Hi Guys

Wanted to get some feedback on how difficult it will be to get a cat sitter over the Christmas period near Nyon. We have just moved over to Switzerland and my 10 year old moggy will have had all his jabs and certificates in place to move him at the beginning of December.

We have a family holiday booked for a week over the Christmas period and I was just wondering whether it would be easier to relocate him after Christmas as it appears pretty difficult to find cat sitters/kennels.

Due to the fact that we are currently commuting between Switzerland and the UK (week in the UK followed by week in CH) until December it may be best to leave his move till January. What do you think? Thanks ahead for any advice you can give me.

It would seem a no brainer to me to just postpone his move over here by a month. I would imagine over the xmas period your only choice will be to put your cat in a cattery - I don't think many people will want to cat sit over xmas - we always stay here at xmas rather than fly home due to knowing there is no chance finding someone to look after our dog over that period

Anyway good luck in your search if you do bring him over before hand

I actually had no problem to find a good person to take care of my dog last Christmas when I went home over the holidays for 2 weeks. I would not feel too happy to leave her in a kennel over the holidays

well me neither hence why we never go away - i suppose really i have never looked due to thinking most people would not want to dog sit at xmas

We also have a hard time finding sitters for "hot" periods such as xmas and August and the past few summers we have brought them with us on holiday. There are quite a few hotels that allow this. I don't know if this is possible for you but would you consider taking your pets with you on vacation?
Cheers
L.

Yeah I know, it is not the best time, I think I was very lucky with the girl I found (a girl who always wanted a dog, but always got no from her parents...). Yeah... I should buy her a present or something, keep her happy...

yep definitely keep in her good books, what's her number

Thanks everyone for the advice I thought a delay in his move would be for the best until we are more settled and got to know of any local sitters.

From what I have found out about catteries/kennels they seem to be open plan, which although my cat is used to catteries, I'm not sure he would welcome sharing his space with others (although a friendly soul it may end up being a bit traumatic for him), am I correct in thinking this?

Also wanted to add that the Nyon SPA also boards animals when owners are away, including cats. Always alot of boarders there when I've visited. Not sure if you have to be SPA member, but not very much to join if need be. Know a lot of people who use it and are very happy with it.

I read about www.petagentur.ch. I do not know, which area they cover but you can try.

I was researching catteries a few months ago for my very skittish cat (he gives the phrase "fraidy cat" a new meaning ) and I knew he would not do well in an open-plan cattery which was almost all I saw. I did find a place in Mies that boards cats in separate kennels and lets them out daily for play/interaction/brushing with staff. It is a very nice and clean place at a vet's office and the vet speaks fluent english as well! I just called and unfortunately they are closed from Dec. 24 - Jan. 4 so it won't help for the holidays, but generally very good.

http://www.veterinaireonline.com/index.html

Thanks guys for all your advice, but whilst my son was here (speaking fluent french, not like his mum) he got speaking to the neighbour who is happy to help over the Christmas period. Being new to Switzerland I don't want to insult my lovely Swiss neighbour. Money wasn't discussed although I am more than happy to pay. Can you suggest an amount or maybe it's less insulting to give a gift?

I will need to find a vet once I bring him over at the beginning of December and the one you advise sounds great, I will give them a call once we have him settled.

I do have one more question(s) you may be able to help with as I plan to drive him over. I am guessing that I have to stop at the boarder and register him, with his certificates etc. Do they then adjust him tag address or do I have to take him to a vet's? Also I have heard that some countries require that the UK vet has to confirm worming and flea treatments, has anyone come accross this?

How about a lovely bottle of wine or flowers? My breeder (she's Swiss) kindly took my dog for a weekend sometime back when I couldnt find a sitter. Since I didnt know her wine preferences, I got her a bouquet of cream roses as a gesture of thanks, when we collected our dog. She seemed really pleased.

Cant help with the procedure of driving a dog in from the UK but I am sure someone else will come along shortly.

We drove our dog over from the UK when we moved here, and went straight through the border without being stopped. We had all the paperwork for her ready in case it was needed, but the border guards just waved us straight through. I assume it would be the same for cats.

I would suggest getting registered with a vet fairly soon after moving here, dogs have to be microchipped and registered with ANIS (the microchipping register people out here), but I'm not sure if the same has to be done for cats, it would be best to check with the vet when you register with them.

Look on the APHIS website for the importation of pets into Switzerland. When we came with our two dogs through Zurich airport, we needed all the paper work, had a tax to pay, and then had to get them registered within a short period of time at the vets. I found that the Swiss national vets office was very, very helpful and sent me personal replies to questions I asked. Their email address is info@bvet.admin.ch. Best to get it all in order rather than risk anything with your kitty!

hi everybody, i'm living at wollerau and i'm looking for some dog or cat or anykind of animals to take care, dog-cat sitting, dog walking ... i can move around to your place till zurich for example.

i've already worked with a lot of different kind of animal, even wild animal like Jaguar or monkey .... so i'm pretty capable to take of your animals !!
i'm free every day of the week and i do that because it's my passion so i realy don't charge a lot : 10 CHF / day !!
you can contact me anytime
merci

We drove our cat here but we were not stopped at the border. But I guess they might just control the pet passport with rabies vaccination and microchip ID, which are the only requirements (no other vaccinations, not worming or fleas treatment, only rabies and microchip)
In fact, I know that you don't need to register a cat by authorities, but you can register him by the ANIS (Animal identity number) with his microchip number just for your peace of mind in the case he/she might get lost.