Let's be real here...holiday travel brings enough stress on its own! Then, add packing, flight delays, long highway drives, and figuring out what to do with your pet. It can all feel completely and utterly overwhelming. Ultimately, we’re faced with choices and usually feel pulled questioning which direction is the right one. However, as a pet parent, the biggest decision we often face is deciding on where our beloved pet will stay while we are away.
Choosing between a professional boarding facility or hiring an in-home pet sitter comes down to a few key factors: your pet’s personality, medical needs, and household dynamics.
In-Home Pet Sitting
With an in-home sitter you keep your pet in their natural environment where the sitter is able to stay overnight keeping their normal routine or making multiple drop in visits per day. The benefit of this is that there’s minimal disruption to your pet's daily life. They have their bed, toys, normal neighborhood routes and eating schedule met in the home they are familiar with. Especially with cats being the territorial creatures they are, this can be an ideal option. For more seasoned pets with joint stiffness or medication schedules this can help them thrive with one-on-one home care. Plus a little extra home security while you're away never hurts either. Ultimately you’re opening your home for someone to come and go while you aren’t there. Therefore you’re going to be responsible for vetting them to ensure they’re trustworthy. So you’ll want to keep that in mind before choosing which route makes you more comfortable.
Professional Pet Boarding
Boarding facilities range from traditional veterinary kennels, to the modern day “pet resorts” offering webcams, suites, and play groups. Dedicated staff monitor food, exercise, and health status during your pets stay. Usually with trained professionals on standby in case of a medical emergency. Though there’s also a higher stress potential at these places due to unfamiliar sounds, smells, and other barking animals which can be overwhelming to sensitive pets. The exposure to illness in these places (even with strict vaccine requirements) have a higher risk of contagious bugs like kennel cough. They’re also fairly strict about pickup and drop-off hours, which can clash with holiday flight delays.
If you have a single pet then boarding and in-home sitters cost roughly the same price. However, for a household with three pets or more, an in-home sitter is almost always the more economical choice. Though there is no single “right choice”-only a one that brings you peace of mind while you’re away. So grab a toasty cup of caffeinated coffee, take a deep breath, and trust your gut. You know your pets better than anyone else, whether they’d thrive in a bustling play resort, or snuggled up cozy at home in their favorite spot. Whichever you choose, getting the plans locked in early means one less holiday-to-do list item, leaving you free to actually enjoy your seasonal trip.
Traveling with or without your pets can be stressful. PCS with Pets helps navigate many of these obstacles that you may encounter. Check it out today!
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