? about asking neighbors to watch your home & take care of pets.

[dvcgirl]

Ask your vet if they have someone to refer or check out

www.petsit.com

This is one of the two national pet sitter trade organizations.....it has a zip code locator.....just type yours in and you'll get a bunch that come up in your area. Many have websites where you can check out their rates and so on. I'd interview at least two....and again, check references and ask for proof of insurance.

 

[pixiewings71]

Even if the back of your house looks over an empty field I would still put timers on lights/radios/TVs back there. That way anyone watching from the back of the house will still see signs of occupancy. I would also suggest asking your friend, it seems likely she would be happy to help you and instead of paying her you can bring her a gift from DW or give her a gift card for a nice dinner out to say Thank You. I would avoid boarding them, the only time I've ever boarded my cats was after our house fire, we had to board them and the dog until we were able to move into our rental/temorary home.

 

[runwad]

The most I have ever left the cats was for 3 days and they were fine, lot's of food and water but they were not happy with me when I came home and ignored me for a while. I have a timer to put on the only light that you can see from the street, which is my bedroom. All the other windows face the back of the house and a vacant field. I hate having to worry like this.

I'd still get a few more timers to have come on and off at different times during the night throughout your house. If someone is casing your house to rob, I'd think they'd look around back and having lights on is a good deterent.

 

[flying_babyb]

Ask your freind. Just explain to her you dont want to abuse your freindship but your really nervious about asking anyone else. Also tell her that you would love to pay her (even if your sure shes gonna say no). If she does pick her up a little something on vacation. I know if you came to me and put it this way I would be more than glad to do it without a complaint. Also consider getting her a gas card (as a thank you for taking you to the airport AND driving to take care of your kitties).
ALSO- Your cats will feel better with someone they know than some random pet sitter. Heck, I would never EVER ask a pet sitter or neighbor to take care of my cats. There too shy.

 

[NVDisMom]

Would your friend be interested in residing in your home while you are gone? If she is single and has no pets to take care of herself she may not mind. When my DH and I were in college we would house sit for a woman whenever she went away. We did not have a washer and dryer, so we would get to save about $20 by doing laundry there(a big deal back then to our finances). Her animals were loved and fed, the house lived in while she was gone, and we had a mini vacation staying n a nicer home than our little studio. Win/win Perhaps something like this could be worked out in your situation.

 

[canwegosoon]

Would your friend be interested in residing in your home while you are gone? If she is single and has no pets to take care of herself she may not mind. When my DH and I were in college we would house sit for a woman whenever she went away. We did not have a washer and dryer, so we would get to save about $20 by doing laundry there(a big deal back then to our finances). Her animals were loved and fed, the house lived in while she was gone, and we had a mini vacation staying n a nicer home than our little studio. Win/win Perhaps something like this could be worked out in your situation.

This is what I was thinking...you need a housesitter that likes animals(a local college, vet office or even a local church might have someone that does this) College students are great because they love the extra money/laundry/and not being with a roommate-do you have any family(cousins etc) that might be intrested in house sitting? I would pay 250-300 (I know it is way more than what you would pay a pet sitter, but not having your house broken into again(since it seems to happen a lot) would be worth the 300 dollars.

 

[java]

We found a petsitter at our local pet supply store- actually one of the smaller non-name kind of places with people that just LOVE animals. It is the woman that owns the store. She will come over as often as I need her to to walk the 2 dogs. It is $15 a time she comes over(that seems like a steal to me)
IN MD I know my Mom found her lady by asking friends with pets. And they suggested the one she uses.
Ask around locally. Anyone with pets you see- ask who they use for petsitting. Get refferals. It really isn't as hard as it sounds.

 

[momof296&02]

Here's what I would do & have done in the past- board the cat, purchase fish food that can last 2 weeks (i believe it comes in a block & dissolves over time), sop your mail/newspaper and put timers on your lights, tvs etc. I don't like the responsibilty of looking after someone's house so I don't ask anyone to look after mine.

