I live alone with my two cats, they are 1 year and 4 months right now. I'm doing a PhD, and will likely have to go on exchange for three months either this or next year, so the cats will be around 2 by then.
I asked me mom even before I started my PhD if she would be willing to take care of them while I was gone, and she has already agreed to it and it's logistically not a problem. She's been cat-sitting them before for 3-4 weeks while I was on a trip to Japan, she often steps by my place, so they are used to her already. They will be at her home for the three months, where they've been last time as well.
I guess I'm just super worried overall, because I've never been away from them for that long before (heck, never been away from my own country for that long before).
My mom has a little garden and my nieces (7-9) often step by, and I'm just super anxious that they're gonna accidentally open the door and poof, gone. I talked about this with my mom before my last trip and obviously she took care it didn't happen (in my defence, she did once lose my guinea pigs when I was a kid... which returned on their own thank god, but still).
I just can't let go of this deep seated fear something awful might happen while I'm away, like they either run away or get sick or something.
Has anyone tried anything like this before? How did you cope? Did your cats recognize you when you got back home? Will they be okay? Will I be okay??
How do I deal with this anxiety? There's still at least 6 months until it's even a possibility I will go.