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PetSitting Prices - What would u pay or charge?

post #1 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:13pm
Thread Starter 
Hey Everyone!

I need your advice - what would you charge or pay for pet sitting? I am starting to petsit and wanted some input as what my fees should be.. I was thinking..

pet sitting at their house (stopping by and cleaning cat boxes and feeding) - 6 dollars/visit (unlimited time or visits/day)
Pet sitting in my house (dogs staying with me and cats) - 6 dollars/day

Does that sound reasonable?

Thanks.
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post #2 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:15pm
it sounds like you are selling yourself way too short! Six dollars a day? If you ever want to petsit in Dallas.... you found a customer!
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post #3 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:16pm
Thread Starter 


I honestly haven't done sitting in soo long I forget what the fees are!
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post #4 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:29pm
I was pet sitting for a friend before, she had about 13 dogs and loads of cats (I just had to feed and water, with the occasional medication, no box scooping) and I got $20 a day, but I did have to drive a little bit..
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post #5 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:37pm
Thread Starter 
Does 10 dollars/day sound ok?

This lady (a vet ironically) wants me to watch her small dog (at my house) and just visit her house to clean the cat box for her two cats.

What do u think?
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post #6 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:39pm
$15 for a home visit, $20 for in-house sitting... And that's way cheaper than leaving them in a pet hotel...
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post #7 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:52pm
We give the daughter of a church friend $10 a day to take care of our dog if we have to be out of town for a few days.
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post #8 of 28
1/29/09 at 6:58pm
Pet sitting is so depending on the person you ask, the number of pets, travel and amount of care involved. In your situation it sounds like this person really trusts you (being a veterinarian) which is great! DO you have any pets at your house already? How long are you pet sitting for?
Personally I would schedule morning and evening visits with atleast 1 hour around each for the cats. Keeping the dog with you sounds best, as long as you have comfortable temporary living situation for him/her. It is best to give a weekly rate charge estimating time, travel, and expense involved. You already know your going to make sure all are given the best care and extra attention because that's the type of person you are!
Depending on your relationship with the person and experience involved, $120-$200 a week is fare.......
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post #9 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:23pm
We hired a pet sitter here for $25 per home visit, two visits a day, to take care of our one cat and three pet chickens. Unfortunately, the first night in her so-called care, she asked a neighbor to close up the chicken coop and he didn't know how to do it. A raccoon killed our pet chickens that very first night.

To add to it, she was very flippant about it, and briefly mentioned that they were dead in an email. It completely ruined our entire vacation. She complained in the email that she would not clean up the "mess." We are still heartbroken when we think of the terror our sweet pets faced.

We paid her 1/4 of the agreed-upon rate, since only one of our pets survived her "care."

Sorry to get into that... five years later it still hurts. I don't know how much pet sitters charge any more, no offense, I don't trust them.
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post #10 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampWitch View Post
We hired a pet sitter here for $25 per home visit, two visits a day, to take care of our one cat and three pet chickens. Unfortunately, the first night in her so-called care, she asked a neighbor to close up the chicken coop and he didn't know how to do it. A raccoon killed our pet chickens that very first night.

To add to it, she was very flippant about it, and briefly mentioned that they were dead in an email. It completely ruined our entire vacation. She complained in the email that she would not clean up the "mess." We are still heartbroken when we think of the terror our sweet pets faced.

We paid her 1/4 of the agreed-upon rate, since only one of our pets survived her "care."

Sorry to get into that... five years later it still hurts. I don't know how much pet sitters charge any more, no offense, I don't trust them.
OMG! That is so horrible! How could someone walk away from such irresponsible care and still except money! I hope this person is no longer a pet sitter! This is why I say this type of work/care is a delicate situation. Your experience is an example of the absolute worst that can happen!
Then she was a beotch about what she had caused..........She would have been lucky to get my 2 scents!
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post #11 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cheylink View Post
OMG! That is so horrible! How could someone walk away from such irresponsible care and still except money! I hope this person is no longer a pet sitter! This is why I say this type of work/care is a delicate situation. Your experience is an example of the absolute worst that can happen!
She didn't cash our cheque for months, either, I assume because she wanted to press charges. But I had not only walked through everything with her, I also left detailed instructions for her in the house. I looked her in the eye and said, "If you do not close both doors to the coop, the raccoons will kill our chickens." She said she did not want to wait around for them to go into the coop so she asked our neighbor to close them up.

