Leaving cat with cat sitter for the first time

[LavenderLxx]

We’re going away for 8 days in the summer so will be leaving our 11 month old cat for the first time. A teenage neighbour has offered to pop by twice a day to feed/empty the litter tray/play.

We don’t have a cat flap and the cat doesn’t go further than our garden when let outside so do you think it would be ok to ask for the cat to be let outside for 30 mins in the morning when the cat sitter comes and again in the evening? And then to be alone in the house for the rest of the day and overnight.

What is the going rate for a cat sitter?
Thank you?

Would it be guaranteed that the cat would come back in within 30 minutes? Is that how long you expect the cat sitter to stay for?

I pay £17 per day for 2 visits or £9 for 1 visit when we use a cat sitter

He’s usually quite good at coming back in when called with a shake of the treats tin! He usually spends all day outside if we’re home so I wouldn’t want to deprive him of that entirely; so was hoping 30 mins for each cat sitter visit would be ok

Can you have a catflap and would you be willing to install one before you go?

I wouldn't put the responsibility of calling a cat back in on a teenager, or the cat. You don't know how it will react to a new person and new situation.

When the cat goes out how far does it roam? I.e. do you have a cat proof garden? If so i would let the cat decide, I.e. it may decide to spend the day outside. Set up a station with water etc.

I also pay about 17 quid a day for two visits.

I pay £14 a day for one visit. We have a cat flap and the cat comes and goes as she likes. I would invest in a cat flap myself.

I pay £8 per visit.

Unless the garden is cat proofed I’d be very wary of asking the teenager to let the cat out & bring him back in.

I wouldn’t want to be your teenage cat sitter waiting half an hour for a cat tht might not come back in. It might do for you, but not necessarily for someone else. Too much hassle.

I think letting the cat out in this situation is a bit risky. What if he doesn’t come back? What if he has some sort of accident outside (could be anything from catching themselves on a fence to another animal attacking them) - it’s a lot of responsibility to put on a teen just visiting twice a day. I think either get a proper cat sitter to come and stay in your house so the cat has free rein of the garden and the sitter has insurance / ability to deal with all scenarios as usual or use a recommended cattery.

You can get a professional cat sitter from catinaflap.

Yes I think you’re all right - it’s quite a lot of responsibility for a teen. Our cat has never left our garden as it has quite high fences but I guess there could be a first time!!

Woukd it be mean to keep the cat inside all week? There’s no possible place we could install a cat flap

If you have high fences & your cat never goes beyond the garden, have you considered making the garden cat proof so he can’t get out?

It depends how much of a free spirit the cat is. Is there a risk it will escape whilst someone comes through the door for example?

It's not ideal to keep it inside but I wouldn't call it mean. Make sure though that whoever looks after him also plays with him. Not just feed and litter box. It needs some attention too.

How do you mean there is no possible place to install a catflap? I have seen them go through walls, not just doors.

The cat may well not come back for a stranger. How friendly is he with new people? We left our cats in April for a week and one of them hid from the neighbour who came in to feed them for days on end.

This is the other thing. If the cat is spooked by the teen he may not behave the way he usually does.

If you really have no other option and can’t find a live in cat sitter then I think it’s safer to keep the cat completely inside for the week.

If your cat is used to going out then you could install a cat flap with a microchip reader. How about putting it in a window or glass door?

Thank for all your thoughts and advice.
unfortunately there’s no where we can put a cat flap as we’ve got bifold doors across the back of the house and are terraced so no side doors/windows. The front of the house comes straight out onto the road.

For us he doesn’t go further than our garden but obviously I can’t guarantee that!

Perhaps twice daily visits from our teen neighbour for food and playing and he’ll have to stay inside for the week.

How much would you pay?

I pay £8 per visit for a professional cat sitter.

Can you fit something like this on your fences?
protectapet.com/collections/cat-fence-barrier-for-160-boundary

We were away this past weekend and MIL cat sat for us - she came twice a day and did let the cat out (we also don't have a cat flap) and just had a cup of tea and waited for him to come in/did a bit of gardening - very kind of her! - while he was out. He tends not to roam and is very good at coming in when shouted.

I wouldn't ask a teenager to do that, and tbh we didn't actually ask MIL to do it either but she's retired and happy to potter around.

The cat sitter that's always recommended on our local community FB page charges £12 per visit. I looked after next door's two cats when he was away over Christmas, and didn't let them out at all. They actually ended up being mainly kept in the kitchen other than when I was there with them, because one of them toileted all over the place rather than use the litter trays. They were probably pissed off but ultimately fine, and we're still friends!

Cat in a flat !

As the cat is used to being outside all day if you’re home, I would seriously consider getting a cat flap fitted in the bi-fold door. It won’t be cheap (you’ll need a new pane for that section as it can’t be installed into the existing unit) but tbh with an 11 month old cat you could be looking at the next 17 years of the cat needing to get in and out. The cat clearly enjoys being outside and it seems less than ideal that it can only be let in and out when there’s someone home. If it was a completely indoor cat, it wouldn’t know any different but it isn’t, it’s an outdoor loving cat.

sounds like a professional cat sitter is your best bet for going away soon, but if you go ahead with the cat flap then in future, the teenage neighbour popping in to feed it twice a day would be fine. The other big advantage of a cat flap is you can get rid of the litter tray.

I think allowing the cat outside twice a day would be fine, but I'd make sure there was a litter tray inside just in case. And you'd want to be sure that the neighbour is willing to stay long enough to let your cat have a proper roam around outdoors. In the long term you can fit a cat flap in a glass door if you can purchase an additional panel which is what we did. We paid £15 for two visits a day recently for a professional sitter. She was lovely and was happy to leave additional feeds and to stay and keep him company for half an hour. I like paying for professionals because it gives me peace of mind that he'll have that guaranteed company and also someone who knows what they're doing re. emergency vets etc.