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Old March 6th, 2013, 03:52 PM
tezster tezster is offline
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Question Pet sitter/home pet care recommendations? (Mississauga/GTA)

Can anyone here recommend pet sitting services in the Mississauga/GTA west area? Preferrably, one that offers weekly rates.

Speaking of pet care while away on vacation, which is considered better for cats: in-home care, or pet boarding? I'm worried that a single 30-60 minute visit per day may not offer enough stimulation for my cats. Whenever I'm out late, they're already restless when I get home in the middle of the night. I wonder how they'll behave with only a single short visit daily.
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Old March 6th, 2013, 05:21 PM
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How comfortable are your cats in new situations and with new people? Are they very sociable or do they tend to be shy/fearful? Most (but not all) cats are better off staying in their home environment with all their familiar stuff, even if it means less human interaction. A common problem with boarding cats is that they often get so scared, they stop eating. Again, depends on how confident and outgoing kitty is. You know your cats best.

Here is a site with a professional pet sitter locator: http://www.petsit.com/
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Old March 6th, 2013, 05:47 PM
pattymac pattymac is offline
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maybe you could fine a sitter who would actually stay at your house. Some offer that service.
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Old March 6th, 2013, 06:03 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Do your cats have microchips encase they get out if you do use a pet sitter?
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Old March 6th, 2013, 08:54 PM
lindapalm lindapalm is offline
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If it was me, I would go for the in home care. Your cats might be bored, but I would rather have that than the possiblility of having them stressed from the strange noises and strange animals at a boarding place, plus, the possibility of fighting. Maybe you could buy a lot of new toys, and have the home care person give them new ones daily.
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Old March 6th, 2013, 09:06 PM
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Been there done that and man mine hated it! they hid under the bed for 3 days! best thing I ever learned was to leave them at home and have someone either stay or come by!

this way its their home, their smells etc....going somewhere else its all new! just my opinion though!!
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Old March 7th, 2013, 10:56 AM
tezster tezster is offline
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Thanks for all the feedback

To be honest, I'm not sure how my cats will behave in a new environment - they're quite friendly, and behave comfortably with guests around, but it's not like I have people over everyday. I'm more inclined to choose pet sitting at this point. Newt has a very relaxed demeanor and I think she'll be fine, but I can imagine Newton getting restless without sufficient stimulation.

The kitten is chipped, but not his mom (I'll get that done eventually). I wonder if I'll get charged extra if the cats dash out the door, and the sitter has to spend 20 minutes chasing them around and get them back inside?

Last edited by tezster; March 7th, 2013 at 10:58 AM. Reason: typo
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Old March 7th, 2013, 12:31 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by tezster View Post
Thanks for all the feedback

To be honest, I'm not sure how my cats will behave in a new environment - they're quite friendly, and behave comfortably with guests around, but it's not like I have people over everyday. I'm more inclined to choose pet sitting at this point. Newt has a very relaxed demeanor and I think she'll be fine, but I can imagine Newton getting restless without sufficient stimulation.

The kitten is chipped, but not his mom (I'll get that done eventually). I wonder if I'll get charged extra if the cats dash out the door, and the sitter has to spend 20 minutes chasing them around and get them back inside?
I think you should have to pay less if the sitter let your cats out. This is my biggest concern as I read so many stories about people pets escaping when they have a pet sitter.
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Old March 7th, 2013, 12:54 PM
Jull Jull is offline
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I think you should have to pay less if the sitter let your cats out. This is my biggest concern as I read so many stories about people pets escaping when they have a pet sitter.
I'm with you on this one, if I am ever going out I try to get a friend or family to come to the house and look after my babies, except for my mom they can go and stay at her house. The first time I asked my cousin if he could come and let the dogs out for me one night that I went to a show out of town, I wrote a full page of instructions for him he probably thought I was crazy, but I am a little bit.

I rather my furkids stay at home, I know they are safe there and comfortable. I thought about puppy daycare as well, but we are currently looking for a dog who ran away from his pet sitter/day care house, so it scares me.

Of course we are not trying to scare you tezster There is many good pet sitters out there too.
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Old March 7th, 2013, 01:40 PM
tezster tezster is offline
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I've considered either having a friend/neighbour check in on them, or leaving them with my parents. My concern is neither my parents nor friends that are close by can be considered "pet people". They certainly wouldn't be comfortable handling the cats. And I'm thinking the chance of my cats dashing out are about the same regardless of who is opening the door; it's what happens immediately afterwards that's important - at least a pet sitter should be experienced enough to be able to handle the resulting situation better? I can just picture my parents running around trying to catch two elusive cats, lol... I find that scenario both funny and scary.