She was referred to us by our vet; after we got home and I spoke with them, they quit recommending her.

(If anybody in the Victoria BC area is concerned about possibly hiring her, PM me and I will give you her name.)

Our family is still heartbroken over this. RIP Mrs. Cluckers, Heckle, and Jeckle.

Sorry to sort of hijack here...
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post #12 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:49pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampWitch View Post
We hired a pet sitter here for $25 per home visit, two visits a day, to take care of our one cat and three pet chickens. Unfortunately, the first night in her so-called care, she asked a neighbor to close up the chicken coop and he didn't know how to do it. A raccoon killed our pet chickens that very first night.

To add to it, she was very flippant about it, and briefly mentioned that they were dead in an email. It completely ruined our entire vacation. She complained in the email that she would not clean up the "mess." We are still heartbroken when we think of the terror our sweet pets faced.

We paid her 1/4 of the agreed-upon rate, since only one of our pets survived her "care."

Sorry to get into that... five years later it still hurts. I don't know how much pet sitters charge any more, no offense, I don't trust them.
OMG!!!!! That is the worst story I have heard... (((HUGS)))

What a monster! I would have tried to sue her but of course that costs money! Wow, my heart truly goes out to you

I don't blame you for not trusting people after that horrible situation.
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post #13 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampWitch View Post
She didn't cash our cheque for months, either, I assume because she wanted to press charges. But I had not only walked through everything with her, I also left detailed instructions for her in the house. I looked her in the eye and said, "If you do not close both doors to the coop, the raccoons will kill our chickens." She said she did not want to wait around for them to go into the coop so she asked our neighbor to close them up.

She was referred to us by our vet; after we got home and I spoke with them, they quit recommending her.

(If anybody in the Victoria BC area is concerned about possibly hiring her, PM me and I will give you her name.)

Our family is still heartbroken over this. RIP Mrs. Cluckers, Heckle, and Jeckle.

Sorry to sort of hijack here...
No, no it's completely ok! You are not hijacking at all. I am originally from BC. I know my older sister had a church friend watch her pets while her daughter was getting chemo and they (church friend) gave away ALL my sisters pets - 2 cats, a lemur (don't ask ), 2 doves, 2 budgies, 2 bunnies and some fish. Only got the doves back and the bunnies. My sister even took them to court over it and guess what - they won.

People are monsters!
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post #14 of 28
1/29/09 at 8:54pm
Thanks, guys.

I have refused to leave our (now) two kitties so when we went to the U.K. this summer, my husband arranged ahead of time for his mom to fly here from the East coast and house & pet-sit for us. Otherwise, I would not have gone.
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post #15 of 28
1/29/09 at 9:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jamiekitty View Post
No, no it's completely ok! You are not hijacking at all. I am originally from BC. I know my older sister had a church friend watch her pets while her daughter was getting chemo and they (church friend) gave away ALL my sisters pets - 2 cats, a lemur (don't ask ), 2 doves, 2 budgies, 2 bunnies and some fish. Only got the doves back and the bunnies. My sister even took them to court over it and guess what - they won.

People are monsters!
Please don't tell me that the church friend won the lawsuit... How did she justify giving the pets away? And your poor sister and her daughter, as if they didn't have enough going on in their lives already.
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post #16 of 28
1/29/09 at 9:05pm
I make about $100 for a 5-7 days or $150 for 10 days. That's for 4 cats. I drive 4 miles into town & back 2x a day. Several are on meds they require 2x a day.
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post #17 of 28
1/29/09 at 9:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SwampWitch View Post
We hired a pet sitter here for $25 per home visit, two visits a day, to take care of our one cat and three pet chickens. Unfortunately, the first night in her so-called care, she asked a neighbor to close up the chicken coop and he didn't know how to do it. A raccoon killed our pet chickens that very first night.

To add to it, she was very flippant about it, and briefly mentioned that they were dead in an email. It completely ruined our entire vacation. She complained in the email that she would not clean up the "mess." We are still heartbroken when we think of the terror our sweet pets faced.

We paid her 1/4 of the agreed-upon rate, since only one of our pets survived her "care."

