For true cat lovers only: How much would you pay for a cat sitter?

jelly: For true cat lovers only: How much would you pay for a cat sitter?
For those of you who are devoted cat owners, would you pay someone that is professional, insured and bonded, to visit your cat daily while you are away on vacation? What would you expect from the cat sitter and what would you consider a reasonable rate?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Rosii
Well, you would expect your demands to be met!
A professional yes, if you feel you should spend money like that on your cat. if s/he has special needs, be sure you tell them to the sitter, thoroughly explain. if you just want her/him to be kept well, make sure that they know exactly what you expect.
have fun on your vacation!

Answer by dutchlady
If you are going for less than a week, a cat is fine alone. Be sure you put out the right amount of food and water and clean litter box, and then he will take care of himself. We did this for 12 years with our cats, with no problems. In fact, the one time we hired a daughter to come over to take care of the cat, she never did. We came home a day early, and found she had never visited the cat. Grr. We did leave for two weeks once, and had the neighbor look in on Tigger and she would not accept any money. We took her and husband out to eat at a local restaurant.
If you aren’t comfortable leaving him alone, then $ 5.00 a day if it is a teenager in the area, or someone close by. If they have to drive to your home, a little more. Remember, this isn’t for a full day’s work, at the most it is for ten-15 minutes. And it is more of a littercleaning/feeding, rather than entertaining the cat for a day. Cats like solitude, so don’t think the cat will sit and be played with…he might like to have someone in the house to be able to ignore them, but not to have them playing and walking them. Cats are different than dogs, of course, so their needs aren’t as great. You could never leave a dog alone, because they are more social, and would tear something up to show how mad they are at you for leaving them alone. Cats will purr because you trusted them to take care of themselves. Aren’t cats wonderful, and delightful, and so independent!! Have fun on vacation.

Answer by itssoeasy
it doesnt take a genius to feed a cat and clean up after it…
maybe 5-8$ a day.

Answer by Sara C. B
I adore my cats, but have found that boarding them at the Vets is the best bet. If something goes wrong they have all the help needed. I’ve left them for 2 weeks and gotten a special rate.

Answer by Ashley
I wouldn’t spend much more than what i would spend with a boarder. Maybe 50 to 75 a day depending on what they do with my cat. Are they just feeding and cleaning the litter box or they actually spending time with the cat (playtime, brushing,cuddling) How would you know they are spending time with the cat. One time i just let a good friend stay at my house for a week to watch my cat. I gave them 100 bucks and filled the house with some food that they liked. You have to have a good friend that you know and trust.

Answer by CF_
hmm I cant really remember what I paid..
also I do know that most pet sitters also offer security..
most home insurances wont cover you if you are away for more than 72 hours without somebody checking your home… as such its important even if you dont have pets…

I think I paid PER VISIT.. not per day.. but how much it was.. I honestly dont remember..

Answer by glbs2
I would just take my cats to the vet and board them because I don’t like weird people in my house, but that’s just me. I would expect the sitter to come in, check on the cat, make sure it has food and water, scoop the litterbox, talk to the cat for no more than 15 minutes and get the heck out. I would do it if I had to leave them home and had no other choice, my main concern would be that no one broke into my house and murdered my cats, so it will be good to have someone coming by at any rate. I have no idea what the going rate is but I would not pay more than $ 50/week

Answer by Laurel J
Right now I pay 15 dollars a night for a sitter to scoop the litter box and feed and water my two cats. I consider this a bargain because it’s cheaper than boarding them, and they’re much happier staying at home than going to the kennel while I’m gone.

Answer by P.J.
i am a pet sitter. when i visit once a day, i charge 15.00 that is a one hour visit. besides the cat and or dog duties, i water plants bring in the mail and papers, set the water in the garden, etc. i am in a very rural area. if i visit twice a day it’s 25.00 and full time (overnight) is 50.00 a nite. during spring and summer I’m very busy!!

Answer by Cat Answerer
Me, I let my neighbors take care of them 🙂
No payment necessary 🙂

Answer by CupCake
try to get a teen or an older child you know, usually someone that is professional will just visit the cat, feed it etc. A child will do that plus probably give it attention and play with it at a lower pay than a professional

Answer by Elaine M
The vet techs at the vet clinic we use are pet sitters. They do medication if needed and will stop in as many times as you need them to.

We had one come twice a day to give insulin to two of our cats, clean the box and spend 20 minutes there, and it cost $ 20 a day. I found that most sitters average $ 25 a day so we got a deal.

Answer by Tina
it depends what the cat sitter does. For someone who just visits everyday to feed and clean the litterbox, I would pay maybe $ 15-$ 20 a day.

But I would want the cat sitter to
-feed and give water to my cat
-clean the litterbox
-groom (brushing twice a day and clipping claws once every 2 weeks and changing the rubber nail cap things)
-play with my cat 20-30 minutes a day
-clean my kitty’s bed (like getting the hair off and stuff)
-and sweeping any litter that may have gotten out of the box

for this kind of service I’d pay $ 50-$ 65 a day (and I have)

it really depends on the person though.

Answer by Dirty_Pirate_Hooker13
I would expect the person to come in the mid-morning and early evening to feed and play with my cat, scoop their litter and make sure there is no accidents around the house or any problems with my cats. I would say that for a week of this sort of service, $ 150 is reasonable!

Answer by judyrae41
I am lucky in that I have a neighbor who likes my cats, my cats like her & she is willing to visit them daily if we ever go out of town.

I am sure that there are very good pet sitters out there, but my cats can be a bit shy & I prefer someone that I know personally have access to my house.

Answer by birdgirl
Yes, I would pay for this service. I used to own my own pet sitting business and I would be paid $ 15.00 per visit. People with cats usually only had me come once daily..dogs got 2 visits per day. For cats I would feed, water, scoop cat litter and play with them. Also would bring in mail, newspapers, and turn lights on and off. Dogs pretty much got the same, but would also include a walk or visit to the local dog park.

Answer by internetoptimiser
I’m not sure that insurance or bonds are worth as much as customer testimonials with full names and addresses.