What do I need to know about pet sitters?

Suddenly, without warning, Cheryl exclaimed (5/17/2011 2:21 AM):
On 5/16/2011 9:22 PM, jmc wrote:

Near Washington, DC. Things are outrageously expensive here in general,
due to too many rich people and congresscritters living hereabouts.

How near DC? I'm in this area and I love my pet sitter. I'm in Bowie.


Other side of the river, I'm afraid. VA.

jmc

I'm glad you have two interviews scheduled. For your area, $45/day
sounds about right. I'm in the Milwaukee metro area, and rates vary
from $30/day and up, with $30 being on the low end. I hope you find
the right person. It sounds like you have a good start.

Rene

"jmc" wrote in message ...

For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep.
I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last
time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new.

I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like
the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs
trump my discomfort.

Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at
services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always
guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my
personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I
assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go
through my stuff while they are here?

Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I
might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into
boarding!

jmc

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very
fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone, and I
know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep Holly and Duffy
happy and healthy. I also think they are much happier when they are left in
their home environment instead of trying to move them around. When I was
first looking for a sitter, I called various people for recommendations
(friends, my vet, etc.). Her name kept coming up, and everyone would
describe her as "fantastic." Then I called people that some of those
references knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I
interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other people.
This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the house so I
could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and Duffy. It was clear
almost from the minute she entered the house that she was very good with
cats. I explained their feeding schedule in detail and placed emphasis on
the fact that I did not want anyone else to come to the house (no children,
no friends, etc.), and she was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as
you are--with privacy and protection, so that is something I asked about
when I was talking to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she
had also talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as
particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into my
house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years earlier so I
could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That is, I had a "maid's
lock" installed. I have every lock in the house (including the maid's lock)
keyed so that my primary key will fit them all, and I don't have to carry a
bundle of keys around. The "maid's lock" is a second lock on the front
door. It is set so that my key will fit but one additional key will fit
that lock but *no other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going
to have the house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock
(because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by unlocking
the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am home), I lock
*both* locks. The keys that I have given to other people will not work
because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I hope this makes sense
because it gives me a great sense of security. Of course, it is very
important to have someone very reliable for those occasions when you are
gone because that person will have access to your house and Meep when you
are gone.

MaryL

MaryL wrote:
"jmc" wrote in message ...

For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for
Meep. I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the
last time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new.

I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT
like the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's
needs trump my discomfort.

Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at
services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always
guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my
personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I
assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't
go through my stuff while they are here?

Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I
might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into
boarding!

jmc

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very
fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone,
and I know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep
Holly and Duffy happy and healthy. I also think they are much
happier when they are left in their home environment instead of
trying to move them around. When I was first looking for a sitter, I
called various people for recommendations (friends, my vet, etc.). Her
name kept coming up, and everyone would describe her as
"fantastic." Then I called people that some of those references
knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I
interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other
people. This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the
house so I could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and
Duffy. It was clear almost from the minute she entered the house
that she was very good with cats. I explained their feeding schedule
in detail and placed emphasis on the fact that I did not want anyone
else to come to the house (no children, no friends, etc.), and she
was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as you are--with privacy
and protection, so that is something I asked about when I was talking
to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she had also
talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as
particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into
my house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years
earlier so I could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That
is, I had a "maid's lock" installed. I have every lock in the house
(including the maid's lock) keyed so that my primary key will fit
them all, and I don't have to carry a bundle of keys around. The
"maid's lock" is a second lock on the front door. It is set so that
my key will fit but one additional key will fit that lock but *no
other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going to have the
house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock
(because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by
unlocking the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am
home), I lock *both* locks. The keys that I have given to other
people will not work because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I
hope this makes sense because it gives me a great sense of security. Of
course, it is very important to have someone very reliable for
those occasions when you are gone because that person will have
access to your house and Meep when you are gone.
MaryL

I used one for my cats once. She was good, and spent about a half hour or 40
minutes with the cats while she was here every day. She also took in the
newspapers from the front porch, and made sure the light was on so it looked
like someone was home. But I don't know how to tell you to make sure you
have a good one, except perhaps you could ask her for references and then
telephone them and ask. You might also introduce her to your cats in advance
so they won't be traumatized when she comes in while you are away.

On Thu, 19 May 2011 19:27:32 -0500, "MaryL"
wrote:



"jmc" wrote in message ...

For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep.
I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last
time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new.

I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like
the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs
trump my discomfort.

Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at
services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always
guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my
personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I
assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go
through my stuff while they are here?

Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I
might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into
boarding!

jmc

- - - - - - - - - - - -

I have used the same pet sitter for 8 years. I consider myself very
fortunate to have found her--she becomes "another me" when I am gone, and I
know I can rely on her to do everything in her power to keep Holly and Duffy
happy and healthy. I also think they are much happier when they are left in
their home environment instead of trying to move them around. When I was
first looking for a sitter, I called various people for recommendations
(friends, my vet, etc.). Her name kept coming up, and everyone would
describe her as "fantastic." Then I called people that some of those
references knew, just to be "doubly" sure of the sitter I was getting. I
interviewed her on the phone, and did the same with several other people.
This woman really impressed me, so I asked her to come to the house so I
could meet her in person and she could meet Holly and Duffy. It was clear
almost from the minute she entered the house that she was very good with
cats. I explained their feeding schedule in detail and placed emphasis on
the fact that I did not want anyone else to come to the house (no children,
no friends, etc.), and she was amenable to that. I was concerned--just as
you are--with privacy and protection, so that is something I asked about
when I was talking to references. Interestingly, she told me later that she
had also talked to references about *me*--it turned out that she was just as
particular about where she worked as I was about who would come into my
house. I did take one extra step, but I did this several years earlier so I
could give a key to the woman who cleans my house. That is, I had a "maid's
lock" installed. I have every lock in the house (including the maid's lock)
keyed so that my primary key will fit them all, and I don't have to carry a
bundle of keys around. The "maid's lock" is a second lock on the front
door. It is set so that my key will fit but one additional key will fit
that lock but *no other lock* in the house. Then, on days when I am going
to have the house cleaned or need a pet sitter, I unlock the primary lock
(because their key will not fit), and they can enter the house by unlocking
the maid's lock. At all other times (including when I am home), I lock
*both* locks. The keys that I have given to other people will not work
because they cannot unlock the primary lock. I hope this makes sense
because it gives me a great sense of security. Of course, it is very
important to have someone very reliable for those occasions when you are
gone because that person will have access to your house and Meep when you
are gone.

MaryL

I have never heard of a 'maid's lock' before now, but it sure sounds
like a REALLY good idea for your situation.

And you are fortunate to have such a good pet sitter, that you can
really trust.

I know that Holly is getting older now, and of course Duffy is a very
special cat, so you need someone really good to look after them, when
you are gone.

I just never travel. The last vacation I took was in 1977, long before I
had gotten my first cat, Lucky.

I have never taken a vacation, since then.

I had one job where I was always at the maximum for vacation time, so I
started taking Fridays off. First one Friday out of four.

Then, every third Friday. And for 4 years, I had to take every other
Friday off. It was really nice: every other weekend was a 3 day
weekend

"jmc" wrote in message ...

For the first time ever, I'm considering a pet sitting service for Meep.
I'll be gone for nearly three weeks. She did very poorly the last
time I had her in boarding, so I need to try something new.

I'm a very private and somewhat paranoid person. I do NOT NOT NOT like
the idea of a stranger in my house when I'm away! However, Meep's needs
trump my discomfort.

Can those of you who use a service tell me about them? I'm looking at
services that were recommended by coworkers, but that doesn't always
guarantee they'll do a good job. I'm leaving my cat's life and my
personal home in this person's hands - since they're recommended I
assume they'll do a good job with Meep, but how do I know they won't go
through my stuff while they are here?

Any advice is appreciated! I need to do this for Meep's sake, but I
might be even more of a nervous wreck than I am when putting her into
boarding!

jmc


- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here are three more things that I thought of after I sent my other message:
1) I made arrangements with my vet so that Holly and Duffy would receive
care if the sitter needs to take them in for medical care. Of course, he
said he would have done that even if I had not made arrangements. )
2) My sitter leaves a daily log in which she makes notes of how much food is
eaten, behavior, how active they are, etc.
3) Check in occasionally by phone or email..there were *never* any problems
with Holly and Duffy, but it eased my mind.

MaryL

I'd used one of my vet's techs for several years for my cats. Then, my
neighbor across the street started a pet-sitting and errands business
because she lost her job. I knew her before and she's spectacular . My
other neighbor uses her, too, and swears by her. We all have each others'
keys.

Once I used International Pet Sitters. The guy was great and my vet also
knew him which eased my mind a little. The next year he had quit.

As for trusting- you need to hang loose a bit and allow that someone will be
in and out of your house while you're away. It's either that or stay home.
I would never have my cats boarded. They would be miserable.

Barb