A Day in the Life of a Pet Sitter

A Day in the Life of a Pet Sitter

Sandy saved Chester’s life. It wasn’t her heroic action, but it was what Sandy calls part of her “regular day” as a pet sitter.

It was a routine assignment – feed Chester twice a day for a week while his owners were away.

The complication was that Chester was not a friendly cat. Sandy only rarely saw him, because he hid when strangers came to visit. She had been enticing him out with treats for a while, but she still only saw him out about every third visit. She knew where he hid, and sometimes, she’d check on him by having a quick look so as not to scare him.

Sandy had figured out a way to monitor the cat. Her normal pet sitter visitation comprised of going in and collecting the food bowls, and cleaning the litter box. She did this twice each day. It allowed her to check his appetite and his eliminations.

Sandy’s skills came from the online course she took on pet sitting. It taught her what symptoms could suggest there was a problem. The litterbox was what clued her in. Cleaning the litterbox allowed her to see if Chester was doing things as he should.

On Sandy’s morning visit, she saw the box and immediately got worried. She’d cleaned it the night before and left the surface groomed flat. Chester had been in there digging holes, but there weren’t any urine clumps in the litter. Chester wasn’t urinating.

This meant she had to get hold of Chester to check him out. Because she knew where he liked to go, she tracked him down, huddled under the bureau in the guest bedroom, in a box of gloves.

As Sandy pulled him out, all she had to do was touch his belly and she had her answer. Poor little Chester cried with pressure on his belly, or specifically, his bladder.

In case you haven’t figured it out, Chester had a urinary blockage that was going to kill him if he didn’t get attention right away.

Sandy took Chester to the veterinarian right away. The doctor confirmed her diagnosis and relieved the poor cat’s blockage. He needed an anesthetic to allow a catheter up his urinary tract.

Chester came out of the hospital the next day, just hours before the owner was scheduled to arrive back. Sandy settled him at home, but she did phone a few hours later to ensure all was fine.

Sandy was on her game, and she avoided a big problem with her customer. The reason she could do this was the training she received. Being a pet sitter isn’t just turning up to pet the cat.