• A new caretaker, a new home, all change of environment generates normal stress for pets. Owner or host, your trust and staying calm are the greatest support to help them in this new situation.
Even when they are used to living alone and had little contact with other animals, you will be surprised by their ability to adjust, if they are accepted as they are in welcoming surroundings.
• Before you leave your pet with another member, exchange all relevant information, its habits, meals, walks, etc. It sometimes nibbles your fingers harmlessly? Let its temporary caretaker know about it, so he can correctly interpret its behavior. It frequently tries to run away? Talk about it so he will be extra careful about that.
• Owner or host, risk zero does not exist, an accident can happen anytime, including at your place. Take all appropriate precautions to prevent it from happening.
• We recommend subscribing a liability insurance coverage for any possible injury or damage that your pet may be cause. Feel free to ask this as a condition to take care of another member’s pet.
• To answer to your requests, you are offered the possibility to arrange for another member to come and feed your pet in its home, at your own place, when you’re away.
We draw your attention to risks and responsibilities linked to consigning your home key to another site member.
To avoid such risks, MyPetSitting recommends turning to this option only when your pet can be fed directly from outside your house, with free access through a pet door for example.
In any other circumstance, we recommend you arrange for your pet to be hosted in another member’s home, during your absence.
• When you confide your pet to another person, especially the first times, make sure to stay about 30 minutes before leaving. Your presence will be comforting in this new environment, and your confidence will help it understand it is safe.
When you come back to bring it home, do the same, stay a while to ease the transition and reduce the stress caused by those changes.
• When placing your pet in someone else’s home, make sure to leave a personal object, its basket or its favorite cushion, a blanket, a toy, etc. It will ease its adjustment to a foreign environment and will help it to feel safe there.
• In a new home, the first days, it is common for a pet to hide and eat little. It will take some time to adjust, leave fresh water nearby, offer some food, and maybe close the door of the room, just the time it quietly eats something. If it is a cat, make sure to leave a litter box nearby. With time, it will gain confidence, come out and relax gradually.
• Hormone based sprays and diffusers are very effective to reduce pet stress during travel or facing changes in its daily environment. They are particularly helpful when hosting temporarily a pet in a new home. Ask your veterinarian for more information.
• Pets also have their own personality, some are more sociable, territorial, shy, dominant, etc. Accept their nature and help them relax by cuddling them. After the first 24 or 48 hours, take a toy and play with all animals together, playing is a great way to relax the atmosphere.
• At first, it is natural for some animals to want to keep their distance from one another. The arrival of a new pet in one’s home might also be uneasy for the pet living there. Ease tensions if necessary and in a comforting way, also place limits if a pet becomes too aggressive toward another.
• Every day, take a moment for cuddling and playing with them. Trust them.
• Whenever possible, preferably arrange service exchanges with a few designated members. Your pets will get to know each other and will become familiar with those persons, their family and their environment. They will recognize this temporary situation, it will be easier to care for them, and a more pleasant experience for all.
