Would you trust a "cat sitter" in your house for a weekend?

martin2345uk

Okay so having avoided one instance of having to leave Derek the Cat alone for a weekend, we now have a case where we really have to - a good friend is getting married in Essex weekend after next, and me and OH are going.

So what to do with Derek...

We'll be going on a Friday and returning on the Sunday so 2 nights.

We could try getting a friend to come by and feed him, but I don't really want to ask them to empty his litter tray, as the only friend who lives close enough is not quite "enough" of a friend to ask that of, if you know what I mean...

So I was thinking about these services you pay for where someone comes in and does all the pet stuff. But that would mean giving them the house keys - what do people think about that?

Any other suggestions? :-/

Thanks!

PasturesNew

I've been a cat sitter (well, friend with keys who fed/watered the cat and emptied the trays).... I was OK

If you don't want your friend to empty litter trays - and don't want a stranger to have keys - the middle solution is to empty your bin and fit it with a liner, buy a couple more/new/cheap trays and just tell your friend to toss the whole tray and litter into the bin each day.

When you get home you can deal with the bin of 2-3-4 full trays.

lostinrates

Yes, we have done.

When we lived in a city we spent weekends exploring other places. Our cats are very social and we decided we'd rather have someone come in and spend some time with them. We had a student who was advertising come in and she sometimes brought her boyfriend. I'm sure the cats saw lots of 18 rated activity, but it meant they were with people, which they love.

tea_lover

Whereabouts in the country are you (if you don't mind saying, ignore me if you do lol)... maybe some posters would have local knowledge of pet sitters?

GBNI

I would definitely go via word of mouth, make sure they are properly insured, checked etc. Or if you feel really uncomfortable would a cattery be an option? Or a home-from-home type set up?

codemonkey

Not quite the same thing but our dog walker has a key to our house. Before we hired him we made sure that he was police checked and checked references. We also checked how he planned to keep our key (in a locked keybox with our address stored elsewhere). Its quite a scary thing to give someone your key.

martin2345uk

Thanks guys.. I'm in south Manchester. I don't really know how to go about "vetting" someone like that - how would you go about ensuring they're insured/security checked?

Caroline_a

Never used a pet sitter, but wanted to say what a fab name!

martin2345uk

I've found a couple of professional looking firms online... Have emailed them, realising it's all a bit last minute this!!

martin2345uk

Caroline_a wrote: »

Never used a pet sitter, but wanted to say what a fab name!

Do you mean Derek? If so, it tends to get a mixed reception..!

PasturesNew

Well, if I were closer I'd look after Derek, but I'm on the south coast.

Luv kittiez