Cost of cat sitting/boarding

[mbcdefg]

We are (hopefully) going on vacation for a week pretty soon. We've got our two cats, plus FIL's two who are shut in their own room at our house.

None of them need meds or special attention. We just need someone to feed them and make sure they're, you know, still alive.

We had my siblings come feed them last time but they let us down (one cat got locked in the basement for two days because they didn't come over when they were supposed to), so I don't want to ask them again. A friend offered to help but his work schedule is tight and I don't want to inconvenience him.

I suggested having a pet sitter come check in on them but MH is hesitant to let a stranger into our house. Have you done this? Average cost? How to pick someone trustworthy? Very few of our friends have cats, and I doubt any of them employ a pet sitter.

I guess we could also board them at the vet. What does that usually cost?

[polarbearfans]

We have a pet sitter. He had great references and has been in business forever.

Current rates are $20 for a 30 minute visit. We do 2 visits per day (wet food). Cats love him more than they love us lol

eta: my husband was against a stranger too, but we got married out of town and all our friends and family were traveling too. Worked out so well that we have continued to use him for over 5 years and no longer ask friends to pet sit

[womet]

Aug 1, 2015 15:29:37 GMT -5 polarbearfans said:

We have a pet sitter. He had great references and has been in business forever.

Current rates are $20 for a 30 minute visit. We do 2 visits per day (wet food). Cats love him more than they love us lol

We have a pet sitter from a company who comes to our house daily while we are on vacation. We feed our cats dry food. I think the visit is 30 minutes and costs ~$25. The lady who we use is the epitome of the crazy cat lady. But I never worry when we are away.

[gummy]

I pay $19/day for a 30 minute visit. She administers meds, tops off water & food, cleans the litter box, waters plants and grabs our mail & packages. My cat is on several meds so she comes daily.

[kaylie]

I pay $18 a day for a 30 minute visit through a professional company. I found them on Angie's List and have been very happy with their service. They text me a picture every day so I know that the cats were cared for.

[drloretta]

DH doesn't trust strangers in the house, so we boarded our cat at a non-vet boarding place. $20/day and they sent me proof of life pictures, LOL

[spunkarella]

We had an awesome pet sitter, but it was a small family business and the business closed several months ago when the father lost his battle with cancer. We paid $15/day for one visit. The son came and did food, water, litter boxes, play time, brought in the mail, and sometimes texted pictures of the kitties. We originally found the business through care.com.

[yentl]

We pay $18/weekdays and $20/weekends for ours. Our kitties are low maintenance and for a week long vacation, we have the sitter come 2-3 times.

We found the company on yelp, but they owner changed about a year into us using them. We met her and she seemed reliable and was very good with the kitties. When we referenced different behaviors and products we used, she knew what we were talking about. That set me at ease. She was also responsive when I messaged, which is SUPER important to me.

I'll use friends or a neighbor still for shorter trips, but if we are going to be gone for longer than few days, I honestly prefer to pay a professional.

[VillainV]

We've boarded before, and it's usually between $15-$20 per day per animal (less if they can share the same cage). Given the choice, we'd MUCH rather have someone come by our house to feed the cat and play with her, but sometimes that's not an option. We've only ever used friends and neighbors, so we don't usually pay them (we do reciprocate with favors, gifts, house/pet-sitting for them, etc). I would imagine that in-home pet-sitting services would run at least as much as boarding, more if they come by multiple times a day. I wouldn't feel weird about a stranger as long as it was a licensed/insured company.

[Melissa W.]

This is proving my point to my husband that I do not over pay the kid next door at $20 per day for two dogs care.

[savan]

We have a pet sitter for our cats. It's $20 a day. She also gets the mail, waters plants, checks on the house, etc.

[Deleted]

I pay $17/day for a 30 minute visit. It's a company, I found them through my neighborhood association. They are licensed and bonded which was important to me. My guys love the sitter. She leaves report cards and texts me pictures. It totally eases my guilt of leaving them.

[awkwardpenguin]

We pay $15/visit on weekdays and $20/visit on weekends and holidays. Our cats eat dry food and are very independent so they actually only come every other day.

[alleinesein]

I charge $15 a day for cat sitting.

Our pet sitter charges $35 for 10 cats and that includes 2 visits a day.

[v]

We found our catsitter by calling the vet for a recommendation. The receptionist/vet tech does it, so we hired him.

We pay $20 a visit during the week (when he's coming from the vet's office a block away) and $30 on weekends (when he has to come from Brooklyn)

[mbcdefg]

Thanks all, I think we'll look into sitters to come to the house.

FIL's mother cat slipped out of the room when I fed them this morning. She got incredibly vicious with my two cats, cornered herself under a table, and it took an hour to capture her. So upsetting. No way could one of our friends/family handle that.

[1yeartogo]

I think ours is 30 a day and they come 2x since our cat has a special diet (they feed our guinea pig too). We went with a professional service since our animals need to be seen twice a day. Also they are bonded and insured have good refs etc. our pets are always well cared for and it reduces the stress. Our cat is way too high stung to go to a boarding place and be locked in a little cage.

[msmerymac]

I've done both boarding and pet sitting. I pay about $20 for both. One cat at my vet for boarding is $20-ish per night. The downsides are that they are closed on Sunday, so I can't pick up the cats if I get home that day, and that it's PER CAT and I have 3. The upsides are that one cat is one medication, and I don't worry about anything happening, like a medical emergency or the cats getting out or not getting fed.

