How to keep your cat during the trip around the world?
Those who know me know that I am completely gaga about my cat Rosalie, whom I had to leave in France reluctantly during the world tour
The question “who to leave Rosalie to” occupied my mind for several months
Who to turn to?
Naturally, we look back to the people who looked after Rosalie during my summer vacations: my sister, my girlfriends, the cat-sitters. However, keeping a cat for 11 months requires, in addition
- an excellent knowledge of cats (and diseases): Rosalie being cardiac
- the same vision as I have on Rosalie’s education and protection (e.g. food, window protection etc.)
- an environment equivalent to the one Rosalie had before (i.e. without cats, because she’s a little bitch)
So, in theory, it gives you a choice
- our family
- our friends
- the cat-sitters (animaute.fr): the advantage is that it will be like at home. The cat will be able to sleep with his cat-sitter, just like at home. However, it is better not to entrust your cat to students, you never know where they will be in 11 months. Your cat must be tested and vaccinated.
- pensions for cats (animaute.fr): the advantage is that they meet all the requirements in terms of hygiene, and they have an excellent knowledge of cats. Some pensions give (protected) access to the garden. The disadvantage is that the cat will not be a single cat, he must be sociable with his fellow cats… and will not be able to sleep with the owner. Your cat must be tested and vaccinated.
- foster families of cat protection associations, who may agree to keep one free of charge; or in exchange for a small donation to their association (see the Rescue-forum.com website). Since they also do some rescue, the environment is a bit riskier, it is absolutely necessary that your cat be tested and vaccinated.
The last option, which I am not talking about, is to bring him with us. But Rosalie isn’t a dog, it would have been hard for her
My choice naturally stopped on my sister, who doesn’t have a cat at home yet, and whom I can disturb regularly to have pictures or Skype sessions with Rosalie. And who loves her enough to put up with her nonsense (yes, you saw it, she was sitting on my laptop) 
Preparations
Rosalie having been adopted from an association, so she is in good standing for all the points mentioned below, but if it isn’t the case for your cat, I list them below
- make the cat flea: the chip is preferred to the tattoo (we plan to take Rosalie with us during our future tour of Europe, now that the rules have been simplified). The identification of the cat allows us to find her if she is lost/picked by the pound. Beware, at the pound, an unidentified animal risks death !!!
- make sure that the contact information in the ICAD (national identification file) is that of the person who keeps the cat. That way, if Rosalie is lost, it is my sister who is contacted and not me 10 000km away. At the pound, the owner has only 7 days to pick up his cat. This change of contact information is done online (if you already have your ICAD identifiers), or at the same time as the cat is identified, at the vet.
- have a European passport made for the cat (optional) 10€: always with a view to future expatriation. Please note that the vaccine stamps on the vaccination booklet aren’t valuable, only the stamps on the passport can be used to justify the rabies vaccine abroad
- One week before the vaccine: deworming the cat (apparently this makes the vaccine more effective)
- vaccinate the cat: the 3 usual vaccines typhus, coryza, leucosis (80€) + anti-rabies (10€), every year. Attention, if the 3 usual vaccines are done for the 1st time, it will be necessary to make a recall one month later.
- have the cat tested: FIV/FELV tomake sure that it can live with any animals in the host family. This test is requested by professional cat-sitters and host families of associations
- have the cat spayed or neutered: this is requested by professional cat-sitters and foster families of associations
- (optional) inform the association/breeder where the cat was adopted of the temporary change of ownership and the contact information of the new owner.
Know that all this can be done in 1 time at the vet. The cat will be put to sleep, then sterilized, chipped, tested and vaccinated all at the same time. In case of booster shots, you just have to come back a month later. For a male cat, all this must cost around 300€, for a female 400€
The “handover”
2 weeks before our departure, Rosalie is already at my sister’s place, just to see how she adapts and also to empty your apartment without disturbing her. We gave my sister
- Health record + passport + name of the vet who has been following our cat for years (if you have all that, otherwise a few lines about his health are enough)
- Name of the kibbles, where to buy it + sufficient stock for 3 months
- Name of the litter, where to buy it + sufficient stock for 2 months
- Rosalie’s favorite cases
- Invitations on Google Calendar to remind people of vaccine dates
- Every month, a transfer of 45€ is sent to my sister to cover the expenses of my little princess
- (optional) I also helped my sister protect her window
Rosalie during our world tour
As you can see, she’s still a chip off the old block. But she seduces everyone with her little princess face. So she can sleep on a very expensive coat without getting yelled at!
She even travels by train
She got her booster shot as planned from another vet. We had a few Skype sessions with her, I can’t tell you if she remembers us 😀 She looks very happy and that’s the most important thing!
And when we miss Rosalie too much
We have some videos of her to watch without moderation..
And then, we met other cats too, that we don’t dare to pet (for fear of getting ringworm lol), but that we can play with
In some countries, you can also go to a cat bar🙂
