Anyone ever used a pet sitting service?

[gemmybear83]

Trying to decide what to do with our cat Marie when we go away in December, we have had only had her since last October (she is a year old next month!) and so far we have only left her for up to a week and have had family to look after her, and have come to our house to feed and play with her. But since we are away for nearly 3 weeks until just before Christmas I cant expect anyone to look after her for that long?

We were going to put her into a cattery but shes quite quiet and so far is a house cat and I am worrying that being in a new place etc will really upset her?

I have stumbled across a few local firms that will come to our house and feed and play with her as well as open and close our curtains collect the post etc. It sound ideal obviously more expensive, the only worry is over the creditionals of the company so I would want some recomendations from previous customers...?

Apologies for the long post but would welcome any thoughts or tips

 

[Cleofish]

Hi Gemma,

We have used a similar company to look after our small furbabies (House Bunny and Hamsters) and also have home boarded our dog rather than putting her into kennels, and in my opinion it is worth every penny. The last time we had home visits for Simba (bunnykins), they came in and collected our post, opened the curtains etc, and played with simba for a good half hour, plus feeding & wtaering him as necessary. I think on th third day they even cleaned his cage out. When we got back we had a report from the company giving a day by day account of his activities and moods and what had been done for him. To be honest, the peace of mind for me is worth it, as I would torture myself if anything happened to them through stress etc.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to mention the company name or not, but it appears as though the company is franchised off, and the franchise we use is based in Darlington, spreading over into Teesside, with another franchise for County Durham/Newcastle way.

If it was me I wouldn't hesitate to use a home visit/home boarding company again - I'm sure you'll have enough to think about without worrying if Marie is ok!

Good luck, whatever you decide!
K xx

 

[meldobe]

Hi Gemmybear,
I run my own pet sitting service visiting cats, small furrys,walking dogs and house sitting and ive also used the services of a local pet sitter for my cats and dog when i go on holiday, do you have any friends with pets that may have used a pet sitter that you could ask for a reccomendation or ask your vet as he may know some personally and could reccomend, just make sure whoever you use has insurance, they will come out to visit you before taking on the visits so you will get a chance to meet them before you decide who to use.
mel

 

[gemmybear83]

Thank you both for the advice very useful! Cleofish going to pm you for the name of the company you use, as you know I'm only down the road from you!

 

[Clarissa]

Some student vets or vet nurses may offer their services for free if they can stay in your house and look after your cat for you. Your cat will get more company and your house remains occupied while you on holiday. Contact a uni/college near you if they train vets or vet nurses. Your local vet may have a member of staff that does this service too so worth asking there also.

 

[natalielongstaff]

Some student vets or vet nurses may offer their services for free if they can stay in your house and look after your cat for you. Your cat will get more company and your house remains occupied while you on holiday. Contact a uni/college near you if they train vets or vet nurses. Your local vet may have a member of staff that does this service too so worth asking there also.

I used to do that when i was a vet nurse