Someone who has multiple pets - help me out, please

cameragirl21 wrote: Ok, so you may remember the cat I had that had the cancer scare that turned into a hairball last summer? Well, after a long series of illnesses and 30k in vet bills, yes, you read that right, 30k in vet bills, she tragically passed away on June 2, 2008. I was so devastated by her passing that I never posted about it as it's still hard to talk about. I may post her story one of these days because it really is an amazing story.
Anyway, my cat was a Persian mix and I'm quite partial to Persians. About 6 weeks ago someone gave me their 1.5 year old Himmy, whom she couldn't keep because she was allergic to her. The cat has been fun to have around and I do love her but I can't say I've truly bonded with her the way I bonded with my other cat who passed away, not even close.
By a series of odd circumstances, I recently got a Persian kitten whom I've posted about in an earlier weaning post. She will be 9 weeks on Friday. The two cats play together but the kitten is definitely my baby and my Himmy is very jealous of her. They do love to play together but my kitten actually bullies my Himmy sometimes and chases her around, bugs her, etc. My Himmy can be a bit rough with the kitten, pawing her in the head, etc. My Himmy is front declawed (by the previous owner, not me) and obviously the kitten isn't.
My question is this--I'm planning to leave town for about 4 days from next Monday thru Thursday and am having a pet sitter come to take care of them. My kitten is starting to do well with dry food but she still prefers to be hand fed and I need someone to come and make sure she eats because she is so little. My Himmy is fine all by herself, I think. The thing is I haven't had either of them that long and have never left them alone. Both are rather attached to me and Idk how they'll be for 4 days without me. My kitten is very active and runs and hides, etc. My plan was to separate them--lock the kitten up in my bedroom so there are limited places she can hide and the pet sitter can easily find her to feed her and also so they don't fight...I do leave them alone together when I'm gone throughout the day but I'm afraid my Himmy may get too rough when I'm gone for so long and they'll both be freaked that I'm gone. For those who don't know the Persian breed, they are not aloof and independent like most cats, they are very attached to their people and prefer people company to cat company. They do not do well without people company. I want them to be safe but not lonely, they do love to play together but sometimes get out of hand.
I've never had more than one cat at a time, in fact, the Persian mix I had was my first pet cat altogether. Would you leave them together or separate them? Sorry this got long, I am really not sure what to do....

lisar replied: Have you thought about one of the cat hotels. I know Miami has them. They will keep them seperate for you and they will hand feed the one that needs to be hand fed.

cameragirl21 replied: I have thought about that, Lisa, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable taking them somewhere, cats are very attached to their homes and I'm afraid that will be a double whammy for them. Plus, would the cat hotel keep them together or separated?

Celestrina replied:
That probably depends on the hotel. Do you have a room big enough that they could both stay in? It is totally normal for cats to play a little rough, no matter how old they are. If they were really fighting, blood would have been shed.

cameragirl21 replied: my house is a pretty decent size, I was going to just let them stay together loose or lock up my kitten in the bedroom and give my himmy the rest of the house. I know they're not fighting for real but how will they react when I'm gone for so long? They both cry when I leave and are eagerly waiting by the door when I get back.
And my bedroom is pretty big, it's more than enough room for my kitten to stay in for 4 days and have plenty of room to run around and play.
eta--in case anyone is wondering, a himmy is really a color point persian, only in the US do they get a special breed distinction. I mention this just so there's no confusion in my referring to them both as persians.

Danalana replied: I had had my dog, JoJo, for 7 years when we got Sugar (right before we got married, and she stayed with me). JoJo HATED her at first. He would snap at her because she wanted to play, and I felt so bad. I remember having to leave them, and I was so afraid I would come home to find Sugar dead...but they did fine! It turns out that they just stayed away from each other a lot of the time. I think your cats will be fine to leave alone (even though a sitter will be there). They'll adapt to it until you return

cameragirl21 replied: Thanks, Dana, I guess I needed to hear something like that, I so don't want to separate them but don't want to come to find blood either. Btw, the pet sitter won't be staying here, she will just come each day to make sure my kitten eats and to make sure all is well.

Danalana replied: Yeah, that's what Richard's mother did for us. We were gone for 9 days and everybody was fine!

Kaitlin'smom replied: We have 3 cats and while the oldest and middle dont get along all the best (they have territory issues) I woudl never lock them up separate while we are gone. They have moments where they do get along. Mine fight/play fight all the time usually at night when I am tring to sleep, slilly kitties. Anyway personally I woudl not separate them, it might make the kitten really resentful of you and the other cat. Your time away might be good for them to bond and since you have someone comming to check in on them I think they will be fine. However you know them better so you need to do what you think is best. good luck

luvmykids replied: When I had cats and had to leave, I made sure to have their food well separated so that if they were fighting and someone needed to hide out, they still had food and water. Mine were territorial and fought but once they each found their own favorite spots, they were fine.

I hate leaving our animals, even with someone staying here, I know it's hard not to worry

eta: My cats would have gone absolutely BONKERS if I locked them up, period, unless yours are used to it I wouldn't.

lisar replied:
What ever you prefer is what they would do. They have them that are big enough for both. I know the ones here are really nice.

punkeemunkee'smom replied:
Is there now a wing in the vet hospital dedicated to her?

I guess that your trip will take care of the weaning question you asked yesterday. I have never heard of it being a great idea to lock an animal in a room when they normally have free run of the house. They tend to get irritated and take that out on whatever they may find in said room Cat urine doesn't remove well from shoes and such

cameragirl21 replied:
haha, actually, she had a history of kidney stones and her only working kidney dropped its stone and it blocked off her ureter. The er doc told me to put her down right then and there but I refused. 10 grand in surgeries and 12 days in the hospital in Miami and then I flew her to the University of Pennsylvania Vet Hospital as there is a specialist there who is able to stent a ureter as the Miami surgeries didn't do the job. Another 10 grand and 12 days in the hospital in Philly but other than the circumstances, I so fell in love with Philly. Then regular vet visits and meds led to another 7 grand or so and then 3 grand for her final weekend in the hospital. She really was worth every penny but it did a job to deplete my savings.
It's still hard to believe that after everything I still couldn't save her, she died of something completely unrelated to kidney disease, in fact, no one knows for sure what killed her, most likely it was sepsis. But the last six months I got with her were absolutely priceless.
Now, of course, I'm terrified of my new kitten getting sick or hurt. My Himmy is very healthy, just feisty.

jem0622 replied: 30k in vet bills...holy smokes.

Anywho...I would not separate them. They will learn to tolerate each other. We have 3 cats; 2 are 11 and the other is 4 months old. The older ones still protest her existence...but they do learn to tolerate each other. I would, however, have two litter boxes. Some cats detest sharing that space...especially opposite gender.

cameragirl21 replied:
They're both girls but I do have separate litter boxes for them, still they get into each other's.
And yeah, 30 grand adds up fast, but truly, I would have done anything for her. I was leaning toward separating them but I think now I'll keep them together and ask the pet sitter to split them up if she sees any sign of harm on either.