extended cat-care on Chicago's northwest side

September 10, 2018 10:28 AM

My mother - who lives in Chicago, whereas I live & work in Arkansas and can't be there for extended periods - will be having surgery in a couple of months and needs someone to take care of her cats; but she doesn't want a catsitter who stops in only once or twice a day. What options do we have?

My mother is very emotionally attached to her two cats. Her husband, my stepfather, passed away last November, leaving her living alone for the first time in her life at age 74. Her two cats are her closest companions, at least on a day-to-day basis.

She will have hip-replacement surgery in late-November or early-December, and for a period of time will be in rehab and unable to care for her cats. She wants to make sure the cats are well-cared-for, so a catsitter stopping in only daily isn't going to cut it. We know about pet-boarding options like this one, and we may well go this route. But are there other options besides this? I know that some people foster pets who are in shelters, so it seems possible that some do this for housepets who need temporary care. And there may be other outside-the-box ideas that haven't crossed my mind, which I am of course very happy to hear about.

posted by anaphoric to Pets & Animals (12 answers total)

Have you ruled out a live-in housesitter while she is at the rehab facility?
posted by Stewriffic at 10:30 AM on September 10, 2018 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: We haven't discussed this yet, so thank you for the suggestion. A younger cousin who lives nearby might be interested in doing this.
posted by anaphoric at 10:36 AM on September 10, 2018

If the cousin doesn't work out, it's certainly the sort of request you could put out on her neighborhood NextDoor.
posted by DrGail at 10:49 AM on September 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: NextDoor is new to me, so I'll have to look into this. Apparently it's not just a big-city thing; I see that they've even got local (Fayetteville, AR) info, too. Thank you!
posted by anaphoric at 10:53 AM on September 10, 2018

There is a website, TrustedHouseSitters.com, that connects people to live-in housesitters for situations like this. Typically it is done as a money-free exchange (free housesitting for free rent).
posted by mosst at 10:56 AM on September 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

I would be careful telling NextDoor a homeowner is going to be gone for an extended time.

Barring the availability of a family member, I would go one of two ways for this: either hire a bonded insured house/petsitter, or find a petsitter that does in-home care, which generally means the cats would get a room of their own and frequent human company (you'll want to make sure you understand the details obviously). I would start with a search of petsitters in your mom's general area and make a few inquiries to anyone who looks like they offer what you want, and see what the rates would run for a multiple-month engagement.

For a bunch of potentially disastrous reasons, I would not go this route with someone not bonded and insured, with references, unless you have a very trusted family member. It may be worth extra cost (unless you can find some kind of rent trade situation that bonds and insures the sitter) to have someone stay in her home because a) it's happier for the cats b) there's a bunch of reasons you don't want a residence sitting empty that long. There are liabilities having a stranger stay in a residence that long too, but that's why you want to make this a professional business transaction if you can.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:05 AM on September 10, 2018 [8 favorites]

You might also ask at your vet's office ... they sometimes have vet techs who will pet-sit on the side, or someone there might have a specific recommendation for a professional pet sitter.
posted by mccxxiii at 12:18 PM on September 10, 2018 [6 favorites]

Try Rover.com - you can find people willing to do in-home sitting (either at your mom's place or at the sitter's house) and talk to them directly to negotiate a price for a few months.
posted by ohsnapdragon at 12:31 PM on September 10, 2018 [2 favorites]

You could post this on MeFi Jobs and see what response you get—someone may be interested or might know someone—I know if I lived closer I would consider doing this for you and your mom!
posted by bookmammal at 1:02 PM on September 10, 2018 [4 favorites]

Seconding Trusted Housesitters. I use it as a catsitter when I travel, but I've heard from every pet owner I've talked to that they've had good experiences. It is free, live-in care for pets.
posted by pinochiette at 4:35 PM on September 10, 2018 [1 favorite]

If at all possible, the cats would probably be happiest to have someone stay in her house. I think most cats would find it stressful to go to a new person's house and/or have to be in a pet boarding situation. Honestly, most cats would probably be happier having someone stop by a couple times a day if it meant getting to stay in their own home, but the ideal scenario would be a petsitter who stays in your mom's place.

If the relative does fall through, I'd second posting to mefi jobs. I believe there are a number of mefites in the Chicago area.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:09 PM on September 10, 2018 [4 favorites]

Oh, and another option is to look up dog walking services, since they may have employees who are willing to do in home pet sitting.
posted by litera scripta manet at 8:10 PM on September 10, 2018 [1 favorite]