What do you do with your pet,(s) when your on a cruise?

dhudd · #1 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 06:02 PM

What do you do with your pet,(s), when you go on a cruise? Do you board them at a Kennel? Do you leave them with your relativess or friends? Or would you smuggle them on board? What would you do? Last cruise I placed her in one of the hutches outside and we had to hire someone to come by once a day to feed & water her. She was not a happy Bunny.

We find that question very hard sometimes. We have a "House Bunny". She is very temperamental and spoyled. She has 2 different rabbit hutches outside but never stays in them. She has a small cage in our family room and comes & goes at will. She is cage trained and never has any accidents and or makes a mess outside of her cage.

Mike M · #2 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 07:26 PM

Sadly, this is something we no longer have to worry about but when our dog Kramer was still alive we would have one of the family pet sit.

We were fortunate enough to have a daughter who is a vet and she would gladly care for him but she has five dogs and he didn't get along too well with them (too active of dogs and he was more mellow) so we only left him with her once. Otherwise my son lived with us for a few years and he would gladly take care of him and when he couldn't then my nephew was more than happy to pet sit and keep him in the style he was accustomed to.

If I would have had to put him in a kennel or not cruise I would have chosen not to cruise. I would have had a miserable time thinking of him in "doggy jail".

Take care,
Mike

Donna · #3 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 07:39 PM

When I go on Allure this fall, she'll have to be at the kennel, but hopefully she will not hate it, as of now, she still loves to go to the vet and the kennel is in the same place. Same for when she goes and gets a grooming, doesn't seem to mind at all....I know staying in the kennel all week will not be fun and it will be her first. The last two summers we were up in Wis fishing and we stayed at a place where you could bring your dog, she sure loved that...

Aerogirl · #4 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 07:49 PM

I have two cats and when we go away I have three people I let take care of them in our home. My mother, my brother in-law and on our last trip my canine cop neighbor.

Fern · #5 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 08:35 PM

We had a wonderful pet sitter who came to the house once or twice a day to get the paper, the mail and feed and play with the cat's. She works for our Vet as an Assistant so we all knew her.

Cat's do not board well

, so we were glad to add her fee to the "cost of cruising"!

What a sweet bunny you have

! Isn't there someone you'd trust to go into the house and play with her and feed her?

Lakers Fan · #6 (**permalink**) May 15th, 2011, 09:53 PM

We had Pennina when we cruised in 1994 and left her with our 2 children.

skymaster · #7 (**permalink**) May 16th, 2011, 07:54 AM

We have a very trusted friend, and former neighbor who keeps our 3 pups. Our cat does go to the kennel at the vets office, but he likes it there, and they give him special treatment because of his temperament. (He's a clown, and is very playful. Actually, thinks he's a dog!)

The lovely Mrs. Jones (Vita) actually has a small business doing day care, and caring for small dogs, as we talked to so many folks around here who didn't want to kennel their pets when they cruise. The dogs that come here live with us. They're never caged, and they have a GREAT time while their "parents" are cruising. YEP,,,most of our business comes from folks who are going on cruises.

"SKY"

green_rd · #8 (**permalink**) May 16th, 2011, 01:44 PM

Don't dare sneak your pet on board. Remember the next grass you see will be in another country - Fido, or kitty may not make it back on board due to agriculture embargoes.

john_galt · #9 (**permalink**) May 16th, 2011, 06:58 PM

We use a pet sitter. She also gets the mail and changes what lights are on or off. It's pricey for two visits a day but we know the cats are well cared for. We get updates via email and I really like the idea of someone checking on the house twice a day!

dhudd · #10 (**permalink**) May 17th, 2011, 02:01 AM

No not really. That's why we had to hire someone to come by once a day to attend to her. She hates the outside cage. Also "Orca" is a very social rabbit and lives for affection. She just hates being by herself.

Cruznut2 · #11 (**permalink**) May 17th, 2011, 04:10 AM

My cat, Miss Lilly stays home where she is happy. I leave a lot of munchy food and a water dispenser out for her. My cousin comes to give her some moist cat food every 2 days. she spends some time playing with Miss Lilly. She also takes care of the litter box and gets the mail for me. I learned the first time that they would not take money for doing this. I now buy them a couple of gift certificates to their favorite restaurants.

