To Hire A Professional Sitter?

Hugospal

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I am seriously considering hiring someone for when I leave town. The person who takes care of my cats now is awesome, but she's never had her own cats and can't/isnt willing to give meds. She doesn't do litterboxes either so I normally put out temporary ones and it would be nice to not do that.

The most I go away is for a long weekend (Thurs-Mon). I would obviously cancel a trip for a major cat emergency.

but we also deal with several minor ones that sometimes need courses of meds. Hugo is on meds now for a stress induced cystitis. I'm afraid of not having anyone to adequately check on my pets and be able to give medicine should one of these issues pop up.

What do you do if your cat needs medicated and you have to go somewhere? Are there any long acting antibiotics that last a few days so my normal sitter won't have to worry about giving meds?
 

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Some vets can give an antibiotic shot, that's stronger and more long lived but I don't know how long lived they are =/
We don't really go out of town anymore, but if we did, I would find someone I knew personally and that I trusted already and someone who is obviously as nuts as I am and would be willing to do litter box duty, meds, foods, etc. And I would pay them very, very well.
Non-cat people can sometimes work out really good, but they won't notice subtle signs of impending illness like an experienced eye would.
I understand someone hesitating on medicating a cat but why on earth won't they just give the litter box a fast scoop? =/
 

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Call your vet office and ask if any of the vet techs do pet sitting on the side or would be willing to pet sit for you, with advanced notice of course. Or if they offer boarding. Boarding at the vet may be pricier than a pet sitter, though.

If the meds are pills, the pet sitter can use Pill Pockets to the cat who needs the medicine. Open the Pill Pocket, stick the pill inside, smush the Pill Pocket closed, and give it to the cat to eat. Most cats will gobble it up right away thinking that it's a super yummy treat. Many medicines can be compounded into pills or other forms, such as a transdermal gel or a chew treat. Ask your vet if compounding your cat's medicine(s) is an option. Wedgewood Pharmacy is a popular place to get compounded medicines from if you don't have a local compounding pharmacy. Veterinary Pharmacy, Wedgewood Pet RX

I wouldn't give the Convenia antibiotic injection. It lasts about 2 weeks but the medicine stays in the cat's body for 2 months and there may be serious reactions. Convenia- long term antibiotic: Is it worth the risk?

Provide disposable gloves and plenty of bags to put the litter waste in. Have plenty of hand soap, sanitizing gel, etc on hand too. Scooping a litter box isn't hard to do but some people may be concerned about bacteria and whatnot. Yes, waste can smell pretty bad but all waste, whether from a Human or animal, smells.

You can look into getting an automatic litter box or two as well. Waste goes into a compartment. If you empty the waste compartment before you leave, it should last for the few days while you are gone.
 
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Hugospal

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We don't really go out of town anymore, but if we did, I would find someone I knew personally and that I trusted already and someone who is obviously as nuts as I am and would be willing to do litter box duty, meds, foods, etc. And I would pay them very, very well.
In a perfect world, but I don't really know anybody like this. I'm in contact with a sitter that seems knowledgeable but I haven't met her and she's expensive. I guess I could have them both come over!
 

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In a perfect world, but I don't really know anybody like this. I'm in contact with a sitter that seems knowledgeable but I haven't met her and she's expensive. I guess I could have them both come over!
My world is far from perfect but I AM really lucky I have two cat/dog/horse/livestock centric neighbors that would jump at the chance, so yeah..probably not the best advice =P Sorry.

I would interview this sitter thoroughly! It sounds like she might work out.
 
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Hugospal

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Call your vet office and ask if any of the vet techs do pet sitting on the side or would be willing to pet sit for you, with advanced notice of course. Or if they offer boarding. Boarding at the vet may be pricier than a pet sitter, though.