Good luck!

 

[java]

Would your friend be interested in residing in your home while you are gone? If she is single and has no pets to take care of herself she may not mind. When my DH and I were in college we would house sit for a woman whenever she went away. We did not have a washer and dryer, so we would get to save about $20 by doing laundry there(a big deal back then to our finances). Her animals were loved and fed, the house lived in while she was gone, and we had a mini vacation staying n a nicer home than our little studio. Win/win Perhaps something like this could be worked out in your situation.

Oh and I wanted to say I agree with this one! I also did this for a friend once*it didn't hurt that her apt. was smack in the middle of NYC. But it was like a mini vacation for me. And I wouldn't even accept any payment. It was a free trip into the city. Oh and Tiny was a breeze to care for. (sleeping with me took a little getting used to especially night one- when she was at the foot of the bed staring at me. I turned off the light and up into the bed she was. My friend had warned me about it thankfully.

 

[jayally]

These are some great ideas, some I have not thought about. Letting her know I hate to ask her to help us out and I don't want to abuse our friendship by asking too much of her but I would only feel comfortable knowing she was taking care of everything is a nice opening. I don't know why I am so paranoid about this. She has her brother-in-law living with her and she has been pushing hard to get him to leave for the last couple of months. I am not sure what his current timeline is but I might mention it to her to see if he would be interested in housesitting, just as long as he leaves when we get back! I don't know how responsible he is as I only know him a little bit. He is HIV- positive and her kids get upset when he sleeps in their beds etc so he has a rollaway in their living room but I don't think she would allow him to live with them if there was a possibility of transferring the disease to someone else. I don't know much about it. He was suppossed to be gone by Sept but I have not heard anything about him leaving. I had not thought about this option but I would need to speak with people who know him well to feel comfortable about this. I would prefer my friend as I trust and know her well but this might work. Too bad my friend has her own home and family (and pets!) to care for.

Big Lots has some really nice electronic timers that come on at dusk and turn off in the number of hours you select. I do need to light up the backyard better but we never use it. They are about $9 each and I can actually set them. The other times I seem to be un-electronically inclined and can never set them right.

 

[mjh8955]

We were gone for 13 days this past summer. We needed a dog-sitter, someone to test and care for our pool and pump every day, someone to water all my patio plants DAILY and paper and mail taken care of. I started considering all the responsible college-age people I knew (through church, kids of friends) who might like to have a house to themselves for a while. I totally lucked out when I found out a college girl I knew from our church (actually the daughter of our dentist) was going to be doing a daytime babysitting job in the next neighborhood during the time we would be gone. She moved in while we were gone, we agreed on $125, we gave her a $50 bonus because the place was clean and perfect when we got home. It was an ideal arrangement.

 

[disneypharm]

I didn't read all the posts, so I am not sure if this has been suggested. We have a timer/feeder for our fish tank. We use it when we go out of town. It is set to add food to the tank twice a day. I wouldn't buy the dissolvable tablets.

 

[Dizneydaz]

I'm lucky that my DSis lives very nearby and actually works out of our home. So she takes care of the 3 cats and 3 goldfish as well as picking up the mail, turning on the porch light, etc. when we go on vacation.

One time, we all went to WDW so I did ask the neighbor girl across the street to watch the cats, etc. and everything was fine with the exception of when she first came to feed them (with her mom) the cats where at the garage door, making a racket! They got scared and ran out of the house screaming! Her dad came over and said "There just cats, you guys, come on" Our neighbors have never had pets and the mom never had any as kids. For the fish I got those vacation food thingies, worked great!

So, was it just coincidence that last Christmas the dad bought the family a Jack Russell? (Not the best choice for a first pet). So now, my DD7 (me, of course) has watched their dog a few times. She's pretty easy to take care of, though she is a jumper! I think now I've watched their dog more than they've watched our pets.

