Should a Pet Sitter be charged Rent/Utilities?

[debden]

I don't know.Maybe it's just me but when you are hired to perform a service,in this case Pet Sitting,I don't think they should be charging you for rent and utilities.
I answered an ad for pet sitting someone's cat for a month while they were not going to be home.The person originally just wanted me to pay utilities while they were gone and I agreed.
Then they called and said they would need me to pay $500 month plus Utilities!To come to their home and cat sit for them at their request!!
Is it just me or is something wrong with this picture??
Any comments on this are welcomed.

 

[JessicaR]

Thats crazy! You are providing a service for them and they want you to pay? You are right, something sounds wrong.

 

[mumom95]

Yeah, that's not right.

But one solution is to up your pet sitting fee by about $700 for the month. That should solve the problem.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It appears you will now need to charge them $125 per week for pet-sitting services.

 

[MushyMushy]

HUH? I don't even get charging you for utilities!

I think this person is completely nuts. I just don't get where some people get their whacky ideas.

 

[delilah]

I've never hired anybody that I didn't know well to sit my cats. We usually kennel our dogs. I pay the cat sitter about $100/wk to come stay with the cats for a while, make sure they have water, and feed them. Some of my cats are not litter box trained, so, she needs to clean up after them. We put down the puppy pads, and clean the floors. It's a long story, but they used to be outside cats, but we have coyotes, and over the past 5 years or so, we have lost about 15 cats. We are out in the country, and people abandon pets there. We love animals, and they need a home, so we keep them , safe from coyotes (we have 7 cats).

I would love to have somebody stay at my house while we are on vacation. I would gladly pay them what I do to kennel the dogs, but, then I would leave the dogs home, too. I wouldn't think of asking somebody to pay rent or utilities. But, at our house, pet sitting is a bit of a job.

 

[aprilgail2]

That is nuts- even paying for the utilities is nuts- I would tell them to take that cat and stick it where the sun doesn't shine! What nerve they have!

 

[starwood]

Aren't they supposed to be paying you - not the other way around.

 

[PrincessBelle39]

I dont know if things are different over here but I can't imagine why they should charge you. We used a housesitter last time we went to WDW and will be using one again this time. I'm just so grateful that I can have someone come to my house and look after my pets in their own environment. They are doing me a favour. They shouldn't have to pay anything for it. It would cost me a fortune if I had to pay to kennel them all and they certainly wouldn't be as hapy.

 

[MushyMushy]

I'm paying my own son to watch the animals when we go to WDW this summer. He'll be saving me a bundle by not going to the kennel, plus he has to take care of the bird -- and he's afraid of the bird. She bites.

 

[Carly_Roach]

I agree - it's wrong to ask the person performing the service for you to pay your rent at the same time. The solution is very simple: Either up your pay to cover the service performed with additional overhead you must now cover or turn the job down.

I suspect they won't get too many pet sitters willing to pay $500.00 in order to get this job.

 

[Nancyg56]

That's nuts! Perhaps this family needs to find a renter who is willing to care for the pets. I would be passing this job up.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

No a sitter should not be charged, they should be paid. I smell scam in there.

 

[debden]

The woman was offering her home as housing for the month in exchange for caring for her cat.And,as I said,I would only have to pay utilities for the month.
I figured since I wanted to possibly move to that area I would get a chance to stay there for month and see if I liked it or not.And also I would get the chance to look for homes if I did like the area.
And that was all good and fine until she said she's decided not to offer free rent in exchange for cat sitting and charge $500 plus Utilities.
Her reasoning behind charging the rent was that everyone in the area was getting $1000 a month rent and she felt she should be able to get rent too.And that would be true if she wasn't asking someone to come in and cat sit for her.
Doesn't make sense to me at all but she's missing out on an excellent,reliable cat sitter.

 

[kaseyC]

I would tell her no. I don't know what kennels charge in her area but around here it would cost much more than $500 to board a cat for a month. Sounds like she trying to take advantage of you.

 

[NMAmy]

Well, apparently, I've been going about this all wrong--I could actually be making money off my petsitters?

No, the lady is wacko. I pay a friend's college-aged son to stay at my house and take care of my dog plus bring in the mail, shovel sidewalks, etc. It's well worth the money to me to know that the dog doesn't have to be kenneled and that there is someone at the house to keep an eye on things for me.

 

[debden]

Thank you so much for your replies.I'm so glad I'm not the only one that thought something was wrong with that picture.
I did turn the job down.But I told her if she wanted to reconsider the rent part I would be more than happy to come to her home and care for her kitty.
I feel bad for her kitty.If she just gets someone in there who just wants the place for the cheap rent I don't think it's going to be anybody who's going to care for her cat that well.
I hope all works out for her kitties sake.

 

[ndelaware]

If she does call you back, tell her your not paying utilities either.

 

[wall*e2008]

Pet sitting is a service and no rent or utilities should be paid. The cat still needs heat or air and a place to live.

 

[Disney Doll]

You were nice to even offer to pay utilities.
If she was hiring you as a pet sitter, that means she was paying you to stay in her home and care for her pet. It doesn't mean you have the "privelege" of staying in her home, caring for her pet, and paying her.

Whack job!