Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Finding a Purr-fect Cat Sitter with CatVacay

KATIE:  So Waffles. Going somewhere???   *I can only hope...*

WAFFLES:  I'm just practicing what it would be like to take a CatVacay.  

KATIE:  CatVacay?

WAFFLES:  You know, a CatVacay. From the new CatVacay website. We can book our vacay online. Wanna vacay with me? 

KATIE:  Please tell me this is not like that guy on TV with the wrinkled clothes and messed up hair.

WAFFLES:  No Boss, it's where we can find an awesomely cool cat sitter to take care of us when Glogirly and Gloman are away. Someone who'll play chase the wand toy, find the red dot family, fetch... 

KATIE:  ...and someone who has no idea we aren't supposed to eat a whole bag of treats. Everyday. 



WAFFLES:  QUICK! I'll pack Glogirly's bag.



KATIE:  And I'll go online. Wait a minute...I don't have to KISS the cat sitter do I? 



Meet CatVacay
CatVacay is the newest addition to DogVacay which lauched in 2012 and has quickly built a strong reputation as a place were pet parents can find trusted, loving and experienced sitters close to home. In fact to date, pet parents have booked over 1,000,000 nights with DogVacay and their 20,000+ vetted and insured sitters. That's a lot of vacays... and a lot of sitters!

How it Works:
The Community
The CatVacay community connects cat parents with nearly 10,000 vetted and insured pet sitters across the US and Canada ready to care for kitty as if they were family right in your own home. Currently, the search function only shows "dogs" and does not have a specific "cat" or "other animals" filter. According to DogVacay there are plans to add that in the coming months.

Reservations, Insurance & Support
All reservations include vet insurance, 24/7 customer support and a daily photo update of your cat (or cats!) enjoying a "vacay" of their own.

Search With Your Zipcode
Just type in your zip code on the website and find a qualified sitter right in your own neighborhood. Be sure to click "Sitting At My Home" to find pet sitters that will come to you. 

Meet-n-Greet
Schedule a meet ‘n greet to meet your Host, then book your kitty's vacay and pay online. You can also message with hosts to learn more and make reservations. 

Check Ins & Overnights
Cat parents can have a sitter stop by to check in and care for their cat while they’re away or have a sitter stay overnight in their home to give their cat 24-hour supervision. 


How Much?
Rates
Rates vary based on your location and each sitter. But for the most part in-home check in's run between $15-25 and overnights fall in the $45 neighborhood.

Insurance & Peace of Mind
The insurance, which is included in the fees, cover both the pet sitter and the pet parent's home. Each of the sitters go through a five-step vetting process which includes a background check, phone interview, and references.



... but cats are independent and don't need a sitter, right?   WRONG!
When Glogirly & Gloman are traveling, we ALWAYS have a cat sitter check in on us twice a day. And for long trips, we have a cat sitter stay overnight with us. 

Cats can probably go about 24 hours on their own, but we really do need daily check ins. We need someone to make sure our food and water is always fresh and our litter boxes clean and pristine. Cats get lonely and can experience anxiety when no one is home. We can become sick or get into some serious mischief (ex: Waffles), so a loving human companion can make all the difference. Just make sure the cat sitter knows the combination to the wand toy cabinet.




StayCay with CatVacay
Having Glogirly and Gloman away is hard. Like most cats, we're happiest when we're all hanging out at home together. And going to a boarding kennel is just not something we'd EVER want to do. So having a cat sitter check in on us in the comfort our own home or even stay overnight allows us to maintain our routines, watch Bird TV, eat from our own dishes and use our own litter boxes.  ...and sleep in our own beds.




IMPORTANT Update About the CatVacay Website:
It has come to our attention that many of you have been unable to search for a cat sitter... that once you visit CatVacay and click on BROWSE SITTERS, you are brought to the DogVacay page and can only search for dog sitters. We sincerely apologize for the confusion and were unaware of this prior to publishing our post. We've been assured by CatVacay they will be adding "cats" and "other animals" into the search criteria and filter in the coming months.

For now, the best way to find an appropriate sitter for your cat though CatVacay/DogVacay is to browse their sitters by entering your zip code AND clicking on the "Sitting In Your Home" check box. The majority of sitters will also care for cats. Some mention it in their introductory about blurb. Some may only note in their services/rates that they do in-home check ins and overnights. You can always contact the sitter directly to ask questions and potentially arrange a meet 'n greet.






Look for pet sitters near your home on CatVacay.com.

This post is sponsored by CatVacay & DogVacay. We are being compensated for helping to spread the word about CatVacay, but GLOGIRLY only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. 

33 comments:

  1. I'll have to check if they are also in Canada. For now we have a great cat sitter for our babes. Our Vet Tech.

    So you guys also noticed the guy in the wrinkled clothes and messy hair?! He cleaned up recently. I guess people said he had too much of the Hotel Bed hair and that he slept in his clothes.

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  2. Ok, I just saw for Canada! It's 3am here right now so I need to Vacay to bed!! Sweet dreams. Xo

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  3. Seems like a good price considering we could destroy twice that much $$ in toilet paper in one night.
    MOL!

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    Replies
    1. haha!!!! You guys have been conspiring with Waffles, haven't you?!?!

      Delete
  4. OH did you go and check the site? Awesome and such a lovely video at the start!

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  5. I don't know about other kitties, but Binga and I need LOTS of human interaction and we would really miss it if we didn't get it! (Boodie doesn't ask for it like we do, but I bet she likes having humans around too.) So petsitters are mandatory here, and if both humans are going to be away for more than just a day, overnight petsitters are double mandatory. I wish more humans realized this.

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  6. This sounds like a great resource. Our last petsitting service went out of business so they could have some holidays to themselves after so many years (can't blame them at all), and we miss the peace of mind of knowing we have someone on call just in case.

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  7. That's a great idea ! And prices are not too expensive. Purrs

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  8. Our humans don't go away a lot but the mom says she'll check this out for just in case. The last time she went away, the dad-guy was home but she still got a sitter to come in to check on us...Officer Julie, the Island Animal Control Officer. She carries a gun!!

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  9. Wow, what a cool service! Thanks for sharing about Cat Vacay with us, Katie and Waffles. We are definitely going to check this out!

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  10. I'm not a kitty but I will tell my kitty friends
    Lily & Edward

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    Replies
    1. ...and you guys can find a doggy sitter too!
      Not that your mother would EVER want to leave you.
      xo

      Delete
  11. That is a great way to find people you can trust to take care of your kitties.

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  12. I've never had a cat sitter and since I was rescued all those years ago, I've never been in kennels! I think I would be unhappy if anything was different even for a short time!!

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  13. I think for those with no insurance this would be a great idea, I have insurance, so I wouldn't use it, plus...the friend that I have sit for us, I actually pay approx $45 a night already (and I know her and trust her and can pay her in installments if I have to). We are going to need to look for a back up sitter but I am going to get recommendations directly from my vet for that.

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    Replies
    1. That's a great idea, Caren. Always good to have back ups!

      Delete
  14. That's a pawsome service. We can't seem to get to the cat part...it keeps asking us what size dogs we are!!

    The Florida Furkids

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    Replies
    1. We're so very sorry about that. We've just learned that they will be adding "cats" and "other animals" into their search criteria and filter in the coming months. Unfortunately we did not know this before we published earlier today.

      For now, the best way to find an appropriate sitter for your cat though CatVacay/DogVacay is to browse their sitters by entering your zip code AND clicking on the "Sitting In Your Home" check box. The majority of sitters will also care for cats. Some mention it in their introductory about blurb. Some may only note in their services/rates that they do in-home check ins and overnights. You can always contact the sitter directly to ask questions and potentially arrange a meet 'n greet.

      Again, we apologize for the confusion.

      Delete
  15. I click on the site and it takes mom to the dog part and doesn't have any information about cats

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    Replies
    1. I'm so sorry, Belle.

      We just learned that they will be adding "cats" and "other animals" into their search criteria and filter in the coming months. Unfortunately we did not know this before we published earlier today and have inserted an update at the end of the blog post.

      For now, the best way to find an appropriate sitter for your cat though CatVacay/DogVacay is to browse their sitters by entering your zip code AND clicking on the "Sitting In Your Home" check box. The majority of sitters will also care for cats. Some mention it in their introductory about blurb. Some may only note in their services/rates that they do in-home check ins and overnights. You can always contact the sitter directly to ask questions and potentially arrange a meet 'n greet.

      So very sorry for the confusion.

      Delete
  16. It's a good idea, but I also couldn't get to the cat part. The link is all about dogs.
    Maybe some cat, trying to keep her people, home sabotaged the site... Katie?

    Thank you so much for all your comforting comments on Tommie's passing.
    xxoo
    Maggie

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    Replies
    1. Ha Ha!!! That's a good one, Maggie. Katie is definitely not known for her love of pet sitters. *wink*

      We just learned that they will be adding "cats" and "other animals" into their search criteria and filter in the coming months. Unfortunately we did not know this before we published earlier today and have inserted an update at the end of the blog post.

      For now, the best way to find an appropriate sitter for your cat though CatVacay/DogVacay is to browse their sitters by entering your zip code AND clicking on the "Sitting In Your Home" check box. The majority of sitters will also care for cats. Some mention it in their introductory about blurb. Some may only note in their services/rates that they do in-home check ins and overnights. You can always contact the sitter directly to ask questions and potentially arrange a meet 'n greet.

      We're really sorry for the confusion.

      Delete
  17. Whoa! We just got a postcard from Fuzzies Pet Care claiming they do the same thing. They even have a taxi service, not that I want to go anywhere. Thanks for the info. We’ll bookmark just in case.

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  18. Great idea guys..but one of us is always here to take care of the "kids"..This would be great to have in case of emergency though..

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  19. Mum will check on it when they get cats. She rarely goes anywhere other than overnight.

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  20. This looks like a great way to find the right sitter if you don't already have one. We had a service for lots of years, but now our housekeeper Chris takes care of us. She knows us really well and all our routines so we feel very comfortable with her. XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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