drop in visits: owner wants cat fed too?

That is frustrating and sets the relationship off on a bad foot. I have had this happen and just said, "I'm sorry but every animal needs to be listed for your stay to be covered and me to be in compliance with Rover. I understand that pet care can get expensive and that's why I only charge $X for the additional pet".

The pet parent knows exactly what they're doing and also knows that food and clean water during their absence is a complete necessity for their pet's survival. Not to mention that if they took their pets to a kennel and had a cat stuffed in the back of the dog's cage, that the kennel wouldn't be like, "oops. There seems to be something stuck to the back of your pup's cage. No worries. We'll gladly take care of it free of charge!". Nor would the owner try that tactic with a brick and mortar business (the veterinarian clinics here charge $35+ per night boarding for cats).

Love means spending the amount of a daily latte to make sure your 'no trouble at all' extra pet gets clean food and water while you're on vacation. Not to mention an honest relationship with your pet care provider. Litter boxes, divided attention, extra responsibility / liability is what the second (or third or fourth or...) pet charge is for. Hope it went well. :)

Hi Courtney: That's a tough one! And totally up to you! Do you think the client may add more cat services such as cleaning the litter box, etc? I looked at your profile, and you do have a $20 cat charge, so I think there should be some sort of charge for an additional service. What do the other sitters in your area charge for cat care? I had a potential extended house sitting stay try to "sneak in" 2 cats, but i wouldn't allow a discounted extended stay with no cat care fees applied, so the client went elsewhere. And that didn't bother me at all. Since you have the cat care listed at $20, but have a $5 additional pet fee for drop-ins/walks, I would ask for the additional fee (and you could point out that they are saving $$ from you cat fee that way). Since the client only has their dog listed, you'd have to manually enter the additional fee for the cat at the time of booking.

I think it's reasonable to charge $5 more to care for the cat, but I'd encourage the client to add the cat and explain that $5 also will provide insurance coverage and support for the cat. You could also state any other care you'd provide, such as: petting, brushing, indoor toy play, litter box? That may help open the conversation. Ultimately, it's your decision whether or not to charge additional.

Im glad this was brought up. I too have had a problem with the "oh by the way I have a cat but hes no trouble, just needs food and let out." Why do clients think cats dont require time and care? I tell them to enter cat so theyre covered, I go over all that and they always say they will put cat in and they never do. I have a cat fee. Dont they see this? Of course the first time I did it for a reduced fee and they never put cat in system he had major issues and required a lot of my time. So I use this experience to make my point and still they dont put them in. I wonder if its because there is no cat option, only dog. I tell them to expect this and put them in under dog. So I have to adjust the fees myself and I dont like to do it that way.