For many pet owners finding petsitters can be a concern ahead of the holidays. This is especially true if you need sitters to cover pet care during peak holiday season. Whether you are travelling during peak season or off season, here are our top tips to find your pet’s perfect pet sitter.

How to find your pet’s perfect pet sitter

Are you a pet owner who travels away from home without your pet occasionally? Yes, most people have to leave one or two pets behind when they travel on holiday or for extended work trips. Finding suitable pet care can be a concern whether you live in an urban environment surrounding by pet care options or in a rural situation with little but friends or relatives to rely on for support.

While in theory there is a bewildering range of pet care options available most may not suit you or your pet:

In praise of the volunteer pet lover and pet sitter

We believe the volunteer pet lover and pet sitter who loves petsitting for the animals is an an excellent option. In fact most of our Housesitmatch sitters are volunteer pet lovers and pet sitters who do the petsitting and housesitting for a love of the animals and because they want to exchange their home and pet care services for free accommodation.

More than likely they will have a great detail of pet care experience. They will likely have had their own pets and quite possibly they will have worked with animals too. Make it a point to ask them specifically about their petsitting and pet care experience.

What makes the volunteer the perfect pet sitter?

Their motivation comes from a genuine place of love for the animals and a willingness to be with them and care for them.  They value the barter arrangement and understand that the pet care is at the core of this service. Most have pet care experience either through having had pets, worked with animals or simply loved animals.

In fact through Housesitmatch.com the volunteer petsitters and housesitters pay to travel to your home, they pay for their own upkeep and they pay to be members of this network. The sitters want to do this.

They want to care for your pet. In the process, they benefit by living in a new location, it means they have an active holiday with responsibilities and they get to meet new people and travel while staying in a safe home environment.

Professional pet sitter

You may have a professional pet sitter on speed dial, ready to step in while you are away. Every routine, every minute and every day rack up the costs for your holiday.

Remember this sitter is self employed and needs to cover the costs of insurance, their own livelihood and any expenses they incur while travelling to and living in your home.

In the UK the cost for a professional pet sitter can range from £25 – £ 100 GBP per day.

Likely this will offer insurance but not necessarily.  You must ask what the insurance covers. It is likely your pet insurance or home insurance already covers what is needed in the unlikely event of an issue arising.

Kennelling option

Kennelling may not work for your pet if you have an ailing, mature or a very young pet.

It may prove too expensive for an extended stay, or you might worry about how your pet reacts to other animals in such an environment.

You may also have a fear of kennel cough or other such contagious viruses.

While there are excellent kennels available for cats and dogs all over, you have to consider your own pet and its needs.

Friend or family

You may also have reliable relatives or friends who offer to take your cat or dog or rabbit for the odd weekend. But a two week family holiday or a 10 week work trip is another matter entirely. This may test your relationship and your pet’s endurance.

Most need to stay in their home for lengthy periods if at all possible. Pets need routine, and a familiar environment. Changing location can be disorientating for them and might exacerbate their sense of disorientation and worry about change.

Your pet’s perfect pet sitter in summary

Finding your pet’s perfect sitter through a professionally run online network like Housesitmatch means you can access an online pool of checked sitters 24/7.

You join as a pet owner homeowner and create a profile with information about your pet and housesit needs. Publish an advert with your dates, and we share your general information and general location – security is important to us so we veil your identity and exact location. But you can be anywhere in the world, in town or in the country and housesitters seeing your advert will apply securely via the site.

You meet online and you can interview them. Once you have made your choice you invite the checked sitter to travel to your home to petsit. The sitters profiles will show their reviews and all their background checks.

Then after the sit assignment is completed and you return home you review how they were as the petsitter. And they indeed review you as the host. It is a collaboration. It works because the people who join want to help each other. And we all do! Join Housesitmatch to find the perfect pet sitter for your pet today!

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Further reading about petsitters and housesitters

At Housesitmatch.com we like to share useful blogs and practical advice about housesitters, housesitting and pet sitting. We hope you find this small selection of our blogs on house sitters useful.

Top tips when taking on a petsitter or housesitter

Housesitters keep pets safe at home and save money

What a housesitter does – Top 10 responsibilities

Preparing a home for a house or pet sitter