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Original poster

Paying a teenager to feed the cats

83 replies

ThePastafarian · 17/02/2023 17:16

Going away for a few of days, nextdoor neighbour's daughter is going to feed our cats. I'd like to pay her (if it was an adult neighbour I'd probably give them a bottle of wine and/or chocolates depending on how many days, but can't buy a seventeen year old wine and I'm not sure if chocolate gesture would be appreciated particularly?) It's only a five minute job to empty a pouch and top up their biscuits, but twice a day from Thursday to Sunday - and obviously a massive help to us. What would be reasonable to pay her do people think?

OP posts:
Favouritefruits · 17/02/2023 19:21

£10 a day seems fair, £5 each visit. I used to look after my neighbours dog as a teen, I did a really good job including letting it sleep on my bed like the owner told me too. She gave me £5 a day back then do I think with inflation £10 seems reasonable.

TheFretfulPorpentine · 17/02/2023 19:31

She hasn't far to come, so I would say £5 a day. You can't go wrong with cash.

Tickledtrout · 17/02/2023 19:33

We pay £10 a day

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Beachhutnut · 17/02/2023 19:34

£20 is fine. My DD walked next doors dog for 3 days and got a fiver. She was thrilled.

MissAmbrosia · 17/02/2023 19:35

I'd normally pay 10 a day for weekend. 50 for the week. Normally they only visit once a day though,

MrsMitford3 · 17/02/2023 19:35

We used teenage cat sitter when we went on holiday last summer.

She came twice a day and also brought in post etc

We paid £10 a day.

Really worth it to keep cat happy and safe and although it's "just opening a packet" it is also being there twice a day for cat feeder.

As a Mum whose DD has done things like this and has been wildly undervalued/paid I want to be respectful and pay properly.

OutDamnedSpot · 17/02/2023 19:36

I give £5 a day to the 13yo who feeds mine.

Hotmess1 · 17/02/2023 19:37

My cat sitter is £8 a visit (I’m based in Bham). That’s what I’d pay this teenager too 😀

StillWantingADog · 17/02/2023 19:37

I’ve paid a teenager a tenner a day to water plants which seems similar

OnTheBoardwalk · 17/02/2023 19:40

I'd pay £10 a day for 2 visits

they'll be willing to do it next time and you’re also getting added security. IF something was to happen whilst you are away I’m sure her parents will be around to help resolve

Nimbostratus100 · 17/02/2023 19:41

£10 a day is the minimum

I pay £15 a visits for two cats
This includes food, water and quick visual health check, and taking responsibility to contact me or vet if any concerns

NormalForNuneaton · 17/02/2023 19:43

DD has done this in the past for neighbours and been paid between £5-10 per day.

She's also been encouraged to spend time there making use of their massive TV with access to Sky, Netflix etc which she loved (every teenagers dream....access to a lovely, friendly cat and unlimited satellite TV !). She's very trustworthy though - I wouldn't recommend giving any teenager free run of your house 😂

Tree543 · 17/02/2023 19:46

My teen gets £10 per day for 2 visits a day which includes litter tray duties.

mondaytosunday · 17/02/2023 19:49

I'd pay £10/day.

WombatChocolate · 17/02/2023 21:31

The £15 per week we pay is to just put down more food and water. No litter tray. Teens have all been neighbours so within 1 minute walk.

As I said, they are all kids of neighbours we know pretty well, having lived here more than 20 years. We’ve been to Christmas drinks with some of the neighbours and chatted to the others at these, and been at street parties with them and known their kids a bit since most of them were little. People help each other out and asking young teens if they’d like to feed cats for pocket money is fine. They know it will be pocket money ahead of time and if they don’t want to do it, they are always welcome to say ‘no’. No pressure.

If one of the teens didn’t want to do it, I’d ask an adult neighbour instead. I wouldn’t pay them but leave wine and chocs for them. I wouldn’t pay a proper cat sitter type person.

I don’t think it’s exploiting the teens. They never have to do it, and those who’ve done it once have always said they want to do it again. As it only needs doing once a day and they are 1 minute away and it can be done at any time of day, it’s really less than a 10 minute commitment per day. As they get older and can have a proper job they could stop doing it, but most still say they will do it. They do t mind helping us out, it’s so little effort and an extra £15 is still welcomed for a few minutes per day.

But then my teen DS has babysat for other neighbours to help them out and for pocket money rather than wages - perhaps £10 for the evening. If you want to do regular babysitting to make money in the way you would with a job, fair enough you’ll want more. Likewise with pet sitting for strangers. But if it’s an odd favour for neighbours, it’s fine for kids to do this without the parents feeling they’re being exploited. Volunteering and a sense of community tends to benefit everyone.

HamBone · 17/02/2023 21:36

My teens get £10 a day to bring in the mail, feed and play with a cat, feed a gecko and two hamsters.

