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10 Life Hacks for On-the-Go Cat Owners

April 24, 2017 by Mary Telesz

Cat OwnersOur cats are the loves of our lives. We love their jellybean toes, their sweet little noses. We love when they rub against us, nudging our arms with their soft faces asking for pats. Even when they meow for breakfast, or swat at overstayed bellyrubs, we adore our kitties. Still, most of us have lives outside of our cats: jobs, day-trips, vacations. We all feel the same pang of guilt leaving our precious kitties at home alone, the same longing to give them all of our snuggles and love. Well, we have good news! Don’t let distance get in the way of your love: here are 10 life hacks to care for your cat while you’re on-the-go!

1) Cat Drinking Fountain

When you’re away you can’t make sure you cat has access to water. Cats are already prone to dehydration, and when they get finicky or stressed they’ll reject food and water as an act of mini-rebellion. Make sure your cat stays hydrated while you’re out by investing in a cat drinking fountain. Entice your cat with the soothing running water of the cat drinking fountain. Cats are drawn to running water because, primally, running water indicates clean water while stagnant water indicates dirty water. Cat drinking fountains keep the water clean, fresh, and circulated, so your feline friend will never turn his nose-up at a bowl of water again!

2) Practice with the carrier

If you bring you kitty-cat companion with you when you travel, be sure to practice with the cat-carrier before you make long trips or extended trips. Cats hate confined spaces, and the carrier to them means, “I’m Trapped!” Cats are known to freak-out in cat carriers, becoming aggressive and stressed. Cats coping with the stress of the cat carrier will lash out, or go to the bathroom in the carrier. To get your cat used to the carrier so you can travel with ease, and your cat can travel in comfort, be sure to practice with the carrier. Put your cat in the carrier and go on short 10-20 minutes drives that end with a reward of their favorite treat! Cat Owners

Be sure to include a favorite toy or blanket to go in the carrier with them so that way the carrier smells, and feels, familiar. When your cat only associates the carrier with long-term confinement or trips to the vet, the carrier becomes a negative space. Practice short trips with the carrier that instill a positive predisposition to travel.

3) Leave Your Scent

When you’re away, your cat misses you as much as you miss them. When you’re gone, your cat may become stressed, lonely, or even depressed. Leave unwashed clothes on the couch, bed, or floor, for your kitty. Your kitty will love rolling around in your clothes and lying in your scent. Your smell will comfort your kitty, and reassure them that you will be back soon!

4) Window Entertainment

To provide your cat with happy stimulation, be sure to keep the blinds opened (and the windows secure) so your cat can worldwatch to their heart’s content. If your cat doesn’t have easy access to a window, think of investing in a window perch so your kitty has a dedicated space to relax and watch the birds. A stimulated cat is a happy cat! Keep your cat from being bored and more aware of your absence by distracting them with window entertainment.

5) Recycle to Play

For cheap, destroyable toys for your cat, give them empty tissue boxes and toilet paper rolls. These cardboard toys are a perfect outlet for stress or anxiety, so when you get home you simply have to clean-up a shredded tissue box rather than a shredded couch cushion!

6) Double-Sided Tape

To keep your cat off certain surfaces, use double-sided tape. Cats hate the sensation of having tape stuck to their paws, so when they jump onto the kitchen counter while you’re away they’ll get a harmless surprise! Apply double sided tape to any furniture or surface to establish a cat-off zone. This can protect your furniture from being scratched, damaged, or soiled, when your cat has free-reign of your home for extended periods of time.

7) Feed on Shallow Plates

Cat OwnersWhen you’re away, your cat is already dealing with anxiety and stress: when you add overeating to that situation, you’re asking for disaster! Cats that overeat, or eat too fast, will experience tummy troubles that may result in diarrhea or vomiting. There’s little worse than returning home from a long day’s work and finding hours-old diarrhea on your couch. Leave food for your cat on a shallow plate. The shallow plate spreads the food out so your cat can only get small, modest bites, encouraging them to eat more slowly and deliberately.

8) Green Tea Leaves in the Litterbox

When you’re on-the-go, you may forget to change the kitty litter or you may leave the kitty litter for longer. To safely minimize the strength of odors, sprinkle green tea leaves in your cat’s kitty litter. This will keep the litterbox smelling fresher for longer!

