Question for cat sitters

[Medusa]

Mary, I'm not licensed, as I've done it on a rather informal basis so far, for people I know and people who know people I know. I have not heard anything about licensing of home-visiting petsitters, at least not in Michigan. That might be different in Ohio. Check with the state licensing board and other state agencies as to what is required.

Some petsitters take vet-tech or other training courses that provide them with certifications and registrations saying they are legally qualified to give medications or perform various medical procedures. I believe the American Red Cross also offers pet first-aid courses giving certificates.

You do want to be insured and bonded. That protects not only you but also the clients and the cats. If you have or know a good attorney, it probably would be a good idea to run through all this with her or him.

Another thing to consider: backup. What do you do, whom can you call upon, if for some reason you can NOT get to your scheduled cat care? YOU become deathly ill, get in a car accident, have a family emergency, for instance. Also, where nearby is there a key in case you misplace yours? (I once accidentally locked the key inside the house and wound up having to break a window to get in.) All the people I sit for now, I ALWAYS make sure I know where there's a spare key and a nearby friend or neighbor who will fill in in case I can't make it.

Something else to keep in mind: this is a job with NO holidays, NO sick days, NO weekends off! Be sure you are up for making that commitment. And you have to spend the time it takes on each visit to do it properly for that animal, no matter how many other visits you have later that day.

I just finished one last week in which one of the two cats wouldn't eat. Since he's diabetic and needed his insulin and some food before getting it, I wound up going to the supermarket to buy things I thought might appeal, then when nothing did, taking him to his vet the next morning, then later that day taking him to the emergency vet for all-night care and monitoring.. and visiting him in the hospital..

I talked with the owner many times during all this. She was really touched and said I went way beyond what she would have expected and had ever gotten from others who cared for her pets. I replied, they DEPEND on me! This is another aspect of petsitting, and you shouldn't go into it if you aren't willing to do what's needed when needed. I said, I would do the same for my own cats.. in fact, I just DID the same for my Bob and Poppy the weekend before!, (see http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...ht=bobby+poppy), which I had told her about.

Well, there I go, and I can go on and on about petsitting once I get started, so I guess I'll stop for now. Anything else helpful I can tell you about, please let me know.

Sounds like you are doing everything right, Mary, keeping all the important considerations in mind. All the best with it, That Cat Lady!

Thanx a million, Pat. I've done some research on being bonded and insured and I'm just not convinced that I need to do it, especially since I'm only going to do cat sitting part time and probably more by word of mouth than anything. A bond for a sole proprietorship that has no employees or independent contractors is worthless because it protects the employer from dishonest acts done by employees or IC's. I'm not going to do anything dishonest or illegal. A bond isn't an ins. policy and it isn't paid out like one. To my knowledge, the client would not file a claim w/the bonding co. I would have to do that and I would have to be arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced before the bond would be paid. Then the bonding co. would have to come after me. IMO, it's money foolishly spent. If I had employees, that would be different.

Insurance is another matter. The premiums average around $325.00/year and you have to be a member of Petsitters International or one of the other pet sitter organizations. That means I would have to pay their dues, as well. If I don't join, I can't get pet sitter ins. I'm not a joiner, never have been. PT is just about the only thing I've ever joined. LOL The homeowner's ins. would cover me but I would have to pay the deductible.

I am taking a first aid/CPR course for pets next Saturday, which I should've done years ago. Shoot, I haven't even taken a first aid/CPR course for humans. Talk about doing things bass ackwards. LOL

Everything that you did for your client's diabetic cat, I would most definitely do for my clients, too. I wouldn't even dream of being any other way. I would hope that my cat sitter would do the same for my cats. Someone here on PT suggested that if a client would want me to administer meds to her cat, I might do it w/the client present first and that's a great idea. The only thing that I'm really leery of is sitting for an indoor/outdoor cat. If the cat leaves and doesn't come back or something worse, well, I don't even want to contemplate that. As for holidays, etc., I'll play that one by ear. As I said, I'll only be doing it part time for extra cash and I have friends in the rescue business here who are chomping at the bit for a good cat sitter, so I think I should be ok in that aspect. I already have 2 persons for back up and I most definitely will get a spare key or ask to be shown where one is kept.

