how much for watching a cat for a week?

[java]

My daughter is watching cats this week for 2 neighbors. It involves just changing litter box when needed and feeding dry food and fresh water. I think they overpaid her and was curious what the average is?

She is going to their home (watering plants and getting mail also)
Any thoughts?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I have paid a sitter $10/day for 4 cats.

The first cat is the most---and once more are added, price goes up since there is more poo and pee to scoop and messes to clean up. Because of the cost, we usually have them visited every other day.

Part of maybe why we were charged that much is that it is an adult who drives to our home. I would agree that would be excessive for a neighbor, especially a child.

If they still overpay her, I would consider it an opportunity to teach her how to handle unexpected windfalls of money. A little for fun and the rest into long term savings for future big ticket spending goals
such as a car or college.

 

[MichelleVW]

We gave the neighbor girl 60 to feed our cats for a week. I honestly was going to give her more, but DH said 60 was fine.

 

[java]

I suppose I should have said what they are paying her- Each house gave her $50. So she is making $100 for watching the 2 cats for the week.

 

[KAMLEM]

How often is she going to their house?

 

[robinb]

$100 for week? I think that's a lot. I was paid a local teenager about $5 per day to come over and feed my 2 cats kitty crunchies and to clean the litter box once.

I guess my cats needed a daily litter box scoop or nasty wet food I would pay a bit more.

 

[Meriweather]

I pay $10 a day for a neighbor boy to come over....he only comes twice a week though. One cat.
Food, cat boxes.

DD paid $120 for a week for a pro pet sitter to come.....food, cat boxes and medicine for one cat.

 

[onyx8]

I would pay at least $50 for that.

 

[claudia]

We pay the boy across the street $20 a day to care for our small dog and cat. He comes over 3-4 times a day, feeds both (AM & PM), lets the dog out, changes the litter and stays to play a bit with them too....

 

[Rupert B Puppenstein]

I think that they are being very generous - so in other words, they have priority over any other neighbors that need petsitting! Our petsitter charges $18 a day but we have six cats and we tip an additional one day fee.

 

[JessicaR]

2 different houses. $50 each for an entire week. That's a bargain for the people! I would think $100 from each for a week would have been fair!

How many times a day is she going?

I pay my dog-sitter over $50 a day. She comes 3X a day, brings in the mail, water the plants, feeds the dogs, lets them out, play with them. Each visit is 20 - 30 minutes.

 

[Northstar]

I pay based on the fact that I am entrusting the keys to the house to my catsitter. She's only 12 years old and walks from a few doors down the street, but I pay $12/day. I know she is honest and responsible (with the keys as well as with the cat), so I am paying what I'd pay to have the cat boarded.

 

[GoofySon'sMom]

Our professional pet sitter charges $18 per day plus tax to come once a day for our one cat! I think $50 a week per household is a good deal for all parties involved. The neighbors are getting a deal versus paying a professional service and your DD is learning responsibility while making some money. I don't think they are overpaying her at all.

 

[MAKmom]

$100 for week? I think that's a lot. I was paid a local teenager about $5 per day to come over and feed my 2 cats kitty crunchies and to clean the litter box once.

I guess my cats needed a daily litter box scoop or nasty wet food I would pay a bit more.

She is getting $50.00 from 2 different houses.

I think $50.00 each is fair.

 

[mamacatnv]

I pay the next door neighbor kid $5 a day to come over once a day - feed the guinea pigs, check the cats water and food.
I add $5 for cat box scooping every 3 days and if we are gone for a week an additional $5 to change the litter in the pig cage.

So lets see for a week:
I would pay approx $50-60 depending on cat boxes.

 

[bicker]

We pay a bonded cat-sitter $16 per day for that service. If they weren't bonded, we wouldn't pay so much.

 

[pixiewings71]

I paid DD14's friend $10 a visit when she came by, she only came by a couple times while we were gone but it was only 1 cat. She didn't have to do much but I still paid her to get the mail and make sure Mouse was OK, she hung out a while and gave her some attention too.

 

[skw444]

We pay a teenage neighbor $10/day for our cats. She cleans the litter boxes and puts out dry food daily.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I think there are a lot of variables, but $50 from each house for a 12 yr old sounds pretty reasonable to me for her responsibilities. ($7/day, roughly, per family)

My neice when she was around that age once got $20/day to "spritz an iguana" but she lived in a very affluent neighborhood.

We paid a 12yr old (DD's friend) last week $20 to take care of our hamster when we were away. We also brought her a tee shirt and some fun snacks. She actually refused the money but DD made her take it.

We also paid a 13 yr old (DS's friend) last week $20 to water our (2) plants and (tiny) garden while we were away. We brought him some snacks also.

I've had a pet sitter for my dog in the past when he had special needs. I believe it was $20-25/day plus I gave a tip. But that was a lot of responsibility involving giving medication, cleaning and helping the dog outside, etc.

Recently my 12 yr old DD got her first real babysitting job. She took a babysitting course last year and has been a Mother's Helper, which has paid very little (difficult family circumstances, so it's essentially been volunteer work for her, and she's enjoyed it and it's given her experience, etc). Anyway, the Mom asked DD if $8/hr was enough. I told her $5/hr was plenty, seeing she's only 12 right now and she can go up as she gets older. (This was what my own children's babysitter's Mom told me when I first hired her DD.) Well a friend of mine hasn't stopped ribbing me about this ever since. My DD babysat 30+ hrs one week and he says I cut my DD's pay by 30%, and he's right, lol. But seeing as how the relationship between my kids and their babysitter turned out to be quite beneficial for everyone over the long haul, I'm not too worried about it. There'll be a greater benefit someday, I think. $8 just seems like a lot to me. Maybe I'm just old fashioned. (Although I did feel a tad one day when it was 95 degrees out seeing my DD pulling these kids in a wagon down the street in the blazing sun. She was hot and exhausted when she came home!)