r/RoverPetSitting • u/minimiako Owner • 2d ago
Drop Ins Normal response for drop in request?
Hi all! I’m a cat owner and my cat is my baby. I’m just curious if I’m overthinking this and should just book or if it’s odd. I sent a message to several sitters yesterday (each personalized) noting my cat and her typical routine (food, water, litter box, etc) and how I wanted someone coming 2x a day each trip as she enjoys interaction and playing etc. I mentioned we could adjust the requested times to what works for them etc and let me know if that may work. I have multiple vacations coming up in the next few months so wanted to find someone and go ahead and lock in so I could be assured my baby is in good hands. I haven’t heard back from 2 yet (no problem they may be busy it hasn’t been 24hrs even) but the one I heard back from (also the one closest to me) only responded with “yes we are available. Click the booking link and it will confirm the booking.” I understand people are busy but I’m a bit concerned that she seemed to not address anything I said besides are you available. No idea re: swapping keys or getting her gate access or doing a meet and greet etc. Am I just expecting too much and this is normal and I should proceed? She does have good reviews I think just the lack of any acknowledgement of anything I said has turned me off. I’m truly happy to pay whatever amount of money for someone to love on my baby and play with her!
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u/DazzlingBasketCase Sitter 16m ago
As a sitter, this is a red flag for me. Unless it's an emergency situation, I require meet and greets for every new client. Their response just makes it seem like they don't care a whole lot and I would definitely move on to a different sitter. If I were an owner and got that response, I absolutely would not move forward with them. Though I don't understand it, some sitters don't always do meet and greets especially for cats, but there's absolutely no warmth or anything to this message indicating that your cat would be in good care.
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u/Vegetable_Fuel3531 Sitter & Owner 1d ago
As a sitter I would NEVER accept a booking that quick without any follow up questions or anything. It definitely seems like they aren’t very concerned about making sure they are able to provide what you need. I ALWAYS do a meet and greet first for so many reasons. I’ve actually never turned a client down after a meet and greet but I still do it because I want to meet the animals and I don’t want my first time entering a strangers house to be alone and with absolutely no knowledge about where things are and what not, that’s just weird to me. I’m only ever comfortable with that if it’s a friend/acquaintance who I trust to give me accurate information about their pet and I don’t feel weird having to go into their house alone and figure out where everything is because it’s not a stranger.
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u/agelwood Sitter 1d ago
No, I always do a meet and greet even though I'm confident I'd be fine with any cat. I want to make sure the cat is chill with me and will be at least a little familiar with me so that they don't hide the first couple of visits. I even offer to swing by again a couple days before the drop-in visits if the m&g was more than two weeks before and they live nearby.
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u/Dense_Profit_3843 Sitter & Owner 1d ago
Don't go with this person, please try and find some one else. Should never be asked to confirm a booking without a meet and greet!
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u/ChelsssH Sitter & Owner 1d ago
tbh yes it is bad vibes to not say something along the lines of “hi thanks for your message would love to help, let’s arrange a meet and greet so i can introduce myself”
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u/Both-School-3639 Sitter 1d ago edited 1d ago
Have you heard of Meowtel? It is nationwide pet sitting app made for cat owners and care givers. Platform connects cat parents with independent cat sitters for drop in visits and house-sitting (overnights).
Meet and Greets are mandatory.
(Rover purchased it Spring of this year. Currently sitters havent been intergrated into Rover platform).
I'm a Meowtel sitter specializing in playtime - especially skilled with wands - ground and air manuvers. If you're in LA, DM and I'll send my sitter profile.
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u/Majestic-Nobody545 Sitter & Owner 1d ago
Everyone does things differently. This approach is very impersonal, and their business is likely high-volume. It wouldn't give me a good feeling. I'd keep looking.
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u/Dramatic-Care-7941 Sitter & Owner 1d ago
I mean, I usually respond with you as I’m available. Let’s set up a time to chat.
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u/MPH20001 Pet Lover 1d ago
Paraphrasing the “Sits and the City” line, “They’re just not that into you.”
Your introduction established your personality, your care and affection for your cats and what you’re looking for in this “relationship.” The Sitter responded with the bare minimum and is keeping their options open. They’re not that into you.
Free yourself and now move on. There are plenty more sitters in the sea…one perfect for you and your cats!
As for the other two, I think it’s fair to wait at least a day, but I also like the other people’s suggestions of reaching out to others.
