Leaving your animals behind while you leave the house for a few days is never easy, but knowing they’re in safe hands makes the time away feel less stressful. Whether you’ve never left your pet’s side before or need to find an alternative to the pet care you’ve been using, seeking out a variety of pet sitter options before making a decision can help. These different options for pet care while you’re away are all excellent choices for high-quality pet care.
Ask a Friend or Family Member
Your most immediate thought when considering your options will be to ask someone close to you for assistance. You may have a friend who already takes care of a dog or an aunt who has cats—anyone who’s close by can help you out.
However, if they don’t know how to take care of animals or use their own methods to take care of their pets, it might not go that well for your pet. They could gain a few pounds from Grandpa’s dinner scraps or feel lonely with someone who doesn’t spend time with them.
Use careful deduction before asking a friend or family to watch your pet.
Live-In Pet Sitters
If you want your pets to stay at home while you’re gone, hiring a live-in pet sitter instead of bringing them somewhere new is the way to go. Your pets won’t need to acclimate to a new surrounding at all—they’ll just need to get used to one new person over the course of your time away. This familiar option allows nervous pets to keep their cool at home instead of needing to leave the house for a few days or more.
Check reviews and meet the sitter in person before using their services.
Dog or Cat Boarding
For families that have their vacations prepared months in advance and want to sort their pet care out right away, or for those who want emergency pet boarding services in case something pops up away from home, finding a pet boarding service is the best choice. You may not enjoy the thought of someone living in your house while you’re away, and there might be times where friends or family are unavailable.
Especially when it comes to boarding your dog, having a boarding service that you know everything about is convenient. Once you sign on with them, you can typically use them again whenever you’d like with very little preparation.
Cat boarding also exists, but many times you can simply have someone visit the cats twice a day to care for them without worrying about having anyone live in the home or transporting them to a different home.
Visit the boarding facility in person to see how they take care of their residents before you board.
When you’re choosing one of the different options for pet care while you’re away, don’t forget to consider the pet’s personality, likes, and dislikes. How a pet reacts to a certain type of care may become a deal-breaker for some options.