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Post by heretoday on Jul 6, 2010 22:10:41 GMT -5
take the job of catsitting. The guy says to me "is the house always like this" - this was from about 3 ft. inside the door and the living room is not bad now, had my friend's daughter come last week and help me. Luckily she is coming tomorrow to help me again and then another catsitter is coming over tomorrow night. If she won't do it then I have to email my daughter I guess because I have a flight Thurs. morning. Sure is depressing when I have been doing work and challenges etc. This company may be new - they don't even have that they are bonded and insured on their website which I know this other catsitter is so maybe it is for the best. Hope she doesn't turn it down tho. My daughter fed them this last weekend when I went to the music festival down in Portland, she goes to school and works tho, don't like to ask her all the time.
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Post by messymimi on Jul 7, 2010 6:42:34 GMT -5
Is there any way to move the litter boxes and food/water bowls into the cleanest area of the house that is closest to the front door? That way, the sitter won't have to come in far to get to everything, and messes elsewhere won't matter so much.
messymimi
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Post by heretoday on Jul 7, 2010 7:09:18 GMT -5
that might be an idea mimi thanks - I keep one cat downstairs because she is on meds and the other cats will eat her food but my daughter has a huge bedroom upstairs that is not being used, I could use that instead. The computer and tv are downstairs here and it is the worst room in the whole house. I guess it's cause I spend the most time here. I could have all the cats upstairs here and still have them separated.
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Post by dtesposito on Jul 7, 2010 7:56:29 GMT -5
This just amazes me. As I have said, I'm a pet sitter and I would love additional jobs--why would a cat sitter refuse a job because your place isn't up to their cleanliness standards? My only concern in a house that is messy would be if the cat(s) were shy and had so many places to hide that I couldn't find them to make sure they were eating and looked healthy--in that case I might ask someone to confine the cats to certain areas just so that I could observe them when I came in.
Please keep looking, I can't imagine you won't be able to find someone to help you!
Diane
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Post by howardsgirlfriend on Jul 7, 2010 8:10:55 GMT -5
We currently have 4 dogs and 4 cats, so I understand.
Can you board them, at your vet's, if necessary? Mine is very helpful, in a pinch. At least call them and ask for recommendations for other sitters/boarders.
Our house is now fit for visitors, but we still take all our furkids to the kennel.
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Post by messymarie on Jul 7, 2010 12:16:30 GMT -5
Where are you at? There might be someone from here that could help you out if the other pet sitter doesn't pan out. You know we are all (or have been) in similar situations, many of us could use the money, and you might make a friend who lives close to you  |
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Post by heretoday on Jul 7, 2010 15:09:54 GMT -5
I am in BC Canada Mimi. I don't think I can board my cats at the vet - when I went to Thailand I had them at a woman's house and she had other cats - they both got fip from her cats and one of mine overcame it and one still has it altho the levels have been going down. At the time I asked everyone I knew and no one wanted to take them. I was going there to teach english for quite some time. This woman dumped them at the vets and a friend of mine got them and took them to my exs for me. I had paid this woman in advance too. My ex got a terrible cancer from working with asbestos and died so don't have him to help out now. Hopefully this woman tonight will work out, when my friend's daughter comes I will suggest we set up my daughter's bedroom for the one cat on meds. She has kidney failure now and prob due to the fip I think.
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Post by def6 on Jul 7, 2010 18:25:45 GMT -5
You are right- It does not sound like a good match anyway! Please don't let these people make you feel bad. You've done a lot of work. Is boarding them somewhere out of the question.
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Post by heretoday on Jul 7, 2010 23:39:53 GMT -5
well my friend's daughter came over here this afternoon and even cleaned up the basement - I did help her but I just can't seem to organize like she does - anyway the catsitting woman I found thru International Pet Sitters (means they are bonded and insured) came over and filled out the forms and didn't seem to think the place was too bad. My friend's daughter even got the power restored to the part of the house where it was off - I had flipped the breakers myself with no results but she did it and it came on again. Just like a miracle. Of course the real question is why can't I get the place cleaned up and organized like she does but at least I am trying right? She used to clean for us when I had the 2 kids and 2 jobs and says the place is much better now so this board and chat room have been helping me - thanks for your advice and support def6, mimi and howard's girlfriend.
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Post by ClutterBlind on Jul 8, 2010 20:32:02 GMT -5
I couldn't figure out how many cats you have. This solution I am suggesting below probably wouldn't work for you anyway as you have a cat that needs meds. But, for other people who are gone for a few days, can't let someone in for fear of seeing their house, and simply needs to make sure their cat is fed, this automatic feeder worked really well for me. www.amazon.com/Petmate-LeBistro-Portion-Control-Automatic/dp/B000TZ7022/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1278638087&sr=8-1 It dispenses dry food up to 3 preset times a day. For cat food, it does dispense too much each time. It's designed more for larger size morsels. So maybe 2 cats feeding from it at once would be fine. But, I have a cat who has literally sat there and gorged herself on ALL 5 days of food I left out, (3 days, plus 2 extra in case I had an emergency,) when I didn't have an automatic dispenser and just left food out for 3 days.  I also didn't know when she finished it all. It could have been within one and a half days. The last two times I had to be away, I pulled out the feeder and set it up a week early and let it automatically dispense while I could monitor it. I also wanted it to start feeding her while I was still home, so she'd know there would be food, even while I was away. I wanted her to get used to listening for the noise and expecting the food to drop down, instead of being startled when it comes out. She was scared of it the first several times, not knowing if the food would keep randomly dropping down while she was eating. By the time I left for my trip, she was sitting in front of the bowl knowing exactly when food would drop down and how it worked.  |
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Post by downandout on Jul 10, 2010 6:59:39 GMT -5
im glad you got the petsitter problem straightened out Heretoday! i cant imagine someone declining a job because of the condition of the house. when i was a teen i was often called upon to care for neighbors/friends pets and homes when they went on vacation. never occurred to me that the state of the house would be a reason to decline a job!  thats good to know about the automatic feeder thing Clutterblind!  eventually we would like to go somewhere for a few days and there is no way id let anybody in. i had been thinking about those feeders but didnt know how our cat would react to it since she startles so easily. good idea on setting it up for a week ahead of time thanks!!!! |
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Post by mellowyellow on Jul 10, 2010 9:47:00 GMT -5
Regarding the automatic feeder: It is not cat proof. What I mean by that is that a smart cat is easily able to figure out how it works, and can move the compartments manually/paw-ually? And thus, can eat a few days worth of food in one sitting. My dear Calico, who used to belong to my sister, had a bad reputation for doing that. My sister caught her once... heard the sound of the mechanism, went into the room, and there was Calico, looking very innocent, but forcing the "door" to open up to the next day's amount of food.  |
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