Conference misery::feline_v1

    I live in Fitchburg and would also like to hear opinions
    about this service....just in case I can ever take a
    vacation again.
    
    Well let me count...8 dollars for a visit...plus $1
    per cat....with seven cats and two strays I feed. 
    No wonder I never go anywhere!!
    
    Sandy (Tamba, Poco, Barkley, Chloe, Anges, Dewey and Abby
           no Mom your not going on vacation!!)
                                   

    I live in Leominster and have never heard of them, but I haven't been
    looking for them either.  
    
    If I went away for an extended period of time that fee seems expensive 
    to me.  My two cats would require a daily visit (Otis eats canned food)
    and I don't know as I would want someone I didn't know very well 
    IN MY HOME (alone)!  
    
    Not very trusting, am I!!!    
    
    Marilyn, Otis and Tiffany
    
    

    Marilyn....trusting!!!   that's why we never get away for an extended
    period of time.   But if I do go away...I would prefer my cats to
    stay at home and have someone to take care of them vs boarding
    them at the vets.    Can you imagine what I would pay to
    board seven cats?  No wonder I take vacation and work in my
    garden!   (I hear your starting a garden on your balcony...
    good luck)
    
    Sandy
    
    

    I am really getting bad in my old age....;*)  !!!
    
    Last week I worked one day from 7 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. and had to go to
    a meeting right after work - which lasted until about 8:30 p.m.!  The
    entire time I worried about Otis and Tiffany being alone for 13 or
    so hours....and felt so bad about them being home in the dark and
    not having any fresh food.  I had fed Otis his canned food before I
    left for work and left out Tender Vittles and Purina Cat Chow (and
    water of course) for the day....but I still had THEM on my mind and
    couldn't wait to get home.  I don't think I could go away for an 
    extended period of time - I would miss them too much.
    
    Gardening...yes, I can't wait to get started and have already planted
    some stuff indoors to transplant when warmer weather comes!  Although 
    Otis has a bad habit of digging in the dirt and Tiffany has the bad 
    habit of eating the greens I have still managed to grow quite a few
    things in the house already! 
    
    Ideally it would be nice to have someone come into my home to feed
    them and talk with them - but I don't know as I could afford both the 
    trip AND the sitters.
    
    Marilyn and the kids...
    

    You folks need to form a cat sitting cooperative.  I've lost both
    the other members of mine to divorce (=> moving away) and marriage
    (mucho busy entertaining hubby's business associates).  sigh.
    Maybe when I'm 80 I'll get to take another real vacation. sigh.
    Wouldn't trade my babies for anything, however.
    

    I always vowed that when I got a new kitten (ie Otis) I would carry him
    with me EVERYWHERE...in the car, in a pouch and/or carrier outside. 
    That way he would be used to the motion and sound of the car and I
    could bring him with me and I would have the freedom to come and go and
    there would be no need for a 'sitter'.  Didn't do it - because the only 
    place I can afford to go iss to....WORK!  And, he isn't allowed in the 
    building (sigh!).
    
    Last year (yawn...yet another story) I went to Rockport with a friend.
    We went into a beautiful little shop and there was this adorable
    kitten (or I should say LOOKED like a kitten) rubbing against my
    ankles, purring and begging to be picked up.  When I did take her in
    my arms...she kissed my chin and attempted to sit around my neck.
    Next thing you know this woman called _her_ name at which point she
    leaped from MY arms into her 'mothers' waiting arms.  I asked about 
    the stray and she said it was HER baby (she was the owner of the store) 
    and that the cat was 13 years old.  Since infancy she has taken her 
    EVERYWHERE with her...and the cat loves riding in the car and meeting 
    new people.
    
    So, it can be done!
    
    Marilyn
    

    Years ago...when I only had one cat he use to love to go for car rides.
    We use to go to a beach house in Maine for two weeks each summer and he'd 
    always come with us and was very content.  But for some reason I can't 
    picture taking seven furballs on a vacation.   
    
    Your right...I would miss all of them terribly!  It seems like I can't
    fall asleep unless atleast three of them are leaning on me.  It's bad
    when your husband comes to bed  and decides to go sleep on the couch 
    because me and the cats have the waterbed.  (ha ha...who's the crazy
    one here)
    
    Even though not many of us get away that often...maybe we should start
    our own service between us!   We're cheap!!
    
    Sandy
    

    Hi,
      I think I have mentioned before, I own Denise's Pet Care, I have
    about one hundred and twenty cats/dogs I sit for. I have owned my
    business since June 1989. I am a member of NAPS (National Association
    of Pet Sitters). It is very costly to become a member, but the benefits
    are super, like for instance a referral service and a member must stay
    strictly to their code of ethics of honesty, etc. I am bonded like most
    pet sitters. If you would like me to post their number to have them
    refer you to a reliable pet sitter, I would be glad to post the number.
       My business has grown and grown, I am now in the Yellow Pages of the
    Westfield, Mass. book and the Springfield, Mass. book.
       My point that I am trying to make is.... About a month ago, I went
    to a house with one kitty in it. The couple had left the house a day 
    before I arrived. When I got to the house, it was dark, and I ran right 
    into a burglar. I stopped the burglar, I then left the house and tried
    to get help, I went to a nearby house and stood out in the dark and cold, 
    the woman in the house wouldn't help me. Finally, I said to the woman,
    "Please call the police and please watch me walk to the next house to
     get help." 
       Again, what I am trying to say, "The burglar looked walked up the
    back stairs to the deck, looked in through the sliding glass doors,
    which the blinds were open, he saw right through the house and only saw
    a kitty, no dog, nothing. Then he wrecked the screen door and the
    sliding glass door. 
       If you leave for any reason at all, leave lights on all entrance
    ways, leave a light on in a room, or timers for lights, if you only
    have kitties, leave a radio on or t.v. on, please please keep your
    blinds closed. It is so important to take extra precautions when you
    have only kitties in the house. If a dog is in the house, a dog will bark,
    and will usually warn an intruder about coming into a house. 
       The couple thanked me for everything I did, and sent me a
    substantial check for everything I did, but personally, I wouldn't ever
    want what happened to me to ever happen again, or to anyone else. 
       I didn't mean to get off the subject or make this note so long.
       Sincerely, 
       Denise, Spooky, Smokey, Kuji, Tiddly Winks, Heidi, and Toby (the
       dog).
    