If the meds are pills, the pet sitter can use Pill Pockets to the cat who needs the medicine. Open the Pill Pocket, stick the pill inside, smush the Pill Pocket closed, and give it to the cat to eat. Most cats will gobble it up right away thinking that it's a super yummy treat. Many medicines can be compounded into pills or other forms, such as a transdermal gel or a chew treat. Ask your vet if compounding your cat's medicine(s) is an option. Wedgewood Pharmacy is a popular place to get compounded medicines from if you don't have a local compounding pharmacy. Veterinary Pharmacy, Wedgewood Pet RX

I wouldn't give the Convenia antibiotic injection. It lasts about 2 weeks but the medicine stays in the cat's body for 2 months and there may be serious reactions. Convenia- long term antibiotic: Is it worth the risk?

Provide disposable gloves and plenty of bags to put the litter waste in. Have plenty of hand soap, sanitizing gel, etc on hand too. Scooping a litter box isn't hard to do but some people may be concerned about bacteria and whatnot. Yes, waste can smell pretty bad but all waste, whether from a Human or animal, smells.

You can look into getting an automatic litter box or two as well. Waste goes into a compartment. If you empty the waste compartment before you leave, it should last for the few days while you are gone.
Pill pockets don't work for him. We already get everything compounded to liquid, which is fairly easy to give him, but still takes some technique. She (the person who currently watches them) said she isn't comfortable giving any meds period.
 

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Pill pockets don't work for him. We already get everything compounded to liquid, which is fairly easy to give him, but still takes some technique. She (the person who currently watches them) said she isn't comfortable giving any meds period.
A pro might be the way to go.
At least the sitter was honest and didn't say "sure" and just not do it. BTDT. =/
 
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Hugospal

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I am gonna do the interview and probably use her for my August vacation, and two in October if that works out. My friend already agreed to watch them over 4th of July weekend but the sitter said she is also available if medicating is needed, which is great. I will not be far away for this one so I could come home if something major came up.
 

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Chiming in late! But we've hired a pet sitting company to watch our cat this summer for a four day vacation. They are a small company, and each sitter is assigned to a family so you get the same person every day and every vacation. They come and do a meet-and-greet before the vacation to get to know you, your pets and routine. Since my cat is on a fairly intricate diet routine (compared to filling up kibble) and meds, I feel much more comfortable this way. It's too much to ask my friends to do, and most of them aren't cat owners. The pet sitter is, and since this is their main business, I don't feel guilty about the lengthy feeding instructions I'll be leaving.
 
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Hugospal

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Chiming in late! But we've hired a pet sitting company to watch our cat this summer for a four day vacation. They are a small company, and each sitter is assigned to a family so you get the same person every day and every vacation. They come and do a meet-and-greet before the vacation to get to know you, your pets and routine. Since my cat is on a fairly intricate diet routine (compared to filling up kibble) and meds, I feel much more comfortable this way. It's too much to ask my friends to do, and most of them aren't cat owners. The pet sitter is, and since this is their main business, I don't feel guilty about the lengthy feeding instructions I'll be leaving.
That sounds like a pretty nice set up. I also feel like my older cat is getting to be a little too much for my friend to deal with if one of his issues flares up while she's watching him. The person I contacted runs her own pet sitting gig, so it's just her visiting the cats. Her yelp and google are full of wonderful reviews and she send pics of updates for the pets each day. We are meeting her on Monday!
 

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I recently hired a pro after having the same girl house/pet sit for years. We pill through treats so it's pretty simple; but I do have a pretty specific food/med routine that needed to be followed. It can be stressful when you need to find someone to handle meds!

The woman used to work at the same office as my mother; before going into semi-retirement. So I had a little bit of a reference; although she never sat for my mother. She's also on Care.com and we chatted about cats both on the phone and twice in person before we traveled. It helped to have her meet my cats before hand because one of my girls is...moody. :lol: Plus I could show her how I do the meds and foods. And I could see that she knew how to approach cats and understand their body language. I had her give treats when she visited. It all worked out great! It was worth the cost because I had so much more peace of mind while we were away. She also text me updates and a few pictures.
 
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