Mel W.
Sacramento, CA
I love cats and they love me! :)
Pet care experience
I have had cats for as long as I can remember, and I have seen every life stage of cats from newborn kittens to elderly felines. I am familiar and comfortable with a lot of common behavior patterns and personalities. I currently have 2 little 9 year old kitties, Smaug and Wizzy, and have hired pet sitters (from Rover!) for them while on vacations and am personally familiar with common pet sitter etiquette, such as taking status photos, briefing owners on a regular schedule, and even watering a cat grass plant or two! I have been a catsitter for a year and I have been an occasional petsitter for a friend's dog quite a few times and enjoyed the process of keeping the him company, playing with him, checking his play and rest areas for issues, and attending to his feeding and treat schedule. I am a genuine animal lover who donates pet food from my couponing hobby, enjoys trips to the zoo and sanctuary, cried to Meerkat Manor on Animal Planet, and I enjoy a good nature walk with binoculars to see every furry and feathered creature in the woods. For me, pet-sitting is a dream side job! :)
Reviews
Take good care of my needy cat
Mel continues to be meticulous in her care of our pets. She is an amazing pet sitter and I highly recommend her.
I wouldn’t trust anyone else to watch our cats! Mel is wonderful, communicative, and trustworthy. She treats our boys like they are her own!
Mel is the best! As long as she’s around we won’t use anyone else!
About Mel W.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I currently work part-time so my schedule is very open. I am always very thankful for flexibility in scheduling and tend to compensate by trying being generous in my time with drop-in visits and services. -FULL DISCLOSURES- House-Sitting: * I provide overnight care for $250/day and request 1-5 hours per day to leave the home to run errands and handle other obligations. I cannot provide constant care under the common understanding of staying in the home for 24 hours without leaving once. Travel Fee: *I live to serve my local neighborhoods and try to reduce my carbon imprint but Sacramento is also one big beautiful community and I certainly do not mind visiting kitties in a bunch of zip codes! That said, if you are 5 miles or more outside of the 95825/Arden Arcade area (Arden Fair Mall is an excellent Google Maps marker!), I may request a one-time $50 travel fee for drop-in visits. This is to cover any travel emergencies or unexpected cost increases (I'm looking at you surprising gas hikes!) that may occur and helps me to ensure that there will be no disruption to pet care services no matter how far your pet is from me.
Information Mel W. would like to know about your pet
Please submit holiday requests as soon as possible as things can become very busy for all services, particularly at the end of the year. ?????☃️ Please let me know about your pet's name, personality, what they enjoy doing, anything I should watch out for or be careful with, and what to expect from their normal routine. Please mention medications or supplements. I have moderate experience administering oral and inhaler medications but I am willing to take as much time as needed and ask plenty of questions to learn so that you know your pet is assuredly taken care of.
A typical day
I'm very big on playing with cats and making sure they are at least entertained by my attempts at games. I enjoy throwing little balls for kitties to chase, feathers on a stick, red laser dot games, paper boxes/bags, and scratch-proof mittens/puppets. I have also found some cats respond well to playing with shadows, hide-n-seek, and watching bird or mouse chase videos. I also enjoy couch cuddles, positive verbal reinforcement, and encouraging good behavior over gentle disciplining whenever possible.
Services
Mel can watch in your home
Availability
I grew up with alley cats, tom cats, and cats that fought with possums and brought snakes into the house so I am no stranger to the wild ways of kitties! That said, my 2 cats are primarily indoor-only with lots of morning time on my patio. They are on a 4x a day feeding schedule, daily litter changing schedule with 2 litter boxes, and I try to fit in at least 1 good play and petting session per day, per cat, no matter how busy I get. They are both spayed, neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated by their regular veterinarian and I always have a sitter when I leave town.
| S | M | T | W | T | F | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
About Mel W.
Communication
Skills
Safety, trust & environment
I currently work part-time so my schedule is very open. I am always very thankful for flexibility in scheduling and tend to compensate by trying being generous in my time with drop-in visits and services. -FULL DISCLOSURES- House-Sitting: * I provide overnight care for $250/day and request 1-5 hours per day to leave the home to run errands and handle other obligations. I cannot provide constant care under the common understanding of staying in the home for 24 hours without leaving once. Travel Fee: *I live to serve my local neighborhoods and try to reduce my carbon imprint but Sacramento is also one big beautiful community and I certainly do not mind visiting kitties in a bunch of zip codes! That said, if you are 5 miles or more outside of the 95825/Arden Arcade area (Arden Fair Mall is an excellent Google Maps marker!), I may request a one-time $50 travel fee for drop-in visits. This is to cover any travel emergencies or unexpected cost increases (I'm looking at you surprising gas hikes!) that may occur and helps me to ensure that there will be no disruption to pet care services no matter how far your pet is from me.
Information Mel W. would like to know about your pet
Please submit holiday requests as soon as possible as things can become very busy for all services, particularly at the end of the year. ?????☃️ Please let me know about your pet's name, personality, what they enjoy doing, anything I should watch out for or be careful with, and what to expect from their normal routine. Please mention medications or supplements. I have moderate experience administering oral and inhaler medications but I am willing to take as much time as needed and ask plenty of questions to learn so that you know your pet is assuredly taken care of.
A typical day
I'm very big on playing with cats and making sure they are at least entertained by my attempts at games. I enjoy throwing little balls for kitties to chase, feathers on a stick, red laser dot games, paper boxes/bags, and scratch-proof mittens/puppets. I have also found some cats respond well to playing with shadows, hide-n-seek, and watching bird or mouse chase videos. I also enjoy couch cuddles, positive verbal reinforcement, and encouraging good behavior over gentle disciplining whenever possible.
Location
Sacramento, CA
Pets
Mel W.
Sacramento, CA