Our cats are family and we want the best for them whether we are at home or away. This makes the decision of how to choose a cat sitter that little more challenging. Wanting to find the right person for the job can be a bit daunting, but with a bit of help and some consideration about what you’re looking for, you will be sure to find the right one for you and your pampered puss.
How to choose a Cat Sitter
If you have ever typed ‘Cat Sitters’ into Google, you will know about the abundance of websites, posts and advertisements that come up. It can be an incredibly overwhelming experience when you are already working on planning a holiday or trip. In this post, I want to offer you some advice and tips to help you to make the decision faster and feel confident that you have the right person for your cats.
Things to consider:
How much time does your cat need for human interaction? This can be from a needy point of view or from their care needs e.g. do they need special supervision while eating, medication being administered, are keen on spending time with people, or happy to be alone etc.
Do you want the sitter to be very local to you?
Have you got extra needs during the sit? Things like having the curtains closed and opened, sorting post, taking the bins out and watering plants.
How many visits per day would you like? Or are you looking for someone to stay in your home as a house sitter?
Are there other animals needing to be looked after during your holidays? The family guinea pigs, stick insects or fish need to be considered too, and not all cat sitters will look after other animals.
How much are you willing to pay for their care. Cat sitters charge a variety of prices depending on experience, amount of time spent with the cats and distance from the sit, among other things. You need to compare service with price, and how much you can pay.
Do they come recommended by someone you know or another cat sitter? It is worth asking around. You might discover that a friend or neighbour has a cat sitter that they would highly recommend for your furry friend.
What to check for with any cat sitter
They are DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checked. This means that they have had a background criminal record check. They should produce a recent one for you to see at your Meet & Greet.
They hold comprehensive insurance. This covers them for any eventualities where keys might be lost, and any incidents with your cats and home. It gives you peace of mind that someone is conscientious about their work and can reimburse costs if anything should happen to go wrong.
They offer a free Meet & Greet. These meetings are an important opportunity for you and the cat sitter to get to know each other, for your cat to meet their potential carer and to ask questions. Keeping them free means that you get the opportunity to meet multiple sitters to find the right sit before committing to someone you don’t know.
Whether they have any testimonials or other clients you can contact. It is always reassuring that you can read about the experience of other cat owners.
When it is time to choose a cat sitter, it is a useful checklist to follow. The most important thing, after checking the formalities, is that you get a good feel for the sitter, ask questions, and chat about their experience or own cats. Make sure your cats are comfortable with the presence of your potential cat sitter. Your feline friends will be the ones spending time with the sitter, so you’ll want to be sure they will be happy during the holiday.
I hope you now feel more confident when it comes the time to choose a cat sitter. If you have any questions, please do pop them in the comments and I will answer them for you either here or in another post.
