How much should I pay a house sitter, who will feed the cat, clean the litter box, get the mail, and water the plants for 1 month?
By Stella from Manchester, WA
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Consider time. How long will it take to water plants weekly? How long does it take to feed/water and clean a litter box daily? How far away from your home to the person hired will they have to drive time wise and gas fees included? If the person is a next door neighbor and can glance across your home now and then throughout the day watching it, there's no gas involved. If the person hired is going to live in, then I would think it will cost much more for the job. $100. to $150. is a fair price for a month if it's a non live in situation and the person only deals with the cat's needs, the plants and glances over at the house from time to time.
Do you know that you can have your mail held at the post office from the date you leave until the date you return by filling out a card at the post office. No mail will be delivered to your home while you are away. You can pick up mail at the post office when you return home.
It doesn't matter what we say if the person has their price you will have to pay it probably.
I've done this a few times for a neighbor who lives a few doors down. She told me she would pay me $15.00 for each day she was away. I told her $10.00 a day was enough because I adore her indoor kitty cats so those two feeding visits a day were bonus cuddle time. ;-) Not only was she saving oodles of money not having to pay the high kennel fees but her fur babies were so happy and content in their own home.
Also, she didn't have to worry about her plants and she had peace of mind that someone was checking on her place daily. It turned out to be an especially good thing the second time I did this for her because she ended up having a bad water leak which could have caused a lot of damage had it gone unchecked.
I don't know why Lorelei says it will cost more for a live-in situation as when you invite someone to live in your home for a month at a time in this type of situation, you are essentially inviting them to stay at your home rent free for one month. That is how my sister does it. She has a cat and plants that need cared for from month to month as she owns her home here, but works in another state. She hired someone to stay at her home and care for her plants and cat, and she pays them the cost of the cat supplies as well as the utility bills.
This is not an ideal situation, but she works with it. Her ideal situation would be to pay a person every week to go to her house and care for the cat and plants. She would pay as much as $75 a week, but not more than that. She has someone else that takes care of the lawn, the person would just have to care for the cat and the houseplants.
We had to go away for an extended time when we had a cat. Instead of boarding her, we hired a gal to come in each day and put out food, administer meds, clean litter box as needed and give the cat some attention. She charged $10.00 a day.
I would say, check with local boarding facilities to see how much it would cost you to board your cat. Then you can ask for a comparable rate for what is normal in your region. Prices I am sure vary widely from region to region. Also, there are probably professional pet sitters in your are who will give you an estimate or already have a set price. Get an estimate or two.
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