Preparing Your Pets For When You Go On Vacation

This blog is a guest post from Angela Devereaux from Purrfect Pet Sitting.

How do you handle the holidays and pet care?   Do you take your cat/dog with you, have a sitter come to your house or board your pet?

Here are a few of my tips to help make the holidays easier on both you AND your pets while you are away.

1) When possible, arrange for your pet(s) to be cared for at home. 
The perfect solution is enlisting a pet sitter or a friend who loves your animals to stay in your home while you travel or schedule a couple of drop in visits every day. The more often someone comes in to observe your pets, the more likely they will observe changes in habits that might indicate there is a medical problem. The sitter should also spend quality time engaging them in activities they enjoy.                                                                                              
*NB: Contrary to popular opinion, leaving cats at home to fend for themselves is never an option. They need someone to tend to them every day, ideally twice a day. Trust me, unexpected stuff can and does happen. Cats also need fresh water, food and their litter boxes scooped at least once a day.  Some cats may also become stressed and develop separation anxiety if left alone.

2) Schedule that meet and greet! 
Before my clients leave on their trip, I always go by for a complimentary meet and greet to get detailed information regarding each pet(s).  Some important details I gather include not only quantity of food to be fed, but what brand as well.  If my client happens to run out of food and I need to pick up more, these are details I will want to note.  Some other very important items for discussion include any existing medical conditions or medications/supplements required to maintain the health of your pet, litter-box details, each pet’s treat and toy preferences, favorite activities along with any specific behavior concerns (ie not good on leash around other dogs).
Your sitter should know how to contact you in case of an emergency, but also have a back up contact person able to make decisions for your pet on your behalf should you not be able to be reached in a timely manner.  You also need to relay your veterinarian information as well as details for the closest emergency facility in your area.  It is a good idea to leave a spare key with a neighbour or relative that lives in the area in case something unforseen should happen.

3) Ease your mind with daily reports. 
Before you leave, tell your pet sitter your preferred method of contact while you are away.  Will you have your phone with you and prefer text communication, or maybe you will only have access to email?  Ask your pet sitter to send brief messages either via email or text to help you rest assured that your precious furry family members are safe and well cared for.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Many people now view the pet sitting industry as an easy way to earn extra money, so pet owners need to be extra knowledgeable and ask the right questions when interviewing potential candidates to weed out the untrained "hobby" sitters.  When searching for the services of a professional pet sitter in your area, here are some great questions you may want to ask to help guide you in the right direction.

PSI (Pet Sitters International) advises pet owners to ask these important questions when interviewing potential pet sitters:

1. Is the pet sitter insured and bonded? 
2. Can the pet sitter provide proof of clear criminal history? 
3. Does the pet sitter provide client references? 
4. Will the pet sitter use a pet-sitting service agreement or contract?
5. Is the pet sitter a member of any professional or educational association such as a Veterinary Technician, or Animal Care Aide and has he or she participated in pet-care training, such as pet first aid? 

You can entrust all your pet needs to Angela Deveraux from Purrfect Pet Sitting.

Angela has over 27 years experience as a Veterinary Technician and has been pet sitting in York Region and the surrounding areas since 2005.  Having an experienced Veterinary Technician you can trust to care for your furry family members while you are away helps makes your vacation that much more relaxing and enjoyable.

You can call or text Angela at: (905) 954-5673
Email purrfectpetsitting123@gmail.com
Follow her on social media at https://www.facebook.com/angelapurrfectpets/ or via instagram at https://www.instagram.com/purrfectpetsitting123/

---