Cattery stress....

[Liz]

Elaine in Aberdeen does cat sitting as her job so do drop her a pm

I will recommend her as she baby sat the Clan when we first moved in and still visits so not even our numbers put her off!!!

[Gillian Harvey]

I would say, sit back, and let them tell you everything about their service, that way you'll start to get an idea of whether you think they'll suit or not and you can also watch how the cats react around her (or him). You definitely want references from satisfied customers - but I would hope they would offer those to you without you having to ask - I always take photocopies of my refs to give to them, so they can then read them in their own time and they can then phone any of my customers if they want to. I produce a little brochure too - so usually they've contacted me by phone or email first and I send out a brochure for them to see before an actual meeting.

Some petsitters are members of professional pet-sitting organisations (like NARPS), but if they arent, that doesnt mean they arent any good (i'm not a member of any prof pet-sitting organisation). Helen mentioned police checks, and obviously if you are entrusting a stranger with your house keys (and your puss cats!) that might be something you want to ensure they have.

[unseeliechylde]

That's a good point - and something else you might be able to help me with  For all you cat sitters, or people who have found yourselves particularly good cat sitters, what are the top 10 questions I should be asking when I come to interview potential sitters?

[Gillian Harvey]

I think as well, once you 'interview' the cat-sitters, you will know straight away which is the right one. My last two new customers both mentioned how calm I was, (don't know what they were expecting LOL!) but as you say, most cat-sitters will do the job because they are 'cat people' and therefore, hopefully, know how to act around cats too.

[unseeliechylde]

Wow - you cat sitters sound fantastic! Much better than a cattery I have to admit my two are very shy of "strangers", but then there are two or three people they have just taken to - They just seem to know who they can trust not to pressure them in any way, and they can be quite sociable with a select few people. It's really reassuring to know that there are registered companies, police checks and references, and that it would seem even the shyest cat can be won over by a sitter
I do think that it sounds a lot better for shorter holidays - I know that being in their own home would no doubt do my two the world of good and be much less stressful for them. Even the prices are very reasonable! It would also help to get them used to the idea of other people - something we've been trying to get them to come round to for a while
I guess it's also better to go with a sitter as most cat-sitters will be "cat people" anyway, or they wouldn't do it, so at least you know they will have enough experience to see whether everything is ok or not, and will deal sensitively with even the most timid cat
Now all I have to do is find a sitter, then convince the OH.....I suspect finding the sitter will be the easy bit!
Thank you all so much - your advcie has been really helpful and reassuring

[Gillian Harvey]

I get that all the time from people - 'You won't see Tiddles, she'll hide as she doesn't know you.' I then have a job removing the cat from my lap!!!

Me too! LOL! 

I cat-sit and charge £7 for one visit a day and £13 for two visits a day, (bit more if I travel out of town) and I provide customer references. I have an initial meeting with potential customer (and cats of course!), show them my references and have a general chat. I usually leave it at that for the first visit, give them time to check out the references, then if they book me, I go back, try to time it for feeding time so's I get to see the feeding and general routine, by which time the cats are starting to get more comfortable with me being around. If theres time before they go away, I might pop back again, to check on all the finer details and pick up keys, otherwise if there isnt time, I'll pick the keys up at the second visit.

When I cat-sit, I usually spend more time with the cats on the evening round. The morning round is just washing food bowls, dishing up and feeding, making sure they are ok and the house is ok, and then in the evening same again, but I'll sit with the cats, watch a bit of telly, read a book or whatever.

[woowoo]

I get that all the time from people - 'You won't see Tiddles, she'll hide as she doesn't know you.' I then have a job removing the cat from my lap!!! As we know though a cat will always prove you are a liar!!

[Puffball (Louise)]

I use a catsitter to visit once a day.  Willow is an indoor cat and I thought a cattery would freak her out but she also gets extremely stressed when strangers visit and hides under my bed, so that was a worry too. However, the first time I left her I got a call from the sitter on day 2 saying she had come out of hiding to say hello and even allowed a stroke... the traitor 

[woowoo]

Unfortunately in Cumbria! There must someone in your area though.