9) Leave the TV On

The constant sound of conversation coming from the tv will soothe your cat, while the colorful action will entertain. Whether it is an engaging animal program that will grab your cat’s attention, or daytime talk-shows that will drone and calm, the television can prevent your cat from feeling lonely, stressed, or bored.

10) Try Paw Pals!

We offer some of the greatest, most caring, pet services in Northern Virginia. We’re locally owned, so you know the sitter caring for your loved cat is going to personally care for, and tend to, all of your cat’s needs. We can come during the work day for short visits to check-in on your cat. We’ll play with them and give them a good dose of attention to get them through the rest of the day until you get home. For extended absences, we can visit your home for longer periods of time where we really play and care for your cat: playing, feeding, cleaning litterboxes, running any necessary cat-related errands, and administering any medications. We even offer overnight stays at our pet sitters’ home: one of our pet sitters will invite your cat into their home and family, caring for them 24/7 while you’re away.

Filed Under: Pet Advice

Contact Paw Pals for More Information

Paw Pals specializes in professional dog walking, dog sitting, and pet sitting services. One of our reliable, adult staff members will keep your pet safe, while providing your pet the love and care they need when you are away. Contact us to learn more!

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting, LLC
14001-C Saint Germain Drive #213
Centreville, VA 20121
(703) 345-1695

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Monday
9am - 5pm
Tuesday
9am - 5pm
Wednesday
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Centreville – 20120, 20121
Chantilly – 20151
Clifton – 20124
Fairfax – 22030, 22033
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Reston – 20191, 20190

