How much to charge?

[Patchworkskirt]

I've offered to cat sit for a week. Individual is going away so cat will be coming to stay in my house they will supply food so I will probably just get a little tray and some litter. I have a cat anyway and hers will be kept indoors. What is reasonable to charge? I'm not rly doing it for money and don't want to be unreasonable but it will require a bit more attention and cleaning from myself as it won't be able to go outside.

If you’ve offered (as a friend? Neighbour?) are they expecting to pay?
lovely cattery near us that provides all food, & each cat has access to an outside catio, is £9.50 near us.

@LikeABondVillanDipshit I'm not a neighbour or friend. Is that 9.50 overnight? I dont have a catio unfortunately as my cat obviously just goes in and out. I'm going to see if I can get a large crate so it can spend some time outdoors. Dont want to let it outside incase it runs away in an unfamiliar place

Do you have a completely separate room to keep the boarding cat away from your cat?

Cats usually find new cats in their "territory" (home) quite stressful and they are unlikely to get along. Introducing adult cats can take a while & stressed cats may exhibit unwanted behaviours such as urinating around the home.

Most catsitters visit the cat at their home instead - is this an option?

I really don't think it's a good idea to bring someone's cat to your house for a week - especially if you have resident cat.

You will have to keep them separate at all times and they will probably both find the whole thing incredibly stressful.

This is a mad plan! You'd have to contain the cat in a single room to stop it seeing the other cat and escaping, they'll both be very stressed

Go to her house and each day and feed the cat.

I wouldn’t do this either, how do you know the cats will get on? If you are going to then I wouldn’t charge if it’s a friend, as long as they provide everything. If they were going to pay they’d pay for a pet feeder or a cattery.

Yeah I wouldn’t move the cat. It might go mental in new house and your cat also.

Cats are better being left at home. I leave ours at home and it goes in and out cat flap as usual and usual home space. For a long weekend neighbour just pops in each evening to give fresh food, and he has auto dry food machine anyway. For longer I get a live in cat sitter

This isn’t a good idea. Cats find changes of environment incredibly stressful anyway, plus the two cats will be able to smell each other and most cats don’t like strange cats on their turf so both cats will be really stressed. And you’ve got the risk of the guest cat dashing out like lightning and escaping.

I would offer to go to her house twice a day to feed and do the litter tray. I pay £10 a day when I go away for this service. Cats aren’t like dogs, they don’t need humans around all day and the cat will be 100% happier remaining on its own territory.

Another one saying this isn't a good idea. How far away does she live? I'd just pop in and feed the cat if not more than a few miles.

The potential for this to go wrong seems a crazy chance to take . If your cat gets stressed it could end up not coming home , or developing a stress UTI etc resulting in vets fees . Even if you keep them apart visually they will still sense each other by smell etc .
Our cat gets very stressed in new environments, so wouldn’t eat for the week if we left somewhere new , trust me we found out the hard way , and via the vets bills after .
Now have gradually built up the time he spends in a very understanding cattery , which he is now used to , and they cover all his food, litter, any emergency vets bills , spending time with him , and all the extras such as providing cat bedding , towers etc for £13.50 a night .
If you are going to look after this cat , I would definitely visit twice a day in its own home .
Oh and equally factor in any damage the visitor cat will do while it’s with you, eg if you shut it in a room , clawing carpets furniture etc .