04/10/2025
My services are often dismissed as too expensive, but you’re getting more than a pet sitter when you have me care for your animals. You would not let someone unqualified care for your children, don’t let someone unqualified care for your complex animals.
This is Edie, a thirteen year old diabetic cat whose parents went on a 26 day long trip to Italy. Edie doesn’t like strangers, and this isn’t news to me - I’ve taken care of her and her fur siblings for short stints before. Edie has ended up hospitalised in an emergency clinic after refusing food and medication during boarding in the past, so pet sitting in her own home is imperative to her wellbeing.
This time around, something was off. She had gone from shy but tolerant to unpredictable, borderlining on dangerous towards me. I recognised that some things in her environment were different and that it was likely having a negative affect on her. Since I last saw Edie, her fur brother passed away. There was also a stranger staying in her house while her humans are overseas (not me), and I know that strangers stress her out. Both of these things compounded caused her enough anxiety to completely change her behaviour.
I decided to allow her a few days to settle, but when she began to urinate and defecate whenever she needed to be given her insulin - which I was having to wrap her in a blanket for, as she was trying to bite and scratch me - I knew that something needed to change, for the safety of us both.
Her humans and I decided it was time to get her vet involved, we got her started on a short acting anxiety medication morning and night, given in wet food by her house sitter, 2-3 hours before I’d arrive to give her insulin. This worked well, and only improved as the days went on, but it was clear she was still stressed.
Here is where I pay attention where someone without veterinary expertise may not. Diabetes and age both affect eyesight, I noticed that she coped better when I moved slowly, verbally alerted her to my presence, approached her from within her eye-line and got down to her level. When I started engaging with her in this way, I soon found her waiting for me rather than hiding under a chair when I’d arrive for her insulin. I also suspect that she has some age related arthritis, and that picking her up was uncomfortable for her, so I began laying on the floor with her to inject her. She now waits on a chair for me, which is nicer for her and easier on my knees! She loves a rough neck scratch and a few crunchy treats to appease her after her injection.
Now I’ve alerted her parents of my suspicions re: her vision and arthritis, of all of my observations, and we have a plan going forward!
1. Only one stranger in the house at a time. I offer house sitting, so I will be just staying there in future rather than someone else.
2. I will visit a few times before the pet sitting booking, to get her re-familiarised with me.
3. She will start 50mg of gabapentin BID 2 days before the booking.
4. She will see her vet to address her vision and suspected arthritis.
5. She will have her nails trimmed before the booking.
This is why my services cost more than the gumtree of pet sitting. I am an Elite Fear Free Certified Veterinary Professional, a Cert IV Veterinary Nurse who will not throw your pet in the too hard basket, but work with you to ensure safety for all involved.