[rachael1981]

I'm a pet sitter although not in your area. I always provide references for new customers. You need to feel comfortable with your sitter though, try and get some recommendations from your vet. I must be cheap as I only charge £7.00 for two visits!!! Still it's more for the love of the job than money. Cats are definately happier in their own home and I have never had a stressed one in 15 years of doing this job.

Oooh where are you based?????

[woowoo]

I'm a pet sitter although not in your area. I always provide references for new customers. You need to feel comfortable with your sitter though, try and get some recommendations from your vet. I must be cheap as I only charge £7.00 for two visits!!! Still it's more for the love of the job than money. Cats are definately happier in their own home and I have never had a stressed one in 15 years of doing this job.

[Tiggy's Mum]

I think a pet sitter is definitely less stressful for them, I've used a pet sitter for my elderly cat Tiggy who was on lots of medication for various ailments, she coped absolutely fine and didn't seem in the slightest bit stressed.  Conversely I have just got back from holiday and my two young, healthy boys didn't cope very well at all in the cattery despite the cattery ticking all the boxes you would want it to.

My cattery is £6.50 per cat, two cats for £12 - the petsitter is £8 for one visit or £14 for two a day.  The pet sitter is Police checked, a member of the National Association of Registered Petsitters, insured and has references from other customers.  I'd definitely use a pet sitter over a cattery for shorter breaks but I wouldn't like to leave the boys 'home alone' for a longer holiday.

[Michelle (furbabystar)]

My Aunt and Uncle use sitters for their dogs when they are away. I know they use a company, I will see if I can get the number (and you can see if they are Country wide). I havent a clue how much it costs but i know they have always been really pleased with the people who have sat for them

[blackcat]

£8.00 per cat in the cattery, my professional sitter costs £10 per day and it does not matter how many cats there are, so you save money as well  Try doing a web search. Not sure about Scotland, but there are several options in England (PS, some bits of my family came from Nairn a few Generations back  )

[unseeliechylde]

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who uses a sitter - or even how much it usually costs Can anyone here recommend a sitter in the Aberdeen area? I'll look into it, though OH is a bit weird about "strangers" coming into our flat when we are away, so don't know if he would go for it. There's also the cost issue - not that I mind paying for a good service, but the cattery already costs £8 per night per cat, so it's expensive enough (though they are very good and I'd rather pay that for a nice place than opt for somewhere cheaper but less comfortable), especially once you factor in the cost of wherever we happen to be going (eg. Ireland - flights and all that jazz).
Are sitters usually more or less epensive than a cattery? What sort of service do you get? Are there registered bodies that good sitters are members of?

[Millys Mum]

You can hire a pet sitter, try to get a personal reccomendation from someone you trust tho

[unseeliechylde]

A couple of weekends ago, we put Riley and Skye (her first time) into our usual cattery for 2 nights, so we could go visit my mum in Nairn, to celebrate the opening of her B & B. Now, Riley has been to this cattery a good few times before, and it's a really excellent one, but he just doesn't do well at all. He doesn't eat properly, and loses between 200 - 500 grams depending on how long he is in for (and he is a slim cat already). He often comes back somewhat poorly, and this time was no exception. We had hoped that having Skye with him might have helped, but no. We always take lots of toys, bedding etc from home to make the place less strange, but he just doesn't cope well.
Each time he has come back and got ill, he ends up running a slight fever and being off his food / vomiting. Our vet has thoroughly investigared this (with the help of the cattery), and the conclusion is simple - Riley gets VERY stressed and anxious when in a cattery, so much so that his immune system is depressed and he gets mild, non-contagious (because Skye and the other cats are always fine) infections. This is by contrast to his utter delight and enjoyment at being taken away with us to various parts of the country to stay in B & Bs, self catering accomodation etc., for which he will happily endure up to 15 hours in the car with no problems at all.
I really don't know what we can do to make it easier on him - we've used feliway, familiar toys etc., and now a companion who he adores, and he still ends up horribly miserable and stressed during even very short stays. What should I do? We only put them into the cattery when there is no possibility of taking them with us, so we keep visits to a minimum, but the implications for his health and wellbeing are still a problem. I don't know anyone who could cat-sit for us (one of my frineds would love to, but she is terribly allergic). I'm particulary concerned as we will probably being going over to Ireland sometime soon to see Pete's new niece, and I don't want Riley getting ill again.