baby boy hello baby boy
hey friends it's jess and jericho and some of you already know this i worked as a cat sitter and a
dog walker for three years before i started my online business that was basically a mock
visit of what to expect when you hire a cat sitter of course the actual visit would be
30 minutes and not 30 seconds but you get the idea some pet sitting companies offer longer visits for
a different rate so you would have to speak with them if that's what you want but basically the
pet sitter will come in refresh the food water and litter and that's the work part of the visit it's
about 5-10 minutes and then the rest of the time is doing whatever your cat wants some companies
like the one that i worked for also administered medication you'll see that on their services page
on their website so we would play with your cat brush your cat sit with your cat really whatever
your cat wants to do some cats loved being brushed so one of the clients that i spent time with he
got about 25 minutes of brushing he would stand on the table and i would just brush him the whole
time and he'd walk around and get brushes i called that the spa treatment so really again it's just
whatever your cat wants to do once the work part is over it's spend time with your cat
i strongly encourage you to hire a cat sitter anytime you're going to be gone for more than
24 hours or maybe if you work really really long hours and your cat gets a little nervous
or stressed around dinner time because you're not home yet you can hire someone to come in
just for one visit to feed dinner cats are very keen on routines they get stressed easily with
changes so you want to make sure that that feeding schedule is the same every day and then again if
you're away for more than a day definitely hire a cat sitter even if you have an automatic feeder
even if you have a gravity water jug even if you have an automatic litter box cats prefer
human interaction to other stimuli including food and toys so if you're gone for more than
24 hours you should still have a cat sitter come in because what if one of those things
malfunctions you want to make sure that someone's coming in at least once a day to make sure that
everything's running smoothly and cats are also very rambunctious they like to get into things
they're very curious by nature especially if no one's home they're going to go in and out
of things maybe it's something that they're not supposed to be in so again having someone come
in at least once a day is going to give you peace of mind let you know that everything's going well
at home and your cat is safe one time i walked into a client's home and the cat came to the
door to greet me and she was all tangled and wrapped up in one of the handles of a reusable
bag and i was just there about 10 hours ago for breakfast so just within that small window she got
tangled and wrapped up so now imagine if they were relying only on automatic stuff for days
to find a cat sitter near you just type google cat sitter near me
check their website read reviews check their services page to make sure it aligns with
what you're expecting from a cat sitter most companies are happy to provide references
so you can speak with their current clients about the services about the
sitters how they interact with their cats and how happy they are with the overall service
also make sure the cat sitting business is insured and bonded to protect general liability and care
the typical hiring process of a cat sitter involves you speaking directly to the owner
most likely you're going to speak on the phone and they're going to get the crucial details
from you like your travel destination the time and date that you leave the time and date that
you're expected back and this is super important because we need to know when to expect you at home
that way we know that your cats are taken care of you'll also need to provide an emergency
contact and this person is a guardian for your cat please do not overlook this step i know it's bleak
and not something that you want to talk about but if something happens to you while you travel and
you're no longer able to care for your cats you need to have someone in place that understands
care knows your cats and knows you and what you want that way the cat sitter knows what to do
with your cats if you can't take care of them anymore again i know it's a bleak thought and
a lot of us say oh that'll never happen but it's better safe than sorry wouldn't you rather your
cats go to someone that you know they're going to someone that you've already prepared for care
someone that you already trust it's just better safe than sorry additionally the company will
ask you for veterinarian information and they might also ask you to put credit card
information on file and authorize the company to use it in case of an emergency in my experience
some veterinarians won't treat without payment even if it's an emergency and especially with
confidentiality you want to make sure that the pet sitting business is authorized to use your
card that's on file with your vet just think about it like this if it's an emergency this is time
sensitive we need to do what's best for your cat right away maybe you might have not so great cell
service while you're away we can't wait on a phone call try to get in touch with you try to
get your credit card information try to have them speak with a vet it's just too much time you need
to get your cat into the emergency care as soon as possible when it's an emergency we'll also collect
medical history any special needs personality temperament behavior all of these things are going
to help prepare us for visiting with your cat you'll also want to tell the owner of the company
