So, I keep toying with the idea of adding another day to our January trip. I have currently planned for 8 days, and budgeted for 8 days… but with SWGE and us taking a day to go to Universal, 9 days just sounds a little bit better. I have not booked anything yet, so nothing is set in stone.
Aside from the extra cost to add another day… the thing that ultimately prevents me from doing it is leaving our cat, Rocket, at home. My best friend will be living at the house while we are gone, but Rocket is an easily frightened kitty that is wary of “strangers”. She has met my friend many times, but is still nervous around basically anyone but me and my husband.
How long do you guys leave your pets at home? Do you miss them while you’re at WDW?
We have left the DCs at home for up to two weeks, but with either someone staying at the house or someone checking in on them every day. DD, however, goes to Doggie Day care, which also does vacation boarding. He loves it - it is a great place, and he comes back exhausted from playing with all his friends the whole time.
I have 4 fur children: 2 dogs and 2 cats. The 2 dogs go to my mother-in-law’s house. She has a fenced in backyard so we don’t have to worry about them. They enjoy going to Nana’s house. The two cats stay at our house. Either my mom or my sister go check on them daily and collect the mail. Neither of them are very needy and are quite content being left alone.
Our dog goes to doggy daycare/overnight care while we travel, the longest we have left him was 12 nights I think. He does fine, loves it as far as we can tell.
leaving my dogs is the hardest planning part of my trips. making sure they’re cared for in advance is a priority. they require someone at the house full time so they keep their routines and stay in their comfort zone. they (we) have separation anxiety. i’ve left for eight full days. at that point, i don’t believe another day or two would affect them (or rocket).
if you trust your best friend, everything will be great. if you can ask for updates and photos throughout the day, i’ve found that to be extremely helpful.
and, yes, i miss them terribly (and feel very, very guilty) but getting back home to them makes leaving wdw easier!
Yes, Rocket and I have separation anxiety as well! But you are probably right… another day probably won’t feel any different to her.
And it does help MY anxiety that we installed a Nest camera a few years ago… so we can check on her. If she’s anywhere on the first floor, we can usually see her. So that helps me be able to enjoy WDW when I can actually see she’s okay.
But yes - the only bonus - I look forward to seeing my kitty when I get home, so it makes the trip home much better!
I have 1 dog, 8 cats, 1 guinea pig, 1 hamster, 1 gerbil and 1 mouse.
The level of stress I get from leaving them for any length of time is unreal. Thankfully my brother has graciously agreed to stay at our house when we go down for 9 days this summer.
Will I still worry? Obsessively!
Will I call/FaceTime him multiple times a day so I can talk to them all? You bet your behind I will!
Do I owe my brother a case of beer for his trouble? Probably at least 3 cases lol!
Good luck to you!
Wow Jen! That is quite the family, i’m impressed! Man, I can’t IMAGINE your stress! But you are lucky to have such an awesome brother as a pet-sitter Better make that 4 cases of beer and a bag of chips
We have 2 dogs and will be boarding them at a doggy daycare around 9 days - we have never left them for that long - so alittle worried… they should be fine but again, still in the back of my mind though. Dont trust my mother or family members to take care of them.
I had 2 cats when I did the bulk of my trips down to Orlando (now I live here and have just one cat.) I always had a pet sitter come in twice a day to feed them, play with them, send me pictures, etc. A trusted pet sitter makes my trips so much more relaxing, although they can be costly.
I have left my husky with friends at their homes for up to 10 days before. I have found, for him at least, that the first day is the hardest for him, but after that first day has passed he very much is chill, goes with the flow, etc. As a result, we extended our trip from 7 days to 8 days once and it made no difference to him. If we are gone 2 days, he acts the same as if we are gone 10.
I always miss him the first few hours, when we are traveling to Disney and then I worry about him a touch at night. During the day, we are in vaca-mode so much…I kinda forget to think about him…
Better make that 4 cases of beer and a bag of chips 
