How much would you pay pet/house sitter daily

[zoo2tycoon]

We have an upcoming vacation and will be gone 11 days. I have arranged for a friend's daughter who is in late 20s (and a teacher) to come stay at our house and take care of our cat while we are gone. I plan on stopping the mail and the paper. So basically cat sitting and sleeping at the house- have to do this as cat is not able to stay with grandma and grandpa. She is new to our family, crazy and there is too much for her to get in trouble there. She also can't really stay by herself (really used to people around and I am honestly afraid she might be too busy and get into trouble).

I was thinking $20 per day, we live in the mid-West and I know it can vary by region. Should I pay more or less. She will just have to fill a feeder twice a day (electric feeder that goes off at set times) and clean the box. Is that too little or too much?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

It is one thing to pay a cat sitter to come in and feed and clean the box, it is another for someone to house sit for 11 days. I would give her 300.

 

[usnuzuloose]

That sounds about right for a cat. I usually pay 20 a day for my dogs. The person I have never wants anything. He is just happy to do it. But I also purchase groceries for them as well.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

If she is staying at your house, I think I would pay (here in the northeast) $50 per day.

I used to pay our dog sitter $10 to come into the house to feed the dogs, let them out, and be there for a total of 30 minutes. So I would pay $20 to come by twice and more to spend the night.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Looks like I'll up the pay. Haven't done before and had no idea what to pay. Thanks

 

[kamik86]

We do around 20 a day but that is for someone that isn't staying at our house, just to come and give them food, clean litter boxes, play with the cats if they want to (the two girls aren't too playful but we just got two kittens and they are much more friendly to new people so our sitter will play with them)

I'm not sure how long she normally stays there. Probably longer on some days and shorter on others since I know she will hang out and watch TV and play video games sometimes. Our sitter is my niece and she is totally trustworthy so pretty much we let her do whatever she wants. For all I know she could be throwing parties, but if she is she cleans really well because most of the time the house is as clean if not cleaner when we get home.

 

[AndyLL]

My wife is a pet sitter and she charges $20/half hour visit and $120 for a 24 stay.

We recently paid a friend $100/night to stay with our dogs during our cruise.

Cats really don't need someone there 24 hours a day. When we board our dogs we only have someone come in once or twice a day.

 

[Hercules10]

I use pet-sitters all the time. #1 advice is get something in writing. Not just about the $ but to cover your butt in case something happens to her, your place or both. Just a standard contract.

 

[wilkeliza]

Now I feel like a jerk. We have a friend who loves to come stay with our pup (not the puppy just the older dog, puppy goes to boarding) and we pay him 100 for about 5 days. We also fill the fridge with food. He sometimes won't even take the 100 even if we leave it for him. He just likes the company of the dogs, the location of our apartment, and the fact he gets to have laundry in an apartment for 5 days that doesn't cost him a penny to operate.

 

[kamik86]

Now I feel like a jerk. We have a friend who loves to come stay with our pup (not the puppy just the older dog, puppy goes to boarding) and we pay him 100 for about 5 days. We also fill the fridge with food. He sometimes won't even take the 100 even if we leave it for him. He just likes the company of the dogs, the location of our apartment, and the fact he gets to have laundry in an apartment for 5 days that doesn't cost him a penny to operate.

I wouldn't feel like a jerk. It obviously works for both of you. If you want to just treat your friend to a few other things they would like. My pet sitter often gets presents when we get home etc as well.

 

[wilkeliza]

I wouldn't feel like a jerk. It obviously works for both of you. If you want to just treat your friend to a few other things they would like. My pet sitter often gets presents when we get home etc as well.

Oh we do that as well. He usually gets a gift from where ever we are going and through out the year we often take him to Broadway shows and nice dinners. I think that's actually why he doesn't take the $100 because he feels watching the dogs is a small price to pay for all the things he gets to do with us. One year we even took him on a Disney vacation as a big thank you and my fiance bought him a nice watch last year as another thanks gift.

 

[zoo2tycoon]

I plan on leaving stocked refrigerator and vet info, have care credit and will let vet know she is authorized to use. We will be on cruise so no cell phone until in Port. We have never had to do before so I'm glad I got the range people are suggesting.

Thanks again for the responses

 

[ELSA711]

Our house sitter/pet sitter we know charges $60/day. We have five pets! So I feel like it's a good deal.
This time we are using kennel though for the dogs, my friend is staying with cats.

 

[smiths02]

Have you asked her how much she was thinking?

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Have you asked her how much she was thinking?

Not yet
Wanted to get idea of going rate. In all honesty I know she's probably going to say a low amount. I would rather pay too much than too little.

 

[AndyLL]

Now I feel like a jerk. We have a friend who loves to come stay with our pup (not the puppy just the older dog, puppy goes to boarding) and we pay him 100 for about 5 days. We also fill the fridge with food. He sometimes won't even take the 100 even if we leave it for him. He just likes the company of the dogs, the location of our apartment, and the fact he gets to have laundry in an apartment for 5 days that doesn't cost him a penny to operate.

I wouldn't. Every situation is different.

My wife runs a business so she has insurance, permits, taxes, car expenses and more so she has to charge a larger rate.

When we had a friend stay she had to bring her kid and arrange her schedule around letting our dogs out multiple times a day during fall break. She also had to deal with a sick dog and go to the vet. It was cheaper to pay her what we did then to board the dogs and have someone come in daily for the cats. She also needed the money and I had already set that amount aside as part of our vacation expenses.

It all depends on how much of a hassle it is for the friend. For some it would not be a big deal to go stay in someone elses house for a week... for others it could be a pain.

 

[Pumbaa_]

I pay $15 per night

granted, this is a neighbor/friend, lives close by, still lives at home and loves to come hang out in her own place. I leave random cash for takeout and freezer/cupboards full

works for us and i am so grateful for her (Her sister used to be our petsitter, but grew up and got her own life )

 

[dotfurio]

We pay $25/day to our friend's son who's in college. He has to feed one dog, 2 cats, change litter every few days, and take the dog out a few times a day. Otherwise he gets to veg on t.v. and video games with the house all to himself

 

[marlynnp]

We pay our neighbor girl $20 a day to take care of our pup and bring in our mail. She will also water house plants & the garden if we're gone for a while.

 

[mrsstats]

Boy, I am lucky to have a sister who likes to have some alone time. For a week I will give her $50. Stock the house with food she wants. I do have a dog sitter during the day who lets the dogs out.