There are so many little things I would need to educate a potential sitter on, I would need at least a 30 minute initial consultation to get them educated.

I was thinking of maybe doing a test run over a weekend i.e. use a sitter for one night, and see how it goes.
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Old March 7th, 2013, 02:00 PM
Jull Jull is offline
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Originally Posted by tezster View Post

I was thinking of maybe doing a test run over a weekend i.e. use a sitter for one night, and see how it goes.
Maybe that would be a good idea I always look after my friend's cat, normally go and visit her a couple times in the day and play with her, as unfortunately I cannot bring her to my place because she doesn't like any other kind of animal. See, with my mom I puppy proved her house since we spend a lot of time with her. But, you are right it can happen with anyone, even the owner, right now we are working with both our dogs to teach them that when someone opens the door, they stay back and far enough.
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Old March 7th, 2013, 02:09 PM
tezster tezster is offline
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How does this look for a cat-boarding service?

http://crazzzycatladypetsitting.blog...-for-cats.html

Prices are very reasonable, considering food is included - this seems well suited for a longer term stay.
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Old March 7th, 2013, 03:27 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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How does this look for a cat-boarding service?

http://crazzzycatladypetsitting.blog...-for-cats.html

Prices are very reasonable, considering food is included - this seems well suited for a longer term stay.
I would think that was an ad for a 'Cat House' if I was going by the photo only.
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Old March 8th, 2013, 01:34 AM
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The first time I asked my cousin if he could come and let the dogs out for me one night that I went to a show out of town, I wrote a full page of instructions for him he probably thought I was crazy, but I am a little bit.
Only 1 page? That's pretty good, I've been given 4 pages of instructions from more than one person I've dog sat for
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Old March 8th, 2013, 01:45 AM
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Originally Posted by tezster View Post
How does this look for a cat-boarding service?

http://crazzzycatladypetsitting.blog...-for-cats.html

Prices are very reasonable, considering food is included - this seems well suited for a longer term stay.
I'd bring food she's feeding Royal Canin . Kinda hard to control who would be eating it though since it's free fed.

You can always contact her for a meet n' greet see what kinda vibe you get from her before you are going away
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Old March 8th, 2013, 10:03 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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I'd bring food she's feeding Royal Canin . Kinda hard to control who would be eating it though since it's free fed.

You can always contact her for a meet n' greet see what kinda vibe you get from her before you are going away
I would want to know if there are a fire sprinkler system there encase a fire broke out and no one is around to get the cats out. And if the cat got hurt or sick what vet does it taken to .

A test run is a great idea. I did this with my last dog. I brought Finlay to a kennel to see him to would do there as I was going to
Mexico for a week . I left my dog at the kennel for 4 hours and when I got back the owner said my dog spend the whole time jumping up and down at gate looking for me. I was told my dog would give himself a heart attack or end at vet while I was gone,
I never made it to Mexico .
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Old March 8th, 2013, 10:16 AM
Jull Jull is offline
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Originally Posted by growler~GateKeeper View Post
Only 1 page? That's pretty good, I've been given 4 pages of instructions from more than one person I've dog sat for
Well is was typed on a 10/arial font lol, besides it was only for a quick 15 minutes to just come and take them out. I wouldn't trust him to babysit for a full day, he is not a dog person and not very reliable either, that day he was my only option
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  #18  
Old March 8th, 2013, 10:20 AM
Jull Jull is offline
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I would want to know if there are a fire sprinkler system there encase a fire broke out and no one is around to get the cats out. And if the cat got hurt or sick what vet does it taken to .

A test run is a great idea. I did this with my last dog. I brought Finlay to a kennel to see him to would do there as I was going to
Mexico for a week . I left my dog at the kennel for 4 hours and when I got back the owner said my dog spend the whole time jumping up and down at gate looking for me. I was told my dog would give himself a heart attack or end at vet while I was gone,
I never made it to Mexico .
Yes I would do a test run as well. I am lucky that my mom is able to look after them when I have had to travel, they love being at grama's house, I really don't know how they would do in a strange place... who knows, maybe they would be happy and I would be the only one worrying sick about it.

Never thought about the sprinklers, good tip!
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