Pet Sitting?

I think I waited to long and I'm going to have to find someone or set up all kinds of litter boxes, but how do I go about trying to find a pet sitter?

Before we got Radar we considered this, discovering that we lived closer to his workplace than a friend of Epona's did. If we need to holiday he just moves in and enjoys our fridge of beer and internet connection. I'm sure you must have friends willing to do a bit of cat sitting
The other solution must be a Cattery- some of those in the UK are great (like 3* hotels) but I'm unsure about the US. Have you done a search on Cattery's in your area or fallen on your knees to beg a relative?

I trade catsitting duties with my upstairs neighbours. They look after Gizzy when I am away. I took care of their three kits while they spent a month in Africa.

If I did not have the neighbours, I'd get a pet sitter who was bonded and had verifiable references. A vet might also recommend someone.

Good luck.

I'm not sure, I have never done it. Good luck though

When I moved to a new town and didnt know anyone to ask, I called around to several different vets in my area and asked them to recommend cat kennels. I made a short list of the ones that more than one vet mentioned and then called them and found out more, looked them up online for reviews/complaints, etc. After picking one that sounded nice, I went out to see it and after touring their facilities was happy with it.

Personal recommendation is good, but I think going with a vet-recommended place is also safe. The place I found rented a private 6ft by 6ft by 10ft tall area with lots of climbing areas and playthings, and a window overlooking a park for $14/day, though I'm sure cost varies by area. (this was in Wisconsin). My cat stayed there 10 days, and was happy to see me when I picked her up, but also seemed to be friendly towards the caretaker so I took that as a good sign.


Oops, just realized you may have more than one cat which gets expensive very quickly if baording, so a petsitter may be the way to go, but I dont have any tips for that.

Originally Posted by sapling

Oops, just realized you may have more than one cat which gets expensive very quickly if baording, so a petsitter may be the way to go, but I dont have any tips for that.

Click to expand...

Yeah I have 4 & the vet office I go to has a good kennel, but it would be almost $300 for 4 days & I just can't afford that. I've been working to get my Dad to come, but since he's not answering me I have a feeling I know the answer. There are a couple people I can ask. I used to have someone, but we lost touch. I also think I waited too long. I may end up buying a couple extra boxes & hoping for the best.

Out of curiosity where in Wisconsin? I'm in Milwaukee.

I googled "cat sitter" and my city name and found a ton. I made sure that the ones I called were insured and bonded and were members of the National Pet Sitters Association(or whatever it's called). I found three websites I really liked and they all volunteered to come to my house after work to meet with me and Carl, give me a list of references, etc.

We ended up going with a couple who run their own pet sitting business--the wife is a vet tech. I was very impressed with how professional they are--they send me daily emails when we are gone telling us how Carl is doing, they play with him a minimum of 30 minutes per day, pick up the mail, and will even get groceried if we want! Carl was on antibiotics when we went out of town, and I felt totally comfortable having Kim (pet sitter) give him his meds, and she even called me to let me know if he was getting better/worse.

All in all I was very impressed, and I find that Carl is much happier with that situation versus the kennel!

That seems to be typical of a good pet sitting service. It certainly is similar to what we have become accustomed to with ours.

You might also just scroll down to the bottom of this page, and click on Meowhoo.com, our sister site, where there are listings for many, many cat-related products and services. In the first listing, click on "Specialized Pet Services" and then on "Cat Sitters". Ours was not listed on there, because she was just starting up, but the service that recommended her (but does not cover our neighbourhood) was listed there. That reminds me, I keep meaning to tell Debbie to get herself listed.

Good luck in your search.

I've been to both of the Pet Sitting association web sites & bleive it or not there are not that many that do pet sitting in the area of Milwaukee I'm in. I've got calls in to both of the places I found & I have a couple friends I can ask, but I'm still nervous that I'm going to have to leave them for 4 days. I know it's not that long, but yesterday they had gone through the trash & I came home & found Isaac with the handle from a plastic bag stuck around his belly.

My mom's wonderful secretary has offered to take care of my brood. I'm still going to ask people who live closer because I feel bad she lives a ways a way. However, I feel very releaved that someone will be checking on them. I was so afraid I was going to have to leave them alone for 4 days.

I found our petsitter through our local vet.

I'm so glad you were able to find someone! That's once less thing to worry about!

Plenty advertise online and are licensed, bonded and insured.
You can compare rates this way too.

In my area, it cost $15/visit (feeding,meds,playing, and litter scoop). They also will water plants, collect mail, etc.

Also ask all the pet owners you know for sitter recommendations, whether "official" ones or not. I am a pet/housesitter and all my clients are from word of mouth.

My neighbours actually had a whole support team for their three cats, but I was there most frequently and played with them (the others just emptied litterboxes and fed them.)
The key thing is to make sure that strangers are bonded and insured. You, your house, and your kits should then be fine.

OK, a pet sitter is supposed to be calling this morning. I've sort of made up my mind that if he or she doesn't call today I'm not going to use the service, but just incase I need to know what to ask. I'm a little nervous about having a stranger in my house. I found this service on the National Association of professional Pet Sitters so I'm guessing it's OK. I know I need to ask about being bonded & Insured, but any other ideas about things to ask & inform them of? I know that I'm going to have to inform them of Jordan's personality quirks. I love him & his behavior is what makes him Jordan, but someone else might not appreciate being jumped at every time they try to leave the house. (I think it's adorable, but I'm used to a 13 lb cat hanging from me by his claws)

HAve a look at the FAQs on this site.

I was going to try and think of all the things we asked when we interviewed our cat sitter, and then realized that the site that led us to her had answered them well in the FAQs. (When they confirmed that we are not in their service area, we were nonetheless quite happy to accept a recommendation from them, which has worked out very well. Needless to say, the sitter they recommended also answered our questions to our satisfaction.)

I thought we had a TCS member in the Milwaukee area that did pet sitting??
We have left our cats for three days (enough food for about 3 weeks!!)
My friend who always watched our cats is no longer available so I am hoping either our neighbor or another friend who lives a couple of miles away will be able to fill in.

I did find a couple who have their own business and they are going to come take care of my babies. I'm still a little nervous about leaving them for 4 days, but the business seams very proffesional & I foudn it on NAPPS. It's just hard to trust someone else to take care of them.