I think that’s fine, they’re looking after pets and if they didn’t do it, the animals might not survive. It’s definitely a responsibility.

LubaLuca · 17/02/2023 21:39

Sunsetintheeast · 17/02/2023 17:19

We pay a teenager £5 a day. It’s about taking responsibility, making time, locking up, ensuring all is well, turning down invites for stayovers (or whatever). 5 mins it maybe, but it takes a commitment.

We do the same. It seems a reasonable amount, not enough to embarrass them but a worthwhile amount for a fair bit of responsibility.

My kids used to feed the neighbours' cat and they always gave a bar of chocolate as a thank you, even after a fortnight's holiday. I always thought it seemed a bit mean, but we liked them and their cat so it was no bother really.

OnTheBoardwalk · 17/02/2023 21:39

@WombatChocolate £2.15 a day! Surely you are trusting them with more than putting down food and water

what if your cat was sick and ill? Would you expect them to just put the food and water down and leave?

how many hours did your DS babysit for £10 for the evening?

MrsBennetsPoorNerves · 17/02/2023 21:40

My dd did it a couple of times for our neighbour, going in twice a day for around 5 days. She wasn't really expecting to get paid the first time, but they gave her £40 on each occasion. They asked her again recently, but she declined as she is busy and didn't want the commitment.

Fairydustandsparklylights · 17/02/2023 21:53

We pay our Neighbour £5 per visit.

YetMoreNewBeginnings · 17/02/2023 21:58

I pay £10 a day.

Its acknowledging that twice a day is a commitment, but also I want them to want to do it.

The teen we know will actually rearrange odd things she has on if we ask as it’s worth her while. It also makes it not worth risking - so she never takes friends with her or mentions that she has key access to our house.

MarvelMrs · 17/02/2023 22:02

I would say £25. And definitely not a voucher. Just cash for the teen to enjoy wherever they wish or save.

WombatChocolate · 17/02/2023 22:13

OntheBoardWalk, to be honest, yes the expectation is just to put food and water down and go. Often the cats are not there but out. They might only see them once in the week.

I wouldn’t be expecting them to check them over. If something very obvious was wrong and they saw it, they know to simply text us - no further responsibility. They aren’t professional cat sitters there to spend time with the cats or to do litter trays etc. And yes, it’s only a couple of pounds per day. But it’s never pretending to be a wage or hourly rate. It’s acknowledged that they are doing us a favour for pocket money. They don’t ever have to do it if they don’t want to. We will probably have done favours for their family over the years….so there’s a culture of doing this round here.

My DS hasn’t done lots of babysitting, but perhaps did 4 hours or more for pocket money of £10. Again, he was doing a favour for the family. I’m keen he knows about doing favours for people and not only doing stuff for commercial rates. We know the kids. I have also babysat for them - no payment, just probably given a bottle of wine. Happy to do it. We are talking about a 2 minute walk.

I think there is scope for people to exploit teens. Those wanting a cat feeder should be clear upfront what they’re offering so anyone can say ‘no’ if they don’t want to do it. The low pocket money rates I’m talking about are only for teens of neighbours we know well. I wouldn’t ask on Facebook or similar to find someone I didn’t know and offer pocket money - to be honest I wouldn’t be keen about teens I dont know having the key to my house.

For anyone wanting to earn proper money, feeding my cats for a week in the summer isn’t going to be the route to it. They might advertise and make themselves available to the whole community and offer to do all that is needed - some people have mentioned changing litter trays, playing with cats, sitting with them for an hour or giving medication. If that’s what you need, it will need more money and is a much bigger responsibility. However, our cats eat simple food, have no litter tray and are rarely a round in the day anyway to be seen, so someone literally coming in for 3 minutes is fine for us.

SmokyForTheWin · 17/02/2023 22:16

My teenage neighbour asked for £5 /day, but we've agreed on £5/visit (2 X a day) and she stays for 20 minutes to play with pet.

WombatChocolate · 17/02/2023 22:19

The more prescriptive people are about what they require, the more you’d need to pay.

Some people want the cats fed at very specific times…often twice a day. It does become a real commitment and impact the rest of your day - and if you’ve said you’ll do that you need to do it and should be rewarded for it.

We always tell our feeders that the cats need one feed a day and it can be at any time to suit them each day. As long as they are coming home to sleep each night, all they need is 3 mins to pop in and feed the cats..can be anytime. it wouldn’t inconvenience anything they wanted to do at any time of the day, as long as they were coming home. So it really is a small ask. If it was a bigger ask, I would feel it was more than simply the favour/pocket money thing.

I do think a lot of this is about context. Next door neighbour friends’ children that you’ve known since they were little, nipping next door at any time, is a bit different to a teen who advertised on Facebook that you respond to.