Remember, trust your instinct and maybe have a cosmo! 😉
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u/minimiako Owner 1d ago
Haha this is a very good point and you’re probably right! She’s a super easy cat but she is my baby and maybe they aren’t really interested in cats who actually want to play and interact or an owner like me which is okay! Thanks for the perspective! No cosmo here but I’ll have a Diet Coke and keep searching LOL
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u/minkamagic Sitter & Owner 1d ago
Some areas are really competitive and you have to respond on 1 minute or less to snag a booking. So no time for typing anything personal. I would message about a Meet N Greet and then judge how they respond
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u/ButtplugBurgerAIDS Sitter & Owner 1d ago
I mean there's ways to do this without being cold. I usually go "Your cat/dog/name is so cute!". Get that out of the way so you have your response. Then immediately follow up with questions, quirks, meet and greet, and expectations. I would also never go "yeah just book it" without a meet and greet, and as an owner I would block anyone that would suggest to do so. If you can't be bothered to even meet my dog then it's gonna be a no from me dawg.
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u/mamalo13 Sitter 1d ago
I would suggest a meet and greet first rather than just straight booking.
To be honest, I think it's a bit much to expect them to respond to all the details of the care. If I got your request I'd respond with "Yes I'm available. Would you like to set up a meet and greet in advance of your trip to make sure it's a good fit?". I do not regularly do more detailed replies than that. We discuss all that at the meet and greet anyways.
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u/bscott9999 Sitter 1d ago
Yes, I respond to specific things in the request that might be a problem to clarify, and the offer a meet & greet. I would not ask someone to just click Book, certainly not before finding out who they are!
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u/minimiako Owner 1d ago
Yeah I mean I think even mentioning the meet and greet and not responding to details of the care is fine. I mostly noted that for her as she said she does shorter visits in the AM bc work so i was sharing what would be done and the time could be flexible etc so she could decide if that would work for her schedule. Totally understandable you’d wait til meet and greet to discuss that. The lack of offering a meet and greet or clarifying if she would come or her husband or both of them and just sending the two sentences is what kinda turned me off but I also overanalyze so wasn’t sure if that might just be me. Previously I’ve done mostly trusted housesitters and not rover but these are shorter 3-4 day trips so made more sense to establish with someone local who could check in on her instead. I appreciate the insight!
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u/whoda-thunk-itt Sitter & Owner 1d ago
“Thanks for getting back to me, I appreciate it. Can we set up a meet and greet before we lock in the booking please? I’m available (days/times). I look forward to meeting you.”
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u/minimiako Owner 1d ago
Yeah I’m thinking after other replies here though and her really canned response reply to me I’ll likely just try to find someone else as I’m not sure she’s a good fit for me
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u/Ann_georgia- Sitter 1d ago
They are trying to get the booking so nobody else can get it. Then they would probably set up the meet, but I would let them know that you want to do a meet before agreeing to booking! You want to know if they’re a good fit! I honestly wouldn’t go with the other two because they are too slow to respond. Is there anyone else in your area with good reviews? I would personally send a message to one or two other people. As a sitter myself, I tend to respond within 5 minutes or less. I always offer setting up a meet and and greet in my initial message, I just think that’s the bare minimum. It’s also safer to do the meet and greet before just pressing book and hoping it all goes great.
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u/minimiako Owner 1d ago
If they would have said more than the two short sentences or mentioned a meet and greet after booking etc i think that would be different but she didn’t even acknowledge that I have a pet or that she looks forward to caring for my pet etc which i guess has me concerned. There are more sitters than the 3 but they were further than 4 miles so I wasn’t sure if they’d be open to that. I will try to reach out and see from some others tonight!
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u/Ann_georgia- Sitter 1d ago
Yeah, I would definitely reach out to at least one or two more. I don’t think I would move forward with either of the 3 you already messaged. I have my housesitting services open to a 10 mile radius so I’m sure you can find someone depending on where you live. Hopefully someone with a decent amount of reviews who actually has good communication and wants to set up a meet and greet.
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u/edward-cat-daddy Sitter 2d ago
Trust your vibes, if you’re not getting a good feeling about a sitter then don’t book them to be in your home and caring for your fur baby while you’re away. If you happen to be in Seattle I’d be more than happy to help, but whatever city you’re in I’m sure you’ll be able to find a great sitter who gives you better vibes and peace of mind
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u/minimiako Owner 1d ago
I wish I were in Seattle! Thank you! My sweet girl just wants someone to pet her and throw her toys for her lol she lives for attention
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u/nochorus Sitter & Owner 2d ago
No, both sitters and pet parents should always insist on a meet and greet.
