Pet Sitters and You
Choosing pet sitters to look after your furry friend while you're away on holiday
can be quite a difficult decision and one that can cause pet owners
to worry the whole time they are away.
So choosing one that you can trust is all important to ensure both
you and your pet have a happy holiday.
The pet sitters industry is a relatively new one due to the fact that
the cost of travel has decreased so dramatically over the last thirty
years or so, making it much easier to take far away holidays.
Add to this the increase in pet ownership during the same time period
and we have a growing industry for people to earn money looking after
others pets.
Of course if you are lucky enough to have a good neighbour or a family
member that is willing to look after your cats while you're away, then
your pets well-being
and care while you're away is not something you will have to worry
about. Just make sure you bring home a nice big gift for your friends
as a thank you.
What
are the benefits of using professional pet sitters?
Deciding to hire someone to look after your cat while you are away
has benefits for not only you but also your pet.
- Your pet will remain in familiar surroundings and have all their
own things around them.
- Your pet will have regular human contact, including some playtime.
- Any medications can still be given.
- Someone is available to take care of your cat during an emergency.
- There is no need for the pet to travel,
causing less stress.
- There is the added bonus of your home being regularly visited while
you are away.
- You do not feel that you are imposing on your neighbours or family.
All of the above are good reasons in themselves to make sure that the
pet sitters you hire are fully qualified and professional in what they
do, as the responsibility placed in them is a large one considering
they are strangers to you.
How to Find Pet sitters?
The
first place to start looking for a good pet sitter is to ask at your
local vets surgery
if they can recommend anyone locally.
Personal recommendation is one of the best ways to find someone you
can trust. Never use people who simply stick postcard ads in shop windows,
you have no way of knowing who they are.
The next option is to check your local yellow pages directory, to see
if there are any sitters local to your area.
Lastly you can check the Internet. There have been many pet sitter
companies starting up over the last few years and some of the larger
ones require every one of their sitters to have a qualification in looking
after animals.
It is also worth checking out animal forums and seeing what others
are saying about particular animal sitter companies.
Questions to ask your pet sitter
It is important that before you hire someone to look after your pet,
you ask them some questions to check their suitability.
- Ask for references.
- Ask for any qualifications in animal care they may have
- Ask if they are insured for liability.
- Make sure you have their full contact details
- Ask them how long they have been pet sitting and why they like doing
it. This will give you an indication if they are a true animal lover
and are enthusiastic about the job.
Instructing your pet sitters
Before
going away on vacation it is important that you have good communication
with your chosen pet sitter and make sure that they have all the information
required to look after your pet to the best of their ability. Make sure:
- You give the details of your local vet to the sitter
- The sitter has met your pet and is familiar with their likes and
dislikes, their feeding schedule, play toys and of any medical conditions
they may have.
- Make sure the sitter knows of any medications that need to be given
and when.
- Give the sitter all your vacation contact details and the telephone
numbers of local relatives in case of an emergency.
- Make sure the sitter has all the animals' medical certificates and
vaccination records.
- Ensure that your pet is either microchipped
or is carrying an identification tag in case they go missing.
What to do before you leave
Making sure that you have prepared everything for both your pet and
the sitter before you go away will ensure that the whole process of
looking after your furry friend will run smoothly.
- Buy extra cat
food and litter and leave it out in an obvious place.
- Close doors to rooms you do not wish your pet to enter and make
sure your sitter knows this as well.
- Make sure your sitter knows where the cleaning materials and equipment
are.
- Make sure all the pets' favourite
toys are available to them.
- Leave some of your clothes around the house to help comfort your
pet.
- Leave a small lamp on, again this will comfort the pet during night
time.
- Let a neighbour know that a pet sitter will be visiting the house
and give them a spare key in case of emergencies.
Our experiences with pet sitters
We thought it would be a good idea to let you know of some of the experiences
we have had in the past when leaving Little Mo in the care of someone
else.
They were three very different experiences and certainly highlight
the importance of trusting your pet sitters.
First year - We asked our new neighbour who we liked and who really
liked Little Mo. We felt confident that everything would be Ok.
However on our return, we noticed that a lot of the cat food we left
was still remaining and that they had only been feeding Little Mo small
meals. Also we found cat faeces in several areas of the house, one of
which was plain to see in the main entrance hall.
We couldn't believe it; it looked very much like they had not looked
after her or our home very well at all. Luckily we had only been a way
for a few days, so Little Mo was fine.
Second year - We used a sitter who had placed a small card in our local
vets. The vet did not recommend them but we thought that they looked
and sounded trustworthy.
Wrong, while we were away our neighbour rang us three times to say
that she did not think the pet sitter was visiting the house very often
and when we telephoned her she says she was but she was going at all
different times. We were not happy, but luckily Little Mo was fine,
thanks to our neighbour.
Third year - We found a cat sitter, who was recommended to us by a
friend. They visited us before hand and we went through everything with
them. They told us about their previous experiences and they asked lots
of questions about Little Mo and how often we wanted them to visit the
house to look after her.
They were great. We went away for a week and when we returned, Little
Mo seemed to have hardly noticed that we had been away. She was well
fed and contented, which is the best sign that she was looked after
properly.
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