Need advice on house/cat sitter fee

[brenda]

For the second time, I will be having one of my co-workers house/cat sit for me. She is a 20 year old college student who lives at home. She did a fine job last time but for a week and 2 cats, I paid her $100. I'm feeling "cheap". This time it is for 8 days and 3 cats who definitely make their presence known. The 8 month old is into just about everything . She can eat/use whatever she wants in the house. Anyone have experience with this situation? I'm definitely going to pay her more than the $100, but just wondering if anyone has any suggestions for what is reasonable. She does get to have her "own place" for the week. When I was that age, I was just happy to not be at my parents . Any advice appreciated. Maybe some of you have been in similar situations.

Edited to add that I may have given her $150, can't remember for sure . So, it won't be less than that.

[byado18]

What would it cost to board the cats for the 8 days?

That could be a starting place to think about!

[PA Girl]

I dog-sat in college for a month and the people paid me next to nothing but that was ok, I was just thrilled to not be under my parent's roof.

Until recently, we paid $10 for a lady down the street to stop in once a day and feed/water the cats and scoop the litter. She wasn't in the house more than 15 minutes tops and she lived less than a block away.

Now the female requires 2x per day insulin injections.

A vet tech from the cats' vet office charged us $30 per day for two visits, injections, food/water and litter duty. This particular vet tech has since got a new job (different field) and can't do in-home visits anymore (her schedule doesn't allow it)

The replacement cat sitter is a former vet tech and brother of one of our employees. He works right up the street and doesn't have travel time invested in coming to our house. He thought $30 was more than fair. He also brings in our mail and newspapers and washed a sink full of dirty dishes

None have ever stayed overnight but I agree with you Brenda, staying away from home is a sweet deal for a college student. Like the other poster, I would start with the cost to board your cats and add on from there if you want to give her a bit more.

[Carolyn]

I think the idea of paying close to what boarding the cats costs is a decent starting point, but I am in agreement on the staying in a private home for the 20 year old carries some consideration too.

I have 3 pets we must make arrangements for while we are away, and this is what we do. Two are greyhounds who go to a former foster mom and stay w/ her for the duration, and she charges $30/night for both. She takes excellent care of them and I never think twice about them while we are gone. We also have a cat that I leave home and have a woman come in once or twice/day to feed/visit him...he is a real people cat and loves her!...and this is a side business for her. She charges $10/day. I have had her come by to let the greys out if we are gone for a full day and she charges $15/visit for them as they need a little more attention, but we don't ever leave them home alone overnight. So it boils down to $40/day for my 3 pets...when we come to St John for 10 days, thats another $400 I have to pay. Sounds crazy but thats what we have to do.

Hope this reference helps.

[aroobagirl]

We have 3 terriers and I pay $30 a day and then I round up. $210 usually becomes $250. Seems like everyone is happy with the deal!

[MrB]

Wow the first topic I really feel like a professional on!

As some of you know, a pet sitting business is my primary means of income, and have been doing it for over 6 years.

First off, comparing cats and dogs is like....well...comparing cats and dogs!

How many times a day will your friend be coming to the house?

Let's assume one, since it's cats. I would charge you $22 per day(that is really per 30 min visit, but it's just one visit)

Is she staying at your house the whole time? For that, I would be charging you a lot more. My professional opinion is that that is overkill, but Ive done overnights for cats too! Whatever the customer wants! We would be talking $520 for the 8 days. A pretty steep price, but I got employees and insurance to pay.

[b-as-u-r]

I have 2 dogs and 1 cat. Cats are self-sufficient creatures so the care is primarily for the dogs. I pay my twenty-something, very responsible girl $25.00 a day. She still goes to her day job but she does move in for the week. I leave her grocery money of like 40 bucks in case she runs out of anything or wants to pick up some of the things she likes to have in the house. I don't think she ever uses it. The peace of mind is priceless, especially since my 100-pound collie is such a baby and hates the boarding place. There's no place like home.... Ali~

[ScubaGirl]

I have a girl, who dog sits for me, and she charges $40.00 per day, but that means she is with the dogs almost 24/7, in my house. It's her business, and she walks other dogs during the day, but she takes mine with her.

