How much to pay 14yo neighbour to feed cat once a day for a week while we're away?

[TropicofCapricorn]

Hi, how much do you think is sensible for them?

Come in, one sachet, one scoop of biscuits, top up water. Only needs one time a day.

£20?

I am what?

Exploiting a child? How so? By offering him a very easy way to earn £30? Yeah call the police why not.

Making him miss out on seeing his friends? How exactly is spending a few minutes once a day at our house doing that?

Making him responsible for my entire house? When he's not even going inside the house? The otherwise locked and secured house?

Neglecting my cat by asking someone to ensure it's fed and watered?

Because you can’t take the heat on the internet?

I pay £20 a day to have someone feed the outdoors birds & check my houseplants, ffs. Let alone a pet.

She’d do it for less, but I don’t undervalue people and take advantage of their time for my own benefit.

🤣

I did. But the. The madness started. So I'm not going to give the lad the opportunity any more..

After all, it's it's child exploitation, stopping him living his life and making him solely responsible for my entire house apparently..

He's getting nothing z don't worry.

Well you can give him £30 then.

Christ, what a miserly, stingy outlook on life.

Why not save a few more quid and leave no food at all for the cat?

You can pay a 14 year old £140 if you want...but I won't. £30 was fine.

But it's not a problem anyway, the lady next door will do it for free.

It's not stingy.

Surely you wouldn't expect to pay alad next door £140 for this small task?

Yes I realise tightness overcame you at the thought of splashing £20 to have the peace of mind that your cat was being cared for !

Huh?

I was asking what was reasonable, agreed £30.

Then some mad MNers came along and suggested £140 and that I was preventing him leaving his house for a week 🤣🤣🤣

I've read many weird threads on MN over the years, but this one wins hands down. OP has a healthy cat that's living the sort of life that other cats can only dream of.

The kid next door is offered £20/30 for about one hours work.

Some posters are outraged.......about what?????

It may only be about one hours work, but it is the commitment - every day.
This means the lad can't suddenly decide to stay at a friend's house for a couple of night tho of course it's school term so one would guess he will be home each night to sleep.

Of course you don’t.

@TropicofCapricorn

Yeah we've got the idea, another neighbour is doing it for free. You don't need to say it 50 times.

And it's not the 'gotcha' you think it is I'm afraid. You've just made yourself look even more mean spirited and tight fisted, by allowing a neighbour to do it for free.

How embarrassing for you. 😬

Oh, and yes, paying someone - ANYONE - £20 to look after your cat for a week is stingy! And you bloody well know it. That's why you have thrown your toys out of the pram on this thread. Decided to behave like a toddler instead of just admitting you're wrong.

Oh yeah, and as for the teenager who you've 'deprived' of £20, I am sure he'll get over it. 😆 And I expect he will manage to get another pet sitting job soon that will pay more than £2.80 a DAY.

The "well now he's going miss out on any cash because all the Mumsnet meanies said I was tight!" is completely unhinged. It's a crap attempt to apportion blame to complete strangers on the internet because you can't handle a bit of feedback. This inability to take accountability or responsibility for your own decision making is a narcissistic trait. Just saying.

£20 for the week seems fine to me!

@Arfidisathing true ! It also smacks of ‘benevolent lady of the manor’

this thread is hilarious.

the kid is a neighbour doing a favour, not a paid job. OP, I hope you go ahead with your plans and ignore all the batshit on here.

Are they not needing to do litter tray too?

£40

My mum looks after our cat when we go away and although she doesn’t ask for or expect payment we give her £60 per week for the inconvenience (she lives about a mile away and pops in once a day for feeding, litter tray and welfare check - usually takes and sends pictures too!). It would be at the very least £80-100 per week for a cattery
near us.

Also bear in mind the security aspect of them popping in out out will be worth it's weight.

Always be generous. Id say £10 a day be fair. £5 bit low. He's doing you a big favour.

Cats get quite lonely when they are used to a family around.

I charge £7 a visit, so £5 a day is reasonable, I think.