I have two kitties that are about to turn six months old. One of the cats has medium hair and we are considering getting professional grooming for him because neither I nor my partner feel comfortable cutting his hair for sanitary reasons, plus the extra fur makes it difficult to clip his nails compared to his brother.
Our kittens are connected, and the cat we aren’t planning to take to the groomers has never been left at home alone. He gets upset being alone in a room and constantly wants to be with his brother or one of us, so I’m concerned that he’ll become stressed out being alone. I’m trying to decide if it’s better to bring both cats with us so the one cat doesn’t have separation anxiety, or if it’s better to leave him at home with a high-reward treat so it’s less frightening for him. If we bring him with us, he will always be in a carrier because he is quite curious and I don’t want him to get into anything he shouldn’t.
In the future, either I or my partner could stay at home with the other kitten, but for the first few trips, both my partner and I intend to go to the groomer. This would be the first time the cats have been separated for more than a few minutes/half an hour, and I’m simply trying to figure out how to handle it in the long run if one of them needs an emergency vet visit.
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I believe that being alone for an hour will be significantly less traumatic than being loaded into a carrier and taken to the groomer. With the noise, odors, and jostling around, these may be very stressful environments.
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It’s preferable to get kids used to spending small periods of time apart. In cases such as this, where one needs to go to the vet while the other must stay behind, and so on.
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It is also possible that the house cat will react when the groomed cat returns home. The groomed cat will smell different, and the home cat may be confused. It will pass; just a heads-up.
He needs to become acclimated to separations, which are unavoidable due to vet care or other reasons. He’s still young, so some clinginess is acceptable, but being separated for a short period will not hurt him.
You may work on this with him in a variety of ways just by closing them in separate rooms that are not connected. (No paws beneath the doors, etc.) At first, you were present all the time, then only half of the time, and last only with some concealed snacks and toys to find. Take them on brief car rides separately. It is a good idea to ensure that kids are not terrified of transportation; this makes dealing with situations much easier.
@DaisyFurman, they will be fine. I have two bonded kitties myself. Don’t torment a cat unduly; they won’t give a damn, We have had to take them to the vet separately for longer amounts of time, and no one batted an eye. It was simply “Oh hi, you were gone?” Okay, hello.
Even if they do cry, one hour of alone time does not kill or traumatize anyone. They are just bored. If someone chooses to stay and play, they will not care.