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Original poster

Would you pop in and check on a friends 2 cats if they asked?

51 replies

inkyspells · 28/04/2026 12:21

i have 2 cats and I’m going on holiday in june
I have paid for a lady to visit twice a day from cat in a flat (I think it’s called ) but I’m still worried
I was going to give my friend a spare key and for whatever reason ..if they sitter didn’t turn up then I could ask her to pop in.
She drives but it’s about a 11 min drive to my house from hers.
Is this cheeky to ask?
I mean I’m thinking the worst and probably won’t need this but I was thinking about doing this as a back up plan.
Maybe even leave a key each with two friends.

OP posts:
Blessedbethefruitloopss · 28/04/2026 13:11

When I organised a cat sitter, their insurance did not allow for anyone else to enter the house.

APatternGrammar · 28/04/2026 13:19

I have often done this for friends, and especially if you are only asking them to be the back-up it’s no big deal at all.
If it would make you feel better, you can offer to pick up their post and water their plants or whatever while they are away if they don’t have pets.

ConnieHeart · 28/04/2026 13:41

Blessedbethefruitloopss · 28/04/2026 13:11

When I organised a cat sitter, their insurance did not allow for anyone else to enter the house.

That's actually a really good point

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

Cats
Gardenquestion22 · 28/04/2026 13:46

Our neighbour fed ours when we were away - but he's more of a dog person than a cat person - so friends who liked cats would pop in if they were going past and give him some fuss. They live about 10 minutes away and also did the daily feeding when the neighbour wasn't available.

I happily water their greehnouses in return when they are away.

henlake7 · 28/04/2026 14:17

I would def do this for a friend.
Heck, Ive done this for a vague acquaintance who had over 40 cats!
She was a breeder and I was paid with a discount kitten!!LOL😆

MardyMillylala · 28/04/2026 14:24

Nothing up with asking. I've had 6 cats & this is always the arrangement I have with several friends & my parents with their cats & vice versa. Luckily we all live within a 10 minute drive of each other & that we've all met each others cats prior. I think the cats are happier in their home environment rather than a cattery set up & we always buy a thank you type gift of some sort.

wintere · 28/04/2026 14:28

Yes.. not as Plan A all week but would be very happy to be Plan B, and/or do one little pop in mid week to make sure all looking ok!

Error404FucksNotFound · 28/04/2026 14:35

Absolutely I would.

LadyLindaT · 28/04/2026 14:38

An interesting point about insurance. As a Cat in a Flat sitter, and even when I just looked after cats for my neighbours, as a favour, I could never feel I could guarantee house security, if other people were coming and going. I am being tasked to undertake that responsibility, which is a big one.
I once turned up to feed a cat to the find the front door wide open. Talk about nearly having a heart attack!
Turned out the neighbour had a key, and their kids had just let themselves in. It also can be mind-boggling if the cat's food has been moved or changed since your previous visit, so you don't know what they are eating.
I do accept that it never hurts to have someone else keeping an eye on the place, or as a key holder for emergencies, but if you use a professional cat-sitter, and other people are going to be coming in and out as well, please at least make sure that they communicate with one another.

JustAnotherWhinger · 28/04/2026 14:42

My cat visitors don’t allow anyone else to come and go from the house while they are looking after the house. It puts them potentially on the hook for someone else not locking up properly or damaging something.

so by all means give you friend a key as an emergency back up, but not to pop in concurrently with the sitters.

MyHorseAndMe · 28/04/2026 14:53

I’d do this for a frond

ProjectDog · 28/04/2026 15:02

My friendship group all does this for each other. When we all had teens, we’d pay each others teens to do it.

Igmum · 28/04/2026 15:09

I have cats and regularly do this including playing/chilling out with them. DD19 and a neighbour’s teenage son are also happy to earn a bit of extra money feeding and playing with felines.

EmpressaurusKitty · 28/04/2026 15:20

I have reciprocal agreements with a couple of friends & look after another neighbour’s cats in return for a donation to the rescue I volunteer for, all of which works well.

Rewis · 28/04/2026 15:27

I do that to my friend. She gets me wine and chocolate as a thanks.

ARKane · 28/04/2026 15:50

I would not leave any pets alone even with someone checking in occasionally. I had a very bad experience once checking in on a family member’s dog. He liked to look out the front window and sometimes tried to get up on the sill. He got the cord from the blinds wrapped around his neck then jumped back down 😢
Opened the door to the other dog howling his head off. Poor other guy was just hanging there.

mondaytosunday · 28/04/2026 15:59

Not cheeky at all if she’s a friend! My friend has a spare set of keys and would be totally happy to do this. In fact I once went away for a night and was halfway to my destination when I realised I hadn’t left any extra food out - my cats are fine left alone for a night or two but I always leave a lot of dry kibble out. She was totally fine with going around to top them up and always volunteers to do so when she knows I’m off to visit my son for a night or two (she works full time and has two kids at home so it’s not like she’s looking for something to do - and in fact doesn’t really likes cats, but she likes me 😁)!

Blogswife · 28/04/2026 16:01

Depends , do you or could you reciprocate? I’d do it for my friends - I don’t think it’s cheeky

SquigglePigs · 28/04/2026 16:02

We frequently do this for friends and their cats and they live about 15 mins away. We've done this for neighbours too.

We've also had a different friends dog to stay a few times and we regularly had a rabbit to stay for other friends.

FeralWoman · 28/04/2026 16:07

@inkyspells Are you the poster who booked a holiday, assumed that your friend would drive to your place and stay there to look after your cats for free or maybe £50? She said no so you had to book a cat sitter?

FourSevenThree · 28/04/2026 16:23

I wouldn't want to do and promise every day, but I would be ok with being a backup .

reluctantbrit · 28/04/2026 16:25

As an emergency - absolutely. I wouldn't do it ideally on a daily basis as I am allergic and my friends know that I need to take antihistamine to be at their house for more than just a really short visit and not dealing with them, all of my three best friends have cats :-(.

ohtowinthelottery · 28/04/2026 16:59

I cat sit for friends from time to time. They have indoor cameras facing the food bowls and litter trays. I've always known they're there. It doesn't bother me. They only look at footage if there's a problem. Is that an option or does the professional cat sitter's contract not allow cameras?

Toddlerteaplease · 28/04/2026 17:01

Yes definitely.

Gardenimp · 28/04/2026 17:05

I'm not really a cat (animal) person, but I'd do it if a friend had tried to make formal arrangements and been let down.