What Do We All Think about Professional Pet Sitters?

[Satan'sFortress]

Mom of a cat, grandmother of a lizard. 

We may actually be going away this summer for about a week. We have always been lucky enough to have a friend stay at our house/pet sit when we go away, but that person is no longer available. We've also used neighbor kids to come take care of pets, but all the ones we knew and were close to have moved away. Has anyone ever used a professional pet sitter? I want someone who can some once a day. The lizard is really easy--just a food bowl change, minor-league scooping of droppings, and making sure the heat lamp stays on. Kitty would need food, litter box scooping and some play time.

I am not a trusting person, and the thought of a total stranger in my home is weird.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Coconut Flan

[Giraffe]

On 4/7/2021 at 1:05 PM, Satan'sFortress said:

I am not a trusting person, and the thought of a total stranger in my home is weird.

I don’t have an answer for you but this is why I board my cat in a cats only boarding & grooming facility. It’s more expensive but it feels too personal to have someone I’ve never met come into my home. I also know he’s not at risk of getting outside and that alone makes it worth the extra expense for me. 
 

I’ve been considering adopting a reptile (probably a tortoise) but “who would care for them if I’m traveling??” is a big reason I haven’t gotten one yet. 
 

I think @Jana814 is a dog walker. She might have some good advice about this. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by Giraffe
Spelling

[indianabones]

I'm a professional pet sitter. I've been doing it on and off for about a decade now, and until COVID hit I was making good money from it! I'm very professional- I do what my clients ask of me, I don't eat people's food or go through their things, I make the house look as though I was never there upon departure, and I treat the pets as though they're my own. I'm surrounded on a couch by sleeping dogs as I type this, actually. I'm a contractor for a pet sitting website (not going to name it on here but it shouldn't be too hard to narrow down.)

While I would hire a sitter for myself if I needed one, I think you should board your pet if you're uncomfortable with someone staying in your house and the pet isn't too stressed by boarding. If you do decide to go with a sitter, make sure you actually meet them first and either read reviews or get references from former clients. Unless they're just starting out, a good sitter will have them.

Edited April 9, 2021 by indianabones
Had to add obligatory sleeping puppy photo...

[Satan'sFortress]

Thanks to you both.

I think my cat would be more stressed if I boarded her.  She had a tough start to life and was passed around until she ended up in solitary at the SPCA (because she didn't get along with other cats) and we adopted her. If I think of it from her perspective, rather than mine, it seems clear that I should have someone come here.  Plus, I don't think there any such thing as lizard boarding!

[47of74]

Well I'm not a professional furball sitter but I have helped out watching my feline niece and nephews.  For my brother and sister in law I just live a few miles so I'd just hang out at the house for a few hours in the evening after work.  TK is pretty self sufficient so I would just have to clean out the litter box, sweep up the litter she always tracked out of the box, and then make sure her food and water were full.  She wasn't much for playing and sometimes would spend the whole day hiding.  I still don't know where all her hiding spots are in that house.  I also brought in the mail and sorted it for them.  He told me to help myself to some of his home brew beer if I wanted.

Then last fall and this spring my sister had me come over to her and my brother in law's place in Waukee to house sit and watch Marvel and London as they had to be out of town.  (First time I took vacation and second time I worked from her house).  That went pretty well too.  Pretty much the same duties as with TK - litter boxes, water, and food.  They liked to play sometimes but otherwise they'd just sit and chill.  I made sure to regularly give them treats too the second time I spent a week there because I forgot the first time.  I gave them extra treats so they'd associate me with treats and toys. 

Here's the furry niece and nephews in the spoiler. 

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TK

 

London (front) and Marvel (rear).

If I go up to Minnesota I think my sister has some friends and neighbors who could help her.  With my brother and sister in law if my mom doesn't help then my sister in law has plenty of friends and family who would probably be cool with helping out.

[Satan'sFortress]

@indianabones We hired a pet sitter for our vacation! She came tiday for a meet and greet. Both the cat and the lizard hid. But she was very nice and very professprofessional.  I am comfortable she'll do a great job. Thanks again for your input.

[indianabones]

15 hours ago, Satan'sFortress said:

@indianabones We hired a pet sitter for our vacation! She came tiday for a meet and greet. Both the cat and the lizard hid. But she was very nice and very professprofessional.  I am comfortable she'll do a great job. Thanks again for your input.

I'm glad that you had a good experience!

[LadyCrow1313]

Check with your local vet hospital. They may have staff members that do sitting, or may know outside people that do. I used to house/pet sit for friends & former clients (of the vet hospital that I used to work at) quite often myself, & it was a good experience. 

[47of74]

Yeah and this was all the furry niece and nephews at some point when furball sitting....

[zee_four]

I actually run my own small business of dog sitting and boarding. I take care of cats also. I moved back to Hawai'i to live with my dad and his family right before COVID hit, and I lost my serving job at the big Disney hotel during quarantine. I started taking care of dogs and found the Rover app which dies background checks for sitters and set up a profiler there. I used that to get and book clients but they take 20% of what you pay the sitter and by then I had developed a great relationship with lots of regulars so I barely use Rover anymore. I have basic cat and dog first aid and CPR training and have previously worked at and volunteered at a number oof shelters in Colorado, Utah and Hawai'i.

My two dogs who I love so much are on the mainland with my mom sometimes my brother. My mom is on open acreage and my brother has a fenced yard and two dogs of his own. My 10-11 year old rescue German Shepherd Alvin is too old to fly, plus I rescued him when a good friend of mine who had rescued Alvin when he was young, unfortunately my friend passes away and since he lived so far away and took time off work it was over 2 weeks when the Sherrif went to his house and found him. Alvin and his " brother" Buck were in the kennels without food or water the whole time. Buck passed away after a few days at the shelter and Alvin came home with me 2 months later after IV antibiotics, strict refeeding and medication. To put him in a kennel on a plane for like 10 hours would be cruel, and that's befire you take his age into account. It took a lot of love and patience to train him again after his experience 

Muppet is a now 2 year old rez dog thats definitely part heeler I rescued when she got thrown out of a moving truck full speed on a highway in Utah just north of the Diné or Navajo Nation when she was a baby, I thought she might be about 6 months later the vets said she was closer to 2 months when I rescued her. I had her set to bring after COVID but she's soooooo close with Alvin I can't separate them.

The whole point is because I don't have my pups I treat every dog or cat I care for like my own. I've done hikes, dog parks, administered medication, taken care of sick dogs and cats, you name it. I love my job and I've established such a good client base I didnt go back to the hotel when everything reopened.

I live with my 75 year old dad in an apartment who loves dogs and I can take care of him while I take care of my furnaces. I take online classes for my masters in social work and also work virtually on a project with UH Manoa and the Hawai'i Department of Health on overdise prevention, polysubstance abuse and implementing substance abuse services in rural Hawai'i for underserved populations. 

I'm writing this with one dog on either side of me and my 15 week rescue kitten on the other side of the couch.

I know this is a late post but if anyone has questions about finding a good pet sitter I'd love to help!

 

This is Kolohe (Little Rascal in Hawaiian) my 15 week old kitten. He was 9 weeks in this pic.

 

Behind the spoiler are pics of Alvin and Muppet totally worth looking at. ♡♡♡

Spoiler