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Paw Pals Pet Sitting
Paw Pals Pet Sitting
4.9
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith
21:22 03 Oct 21
I never worry when Mary and team take care of my dog!
Michæl Silva
Michæl Silva
21:38 01 Jul 22
Mary at Paw Pals Pet Sitting is the greatest! She has helped me train my pooch Chico how play nice with other dogs and for that I am extremely grateful! A+A+A+A+A+A
Kwi Kim
Kwi Kim
22:37 17 Jun 22
I hired Paw Pals based on my sister’s referral. Meet & greet was very thorough and detailed. I was surprised that my finicky cat came to check the sitter out. Subsequently, a sitter watched my cat over several separate visits, and it was clear through the visit reports that my cat loved the sitter. All the visits were completed having followed my directions & with professionalism.I would highly recommend Paw Pals to anyone who’s looking for a dependable, personable, & professional sitter.
Joseph Walter
Joseph Walter
19:55 13 Jun 22
Paw Pals provided a large number of photos of our pets along with a personalized message on how our pets were doing with every single visit. I would highly recommend using Paw Pals, we'll be continuing to use them whenever we go on vacation.
Ashley Manning
Ashley Manning
09:50 11 Jun 22
Highly recommend as pet sitters!Initially, a sitter from the company will visit the house to meet the pets and learn where everything is. Tatiana took careful notes and we got her some spare keys.While we are away, Paw Pals sends sitters to come and look after our boys. They feed them, scoop litter, bring in mail and packages, and they will even manage trash, recycling, blinds and lights so that everything is comfortable for our kitties. Each time they check in, we receive an email message with updates and pictures, which is so comforting when we are on the road.Also, if you don’t let Paw Pals know when you are home, they assume something has happened and will continue to care for your babies. If something were to happen, I know they would be okay.Five stars for Paw Pals!
Brian Wood
Brian Wood
04:08 22 May 22
We have used Paw Pals for a number of years now and would highly recommend to anyone looking for help with their pets. Great communication from owner Mary and flexibility to make adjustments in schedule as life changes over time. Have had a consistent set of walkers who have gotten to know our pup and the various walking routes around our neighborhood quite well.
Lesley Bush
Lesley Bush
13:58 18 Mar 22
We can't rave enough about Paw Pals. They took care of our 18 year old Cat and 20 year old Chinchilla while we were away and when our flight got cancelled, they were so accommodating and available last minute for an extra day. We worked with Jen to coordinate visits from Miko and Danny. I loved the pictures and updates on how our Lil geriatric guys were doing. Thanks a million, Paw Pals!! Our special pets were so well cared for.
Sebastian Barnes
Sebastian Barnes
01:06 17 Jan 22
I have used Paw Pals for several trips over the last few months, and they have been phenomenal every time! Mary is extremely kind and responsive, and she makes sure that my cat and dog have the care that they need every time I am out of town. All of the pet sitters that I've had have been incredibly sweet to my pets, and they treat them like their own! Will gladly continue using Paw Pals every time I need a sitter.
Julie Shildt
Julie Shildt
17:45 14 Nov 21
It has been a pleasure doing business with paw pals. We have used this company for several trips we have taken over the past 6 months. They have been wonderful caretakers for our 2 cats. Anytime there is ever a question they don't hesitate to give us a call and they leave the best notes and pictures in the emailed report of each visit. We are so glad have found such a great company.
Andrea Hall
Andrea Hall
22:45 03 Oct 20
I wasn't sure about hiring a new doggie walker service... after all they are our kiddos... my babies were in great hands and I felt relaxed having them in their care. Thank you for everything!
Katie McCune
Katie McCune
19:19 15 Jul 21
I honestly cannot recommend Mary and her whole crew enough! We started using Mary originally about 7 years ago to stop by occasionally when our Aussie Lana was younger. Over the next couple years Lana stayed with Mary and her family for a couple weekends when we went on vacation. When we moved to our new house in Manassas, Lana stayed with Sam, who lives in Manassas, overnight for moving day, and did great. Right before the pandemic, we adopted our second Aussie, Goose, and Mary recommended a fantastic trainer for him.We now have weekly walks for the dogs, and they love all of their walkers! Trevor, Paul, Hazel, Sofie, and probably a couple others have helped Goose get used to more people, and have helped my husband and me when our schedules are crazy.Paw Pals is our go-to for any help with our dogs, so I highly recommend them!
Alexandra Hill
Alexandra Hill
22:43 23 May 21
I was a nervous mommy to leave my cats with a sitter service for the first time. Paw Pals went above and beyond to care for my cats and ease a nervous mommy. I already made a reservation to use them again!
Cindy Welgoss
Cindy Welgoss
13:12 27 Nov 20
We have been using Paw Pals for several years, and through a variety of pets that we have loved. Mary and her team have always been *exceptional* in every way. They are professional, courteous, and truly love our fur family! Mary herself is an organized and stellar administrator of her pet care business, keeping detailed records of our pet’s needs, scheduled pet visits, payments, and balance due easy to keep track of as the pet owner. The pet caretaking team is reliable and trustworthy. When our dogs see any of their Paw Pal friends, they get SO excited to see them! Follow up comments are left via text to keep the pet owner informed of the visit and how the pets are faring. Paw Pals has allowed our family the peace of mind to leave our pets at home, for work, weekend getaways and longer times away when necessary, where they are the most comfortable and familiar. We are grateful to Mary and her team for giving us the ability to enjoy pet ownership without feeling tied down. The responsibility of having pets comes with the need to keep them safe and comfortable at all times, and Mary and her team affords us this when our family has to be away.
Dr Tammy Cashion
Dr Tammy Cashion
21:11 12 Mar 19
We have used Paw pals pet sitting on multiple occasions for our bunnies while we are away. Many pet sitters are not interested in small pets however; Mary and her team, are amazing and we trust her implicitly! We are very happy with the outstanding service we have received from her team including texts and photos of our pets when we are out of town. They always go the extra mile and we highly recommend them!
Kristin Conrad
Kristin Conrad
16:00 16 Nov 19
We are so grateful we found Mary and her team at Paw Pals. They are exceptionally responsive, amazingly organized and detail-oriented.We have such peace of mind when we travel knowing our home and pets are so well cared for. Paw Pals is the best pet sitting service we’ve used, and we’re so happy we found them.
Katie Russell
Katie Russell
15:01 17 May 20
Paw Pals is fantastic! I have had a great experience with Mary! Compassionate, professional, responsive, and prompt! Thank you!
Phillip Evans
Phillip Evans
14:38 11 Jul 20
When we adopted our new dog in January, Paw Pals agreed to walk her and give her some outside time so she wasn't in the crate all day. She loved her dog walker and you could see her excitement every time the walker showed up. We moved out of the area but would recommend Paw Pals to anyone needing someone to care for their pets.
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