if you're expecting any visitors during your trip this is really important one of my co-workers
walked in at a scheduled visit with the cats and half the client's furniture was gone she thought
she was robbed and she was about to take the cats to her home because she was nervous she didn't
know what happened but then the client explained that she had a friend coming by to collect some
of the furniture so you see on the client's end this is normal because it's her friend
she's coming in she's already established this but on the cat sitter's end we walk in we see
that half of your stuff is gone we think we need to get these cats to a safe place
but if you tell your sitter in advance then we already expected we already know that this is
going to happen let the owner of the company know about anything that's going to happen
during your travel even if maintenance is just coming in to check the light let the
owner of the company know so that the sitters are prepared if they walk in and the manager is there
next you'll meet the sitters in person they'll come to your home and they'll meet you and your
cats and they'll confirm some details and get extra information from you most companies don't
charge a fee for this and ideally you would have at least two sitters coming to meet you and meet
your cats and to go over care that way more than one person is familiar with care you've met both
of them and if one is not available then the other can come fill in our schedules get kind of crazy
so it's always good to have more than one sitter that's familiar with care so during the meeting in
person you'll confirm some details that you already discussed and you'll also show the
person around this is the feeding routine here's the location of all the supplies here's where
the litter box is here's the location of all the supplies here's how you discard waste medication
if necessary where the cat carrier is just in case landlord or super information whoever manages the
house you know we come in and there's a leak who's the person that we would call for that if you have
plants that need watering or if there's mail that you have to take in all of these details
you go over with in person when you meet the sitters that way they can see where everything is
you can also talk about what to do if it's really hot you know if you have window fans or an ac
if it's really cold how does the heat get managed and keys and locks very very important to have
a spare set of keys with you to give to the sitters when they're at the meeting with you
ideally you would provide one key for each sitter and then another one just in case that way in
case an emergency happens with one sitter maybe something happened with another client and that
sitter has to go to the vet for an emergency now the other sitter will come in and fill in to go
to your visit and since the other sitter has the key already they can go as soon as possible rather
than trying to meet up with the other sitter while that sitter's dealing with an emergency
and you want the keys ready at the meeting with the sitter that way you can show them how to use
the locks which locks you use if there are any tips or tricks one client it was like you can't
turn the key all the way you can only turn it halfway and then you have to pull the door towards
you otherwise it won't open so you want to do this at the meeting with the sitters so that you can
show them how it works rather than waiting until the first visit and your cat sitter can't get in
because they don't know how to use the locks it's also important to be prepared and test the keys at
the meeting because one time a client gave us the wrong set of keys and then we didn't know until
the day we had to visit so the client's already away they are already at their destination now
they have to spend vacation time calling friends and family can you go visit the cats i have to
get a new set of keys then i had to come back later to meet up with super and get those set of
keys and then we had to return those set of keys because they weren't really theirs it's a big mess
so be prepared before you leave so that nobody has to scramble around because that's going to
take away from time with your cats most companies use storage lockers so they're always locked away
safely they're not at somebody's house but if you do need them back make sure you speak to
the company about their key policy the company that i worked for charged a fee every time i had
to go pick up keys because it's out of the way you know it's much easier for us to already have
access to the keys and it's better for you if you have an emergency you have to leave work early and
go straight to wherever you're going you're not going to have time to meet up with the cats that
are to give them keys if they already have the keys they can go and your cat is taken care of
i strongly recommend doing two visits a day one in the am one in the pm again cats are very keen on
routines especially when it comes to their feeding schedule so you would have in the morning feeding
and at night feeding and a good cat sitter will time out these visits to about 12 hours apart
that way there's equal amount of time between the visits plus your cat's going to use the bathroom
more than once a day so coming in to scoop in the morning and scoop at night this is what your cat's
going to prefer and that's going to make your cat more comfortable when you're not at home the
minimum that i'd suggest is once a day some of our clients would do every other day because they had
automatic this automatic that but if you want your cat to bond with a cat sitter it's much
better to do every single day at least once a day ideally twice a day most cat sitting
