Trusted cat vacation feeder: LA edition
August 7, 2017 4:59 PM Subscribe
Which are the best sites to use to find someone I can trust to feed my 3 cats while I'm on vacation?
I've somehow survived 8 years without ever having to use a 3rd party to feed my cats, which is incredible to me given my small circle of friends. But now I have a new kitten and the last time I asked a 'friend' they decided to turn up 3 of the 10 days I asked them to, so it's time for me to pony up for a pro. Where does one find a stranger in Los Angeles they can trust enough to give access to their house and feed their most-loved extended family?
I've somehow survived 8 years without ever having to use a 3rd party to feed my cats, which is incredible to me given my small circle of friends. But now I have a new kitten and the last time I asked a 'friend' they decided to turn up 3 of the 10 days I asked them to, so it's time for me to pony up for a pro. Where does one find a stranger in Los Angeles they can trust enough to give access to their house and feed their most-loved extended family?
My petsitter (who I've known for almost 20 years) works Burbank-Toluca Lake and vicinity, if that works for you. I have difficult dogs with medical needs and stranger danger and I come home to calm relaxed happy dogs. She loves cats, too.
posted by Lyn Never at 5:26 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Lyn Never at 5:26 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had a good experience just choosing a highly-rated company on Yelp (I used Viva Pets which services from Hollywood to DTLA to Highland Park). Basically your choice is between an individual (more "chill", which can be good or bad) and a company (more "strict" which can also be good or bad). The company I used sent three sitters over the course of a couple weeks and was really good at following my very specific requests. They sent daily photos and food/litter/behavior/weather reports.
One thing you want to avoid is someone who is judgmental/picky about how you care for your cat. Too many cat sitters in the world to be bothered by that nonsense.
posted by acidic at 5:34 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
One thing you want to avoid is someone who is judgmental/picky about how you care for your cat. Too many cat sitters in the world to be bothered by that nonsense.
posted by acidic at 5:34 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
Out For A Walk is great. Very committed and trustworthy. I know the owner personally and would absolutely trust my pet with her.
posted by Vaike at 5:45 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by Vaike at 5:45 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I called my vet and straight up asked for recommendations. They know people, or have staff that part time pet sit.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:50 PM on August 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 5:50 PM on August 7, 2017 [4 favorites]
Rover.com is kind of the Uber of pet sitters. You can search by price, location, user reviews, etc.
posted by Sxyzzx at 6:00 PM on August 7, 2017
posted by Sxyzzx at 6:00 PM on August 7, 2017
These days I get my best local recommendations either from Facebook (we have a couple of neighborhood Facebook groups covering various overlapping areas) or Nextdoor. Facebook tends to be better than Nextdoor in our area, but from what I've heard, that's highly location-dependent. I usually ask on both if it's something urgent or important.
I do also agree with St. Peepsburg on asking your vet. Before we moved to our current town, our cat sitter was one of the techs from our vet's office, and she was fabulous. It's extra nice knowing that it's someone who will know the right thing to do (or at least how to get ahold of the vet quickly) if any medical emergency happens.
posted by primethyme at 6:34 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I do also agree with St. Peepsburg on asking your vet. Before we moved to our current town, our cat sitter was one of the techs from our vet's office, and she was fabulous. It's extra nice knowing that it's someone who will know the right thing to do (or at least how to get ahold of the vet quickly) if any medical emergency happens.
posted by primethyme at 6:34 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I would ask your vet. They know who's good and who's not.
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:26 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
posted by MexicanYenta at 7:26 PM on August 7, 2017 [1 favorite]
I found my last cat sitter on Pet Sitters International, which I liked because they note things like having insurance, being bonded, pet first aid, etc. It's free to use as a client but the sitters pay a fee to be listed there.
We got our dog sitter from Rover but they do have cat sitter listings and I like that everything from payments to updates can go through the Rover site.
posted by sm1tten at 8:35 PM on August 7, 2017
We got our dog sitter from Rover but they do have cat sitter listings and I like that everything from payments to updates can go through the Rover site.
posted by sm1tten at 8:35 PM on August 7, 2017
Best answer: Since we're all recommending our beloved catsitters, I'll put in a good word for Colleen at Woof-Purr. She took care of my lady (RIP) through many international adventures and more than a few Burning Mans. Her rates are reasonable, her team is excellent, and I used to get a photo and text update every time they stopped by.
posted by mykescipark at 8:54 PM on August 7, 2017
posted by mykescipark at 8:54 PM on August 7, 2017
Response by poster: Thank you so much, everyone, for all these recommendations. So many to choose from, I will follow up with who I decide to go with.
posted by AllTheQuestions at 10:37 PM on August 7, 2017
posted by AllTheQuestions at 10:37 PM on August 7, 2017
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posted by radioamy at 5:06 PM on August 7, 2017