Hello, I was contacted to do drop in visits for an indoor/outdoor cat. When doing a meet and greet, the owners want me to visit the cat every 2 days. They said to let the cat out when it wants to go outside and said that he will come back at some point. I am only there for a drop in visit which is 30 minutes. What should I tell them?
That you cannot do this. Period. You cannot be responsible for what could happen to the cat when outside. If anything would happen, you would be held responsible. Just say no.
Thank you Karen, I feel much more confident now with telling them I can't do this. I asked the client if I could keep the cat inside while they were away for 7 days. She stated that the cat is not used to staying inside and goes out every day. I didn't realize it was a red flag until your response.
No problem. Besides, as you pointed out, you would only be there for 30 minutes every 2 days. What are you supposed to do? Let the cat out and hope it is sitting on the doorstep when you return in 2 days? Ridiculous!
During the meet and greet I will tell the owner any issues that I have. I absolutely would not agree to the responsibility for a cat or dog that lets itself outside unsupervised (Unless this is a secured covered catio attached to home).
In my area, cats and dogs who are allowed to roam off leash are often taken out by a predator like a coyote, but it also could be a vehicle or something else, and I don’t want to be the one to discover a wounded body or a murder.
It’s similar to people who walk dogs unleashed and claim their dogs have great recall command, listen/follow well. My response acknowledges that I understand that works well for them, but I’m not comfortable with that when I accept responsibility for their care.