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

[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.

[Medusa]

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.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this. I've thought of everything except the photos of the cats. Everything else is standard on my forms that they'll sign and get a copy. She told me that she only wants me to go there once a day. She was adamant about that for some reason. I assured her that I'm not an "in and out" kind of cat sitter. I do more than just feed, water and clean litter boxes. I know that I'll be there for at least a couple of hours a day. I can't spend the night because of my Fur Posse. I need to know that Pidge is alright since she's so old and on heart meds. I really don't want to do the overnighters anyhow. I'm hoping that she does indeed have realistic expectations. I tell my cat sitter that, yes, vacuuming, etc. is nice but my cats are the most important. Take good care of them and the rest is gravy.

[smokey the elder]

When I went to Disneyworld last year I had a total of 17 cats in the house, one of whom was diabetic. They were in different parts of the house; I had the pet sitter (another rescuer) over a few times to meet the cats, give Moby her insulin, feed and clean, and generally find out where things are. So that's a perspective from someone with a load of cats (although not 23!)

I gave her a list of all the vet #s, and opened an account at each to authorize any needed care. (I didn't need it, fortunately, but with an aging diabetic you never know.)

Being able to get in contact with the petsitter is very useful, just as a safety net to ask questions.