companies use software that holds all of the information and all the details that you went over
so they'll have everything basically on their phone if you have to change something
or if something different comes up let the owner of the company know before you travel
that way the sitters can ask questions or ask for clarification if necessary
letting them know of any changes before you leave is much better than scribbling out a note at the
last minute quite frankly people's handwriting is difficult to read mine is atrocious and you
don't want this sitter to waste time decoding your letter that's going to take away from time
with your cat if you feel better about leaving printed instructions i created
a cat sitter instructions bundle that includes everything that i asked for now for some faqs
even if your cat is shy i strongly suggest hiring a cat sitter to come in while you travel i've had
many clients say to me you'll never see my cat but then after a few visits those cats become my
best friend your cat will realize that someone's coming in changing the food changing the water
cleaning the litter box and your cat's going to appreciate that cats deserve all of those things
every single day plus when your sitter leaves your cat's going to come out and he's going to
be able to smell your sitter so he's going to sniff around where your cat sitter was walking
he's going to understand this person's scent he's going to smell other animals on this person
and that's really going to help your cat get to know them and the consider won't even be there
cats are very keen on smells and they know their way around based on smells they know you because
of your smell they also know you because of your voice one of these shy cats that i visited with he
heard the door open and then he would hide under the bed then i would start talking and say hi to
his sister and i would say i saw you i saw you run under the bed and then he came out because
he knew my voice every cat that i visited with would stick their head all the way into my shoe
and jericho did the same when i would come home from visits some shah cats may take a few visits
and some might take longer another shy cat client that i visited took a year for him to come out he
had other siblings in the house so i would do all the work spend time with them i would say his name
say hi to him he hid under the bed the whole time give him some treats that way he kind of
like gets to know me a little bit has a positive experience with me and then that's it and all of
a sudden one day i was visiting and i was done with the work come out into the living room and
he's just like oh hey what's up and then he came up onto the couch sat with me i was petting him
and he was cuddling with me and playing so again it might take a little longer for your shy cat
but the sooner you hire a cat sitter and find someone that you trust the sooner your cat will
get used to them and the sooner your cat will bond with them so yes all cats even if your cat
is shy and you think your cat will never come out will benefit from a cat sitting visit
if you feed raw i strongly suggest portioning out meals in advance before you leave have enough
meals ready for the duration of your trip plus a few meals extra just in case your travel plans
change the cat sitter would just put all the meals in the refrigerator to thaw the day before so for
example tuesday when they come in they'll put wednesday's meals in the refrigerator wednesday
when they come in they'll put thursday's meals in the refrigerator it's highly likely if you're
feeding raw your cat licks his plate clean and of course the cat sitter would clean up the dishes
before they leave can i get an update yes of course you can get an update from your cat sitter
just speak with the company on how you'd like to get your updates you can get a text or an email
either after each visit once a day every other day or not at all it's really up to you how do
i trust a stranger i definitely encourage you to look around on their website and
ask for references that way you can speak to their current clients get to know their services and get
to know how they vibe with their cats and ask a lot of questions when you speak to the owner
of the company and ask a lot of questions when you're at the in-person interview with
sitters and when you're with the sitters in person use your intuition use your gut feeling are they
respectful of your home how are they acting with your cats how are they communicating with you
do they seem knowledgeable about cat care are they comfortable with their job
all these things together are going to give you a good indication of whether or not you can trust
them and it's perfectly fine to interview multiple cat sitting businesses just let them know once you
make a decision hey i'm not going to need your services anymore for this date thanks again
for your time that way they can clear that spot for someone else that might need their services
yes you can definitely install cameras i actually preferred when clients
had cameras because that way everything is recorded they can see how i interact
with their animals they can see how happy their animals are when i come to visit
i like when clients have cameras so you can absolutely install cameras you don't have to
be sneaky about it you can tell them we have a camera here a camera here and a camera here
for our safety and if you've found the right sitter they will be perfectly fine with that
every pet care company has its own key policies and you'll have
to speak with the owner about that and again check out the
cat sitter instructions bundle in the description below thanks for watching