I'm comfortable with having our neighbors (friends, really) watch our house, but most of the time, a family member is available to do it. Both my sisters live within 10 min. of our house and we all watch each others pets, houses, etc.

This summer, and last summer, another neighbor of ours (right across the street) asked us to watch their house, pick up their mail, and water their plants. Their dogs went either with them, or to their family's house. They didn't pay us BUT we got to use their pool while they were gone! It was great! It was like being on a mini-vacation!

Cats are funny animals. If it was me, and I wasn't really friends with my neighbors, and I wasn't comfortable with a stranger staying there, then I would board the cat. Not the best solution, and yes the cat will be mad at you when you get home. Even though we leave our cats at home, they are still unhappy with us when we get back home-their schedule has been interupted, and they don't like it. When my sister watches them, they get to go out during the day, M-F, but nights, and weekends, they are in the garage. We have a coyote problem here.

 

[jayally]

You also reminded me about an old friend of the family that has 2 kids in their 20's that live in the same city. I had not thought about asking around for someone who wanted to stay and house sit. My intial thought was the 10yr old girl and older neighbor but everyone has offered some great solutions. I hope I can get something to work out so I can have the pets happy AND have fun while at disney and not worry about what might be happening in my house.

I pretty much know why I am so worried and paranoid with this part of planning for our trip and I need to deal with it. If I still had medical insurance I would really benefit from a couselor but I lost that when I got divorced.

I had a terrible year in 2005. It was suppossed to be the best year ever and a family vacation of a lifetime with a land/sea trip in March that I scrimped and saved for. My EX decided to quit his job and move out during our cruise portion, we flew home without him (he left early) and came home to a robbery. He moved his things April 1st 2005. We had another robbery in Aug and they stole everything, even the beer in the fridge. I got severly sick in Sept AND then I find out in Oct that my Ex had been cheating on me after he agreed to go to counseling to work things out. I filed for divorce in Dec 2005. (and still have not got a final decree) We have not gone anywhere since and I have spent the last year and half planning and saving for this trip and I am so worried about having a good time. Everytime I think about our 2005 trip I get upset since everything started falling apart during the trip. I keep telling myself this is my "Do-Over" and it is what I have to do to get over my last experience and get new memories, but I can't help all the bad thoughts entering my mind and what if I come home to another disaterous year.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

You can call your local police dept non emergency number and ask them to do a drive by every few days. I think most police departments have a senior patrol for just this situation.

You can also put your mail and newspaper delivery on hold.

 

[Colinsmom]

I wouldn't ask the 10yo girl. What if she has a problem with the alarm system?

And your friend's brother doesn't sound like a good option either - she wants him out but he won't go, and so on. It just doesn't smell like responsibility to me, and you want someone responsible to take care of this for you.

Keep on pursuing the petsitter route. Check the phone book and ask other animal lovers that you know (you could even ask your friend if she has heard of anyone using a petsitter since you need someone to care for the cats while you are gone - then she can offer if she wants to do it herself, or not offer if she doesn't). Even check craigslist. If you are in a metropolitan area, I can't believe that there wouldn't be petsitting businesses near you.

 

[bumbershoot]

What a rotten '05 you had!

You *have* changed the locks on your doors since 2005, haven't you? And you have homeowner's/renter's insurance, yes?

10 minutes to drive each way is NOTHING. I would do that for a friend in a heartbeat, and I say "no" to things easily. Hanging out with cats but not having to live with them (I like having outdoor cats but doubt I will ever have one as an adult unless I own a farm or live rurally, which I don't want to do)? Perfect. Feeding fish? Easy. Turning lights on and such? Simple. 20 minute drive? Cakewalk.

Just ask her. Or you could be circumspect and talk about your problems of who is going to watch the cats, and maybe she'll offer. Sometimes I do that method accidentally.


When I was a kid, I watched our neighbor's poodle when they were away, but it was a nice little street, without partying teenagers or absent parents. My mom was there to make sure I went over, I never brought anyone else there, I was safe. It does NOT sound like those are the neighbors you have, so forget the neighbors.