I've also used professional pet sitting services that are normally about $20 per visit plus tip. The benefit is that it's much cheaper (though once we had to have them come twice a day when the cats were on a special diet), and the cats are much less stressed when they are at home.

[Deleted]

We have just asked our neighbours to do it that last two times. Gave them a thank you present worth about $5/day (a bottle of wine for one, a coffee g/c for the other). They also have cats and we'd happily repay the favour.

We used to ask friends/family, but the driving makes it a much bigger deal than just asking someone who lives across the street or beside us.

[mbcdefg]

MH is still insisting on having his friend come. Ugh. I would much rather hire someone.

[polarbearfans]

Aug 2, 2015 15:33:29 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

MH is still insisting on having his friend come. Ugh. I would much rather hire someone.

Just hire someone. Or at least have someone come out to your house to interview and meet the cats. The best part is always having someone who can come out. Decide to stay over night somewhere last minute? Not a problem to text the pet sitter for a last minute visit. When I went into labor early, our pet sitter came out no problem for the days we were in the hospital and even a couple visits once we were home (litter boxes are not top of the list with a newborn lol).

[mbcdefg]

I really want to just hire someone from our town but MH doesn't want a stranger in the house. He trusts our friend ... I do too, of course, but I think it'd be a major inconvenience for him.

We have nothing worth stealing. As long as the pets don't get outside then I have no worries.

[VillainV]

Aug 2, 2015 16:35:50 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

I really want to just hire someone from our town but MH doesn't want a stranger in the house. He trusts our friend ... I do too, of course, but I think it'd be a major inconvenience for him.

We have nothing worth stealing. As long as the pets don't get outside then I have no worries.

Major inconvenience like enough that you think he may not actually do it? Like he'll decide halfway through your trip that he doesn't want to or can't do it anymore? If you think he's reliable, I wouldn't worry. I would (and have) gladly go out of my way to cat-sit for friends even when it's a big inconvenience, because that's what friends do for each other. At least, that's what my friends and I do for each other.

[mbcdefg]

Aug 2, 2015 18:43:34 GMT -5 VillainV said:

Aug 2, 2015 16:35:50 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

I really want to just hire someone from our town but MH doesn't want a stranger in the house. He trusts our friend ... I do too, of course, but I think it'd be a major inconvenience for him.

We have nothing worth stealing. As long as the pets don't get outside then I have no worries.

Major inconvenience like enough that you think he may not actually do it? Like he'll decide halfway through your trip that he doesn't want to or can't do it anymore? If you think he's reliable, I wouldn't worry. I would (and have) gladly go out of my way to cat-sit for friends even when it's a big inconvenience, because that's what friends do for each other. At least, that's what my friends and I do for each other.

Nah, he's a good guy and he's an animal lover (he dotes on his own dog like a human baby), and he keeps his word. If he says he'll do it then he'll do it, even if he has to majorly go out of his way. His wife is also our good friend and could help if the H can't. We trust them 100% and would definitely thank them with a nice gift. 

The guy had a demanding job with long and late hours (law enforcement) and I just don't want him running himself ragged. I agree with you that that's what friends do, but I hate asking favors of my friends. We were at his house and I happened to say to MH, "Oh, crap, I didn't think about the cats while we're away" and our friend said, "I could do it, probably." I know he'd be happy to help if we asked him, but I think he had some hesitation in his voice just because he knows his schedule and it could be tight. 

Plus our friend doesn't have experience with cats. As I mentioned earlier in the thread, the mother cat escaped her room yesterday and had a major fight with my two cats - it's amazing that none of them, or MH and I, were injured. I wouldn't want to put my friends in a position where they'd have to deal with that. I feel like an experienced cat sitter would be better equipped to handle that situation and prevent it in the first place. We've nixed the vet boarding idea because my male cat and FIL's mother cat would be a nightmare. 

And I just think it's easier to pay someone who lives nearby, and does this for a living, to visit them once a day. Our friend isn't far, but that's at least 30 minutes out of his day just getting to and from his house. His hours can be weird and I don't want him to get off work at 3 a.m. and then worry about feeding our pets rather than going home. 

Finally, it could all be a moot point because we don't even know if FIL's health will permit us to even go on the vacation in the first place. 

[polarbearfans]

It sounds like you guys need a pet sitter. You really cannot beat the care provided by a professional. I get the not wanting a stranger in the house, but people don't stay in business for years by being untrustworthy. Pet sitting services are usually small operations with one or two people. It is not someone new every time. I checked BBB, angies list, and other reviews online plus called his provided references before officially hiring. I had him in our home to interview and he had great interaction with our cats. He is also registered He has a great reputation in the community we moved to last year since he actually lives in our new city.

Your vet can also provide referrals to pet sitters usually. Same with local pet stores.

He has our key on file. It has been great in emergency situations. Our vet also has our pet sitters information as someone authorized to bring them in if care is needed and that we will pay.

[mich1]

It does sound like you need a petsitter. I know that locally there are several that are good, but I've not used them. When we go away, the cat either stays by himself for a long weekend or he is kenneled at the vet. They're great, and cost me $12/day. I think that if you bring in more than one animal, you get a discount. The dog goes to grandma or gets kenneled if grandma is out of town.

[mbcdefg]

Thanks all.

We talked about it again last night and he's still insisting on asking our friend to do it, and only come every other day ... but "if you realllly want a sitter then I guess we can hire someone." *throws up hands*

I told him to contact his friend today and see if he's even available, otherwise this is all a moot point.