Author Topic: how much to pay for pet sitting?  (Read 10233 times)

dandeliongirl75

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how much to pay for pet sitting?
« on: December 18, 2014, 07:46:19 PM »
I am going to visit family in Europe for the best part of 4 weeks starting in January (my boss is super awesome and lets me take a month off whilst still paying me as long as I do it in winter).

I have asked the 14 yr old girl next door to pet sit for me (with her mother's permission of course).

I have no idea how much I should pay her. I have asked her mother and been told it is totally up to me, she gets no pocket money from her parents. I do not want to under pay her, I want her to do a good job of course and would like to use her in the future.....of course I do not want to vastly over pay her either :)

Her duties will be to look after 2 cats and a rabbit and will include the following:
Cleaning litter trays for the cats daily
Topping up water for cats and rabbits daily
Checking the cat feeder thing is still full and topping up when necessary
adding hay and dry food to the rabbit cage
Cleaning the rabbit litter twice a week.
Petting the animals when she wants to....

I can do all of this in about 15 minutes a day, I am guessing it will take her about half an hour a day.

I would appreciate suggestions.....

Thanks!

stor_stark

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2014, 08:14:27 PM »
To me, it sounds like something around $5/day (roughly $150 for a month) would be fair if she's looking at 15-30 minutes of work per day. I would also try to bring back some type of little gift from Europe that she would appreciate if you can.
« Last Edit: December 18, 2014, 08:16:20 PM by stor_stark »

southern granny

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2014, 08:50:25 PM »
I would bring her and her mother over and show them exactly what is expected and then see if they will give you a price.  My thought when reading it was $200 for the 4 weeks.  And I also agree on bringing a small gift.  If you had to board just one cat it would probably cost you $300 and the cat would be kept in a cage most of the time. 

dodojojo

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2014, 08:54:54 PM »
The pros charge about $15-18 per half hour visit in my area.  I've only used an official pet sitter once and he charged $17 per 1/2 hour for 2 cats.  This was about 6 years ago though.  Since then, I have two friends who come by.

They have never asked for compensation.  With one of them, we had agreed on reciprocal cat sitting but in 6 years, I've never pet-sat her cats.  She has 3 adult kids and one of them lives with her.  That may be why she doesn't need cat care when she travels.  Since it's been a totally one-sided deal for six years--I give her and my other friend gift cards.  I keep the $15-20 per visit figure in mind when I purchase the cards.  I met both of them through cat volunteering so I trust them wholly with my cats' care.  It's an additional expense that I budget in for travel.

Gin1984

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2014, 09:01:56 PM »
In a cheap area I pay $10/day.

Returnoftheyeti

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2014, 09:41:20 PM »
In San Francisco, CA I pay $20 per 15 minute visit, $25 on holidays.  This is a tiny bit cheaper than the last sitter I had.  The sitter checks in and I get a text when they arrive, and when they leave, they text me pictures of the cats.  I also love the online scheduling that they provide.

https://www.sniffandgo.com
« Last Edit: December 18, 2014, 09:44:25 PM by Returnoftheyeti »

MMMdude

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2014, 09:50:34 PM »
We are gone 8 days coming up and paying someone $350 to actually be in our home.  We have one cat and two dogs so it beats kenneling them and we then also have someone to shovel the sidewalk (city fines if not cleared in 48 hours) and actually walk the dogs/cuddle with them.  Kenneling seems like jail to me.

There is a site called pawshake.com which also is a decent place to find reviewed petsitters.

shadowmoss

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #7 on: December 18, 2014, 11:20:28 PM »
I live in a 55+ mobile home park and the guy who does odd jobs for folks and is always around I pay $20/wk to stop in and check the cats.  He is welcome to sit down, take a nap in my recliner with the cat(s) on his lap, or even raid my fridge if it somehow has any food in it.  I have an automatic litter box that you should just have to open a drawer and change out the bag, but between the cats and him it usually isn't working by the time I get back and he is hand scooping the litter each day.  I have food and water containers that shouldn't need any attention if I'm gone only 3 days (which is what it usually is), but with my cats anything is possible so I appreciate him stepping in making sure they haven't knocked over the water or anything on the first day out and might have issues before I get back.

