Boy, do I ever need input! *Update* 6/22/09; post #22

[Medusa]

As you may recall, I've recently started a cat sitting business. I'm getting a lot of interest and have booked one gig so far and will be attending a fund raiser this month and will try to drum up some more business there as well. Anyhow....I spoke to one woman who is interested in my service but she has 23 cats. She laughed when I told her that I'm down to 6. LOL I've taken care of as many as 27 outdoor cats at one time but that's totally different from taking care of that many indoor cats. Those cats were rescues that I had altered, vetted and placed in homes after much socialization, etc.

I have a friend who still is active in rescue and TNR and he's forwarded my email to hundreds (no exaggeration) of people who have multiple cat households. He told me that some of the people haven't been able to go on vacation, etc. for years, one for 17 years and they're excited that I would be willing to take them on as clients. He himself hasn't had a vacation in 4 years and he has only 7 cats, so I booked him for September and he's thrilled.

So. I need as much input as I can get from those of you who have lots of cats. I'm sure that I'm up to the task but what I'm looking for are pointers, time savers, etc. that will enable me to be more efficient. The kicker is that this woman will be gone for 6 weeks, so this is quite a commitment from both of us. She wants to take her granddaughter on a trip to WA and I don't want to let her down so I'd like to go in there confident that I can put her mind at ease that I've got it all under control. Anything that you can tell me will be greatly appreciated.

[Grace]

For the woman with 23 cats - the first thing I thought about - if she doesn't have one already, she needs to put together a notebook. One page for each cat with a picture, vital statistics, and helpful info.

We are like you, with 6 cats, and I have done this for mine. Big help to the neighbors who cat sit for us.

[pomtzu]

All I can say is - YIKES!! I can't even imagine. The most I ever had at one time was 3.

[Taz_Zoee]

That is a great idea Grace! I've only had to deal with 13 at once and they were all in a motorhome. It's wasn't bad actually.
I am guessing you'll go over a few times before she leaves to get acquainted a bit to them and her routine. That's my only suggestion.
Good luck with your business!

[Medusa]

For the woman with 23 cats - the first thing I thought about - if she doesn't have one already, she needs to put together a notebook. One page for each cat with a picture, vital statistics, and helpful info.

We are like you, with 6 cats, and I have done this for mine. Big help to the neighbors who cat sit for us.

I'm w/ya on that one. I have a form for each client w/all the pertinent info included.

[moosmom]

What Ellie said...YIKES!!!

Since I started my business I've gotten 3 gigs, all in August. One at mycousin's house with a full fridge, swimming pool and hot tub. Can't wait!!!!! All that and I'm getting paid too!!

You might want to ask a friend to come along and help. 23 cats is alot of cats (I've got 6 and that's too many!!)

[Freedom]

My thoughts (beyond the YIKES of many others, lol!) --

1. most of us with multiple indoor cats don't have collars and ID tags on them. I did get all that and USED it when I had the kitchen renovation going on, as escapes were a higher possibility. Didn't happen, thank goodness. But I wonder if the person with 23 needs to have collars and IDs on for YOUR benefit and her cats' safety. Not for escapes -- you won't let that happen, you are a cat person. But if some issue arises and you need to get one to the vet, can you match a cat to a photo book with 23 pics? Also for her cats' comfort, as with the friendlier ones you will be able to address them by name as you cuddle them.

2. I like the photo book idea, don't get me wrong. Cats who aren't used to wearing collars do get them off quickly. (Tommy and Tuppence declined to wear theirs at all the entire 6 weeks of my renovation. ) Having a listing of the cats, any food or meds issues listed, it great, and a photo in case the collar comes off.

3. Don't need to tell you, with that many, are there any who don't get along with each other? Does she allow all the run of the house, or do 6 stay upstairs, 9 stay downstairs, several in the cellar. You get the idea.

4. How many litter boxes does she have? YOWSER!! I have 8 boxes and it takes me 15 minutes to scoop (alright so I am playing with cats as I go. And everyone seems to need to use THE BOX I am scooping which slows me down.) You will need to build in enough time for your daily visit.

Not sure what more to add. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

[Medusa]

My thoughts (beyond the YIKES of many others, lol!) --

1. most of us with multiple indoor cats don't have collars and ID tags on them. I did get all that and USED it when I had the kitchen renovation going on, as escapes were a higher possibility. Didn't happen, thank goodness. But I wonder if the person with 23 needs to have collars and IDs on for YOUR benefit and her cats' safety. Not for escapes -- you won't let that happen, you are a cat person. But if some issue arises and you need to get one to the vet, can you match a cat to a photo book with 23 pics? Also for her cats' comfort, as with the friendlier ones you will be able to address them by name as you cuddle them.

2. I like the photo book idea, don't get me wrong. Cats who aren't used to wearing collars do get them off quickly. (Tommy and Tuppence declined to wear theirs at all the entire 6 weeks of my renovation. ) Having a listing of the cats, any food or meds issues listed, it great, and a photo in case the collar comes off.

3. Don't need to tell you, with that many, are there any who don't get along with each other? Does she allow all the run of the house, or do 6 stay upstairs, 9 stay downstairs, several in the cellar. You get the idea.

