are territorial creatures. Introduce new animals on their turf and they demonstrate their ability to roar like lions in the Maasai Mara. Move them from their usual environment and they become anxious and antsy. This explains all those reports of cats walking hundreds of miles to return to their previous residence. They disapprove of sudden changes.
When my eldest cat Koosi was three months old (Saffy and Mat weren’t around yet), I went on a summer fellowship in the US. I left Koosi in my apartment in the care of my sister. Six weeks later, my sister joined me in New York. We were new at cat parenting at the time, and we thought the best thing to do was to leave Koosi in the care of my sister’s friend.
It should’ve been obvious from Koosi’s behavior when the friend came to collect her that this was a terrible idea. In the car, Koosi attempted to murder the friend by leaping onto his face claws-first as he was driving. When that failed to cause a car crash, she began to chew on his hair.
For the next two weeks, the cat tormented the hapless cat-sitter. It’s a good thing we left instructions that Koosi be kept indoors, because if she’d been allowed outside she might’ve run away. Instead she entertained herself by kicking random objects off his desk, shredding his curtains, and scratching him at every opportunity. Her animosity extended to everyone in his household — their maid refused to approach the fearsome cat so he had no help cleaning the litterbox.
Two months earlier, Koosi had been a sweet cat who played with string and snuggled on my pillow at bedtime. When I returned, she still liked playing with string — which she made herself, by snagging her claws on whatever I was wearing and pulling out the threads. She still snuggled on my pillow, but refused to share. Koosi had turned into a diva. We had left her in a stranger’s house, and now she was taking her revenge.
After 13 years of living with cats, I have concluded that they prefer to stay at home while you travel. Cats can take care of themselves. It is for my own peace of mind that I ask a cat-sitter to visit the cats every other day, refill their kibble dish and change the water in their bowl. Dry cat food is the practical choice; the canned variety spoils quickly. I get a cleaner to change the kitty litter. This does not keep me from worrying about my cats when I am traveling, but that’s my own neurosis.
When I come home from a trip, my feline housemates react in different ways. If it’s hot they greet me at the door. Even before I can assure myself that they missed me, they run to the air-conditioner and look at me expectantly. Apparently it’s not their human they miss, it’s the air-conditioning.
Sometimes as I drag my suitcase into the house the cats look up at me with expressions of “Oh, were you out? We didn’t notice.” Then they inspect my luggage like the crew in CSI. Other times they seem to ignore me altogether. I know this is just bad acting because when I wake up in the middle of the night there’s a cat huddled on my pillow, a cat sleeping on my stomach, and a cat leaning against my foot. Of course, my cats miss me. I am their favorite piece of furniture.