When I told him $20/week and asked if it was ok, he said no.  He said it was too much because he loves my cats.  They love him, too, as I can tell when he stopps by when I get home.  I told him 'tough, you're getting $20.'

dandeliongirl75

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2014, 08:36:33 AM »
Thanks, all of that really helps give me something to base a decision on....sometimes finding people to answer these things is hard, everyone in my office just said they had no idea.

chicagomeg

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2014, 08:58:43 AM »
I used to do this for a neighbor when I was a kid (about 10 years ago if you want to adjust for inflation), and she always said she would pay me $5/day. She always rounded it up a little bit as well, so if they were gone 7 days she would maybe write me a check for $40 or so. Slightly less work than what you describe because she only had one cat & would put out multiple litter boxes so I didn't need to clean them when she was gone. I think I only cleaned them when they were gone for 2 weeks, which only happened once or twice.

So, I think $5-10 is fair. Maybe say $5 and then if it appears she took good care of them when you get back, give her a bonus and offer a little more if you need to be gone again on another trip, once you know she'll do a good job.
« Last Edit: December 19, 2014, 09:00:15 AM by mlipps »

CommonCents

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2014, 09:17:25 AM »
I'd pay half of what a pro would charge (so $225-$255 based on the $15-17/range above).  I second encouraging her to make herself at home and watch tv, read a book, do homework, play on your wii etc, to stay longer some days.  I'd suggest you ask her to stay an hour at least once a week.

dandeliongirl75

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #11 on: December 19, 2014, 09:25:33 AM »
Just so I don't sound like an awful person - I also having a few adult friends who know my pets but do not live as close drop in at least once a week to check on the pets, play with them, groom the rabbit (he is an angora so needs grooming).....I am hoping my neighbor girl will want to play with them too but I am not relying on her for that so much as for basic care. That way she can earn some money doing the necessary work - and play if she likes, but my friends who are doing this for free (as I would for them) will just get to do the fun part.

My ex husband who misses the cats also has a key and will likely be spending time with the cats when I am gone too.

CommonCents

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #12 on: December 19, 2014, 09:46:50 AM »
Gotcha.  Then I'd say you can do the lower end of the range I suggested - somewhere around $200-225.

aetherie

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #13 on: December 19, 2014, 11:22:38 AM »
My two data points, for what it's worth:

When I was 10-15 (so 7-12 years ago), my neighbors hired me for cat sitting whenever they went on vacation. I got $5/visit for twice-daily short visits to feed their two cats and scoop the litter box.

Now, I pay a professional pet sitter $18/visit for once-daily 30 min visits for one cat. She does all the basic care stuff and also plays with him.

I'm about to leave him for a week and a half to go home for Christmas... I wish I had local friends who could drop in and spend time with him too, but the cat sitter will have to do for now. Hopefully he doesn't die of boredom.

begood

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #14 on: December 19, 2014, 11:37:56 AM »
My 13-year-old has several gigs coming up, including one that's two weeks in duration taking care of 2 cats, including litter duty, wet food, dry food, and plant watering.

She's usually paid between $4 and $5 per visit. Some days she stays and plays; others we're in a hurry and she just does the minimum in a few minutes and leaves. For a month, though, I think I'd pay more - maybe $7.50 per day? That would be $210 for 28 days. You want her to feel responsible and take good care of things given the length of time you'll be away.

NCGal

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #15 on: December 19, 2014, 02:03:16 PM »
The pros charge $20 to $25 for a 20 to 30 minute visit here and more on holidays. These are bonded and insured companies. The sitters also deal with medications, mail and packages, alarm systems etc.  I believe my vet charges $12/day for boarding but cats do remain in a cage.  If it were me I'd probably offer $250 for the month.

The_path_less_taken

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #16 on: December 19, 2014, 07:32:49 PM »
I'm glad friends and the ex are checking in...even the most responsible child is still a child...

And unless they have those animals it can be difficult for them to recognize if there is something wrong/a medical emergency.

Here it's about $30 a day for what you describe. Possibly a bit less for a kid though.

Wendyimhome

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #17 on: December 20, 2014, 11:26:11 PM »
My secretary does this on the side at $10 a pop.  Her mother does it too and charges a bit more, $15 per when going to farther away/less desirable places.

studentdoc2

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Re: how much to pay for pet sitting?
« Reply #18 on: December 21, 2014, 12:45:19 PM »
We only get a pet sitter for our cats when we're going to be gone longer than a week (any shorter than that and we just leave out lots of food and water). With that said, I've paid a elementary-aged girl in the same apartment complex ~$5/day to come and feed them if we're gone longer.

[The dog, on the other hands, gets a cushy no-kennel boarding for $20-$40/day depending on which place has availability. Clearly we play favorites with our fur babies]