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

rustyboy21

Hi Martin


Is he up to date with his vaccinations etc? If so, why not try and get him into a good Cattery so you don't have the issue?


Have a look online for local ones, then go and visit them unannounced. That is what I did with Rusty and found one in St Helens, which he then went into for the next 14 years of his life, when we went away.


You will then not have the issue of getting a friend to change his tray, ensure he is fed ok and not be bored in the house by himself. If you start to get him used to going into a Cattery, by doing it for a few days, it will make it easier for when you want to go on holiday later in year. He will get used to it and at least you can ring the cattery up and ask how he is, if you are feeling guilty ( which I do all the time ! ). He will be safe and unable to run off and at least you know he will be looked after.

gettingready

My dog walker has keys to my flat so yes, people do it

for just 2 nights, frankly - would get an extra tray so Derek has 2 trays and ask friend to just feed Derek and give him fresh water.

One cat with 2 litters trays for 2 nights - will be perfectly fine. Without friend having to pick up "deposits".

For the future though, have a good look around and find someone you can trust with your cat AND house keys.

As someone above said - I too much rather have a professional stranger to have my keys then have a neighbor nosing around.

But honestly, for only 2 month I would not worry that much. 2 trays and will be fine.

Re cattery - as Derek is a rescue cat, I would worry he may "think" he was abandoned again so would nto personally do it.. not in this case

Hermoine

I've moved house quite a lot, so have now used cat sitters in 4 different places - always had good experiences. I've found them via vets notice boards, or local adverts and then interviewed them before handing over my key. All have had some sort of insurance in place - I've not asked about Crb - and most have been, quite clearly, cat mad, and offered me useful advice as well. They quite often offer to text either every day or at the start/ end of every holiday which is really reassuring. As a single person who works away from home a bit I feel generally reassured knowing someone has a key who I can text if I'm stuck away from home longer than planned. And I have a back up if I find myself in hospital or similar... My sister relies on neighbours to look after her cat when she's away, and then worries about litter trays etc - because I pay I feel no guilt!

coffeebean

I am a house/pet sitter, not with an agency, started out by looking after my sister's menagerie of animals in the country and it spread from there by word of mouth. I do have references, and paid for a CRB just so clients have peace of mind. I would strongly recommend that you contact your vet before anyone else, the Surgery should have a list of recommended sitters. If you really don't want someone in the house, then you can get timed feeders, and just put down plenty of litter trays and 2 or 3 dishes of water.