    Re: .8
    
    The kitty was okay?  It didn't get lost outside or anything?
    

    The kitty was fine. That was what I was so worried about. I was sicker
    about the kitty then meeting the burglar. When the police and
    detectives came to the house. I explained my story to them, how I
    was a pet sitter and all, and they said, "Where's the cat?" They looked
    at me and said, "I haven't seen a cat since we've been here." The police
    looked for Stormy the kitty, and I looked, finally we found Stormy
    under the bed. After the police and detectives left, I called the
    couple's parents in another state, and they agreed to come and meet me
    at 1:00 o'clock in the morning, otherwise, I would not have left Stormy
    in the house, Stormy was awful upset, scared, and I could not even
    think of leaving Stormy in the house alone after that. Stormy was fine
    though. 
       And when the couple returned they gave Stormy extra attention and
    love. 
       Sincerely,
       Denise 

    I was very hiesitant at first to call 'strangers' about coming to my
    house to take care of my kitties.  But BUSTER needs his medication
    every day (urine acidifiers) and it meant someone taking care of him
    on a daily basis.  
    
    I have called other 'sitters', and found other prices to be in the $10
    to $12 per visit range.  But I didn't want to leave the kitties in a
    kennel, so I made the call.  
    
    So far, their references have all checked out, well.  They are members
    of the Natioinal Association Of Pet Sitters (insured and bonded), and 
    one of the them works at the Leominster Animal Hospital.  (That's how
    I first found out about them.)
    
    They will come to the house (at the time of day you request), feed and
    play with the kitties, keep a daily diary on the activity of the
    kitties, and even pick up your mail and water your plants if you
    request.  All part of the service.  Their visit will last about 45
    minutes.  
    
    You can also make an arrangement to have them keep your house key on
    file, and at a moment's notice (those GREAT_CAPE_ESCAPE'S), they are
    flexible enough to come to your house over the weekend.  
    
    I met them recently, and they wrote down everything they needed to know
    about the kitties, ie; eating habits, hiding places, medical history,
    present veterinarian, who to call in_case_of_emergency, litter-box
    routines, etc...very thorough.
    
    It still makes me a little nervous when I think about these people
    having a house key and coming to my house.  But as I mentioned, they
    have good references, and were very professional during their visit. 
    
    T

    .11  Thanks for the info on this service.  Please let us know
         how it all works out.
    
    Denise....those people must have thought you were "god" when
    they came home and found out what happened.  I'm sure your
    on their list as Highly recommended!!!!   
    
    Sandy

    Sort of related to burglaries and cat-sitting, but on a lighter note...
    
    A few months back we were cat-sitting for some friends of ours.
    We'd show up once an evening, feed the cats, play with them, check
    the rest of the house out and make sure it was OK...
    
    Well, one night things got hectic and we didn't get around to
    going to their house until about 10:00 or so.  As we're making
    the rounds, we hear the phone ring and the answering machine go
    off... after the outgoing message (delivered nice-and-slow by
    the man of the house in his Texas drawl), we heard in a trembling
    voice, "This is Mrs. {old-lady-who-lives-across-the-street}...
    it's about 10:30... um.... *click*".  Hmmm, thinks we... did
    she get a bit suspicious?  As we're making the final checkout
    of the house, we hear voices outside, and as we're about to
    leave we come face-to-face with three of Millbury's Finest!
    
    Apparently the lady across the street saw our van and the
    movement in the house and called the police in a panic when
    the regular owners didn't answer their phone... we explained
    the situation to them, they eyed us up and down, called HQ,
    and figured we were OK and let us go (I wonder if the fact
    that I have the exact same name as a Worcester police captain
    had anything to do with it? 8-) )
    
    Next day we managed to track down our friends on vacation and
    had them call the Millbury Police and tell them we were OK
    so as to avoid a repeat performance 8-) 8-) 8-)
    
    Do other cat-sitters have this happen to them, or do they
    only make their rounds during the day? 8-) 8-) 8-)
    
    --jim
    

    Jim,
    
    I have not run into this problem before, but one of my customers told
    me they had notified the Nashua policy that I would be cat sitting for
    them.  I had never even thought of that before.  Now, when I get back
    to doing cat sitting on a regular basis, I will make sure this is taken
    care of, as well as doing it for anyone cat sitting for me.  
    
    Bernice

    When you're cat sitting, its a good idea to have a to whom it
    may concern letter giving you authority over the cats.  Some vets
    won't operate in emergencies, etc. if you're not the owner, and
    some shelters won't release pets without such a letter.
    

    .15 - good point.  The cat sitters in my case, provide a 'contract' for
    all parties to sign, part of which gives the sitters authority for the
    cats, just in case of an emergency.  The contract also included other 
    emergency information such as; landlord and/or property management
    contact information, local police and fire, etc.
    
    T