Pet sitters...

[holmesgirl]

I am using a professional pet sitter for the first time in June. Found her on facebook - she seems legit - has own website; FB group with photos of furry clients; is registered with National Pet Sitters Association etc.

I just feel a bit funny about handing the keys to my house over to a stranger.

Does anyone else use a sitter and did you just take a leap of faith the first time?

The only other option I have is to take the cat on a week's caravan holiday. I'd rather not stress her out with a change of environment. She's already had a big move in the past year and is settling well now...

We did - but we found our sitter after she put a set of keys to our house through the door. She had been the sitter for the previous owners and when she found out they'd moved (a few months after we moved in) she returned the keys with a note. We figured she was trustworthy given she hadn't robbed us!

Has yours provided you with references you can check? I think I'd want that if it was just a random person I'd found via t'internet

We used an agency. First person they provided was an incompetent nutter. Our friendly cat who adores all human beings HATED him by the time we came back and he was weird and rude to us on our return. Oddly enough we hadn't warmed to him very much when we first met him but decided it was silly to be put off by personal taste. Always listen to your gut instinct! The agency, to be fair, handled our complaint well and we gave them another chance. The next time we specifically requested a vet nurse (lots of them do sitting on the side) and she is AMAZING. She's the only person other than us who our very timid cat will be stroked by and is just generally sweet and sensible and reliable. Both her and the nutter had references. I would ask at agencies or local vets for a vet nurse. They are more likely, I think, to be sensible, caring and responsible than some random who thinks they like animals.

Thanks for responses. I met with the lady I mentioned in the OP last night. She seemed really nice so I am going to giver her a trial. I have a couple of people who will drop in during the week to make sure everything seems okay.

I like the idea re insisting ona vet nurse. If I need to I'll go down that route next...