4. How many litter boxes does she have? YOWSER!! I have 8 boxes and it takes me 15 minutes to scoop (alright so I am playing with cats as I go. And everyone seems to need to use THE BOX I am scooping which slows me down.) You will need to build in enough time for your daily visit.

Not sure what more to add. Be sure to let us know how it goes!

She has some on one floor, some on another and some in the basement, so apparently there are issues w/them getting along w/each other. I'll meet w/her next week. I told her that I can't give her a definitive answer until we meet and I see what her set up is, how her cats take to me, etc. Once I see what's really going on, I'll have a better idea. My rescue friend did tell me, though, that in rescue circles, 23 cats is not uncommon; some have more. I assume, though, that they also have help w/taking care of so many so to ask me, one person, to take care of all of them is a bit of a stretch but I won't make any judgments until I see for myself.

I have 10 litter boxes and it takes me a good 15 minutes to clean them, too. So I figure that I'll also either have to charge her extra so buy litter because she'll be gone for 6 weeks or she'll have to really stock up before she leaves. Same w/cat food. If I'm going to be running to the store for supplies, I'll need to be compensated for gas and time but, hopefully, she'll have planned ahead and will have enough of everything.

[Anikaca77]

4. How many litter boxes does she have? YOWSER!! I have 8 boxes and it takes me 15 minutes to scoop (alright so I am playing with cats as I go. And everyone seems to need to use THE BOX I am scooping which slows me down.) You will need to build in enough time for your daily visit.



What takes me the longest is after I clean a box someone has to go in the clean box and I end up having to go clean that same box again.

[happylabs]

Wow. 23 cats...I would not know where to begin. I have 4 cats, 6 - 8 litter boxes going at a time and like someone else said it takes me 15 minutes to clean those. I hope you get some tips because I am always looking for an easier way to clean litter boxes.

I hope your business goes well too.

[katladyd]

I only have two cats at my house, and my boyfriend has two at his. I really find it hard to go on vacation because one of my cats needs meds every evening, and he is not easy for anyone to pill but me. I would love to find a cat-sitter who can pill a large, very reluctant, Siamese.

[Medusa]

I only have two cats at my house, and my boyfriend has two at his. I really find it hard to go on vacation because one of my cats needs meds every evening, and he is not easy for anyone to pill but me. I would love to find a cat-sitter who can pill a large, very reluctant, Siamese.

I'm pretty good at pilling. I tilt the head back and pop that pill in before they even know what happened. LOL

[Medusa]

Wow. 23 cats...I would not know where to begin. I have 4 cats, 6 - 8 litter boxes going at a time and like someone else said it takes me 15 minutes to clean those. I hope you get some tips because I am always looking for an easier way to clean litter boxes.

I hope your business goes well too.

Thanx. I have some pretty steep competition, one of which is a vet tech but she handles all types of pets and I only take clients w/cats. This lady w/23 cats also has two dogs, one of which is a pit bull. She's going to kennel one dog but so far no one will take her pit bull. I told her "no exceptions". I dog sit for friends but I know their dogs and they know me. I had dogs for over 20 years so it isn't that I don't like dogs, I love them, but I don't want to have to walk them in inclement weather, etc. and in Ohio, we have plenty of that.

[Husky_mom]

WOW!!....

I think someone is going to have a few sleepovers

quite the task... but I bet you`ll get tons more after that... by doing this one the rest will be like a breeze...

[Glacier]

As someone just back from their first vacation in 10 years, I can tell you what we did for our petsitter.....I have nine cats and at the time had 25 dogs(down to 24 now)

1. A book with a page per animal with pictures. Included the animal's name, age, sex as well as their most obvious quirks, habits and any special needs. It was very helpful for her. She didn't panic when she didn't see Felicia for a couple days because I had written that Felicia would hide for a couple days. There is no such thing as too much info! She took the book as a memento of her trip!

2. In that book was also a page of emergency contacts....vet, pet crematorium(thank god that wasn't needed), friends & neighbors who know my animals and would help if she needed it.

3. A full contact list of everywhere we were going and when

4. A page called "Bare Bones Basics"...the stuff that absolutely had to be done every day.

5. A medication page. Meds were outlined on individual pages too. Critters with multiple medications or complicated dosing, I bought those pill reminder packs and had them all laid out for the entire time we were gone.

6. Written permission given to every vet I use granting the petsitter my complete permission to make any and all medical decisions, including euthansia if the vet felt that was the most humane option. This was on file with the vets and a copy left with the sitter.

7. A couple hundred bucks in cash to buy extra food, toys ect if she wanted. (I gave the remainder to her when I got back to use for a treat for herself.)

8. A credit card for any vet bills.

9. IMO, there is no way to deal with the number of animals I have by dropping in a couple times a day. They are a full time job! My petsitter lived in my house for 2 weeks. I paid her travel to get here(since I could not find anyone locally). I filled the fridge with food and copious amounts of cider(trust me, my dogs will drive anyone to drink eventually!).

10. My sitter came over three days before I left. She watched what I do for two days and the day before I left, I watched and made sure she had the routine down. It was much less stressful for her to be able to ask me questions while I was standing there instead of trying to make a phone call to Cuba!

11. Your client needs to have realistic expectations. Not everything will be done the way she does it. I did not care that Tehya didn't get to go for an adventure while I was gone or that no catnip was dispensed! I was thrilled to come home to happy, healthy critters.