What is Catsitting? 

Catsitting basically means taking care of your cat(s) at your home. Catsitting is a special service that can be booked by cat owners (cat parents:) for the time when they are not at home. It is more than just a ‘put food and water out’ service, and includes what it takes for cats to spend their ‘alone time’ healthy, relaxed and yes - happy. One of my clients calls me the ‘cat nanny’. This term sums up my activities very well.

 

Where do you offer Catsitting Services?

We are travelling 20 minutes around Zollikofen. This includes the greater Bern area, but we also have customers in Burgdorf,  Jegenstorf and Thun. Until further notice, we will not accept new arrangements in Thun - for our existing customers we will of course provide our services as before. For the time being, we won't charge additional fees per kilometre. You can find an overview of our local service area here. 

 

How does the process from contact to order work?

I'm happy to leave that up to you. You can call me, send me a message or directly book an appointment to get to know me.

 

What happens during the initial meet-up?

For you as potential customer, this meet-up is an opportunity to assess whether you would like to hand over the care of your cat(s) to us and thus also the key to your home. Especially if you haven't worked with us yet, this might take a bit of effort. After all, trust takes time to grow. And last but not least, you can also see how the cats react to his/her potential nanny. The introductory meeting is also important for us so that we are able to get an idea of how the catsitting should be organised. What is important to you and your cats? Do they have a medical history? Do they prefer to play or how should the care be organised? See also our checklist, which we always bring with us to our meet-up.

 

What happens after our initial meet-up?

After the introductory meeting, we will send you a summary of what we have discussed so that you can see whether we have understood everything correctly and also whether there is anything else you would like to add. This document also contains all the key dates, e.g. start and end of cat sitting, conditions, etc. 

 

What happens during your absence?

While you're away, we will keep you up to date with what's going on with your cats and your home. You are free to choose how often this should be. We have clients who wish to get daily updates, while others only want a brief message every few days. This is up to you.

If we notice anything unusual with your cats or your home, we will let you know immediately. If a visit to the vet becomes necessary, we will of course take your cat to your vet. We have a cat basket in the Catnanny car, just in case it is needed. 

 

How do you plan the Catsitting visits? 

We plan the routes and visits so that they are as regular as possible. Catsitting that takes place once a day is carried out on a 24-hour cycle. Two visits per day take place within 12 hours, ensuring that the time between visits is neither too long nor too short. We naturally take conditions such as medication into account when planning.  

 

Do you have a substitute? 

That's a very important point. You certainly don't want to have to cut your holiday short if I fall ill and can't work. So, yes, I do have substitutes. Additionally, I started working with Catsitting helpers on a regular basis so that we can organise the peak periods around the holidays well. Plus, they help me so that they I can take the some weekends off. 

 

What happens during my absence?

I have no problem with that at all, as long as I don't end up as content on social media platforms :) By the way, if you're going to be away for a long time, you can borrow a pet cam from me (Model Petcube 360). You can then use an app to see what your pets are up to at home. I have three pet cams and am happy to lend them out free of charge for the duration of my assignment. Provided they're not all already out on loan, of course. 

 

Is Catsitting at home better than boarding at a cat hotel?

I don't think there is a better or worse option here. Both approaches, Catsitting at home and boarding in a cat hotel, have their merits. It really depends on what is best for your cats and what causes the least stress for you and your fluffy friends. If you are looking for a good cat hotel in the Bern area, I recommend Büsus Bijou - das Katzenhotel.