Sorry to get into that... five years later it still hurts. I don't know how much pet sitters charge any more, no offense, I don't trust them.
I am so sorry that happened to you. I would have been heartbroken also. Sending you lots of
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post #18 of 28
1/29/09 at 11:08pm
Friend s and family I usually get 10-20 a day ... If I am not friends with someone 20-25 $ per day up to four animals ( 6 if only cats ).. But I spend no less than 2-3 hours a day playing with furrys
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post #19 of 28
1/30/09 at 3:19am
We have a very good petsitter, and I'm more than happy to pay the $18 hour she charges.
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post #20 of 28
1/30/09 at 4:55am
My cat sitter used to charge £3 per visit, for 2 cats, or £2 per visit for 1 cat. I thought that was ok, slightly cheaper than a cattery and they get to stay in their own home.
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post #21 of 28
1/30/09 at 7:09am
I pay my neighbor around $20 a day for 2 visits and feeding my 2 dogs and 3 cats. She is wonderful...I never have to worry for one single second.

I also sit for my cat breeder neighbor. She pays less and I bust my rear end tending to her 30-plus cats. However, she also gave me two pedigreed cats and she is a friend, so I put up with it...for now. I DO love her kitties and like to see them fed and comfortable when the owners are out of town.

Cally
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post #22 of 28
1/30/09 at 8:21am
Around here it's anywhere from $10-$20 per visit. My kits need 2 visits per day and that can add up fast. When we lived in Iowa I had a heck of a time just finding a pet sitter, then one that was GOOD.

Now that we're back in Wisconsin, we have my in-laws care for the critters when we're away. I know my MIL won't leave vomit all over the house so it's crustified by the time I'm home. And she would probably call me to tell me one of the cats is sick. My MIL doesn't charge anything. She likes to visit the kitties. I have a friend who regularly cares for a mutual friend's pets, so she's my backup.
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post #23 of 28
1/30/09 at 8:40am
I pay $23/visit. I think that is a bit high but the woman I use is someone a friend has used for many years. She is extremely responsible and I trust her to be able to take care of any emergancy (pet or house) that may come up. She will also administer meds if needed.
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post #24 of 28
1/30/09 at 9:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Miss Mew View Post
We have a very good petsitter, and I'm more than happy to pay the $18 hour she charges.
Our situation exactly.
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post #25 of 28
1/30/09 at 12:48pm
We gave a friend $40 and bought him dinner for coming in twice. We have a cat (who has an autofeeder and drinking fountain), two turtles, a lizard, and a hermit crab. He just had to change Nova's box (we used liners, so no need to touch the litter! I even left liners full of sand for him to just plop in the box), make sure the auto feeder was working, feed the lizard and turtles (crab eats very little, and we left him a lot of food), and make sure they all had water. Mostly we just wanted him to hang out because Nova gets lonely.

$20/day was still cheaper than having them all boarded. To have them boarded it would have been $13/day for Nova, and $10/day for the lizard and each turtle. ($43/day!)

I think your rates should depend on what's required of you.
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post #26 of 28
1/30/09 at 2:53pm
I was looking at prices because I am going on vacation for 10 days in may. The pet hotel here charges only $17 per one cat and $12 for every other cat. This is really cheap but they keep the kitties in kennels and I don't like that ..They say they take them out to play. I wanted to get a friend as a sitter but my parents don't trust anyone coming at the house. I really think that's best for the pets because i'm sure they'd rather be alone in a familiar place, rather than with strangers at a new place. But unfortunately I will give Jake to a very close friend to sit at their house, who doesn't want to charge anything but I will probably pay anyway or give a gift...
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post #27 of 28
1/30/09 at 3:52pm
I have not hired a pet sitter for over three years, because with the two I have now I need a vet tech level to stay at the house, hard to come by. But when I did I paid $25 each visit plus tip. The last sitter I had charged me $50 for the day to stay with my cat. The prices have gone up since then, especially the way gas is. I have had good experience with all I have hired, except one who worked for one of my vets.
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post #28 of 28
1/30/09 at 4:06pm
We charge $17 CDN per visit, which is half an hour (minimum). I would not expect to come home to cat vomit or unscooped boxes when you've paid someone to come in! We also frequently administer meds.
Our rates are comparable to other companies in this area, probably on the high side to be honest.
We are bonded and insured and frequently recommended by vets.
SwampWitch, that is heartbreaking. That woman should not be allowed near animals again!
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