I appreciate all your advice and if you think of anything else, keep it comin'. I'm never too old to learn and never too proud to say that I'm wrong. I'm waiting for a call from my ins. agent just to see if there is anything that I may not have thought of but I don't want to complicate things to the point where I give up the idea entirely. I still haven't found out if licensing is required yet but I don't think that it is. I seem to recall reading somewhere that there is no license for this service but, of course, I wasn't interested in doing pet sitting then and didn't make note of it.

Again, thank you, Pat and everyone who has replied to my question. I'm going to print all your replies and keep them handy. I love my PT family.

ETA: There is no license required for pet sitting. If you have an actual business, you may need a business license which I already have and any money that I make will be done under that business name but no separate or special license is required for pet sitting.

[moosmom]

My pet sitting business, "Fur-Nanny 911" has been up and running for about a month and so far I've gotten 3 gigs. I don't have any insurance nor am I bonded.

Good luck in your new business venture!!!

[Medusa]

My pet sitting business, "Fur-Nanny 911" has been up and running for about a month and so far I've gotten 3 gigs. I don't have any insurance nor am I bonded.

Good luck in your new business venture!!!

Did any of your clients ask, Donna, if you are bonded and/or insured and, if so, did it raise objections when you said that you aren't? During all the years that I cleaned houses only one person asked me that question; I said 'no' w/no explanation and that was good enough for her, I guess, because she hired me on the spot. I think having a good resume and reliable references made an impression (and every single client did call and talk to my references because I asked them to). Of course, material possessions and our beloved furkids aren't in the same category but you get my drift.

[Randy_K]

I think forgoing liability insurance and bonding might be an expensive mistake. Administering routine meds is a pretty common activity, particularly in older cats, so you will most likely be asked to do so. (I took care of two cats for a friend and one had a daily dose of heart medication.) You definitely need an agreement indemnifying you from undisclosed or unknown health issues and instructions as what to do in the case of illnesses or injury (vet's name, if or if not a DNR is in place, billing responsibility, etc.) . Bonding would give your customers a better feeling about allowing you uncontrolled and unattended access to their homes and protect you from claims. A lot of things can go wrong through no fault of yours so, in running a commercial activity, it's better to protect yourself.

In the south bay area of Los Angeles (Redondo Beach) there is a "cat lady" who cares for the animals while their family is away. She does the pilling and other routine care but not the sub-Q fluids and other high-maintenance care. She spends time with the cats and gives them some of the "people time" they miss while their family is away.

[Medusa]

I think forgoing liability insurance and bonding might be an expensive mistake. Administering routine meds is a pretty common activity, particularly in older cats, so you will most likely be asked to do so. (I took care of two cats for a friend and one had a daily dose of heart medication.) You definitely need an agreement indemnifying you from undisclosed or unknown health issues and instructions as what to do in the case of illnesses or injury (vet's name, if or if not a DNR is in place, billing responsibility, etc.) . Bonding would give your customers a better feeling about allowing you uncontrolled and unattended access to their homes and protect you from claims. A lot of things can go wrong through no fault of yours so, in running a commercial activity, it's better to protect yourself.

In the south bay area of Los Angeles (Redondo Beach) there is a "cat lady" who cares for the animals while their family is away. She does the pilling and other routine care but not the sub-Q fluids and other high-maintenance care. She spends time with the cats and gives them some of the "people time" they miss while their family is away.

I'm still waiting to hear back from my ins. agent and, if it doesn't break me, I'll consider ins. but not bonding. I don't have employees so it's worthless. When I explained to my house cleaning clients why I wasn't bonded, they totally understood, even though only one ever asked me, so I stopped mentioning that I wasn't bonded. Also, I don't want to do anything to make my vet regret writing a letter of recommendation for me. He advised me to not dispense meds at all but that's a little unreasonable because so many pets are on meds nowadays, I think that it would be next to impossible to find a household where they weren't on meds unless they're kittens.

[moosmom]

No one has asked me if I'm insured or bonded. I have excellent references and a letter from my veterinarian. If anyone did ask me, I have enough references and veterinarian recommendation that it should ease their worries.

Good luck, Mary.