Finding a good 'drop in visits' person

[VictoriaVenkman]

Hi Everyone, I need some advice please.

In the last few years a few of the local catteries to me have closed down. The ones left are not really suitable as they are too small for one of my cats who is a Maine Coon. Any advice on the best way to find a trustworthy, good cat visitor to my home?

The thought of someone coming into my home I don't know does worry me but I know there are lots of people who visit cats to feed and give them water. Any advice on the best way to find a reliable person would be welcome!

We found one by looking on our local Facebook group for previous recommendations.

I've used cat in a flat. There are loads round me. As it's a student area. I found a really good one. And when she could t do it. She suggested her friend, who was equally lovely. Met them both before hand. And they absolutely adored the cats. And took great care of them.

Most dog walkers also do cat visits, so try asking them ☺️

Thanks for your replies, really helpful.

Any neighbours who could be interested in a reciprocal feeding of cats when away? Three of us do this and it works well. Local pet shop may also know of someone.

Worth seeing if your vet has any ads for cat sitters on the surgery noticeboard - we did this recently , and the sitter turned out to be one of the veterinary nurses from the practice.

I googled cat sitters and found a company in the nearest town with a few 5 star reviews. When we called they organised a home visit. They asked questions about all their quirks, showed us their insurance documents, DBS checks etc. asked about our preference for frequency of updates and if we wanted photos (some people prefer no photos because it makes them miss them more apparently). As it happens, the couple who ran the business had a holiday clash and could only do the first couple of days but they had a woman who they used when they were busy. She looked after their own cats when they're away and only lived a 2 minute walk from our house so it was very convenient for her. One of our cats was really shy and always hid from visitors so it was lovely to see she was coming out for photos and attention on day 3.