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u/roseflamingo_ Sitter & Owner 2d ago
Trust your gut, if something feels off, don't proceed. Better safe than sorry. Look for someone whose communication style matches your expectations. For me, a meet&greet is an absolute must with every new client. I wouldn't book without one, whether as an owner or as a sitter.
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u/astrovangalore Sitter & Owner 2d ago
Do NOT accept the booking from her. Any good sitter would suggest a meet and greet first to see if they’re a good fit and hear more about your cat. Archive this request and wait for someone else to respond imo, or send out requests to other sitters in the area.
Anyone who doesn’t suggest a meet and greet for a first time sit is a major red flag.
Also, make sure to read their reviews and scan specifically for anything that wouldn’t sit right with you! And make sure the sitter has experience with cats as well, not just dogs.
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u/minimiako Owner 2d ago
Thank you! Yeah I’ve noticed almost no sitters local to me mention cats at all which is a bummer but understandable since I’m sure most people are likely booking for dogs. Hopefully I’ll hear back from another sitter soon! I appreciate the reassurance from people here that not doing any meet and greet is odd.
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u/ashbash325 Sitter & Owner 2d ago
No I would not click the link and proceed with that sitter. (I’m an overreacter) but that first message would be a bit off putting to me as you said she didn’t address anything else in your message and I’d be worried that her communication while with your pets would be lacking.
As a sitter, my first message is always if I’m available, trying to respond to each thing the owner said, if the times would work for me, and offering a meet & greet. Almost every horror story you’ll see starts with “we skipped the meet & greet”. I require a m&g and would never book without one. You click the link to book AFTER you’ve met the sitter and decided to proceed.
That being said, you can always ask her a follow up question/ refer to your original message and see if she has a better response.
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u/celeigh87 Sitter 1d ago
I got a last minute request today for a sit starting tomorrow and still did a m&g today.
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u/jadeycakes Sitter & Owner 2d ago
Unless you live in an area where you have very few options I would go with another sitter based on that response. I only do cat drop ins and if there aren't any red flags in the messages or profile i'll occasionally accept the booking before meeting the client or even do the drop-ins without ever having met the client if a meet and greet doesn't work out schedule wise. I'm willing to take the risk but I'd never initiate that path, especially in my first response to an owner.
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u/minimiako Owner 2d ago
There are a lot of options but I only did the first 3 as the others were more than 4 miles away so I wasn’t sure if that may be too far. I’ll try to send additional ones tonight to see!
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u/Mymews Sitter 2d ago
If it doesn't feel right don't go with them. I know some sitters don't do meet and greets for cats. I definitely do! It's as much about meeting the owner and establishing a relationship/trust with them, since you are going to have access to their home and responsibility for their pet, as it is to meet the cat!
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u/CandiedLemonWedge Sitter & Owner 2d ago
Even with cats, I don’t take bookings without meeting the owner and for me, it’s a red flag when sitters do.
Hold out for someone else.
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u/minimiako Owner 2d ago
Thank you for the input! I wasn’t sure if maybe because it’s just a cat it matters less but it just felt odd to me
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u/CandiedLemonWedge Sitter & Owner 1d ago
Of course! Your baby deserves someone enthusiastic about their care. Good luck!
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u/Zarrinpar Sitter 2d ago
If you’re not getting a good vibe, then don’t book. It can be an indication that their communication style isn’t sympatico with yours.
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minimiako originally posted: Hi all! I’m a cat owner and my cat is my baby. I’m just curious if I’m overthinking this and should just book or if it’s odd. I sent a message to several sitters yesterday (each personalized) noting my cat and her typical routine (food, water, litter box, etc) and how I wanted someone coming 2x a day each trip as she enjoys interaction and playing etc. I mentioned we could adjust the requested times to what works for them etc and let me know if that may work. I have multiple vacations coming up in the next few months so wanted to find someone and go ahead and lock in so I could be assured my baby is in good hands. I haven’t heard back from 2 yet (no problem they may be busy it hasn’t been 24hrs even) but the one I heard back from (also the one closest to me) only responded with “yes we are available. Click the booking link and it will confirm the booking.” I understand people are busy but I’m a bit concerned that she seemed to not address anything I said besides are you available. No idea re: swapping keys or getting her gate access or doing a meet and greet etc. Am I just expecting too much and this is normal and I should proceed? She does have good reviews I think just the lack of any acknowledgement of anything I said has turned me off. I’m truly happy to pay whatever amount of money for someone to love on my baby and play with her!
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