# Just a grumble re pet sitters **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 9, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407 "2009-09-09T11:12:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407/21 "2009-09-10T00:37:23Z")
One cat gets a saucer of milk when she wants (small saucer). The cat is very old and at her age it won’t make much difference. There is also a “Science Diet” mixture of dry food available so there is no chance of them not getting sufficient vitamins. With the kitty litter, the idea is that the pet sitter wraps up the liner, throws it in the outside garbage and uses another tray which has already been made up and placed on top of the washing machine where the cats can’t reach them. Thanks to those who jumped to conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407/22 "2009-09-10T00:49:14Z")
Golly, and I choked at paying $48 a day for 3 visits to tend to 2 dogs and a cat while we were gone a week… Not only did the sitter do everything I asked, she kept a “diary” where my critters “wrote” what went on every day we were gone. Plus she left little bags of treats that she’d brought for them. Sounds like I got a doggone good deal. I do agree you need to speak to the sitter/agency as applicable - especially regarding the meds. That’s pretty bad. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407/23 "2009-09-10T01:16:15Z")
Wow, **Cicero** , I’m sorry you got taken like that. It’s one of the reasons I’m so afraid to go out of town for more than a few days. I’m lucky that I have a pool of professionals who will help out if needed, and I have 2 people I use regularly who I consider friends and are trustworthy. Pet-sitting can be so sketchy. I know people who do it as a supplement to their regular work in the veterinary industry, and they tend to be the most reliable. People who just do dog-walking and stuff because they don’t want to or can’t work a real job tend to be morons. Working at the animal ER, I see pet-sitting problems all the time. For $50 a day, I’ll tell you what you get from my friend the diabetic-feline specialist. She only sees cats, and only sees special needs felines such as diabetics and hyperthyroid cats who need meds twice a day. She interviews any potential client first, you have to pass her test as much as she has to pass yours. She visits the home before taking the job and meets everyone. Once she takes the job and you’re out of town, she visits as close to every 12 hours as she can, she will test blood glucose and appetite prior to giving insulin, she will write a journal entry about the visit, and she will tidy up. If your pet has a problem, she will take him/her to either your vet or to the ER where she’s worked for the last 16 years. She takes a deposit, and doesn’t require full payment until services are completed (that’s part of the reason for the pre-interview), besides, if you come back early, she doesn’t want to have to deal with a refund. It sucks that even if you did use a professional service, your cats were still not taken care of in the manner expected. A lot of these services don’t seem to screen their employees very well and I’ve seen plenty of problems with that arrangement, to the detriment of the pets. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407/24 "2009-09-10T20:20:32Z")
Note that OP is in Australia so $50 is more like $43. Still too much to pay for a poorly done job. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407/25 "2009-09-10T20:25:59Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Let me put your mind to rest on one thing…they don’t have scurvy. That’s a deficiency of Vitamin C, and milk doesn’t solve that. And my vet says to limit milk for my cats (gives them the runs) so they rarely, rarley get any. > [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > Cats, [like most mammals](http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/ascorbate/196x/stone-i-acta_genet_med_et_gemell-1966-v15-p345.htm) (but unlike humans and guinea pigs), can synthesize their own vitamin C. [They won’t get scurvy.](http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+1400&aid=711) Googling “cat scurvy” leads to this [amusing website](http://www.limestrong.com/pets.htm) though. (SFW) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-a-grumble-re-pet-sitters/509407.md?page=1)