Laura

HawkeyeFLA · #12 (**permalink**) May 17th, 2011, 04:39 AM

This is actually something I will have to consider for my Oct cruise. By the end of the month I am expecting to bring 2 kittens into my apt from a litter from one of my coworkers (okay, I'm good at composition, and I'm not even happy with that sentence) ...

My mother comes to town often and could be coerced into watching after them for the short 3n cruise in Oct, but its my longer 7 or 8n plans that has me concerned.

Before the longer trip, I think I will do a test boarding. WDW has a Best Friend's Pet Care center on property and I do get a discount with them. I figure before the big cruise I could give them a weekend there and see how they do with it.

And that's the ticket for boarding pets. You have to try them out on the concept before you actually go away. And maybe even try more than one pet hotel.

Pets are such wonderful additions to our lives for sure, and they need to be well attended to no doubt.

My coworker has been describing how the kittens have been behaving as they've gotten a bit older and closer to being weened. I'm really excited because I am getting a brother and sister from the same litter, so I know they'll be able to entertain themselves when I am not home during the day (odd and often long hours at work) ... but I know they're going to be just what I need to brighten up this place.

Fern · #13 (**permalink**) May 17th, 2011, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkeyeFLA

By the end of the month I am expecting to bring 2 kittens into my apt from a litter from one of my coworkers (okay, I'm good at composition, and I'm not even happy with that sentence) ...

You mean your coworker had a litter

! I think it's great that you're getting two kittens to keep each other company. Spay & Neuter!!

dhudd, maybe another rabbit for Orca? Really, I'd check with your Vet's office. They usually can lead you to someone trustworthy who you'll be able to let go into your house and socialize with Orca.

(P.S. In my next life I want to come back as Laura's kitty

! She's as spoiled as ours!)

HawkeyeFLA · #14 (**permalink**) May 18th, 2011, 01:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fern

You mean your coworker had a litter

! I think it's great that you're getting two kittens to keep each other company. Spay & Neuter!!

dhudd, maybe another rabbit for Orca? Really, I'd check with your Vet's office. They usually can lead you to someone trustworthy who you'll be able to let go into your house and socialize with Orca.

(P.S. In my next life I want to come back as Laura's kitty

! She's as spoiled as ours!)

Yeah, spay and neuter is first on the list. Especially for the male. I've read that if you get them fixed at a very young age, it helps reduce them spraying. I guess if they don't have the drive for *ahem* then they don't feel the need to mark their territory as much. I have a short vacation the first weekend of June. I figure after that is over is when I will move them in. No other vacations planned until my Oct cruise.

Cruznut2 · #15 (**permalink**) May 18th, 2011, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fern

You mean your coworker had a litter

! I think it's great that you're getting two kittens to keep each other company. Spay & Neuter!!

dhudd, maybe another rabbit for Orca? Really, I'd check with your Vet's office. They usually can lead you to someone trustworthy who you'll be able to let go into your house and socialize with Orca.

Quote:

(P.S. In my next life I want to come back as Laura's kitty

! She's as spoiled as ours!)

Miss Lilly is spoiled for sure. As you know from reading my forum she guides my life often reminding me what needs doing. She is nearly 14 years old. She was 10 weeks when I got her. We have been through so many things together. The worst being her bout with pneumonia. Also the time a wild animal got her. She escaped but was unable to walk. Vet said to put her down as she would never walk again. I refused and took her home. She recovered her ability to walk slowly. Today she is a happy healthy cat. I got her shortly after my beloved Mother passed away. She was my comfort through all those sad days for me. She collects my tears when I cry and she keeps my secrets. She is spoiled, she earned it.

Laura

azpilot · #16 (**permalink**) May 20th, 2011, 08:53 AM

We either have family come by the house and watch after the doggie or we have a pet sitter come by and take care of her. She normally gets checked on about 2-4 times a day. She never goes in the house except on her pad in the bathroom and we have never had an issue with her being home alone. She seems happier than going to the doggie kenel.