And the other option is that fish-feeding timer someone mentioned, or the dissolving thing, and to board the cats. When we boarded our now late cat during our 17 days away destination wedding, then honeymoon, she was SO happy. She had attention all the time (by non-allergic people who didn't do rude things like have asthma attacks), she got brushed a million times (by people who didn't have to wash their hands arms and face immediately afterwards), she was treated like even more of a princess than we did (this was at the vet's office's boarding facilities). I think she was angry she had to come home to her normal people.

 

[zumbergc]

When calling vet offices, for referrals for pet-sitters. Don't just ask them if they have any pet sitters in the office, or ask for names.

Ask who they would recommend as pet sitters, or which pet sitter they would recommend the most. Call a few places around your home.

Definitely talk to a couple pet-sitters on the phone. We had to find a new one recently, so ask for who they recommend, or who they like the best.

We had college age vet tech, pet sitter for a long time, but she got her degree, and moved away for grad school. Bummer.

We've got 2 that we use at our vet, one we really like, the other one, just so so.
I agree w/ the others about not having the 10 yr old babysit the pets. Doesn't sound like a good situation.
Ask your friend, but let her know up front you'll understand if she says no.

We watch our neighbors cat when they are gone. The cat eats like crazy, they have one of those self feeders, but after a couple days, all the food is gone. They have used it for weekend trips, but when they come back all the food was gone. So when they go for the week, we feed the mighty eating cat meals 2x a day. Sometimes we stop by and watch tv, so the cat gets someone to pet them and we watch tv show, then head back home.
We get chocolate as a reward. We don't mind watching the cat, as its the only time we get to pet the cat. She is afraidy cat, but comes out when her family is gone. The funny thing is, the neighbor on the other side came to pet sit once, and the cat growled at the other neighbor, but the cat loves me and my husband. We get the paw, when we watch tv and stop petting her, like hey, keep petting!!

 

[lisalovesmickey]

As someone who works in a healthcare setting, just wanted to respond to the part about your friend's HIV+ BIL. There aren't any concerns about having him stay in your house, sleep in your bed, etc. HIV can only be spread by contact with bodily fluids (blood, genital secretions and breast milk). You can find more details on the CDC's website (cdc.gov).

Not necessarily saying that I think he's the solution for your pet-sitting needs, just that his HIV status isn't a factor.

 

[jayally]

Thanks to everyone here I found a possible solution I had not even considered. I was at my friends house and mentioned to her husband my delimma about someone to take care of the animals. He thinks the BIL would be ok and trustworthy and he would make sure everything went smoothly. The BIL is between jobs and moving out of their house this weekend and into his Mom's until the job he applied for comes through. He works part time but it did not pay as well as his other job and he couldn't afford an apt in the area he needs to live in. He said if it doesn't work out with asking the BIL he would be happy to stop by after work each day and I didn't have to ask him. I feel a bit better now. I did talk with the BIL a bit later and he sounded interested and will let me know closer to Nov, as he may have the job he applied for and a new place to live but he seemed to like the idea. I made sure to mention it would be only for 2 weeks and No parties etc.

After all the advice I like the idea of a housesitter and not having to worry about coming home to my house robbed. My neighborhood USED to be very nice but it is cheaper to live in the suburbs rather than in Los Angeles so many people have moved here and brought along their problems which made their old neighborhoods bad. I have lived here 16 years and my M-I-L about another 10 yrs before that and everyone around me used to be able to leave their doors unlocked and knew each other. Now I hardly know half the people who moved in (& they don't speak english) and I never had a break-in until 2005 AND then 2 in one year. Since then I have been vigilant about locking up everything, setting the alarm and parking in the garage so no one knows if I am home or not.

Now I just need to approach the subject of getting to and from the airport and finding a decent rental car in Orlando. What's with the crazy rates for Nov!

Michelle