It happens sometimes: we want to go on a long trip or even just a short trip consisting of a few days… but your cat isn’t able to come along for whatever reason. Maybe it’s you who owes your friend or relative a big favor and they’re headed out of town for a bit and asks you if you could watch their beloved cat when they’re gone. When you find out you have to watch your loved ones’ felines, it can be a little nerve wrecking especially if you aren’t too well-versed in cats. But fear not: just because you don’t have a cat yourself doesn’t mean you couldn’t totally kick butt caring for the kitties.
Here are some tips for cat sitting for your friend:
– Stay long enough. Here’s the thing: your main goal, aside from keep their cat alive, is to feed it. Once you finish with feeding their feline, it’s not necessarily time to go yet. You technically make it what it is, so make it fun! Play with their cat for a little bit, especially to give it some decent face time. That feeling you’re getting when you leave a little too early? That’s guilt – spend a little more time that you normally would would them and it should go away.
– Check in occasionally. There’s a difference between bombarding vacationing parents with every single second of their cats’ lives and taking just one or two mandatory photos for the mental well-being of the owners.
– Yes, you do have to scoop out the litter box. (You know what I mean.) It’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it. It’s all about keeping the cat’s environment clean and tidy.
– Don’t let their cat escape from the house! This is probably the most important one. Be more mindful of shutting doors to outside ASAP and make sure they don’t run out.
Photo by Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Purina
