How come a cat sitter is the same price as the cattery?

[EachandEveryone]

More or less. I've got to leave mine this week as my dad is sick the cattery which she loves is £12 per day including food and she gets company and even sweeps up with the owner and has loads of fresh air as it's outdoors. I've found a highly recommended sitter who charges £10 for 30 minutes and I'm hoping my neighbour will do evenings because I simply can't afford £20 a day for two half hour visits so last minute. She said in half an hour she will wash bowls feed her empty litter tray and play with her. Really? That sounds a lot to fit in. She sounds lovely and is coming round tomorrow do I pay for that meeting as well? So how come there's no difference in price when one is 24 hour care?

[ShatnersBassoon]

Lots of people will pay a premium for not having to take the cat away from the home. They think their cats are too sensitive to change and will miss their home comforts. My ungrateful bastards have always enjoyed a break at the cattery

I agree that the cattery offers better value. Is there a neighbour with a teenager who'd be happy to do a couple of visits a day for a few quid?

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

with travel they will probably be earning around £10/hour. That isn't hugely above minimum wage.

[myrtleWilson]

We have three cats and so the cat sitter works out cheaper than a cattery - but more importantly ours are much happier staying at home and as pp said I'd probably pay a premium for that if I needed to. When we just had one (or possibly two) cat(s) we did use the cattery but one Christmas the appearance of the cat carriers sent them all scarpering and we know they don't enjoy the car journey either... since then we've used cat sitters who have all been excellent - text us, send photos etc. I hope you get something sorted you're happy with.

[EachandEveryone]

Oh mine loves going I'm sad it's full next week she has company there and I know my flat mates won't lock her out on a night. The cat sitter sounds lovely but I honestly think mine likes the change of scene and it's going to be very quiet for her. I feel really bad but I have to go up north. Do you usually pay them all the money upfront or half? It's all new to me.

[NapQueen]

If you have flatmates cant they put food down once a day and give the cat a pet in exchange for wine?

[Vinorosso74]

Yep it is about right. The cat sitter does have their travel costs and time too.
I don't think any option is cheap to be fair. We pay £9.90 a day for cattery plus a fee for giving insulin injections. However it is in our vets and they look after her well.
If you have a trustworthy neighbour to pop in for evenings do it. A bottle of wine or nice chocs are cheaper than a cat sitter.

[CuddledUpWithMyCat]

Whether the person comes to your house or the cats are in a cattery, they will still be doing the same task (feeding, changing, chatting, checking etc). They still have to pay their insurance and instead of electricity etc costs, they pay fuel costs to travel. Plus nearly all cats much prefer to intheir own home.

If someone travels and spends half an hour with your cat, they will need to allow another quarter of an hour minimum for the journey there and back. This means they are spending an hour on your cat/s whereas they could deal with twice the amount if they were at a cattery.

[EachandEveryone]

Thanks for clarifying. See my post about flatmate locking my poor cat out in the rain the other night and telling me she wasn't cat enough when I was crying my eyes out looking for her to know that I won't involve him. My neighbour will do it but not twice a day. It's the hussle and bustle she will miss. I work 12 hour shifts so she has my attention four days a week.

[Weedsnseeds1]

I pay my cat sitter ( friends daughter) £20 a day, but she lives in my house with her boyfriend and spoils the cat rotten. As a teenager, she worked at a local cattery part time. She's tried to give the money back several times as she enjoys the space and freedom from living with her soon to be in laws!
She's be happy with less, or nothing at all.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Mine charges £11.50 a visit. As she travels about 6 miles each way. Thought about having two visits a day ( due to their health scares) while I'm away this year but decided at £18 a day for a v posh cattery it was better to do that.

[Firenight]

The cattery is cheaper than the cat sitter but I appreciate having someone keep an eye on things and also appreciate not having to do the round trip to drop the cat off just for a quick weekend away.

Cat sitter likes payment upfront but we are regulars so if I pay afterwards it's ok. Cattery is happy by BACs after the event.

[EachandEveryone]

I know I saw a really posh cattery in St Albans that included grooming and hand made food I think it was only £2 more than a twice a day visit from the cat sitter. Again it was fully booked. Although my girl would not have wanted to come home from that one!

[bobdylannumber1]

I'm going away in 2 weeks for a week and my Adult Son and his Girlfriend are staying in my house for the week we have a puppy from a rescue here, I've a female cat her brother got run over last week and had to be Pts so I'm terrified of this happening again I concidered a cattery but I'll leave her here and have my Mom look in on her as well during the day the girlfriend would have late shifts so I'm hoping this will be all ok.

[BarbaraofSeville]

Cat sitters work out cheaper if you have more cats, because they charge the same or only a little more whether you have one cat or 5, whereas catteries charge a fee per cat.

In the time we've used a cat sittter we've never had fewer than 3 cats, so she's cheaper and the cats are happier at home.

[EachandEveryone]

She's just been and is very lovely. £80 from Wednesday to Sunday morning. Ouch.

[BarbaraofSeville]

I've just booked my cat feeding lady for our up coming holiday with 7 days of 2 visits per day and one day of one visit for 4 cats. That will cost £124 - she is part of a group of 3 semi retired ladies who feed cats and walk dogs as a business, so insured, experienced etc.

The local cattery, which is probably averagely priced, I've no idea, charges £22 per day for 4 in one enclosure together, which I probably couldn't do as they get on OK but not nearly 8 days in close captivity, so if I put them in 2 pairs, that would be £28 per day, ie £176 per week, but would include food which is probably about £15-20.

So a decent amount cheaper for me and better for the cats as they have their own home and garden etc. We live in a very quiet estate so very low chance of them being run over while we're away .

[Madcats]

We're down to a solitary Madcat, but my Siamese lads HATED going to a cattery. They were used to the run of the house and garden, but were confined to a tiny area next to other cats for a couple of days (so refused to drink, judging by the amount they drank for a couple of days when they got home).

Madcat(13) tolerates his cat sitter who pops in to feed and also waters a few plants and puts the bins out (£6/visit). We hear all about it when we get home. We try to combine her with family (we are in a touristy place) so he can get some company.

ATM I think Madcat has either done something dreadful that I am yet to discover or he reckons I have murdered DH (who is the other side of the country for a couple of days) so he is giving me a wide berth,

[MsMims]

A cattery isn't 24 hour care either, someone will only be popping in twice a day to feed all the cats and change their litter trays etc.

[EachandEveryone]

I don't think so mine holds 70 it would be impossible just to pop in

[EachandEveryone]

She text me to say going in twice a day is too much and wasting my money so she's just doing the night now

[OhTheRoses]

The cat sitter is £15 per day. She feeds the cst, makes sure he's ok, and picks up the post, opens and closes a few curtains, and waters the plants.