For me it's worth it, to know they are with someone most of the time we are away.

Before I found her, a friend of mine would stay at the house, but she worked during the day, like us. I would leave her $300 for gas and she also used my car.
She got married last year, and it's not so easy for her to dog sit anymore.

So it's a little more expensive to have the full time one, but she's with them all day.

[Xislandgirl]

I pay our dog/cat/house sitter $50 a day. She works full time but gets up with them at the crack of dawn and feeds them and puts them out and then spends evenings and weekends there.
I would prefer to pay less, but I have not found anyone that I trust enough to stay in the house.
We never board so this is our only option as I will not leave them for a week without some one there overnight.

[LysaC]

My husband trains/boards/daycares dogs. His price is $35/night to board a dog.

When we go away, we have a colleague of his house/cat/dog sit. We have 3 dogs and 1 cat and a house= @ $600+ for a week away. It's expensive but worth it to have someone take responsibility for our animals as well as our house.

If this person was just stopping by once a day to feed/water/clean litter for the cats, I'd offer $25/day (The cats do not necessarily need a housesitter unless there are medical issues.)

Since this person is also housesitting, which is not all it's cracked up to be (I used to do it) unless the house has a pool/hottub/maid/a lot of gourmet food, I'd offer $35/day.

Remember, this person is not just taking care of your cats but also your house. You are paying for a lot of responsibulity! It's worth it!

[Jo Ann - VA]

Wow, I feel like a cheap skate after reading what you guys pay for someone to take care of your pets. We take our lab and terrier over to our inlaws while we are away. The lab stays outside and she stays in the yard at their house. They live in the country. The terrier can't be turned loose because...she is a terrier! So she is put out on a lead or they take her for long walks. They enjoy (say they do)keeping them.
I pay the girl next door $50.00 for feeding the cat, letting the cat in and out of the basement at night and in the morning.

It appears I am getting by really easy for pet care!

[toni]

Thank you for the timing of this topic We were just discussing the other day whether or not to hire someone to stop in and check on our cats for us. Normally we ask our SIL, but it will be more winterish then and she lives a 1/2 hr drive away. There's someone in town we know who can do it, but we weren't sure what to pay. Whew, now I've got a better idea in my head as to going rate and what it should cover.

[brenda]

Thanks everyone for all of your input. I have a much better idea of what I should be paying. We have left the cats before with just someone coming over to feed them but I feel guilty doing that. Also, my recently acquired 8 month old cat is a holy terror. Not sure if the house would still be intact when we got home . He is lucky he is beyond cute .

[onthelake]

Great topic!

Hey Brenda ... I have 2 new 'little' kitty's - Maine Coons ... 6 months old and big already. I'm lucky that my daughter lives 2 doors away and she will come and feed/play with the kitty's twice a day. I watch her dog and cat when they are on vacation, so it works out great.

Less than 2 months ... yeah!!
Pam

[brenda]

I think we have totally gotten away with inexpensive pet care for quite a while although we may not have realized it. We had a family member stay here many times, but then she moved out on her own. I also had a teenager come in once a day.

Based on all of your input, I decided that $25-30 per day should be sufficient. I rounded that off to $250 for 9 days. Lysa, I really thought about your comment that she will be watching the house too. It IS a responsibility as well. Having said that, they are cats and I don't expect her to be here all the time or as much as I would if it were dogs.

I talked to the sitter about it today. Her eyes kind of lit up ( I don't mean that in a bad way) when I gave her the amount so I am confident that she is happy with it. I would like to make sure she is OK with the payment so she will continue to stay here. I know how hard it is to find someone that you trust. Thanks again!