What do I do with my pets when I go on holiday?

The right answer differs by species and it is mostly about attachment. Cats are attached to territory, so removing them from it is the disruptive part and a visiting sitter is usually kinder. Dogs are attached to people, so being alone is the disruptive part and where they sleep matters less than whether someone is there. Everything else — licensing, vaccinations, lead times — follows from picking the right option first.

Safety

What you'll need

• Up-to-date vaccination records
• Written care instructions
• A booking made months ahead (optional)
• Your vet's details and written treatment authority (optional)

Step by step

1. Decide by species before comparing providers.For a cat, a sitter visiting the house is usually the least stressful option, because the cat keeps its territory, its routine and its litter tray. For a dog, being alone is the problem, so the choice is between a licensed kennel, a home boarder who takes one or two dogs into their own house, a live-in sitter, or family.
2. Check the licence.Boarding kennels, catteries, home boarders and commercial day care in England require a local authority licence under animal activities licensing, with a star rating. The licence should be displayed and councils publish lists. An unlicensed commercial boarder is a reason to look elsewhere.
3. Visit before you book, and look at the right things.Smell, noise, whether the animals look settled, how staff handle them, what the exercise and interaction schedule actually is, how many dogs one person is responsible for, and what happens if an animal is unwell at three in the morning. Ask what their vet arrangement is.
4. Sort vaccinations well in advance.Boarding places require up-to-date core vaccinations and usually kennel cough for dogs, and there is often a minimum period between the vaccination and arrival. Leaving this to the week before is a common reason for a booking falling through.
5. Book far earlier than feels necessary.Good kennels, catteries and home boarders are full for school holidays and Christmas months ahead. This is the single most common reason people end up with an option they are not happy with.
6. For a cat at home, specify the visit frequency honestly.At least once a day, ideally twice, with fresh water, food, litter tray scooped and time spent with the cat. A cat should not go more than about a day without a visit — food and water can be left, but nobody is checking whether the cat is unwell.
7. Write the instructions down rather than explaining them.Feeding amounts and times, medication with exact instructions from the vet, where things are, the daily routine, what the animal is frightened of, and what is normal for it. Verbal handovers do not survive a fortnight.
8. Leave explicit veterinary authority.Your vet's name, address and number, your policy details, written permission for the carer to authorise treatment, and a contact number for you. Tell your practice who is caring for the animal and that they may bring it in. Set a cost ceiling if you want one, and say what happens if it is exceeded.
9. Do a trial run.One night in the kennel, or one day with the home boarder, weeks before the real trip. It tells you whether the animal copes and it means the first night away is not also the first time it has ever been there.
10. Prepare for the return.Expect a day or two of unsettledness, a dog that sleeps heavily, or a cat that is aloof. Kennel cough can appear a few days after boarding despite vaccination, and a persistent honking cough should be reported to your vet by phone rather than by walking into a waiting room.

Tips

• Send the animal's own bed and an unwashed item of your clothing. Familiar smell does more for settling than anything the provider can supply.
• For a nervous cat, a sitter who is a neighbour the cat already knows beats a stranger with better credentials.
• If you use a friend or family member, write the same instructions down that you would give a professional. Most problems with informal arrangements are information problems, not willingness problems.

Common mistakes

• Putting a cat in a cattery when a sitter would do — Cats bond to territory. For most cats, staying at home with visits is significantly less stressful than being moved, though a cat that needs medication or close monitoring may be better in a cattery.
• Leaving a dog alone overnight with a neighbour dropping in — Dogs should not be left alone overnight. It is not comparable to a cat, and it is one of the situations where separation problems and destructive behaviour begin.
• Not leaving written veterinary authority — A carer who cannot authorise treatment and cannot reach you faces a genuine problem. This takes two minutes to write and matters more than everything else on the list.
• Booking a provider without checking the licence — Licensing sets minimum standards for space, staffing, hygiene and emergency arrangements. It is a free check and a meaningful one.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask