Where Speaking Meow Becomes Your First Language

All over my website and in my business you hear me talking about being a Professional Cat Sitter.  You might be wondering what does that exactly mean verses the Pet Sitter one has always heard about.  Why it might make a huge difference in how your cat responds to having a stranger in their home while you are gone, can that difference be really that significant?  Let's take a look at two typical scenarios.   

Scenario #1  The Typical Pet Sitter

You have hired the local dog walking/pet sitting company to come in and care for your cat.  They have several pet sitters scheduled to visit your cat, several times a day.  The morning pet sitters comes in and loudly calls for your cat, they complete the essential care tasks of food, water, litter box and then roam around the house loudly calling your cat's name.  Your cat frightened by the commotion decides to hide under the entertainment sofa, where he cannot be seen or found.  The sitter sits down on the sofa not realizing furry-fluff-bottom is right under their butt!  

Later that late afternoon a different pet sitter walks in to take care of evening feeding, water, and litter box.  Your cat having been traumatized by the first pet sitter, took a deep dive of hiding as the strange car pulled into the driveway.  Again, the sitter reports that food is eaten, litter box used but there is no sign of your cat.  As the sitter reviews the morning visit report, she decides to not sit around and wait to see if the cat will come out.  She decided to take further action and go looking for your cat.  She checks under the beds (maybe even pulling things out from underneath to get a clear view). she looks in the partially left open closet, behind the shower curtain in the bathroom, behind the entertainment unit and even goes so far as to flip up the sofa at which point your cat runs out in utter terror.  

You come home after a long weekend and it takes hours for your cat to come around.  You notice the next day that he has pee'd on your clothes in your luggage that you had left open.

*Please note not all pet sitters are like this example.  Many are indeed highly skilled to work with pets of all types.  But it is best to ask during the Meet & Greet what exactly they will do if they cannot find your cat in the house. 

Scenario #2   The Cat Sitter

This time your best friend could not do the cat sitting, so you hire a Cat Sitter.  The Cat Sitting Company has your cat scheduled for twice a day visits using two sitters.  The morning cat sitter arrives and walks in quietly hoping to get a glimpse of your fur baby.  She goes about washing the old food bowl and getting your cat's morning meal ready, refreshes the water, and checks the litter box.  During the initial Meet & Greet it was discussed your cat's favorite hiding place is under the sofa,  The sitter walks over calmly and peers under the front edge of the sofa and can see 4 little white paws.  The sitter leaves several treats near the access point, but outside the sofa.  She might even snap a picture of the paws.  She then sits on the chair on the opposite side of the room and asks Alexa to play classical music, she may turn on the television to normalize home sounds or tune into Relax My Cat YouTube, she may read out loud softly from her smart device or use a pet laser (red dot) to see if your cat might show curiosity to check it out.  

That evening the second sitter arrives and finds that the treats were eaten, which indicates a lowered fear, anxiety and stress level.  He goes about preparing the evening cat feeding and out of the corner of his eye he observes your cat peeking at him from across the room.  He doesn't call your cat's name, he doesn't shout "kitty, kitty, kitty."  Instead he moves slowly and places the food bowl on the floor in sight of your cat.  He keeps his eye contact to a minimum and slowly moves to sit down in the same room.  Tonight the cat treats are tossed a little further out and your cat comes out to sniff them, but not eat them.  Your cat slowly moves his gaze to the cat sitter.  The cat sitter remains looking down at the phone and only glancing up at your cat.  Your cat creeps across the floor to the food bowl and glances back at the cat sitter to be sure he isn't following, and then settles down to eat.   Once the meal is finished, furry-fluff-bottom decides to cautiously walk over to the cat sitter who hasn't moved and sniff him out.  

By the end of your week long vacation your cat has decided the same two cat sitters visiting him are not threats.  In fact, when they show up good things happen like food, playtime, and petting.  

Every cat is different and every cat sit can and will be different, but there are a few techniques professional cat sitters utilize to win over your cat and become their new best finicky friend.  These techniques springboard off of the Fear Free philosophy and science.  It is something that is called the Considerate Approach and it is vital to having a successful cat  sitting experience.   

The Considerate Approach consists of a few key components.  Most are very effective when implemented from the very beginning of a cat sit.  And a good professional cat sitter will let you know when our holistic approach requires veterinary assistance in the form of nutraceuticals or pharmaceuticals.  Let's look at some of these holistic approaches:  

• No prolonged eye contact
• No direct approach
• No deep guttural tones 
• Move slowly and calmly
• Soft footsteps and slow down
• Allow the cat to approach you, don't approach the cat
• Use yummy treats
• Avoid heavy perfumes or scents/smells
• Use calming scents
• Normalize home sounds (silent house 24 hours isn't normal)
• Normal temperatures (not too cold and not to warm it's only a few days!)

The goal when working with a Professional Pet Sitter is to be sure your furbaby is going to get the best of care.  With cats, changes in the environment, routine, and care givers has been found to be far more stressful than first believed.   So if your cat care provider is rushing through your home looking for your cat, just "dropping in" and leaving, etc. then they may be contributing to your cat's anxiety and stress while you are gone.  As you plan your post-pandemic travel be sure to ask questions of your pet care specialist of exactly how they work with cats.  Ask if they use the Considerate Approach.  

For more information regarding Considerate Approaches to feline care in your home, visit Fear Free Happy Homes a free service for all pet owners.