I am going on a week-long trip in a couple weeks and need to hire a cat-sitter. I placed an ad on my community’s yard sale Facebook page, but they’re asking me for specifics on compensation. I’ve never done this before and I don’t know how much to offer to have the person come in, feed, water, and scoop the litter boxes every day for a week. Any suggestions?
The agencies I work for are licences and bonded, and all pet sitters carry insurance. The cost is $25 per half hour drop in visit. Pet sitters who actually go out and do the work receive $12.50 to $15 for their time. This is par for the course in our area. Nearly all the agencies charge the client the first amount and pay their their sitters the second.
If you are looking to hire someone who is not, at the very least insured, I would certainly not pay more than $10 per visit. Are the people who are asking you about compensation in the business? if so, they should have set rates available for you. I would feel really uncomfortable giving someone who answered an ad like that a key to my house and access to my pets. If you have a trusted neighbor or teenager you know, $10 per half hour visit is probably appropriate. Other than that, I would look into an agency or someone who is a professional.
If this isn’t someone you are related to or friends with, be sure that all your valuables and smut are locked safely away, and any expensive food/drinks are likewise secured or hidden.
If it’s a neighbor stopping in every day to empty mail, scoop a litter box, feed, and do a quick head-count, then $5 per day seems reasonable, plus a 6pack or bottle of their preferred alcohol.
If you want them to spend time with the cats, or if it involves driving to your place from anywhere other than your neighborhood, or you have other housekeeping/yard tasks that need doing (watering, checking the perimeter for safety, etc) then it should jump to $8 or $10 a day.
ETA that I live in rural SC where everything is cheap, and also that in theory I agree with Rhiannon that it’s much safer to have an agency doing this sort of thing than some random person on a community board.
Every day? The great thing about cats is they’re so independent.
Heck, I’ve done four and five day stretches and left the cats on their own. Just make sure to leave enough food and water.
I don’t think I would do a two week stretch though. I’d probably have them stop by about three or four times. Definitely not every day.
I’ve left my cats for a week, but that’s pushing it. You really don’t need someone to come in every day, though.
If you can get it for $10 a day, it might be worth it simply so the house isn’t entirely unoccupied, to deter thieves. Someone stopping in, even just for a few minutes every day, serves more than just the cat.
When I was a pet sitter I charged a flat $20/visit for cats.
I was bonded and insured.
Cats are almost no work so you were paying me for my time.
The $20 included feeding, watering, scooping/changing the litter, pilling, giving shots, whatever needed to be done. If you had an affectionate, playful cat it included playtime. I’d also bring in your mail, take your trash cans out to the curb, water plants, whatever needed to be done within a half hour or so.
For extra I’d go shopping for you, drop off/pick up dry cleaning, water your garden, etc.
Anyway, I think $20/visit for somebody who is professional (bonded and insured) is fair.
As an ER vet tech, I always recommend daily visits for cats. Once a day just to make sure no accidents have happened, food/water didn’t get spilled or become somehow inaccessible, and for general well being of the cat/s especially if they’re social with humans. Mine need people time and twice a day meds, but of course I’m in a community of coworkers and friends who can all take care of my cats and have in an emergency when I was unexpectedly hospitalized for four days.
I also recommend a reputable pet care service with licensed and bonded employees. The person who will be taking care of your cats should have a home visit with you prior to the scheduled vacation. I would also request from the service to send me someone who has been with them for over a year. You can also check what they charge at least, and use that as a base for what to pay if you bring in a friend or whoever else you’re trusting with your home - 2/3 to 1/2 if what a service charges is reasonable to pay an individual.
Something else you can request of whoever ends up taking care of your cats - send you an update daily. I get texts and pictures of my caretaker with my cats while she’s playing with them, daily. Facebook messages with pics work, too.
I’ll spare you the horror stories of people who have either left their cats alone for “a couple/few days” or who hired a service that was either not fully professional or with a new employee who never showed up.
I use a licensed and bonded sitter for my three cats, and she charges $18 for 20 minutes. That includes scooping, feeding, and socialising. Every day is a “must,” just to make sure everything is ok - with both them and the house. Plus, a neighbour pops in some nights for more play time. My biggest concern is that they get lonely and bored when I’m gone.
I pay my petsitter about $15-20 per visit, which includes feeding, watering, scooping, and playtime (I have a very active cat). She also emails pictures. She comes once or twice a day depending on how guilty I’m feeling. Professional pet sitter, lives in the neighborhood.
I would not just get some random person off Craigslist or something.
I use a licensed, bonded, and insured pet sitter, who was recommended by my former pet sitter when I moved out of her area. (The first pet sitter was recommended by my vet.)
The pet sitter charges $15 a visit. She scoops the boxes and takes out the dirty litter daily, gives wet food to whomever comes out for it, makes sure the dry food bowl and water bowl are both full and fresh, checks for kitty barf, and plays with whatever cats come out to visit. She also texted me a few times when I was on vacation just to let me know that everything was fine.
Before I went on vacation, she came to the house to meet me and the cats. We talked about who she’d call if anything happened, who my vet is, and so on.
Do this regardless of who is watching your pets. I had a trusted family member watching my dog earlier this year. When I returned, my wedding rings were missing. 
P.S. I don’t suspect her.
I pay $400 for a week. But we have lots of cats including special needs.
This. I leave once a year for a week. A friend stops in about 3 times to refresh food/water and scoop the box. 2 cats, a cat door so they can go out (no lectures please, they’re older cats and there’s no keeping them in at this point) and I give her $50/60 for the week.
When it was the teenage girl next door coming over I paid $10 a visit. We now pay a recommended woman $15 for a visit every other day and that includes some light plant watering. I’m sure the cat would be fine if it stretched to 3 days but, as mentioned earlier, there are additional benefits to someone checking on things regularly; security, burst pipes, etc. I’ll often give a tip for good service or additional work too so it effectively comes to $20.
In my area, the going rate is $20 per visit. Includes refilling food and water, emptying the litter box, bringing in the mail and any stray newspaper.
Depending on travel times, we sometimes skip the first or last day, as the cat can be by himself for quite awhile.
I found four people willing to do it for $50 for the week. The one I hire will be the one who is willing to let me copy down their driver’s license info. I might also set up a webcam to face the front door.
You may want to set up a contingency plan too. What will you do if the person you hire doesn’t show?