Cats are Family Too!

What is involved in the "Meet & Greet"?

Good question! A meet & greet is an in-person meeting at your home to meet you and your family (human and feline). Prior to the meet & greet, you'll be sent a new client intake form online to fill out. We also ask for payment in full at the time of the meet & greet, and to be given the keys or pass code. 

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At this time, you can ask any questions you may have regarding our services. We will confirm the dates you'll be needing our service, how many total visits, etc. We will ask any question we may have about any medical conditions, special food, and general information such as location of cleaning supplies, etc.
 

After the meet & greet, we will send you a confirmation email, along with a couple of digital contract that entails what you can expect from Cats are Family Too!, and what is expected from the client, which you will be able to sign digitally as well. You will also be asked to fill out a digital vet release in the circumstance that your cat becomes ill or injured while in our care.

What is the breadth of your knowledge with special-needs cats?

We have quite a bit of experience with various types of special needs kitties. Feline chronic kidney disease, feline diabetes and hyperthyroidism are a few of the issues that come to mind. We have experience in giving subcutaneous fluids (via drip), providing injections (subcutaneously or via port), checking blood sugar and various forms of pilling, including the use of a pill popper.

In addition, we have experience with kitties that are dealing with inappetance (not eating enough). This may involve various tricks we know, to offering suggestions on food. Note on this topic: If we notice that you cat is not eating at all while in our care, it will be treated as a medical emergency and will take your kitty to the vet. Cats can become very ill within as little as 24 hours if they do not eat.

Please feel free to ask about specific experience that may not have been mentioned. If you have a cat needing specific care that we have not yet had experience in, we are more than willing to learn!  And while we are not veterinary professionals, and therefore cannot provide medical advice, we are more than happy to share our experiences, and things we have done to help our own cats. If we feel further advice is needed, we won't hesitate to suggest speaking with your vet.

What time will you come to our house?

This is a question that gets asked at every single meet & greet. And it makes sense, people like to have an idea of when we will be there. That said, as a matter of policy, we do not do specifically timed visits unless there is a medical need (eg, diabetic cat). 

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We will ask if there is a preference of morning or afternoon, and do our best to adhere to that preference. However, we are often doing in excess of 10 visits a day, and cannot guarantee that our morning visits will be completed before noon. 

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That said, the schedule ebbs and flows as clients come onto the schedule and drop off. If you have a 14-day trip, odds are we will be at the house at various times of day. We do make every attempt to be at the home around the same time period, but on occasion we will deviate from that. 

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Side note: As everyone is probably aware, we specialize in cats with special needs. This does mean that on occasion, we will be delayed due to issues resulting from this. It can be anything from extra clean-up, to a trip to the ER vet. We ask that everyone - including those few with timed visits - be understanding of this. We would do no less for your kitty if they needed us longer for some reason.

Do you offer every-other-day (or less often) visits?

No. Our primary focus is the health and safety of your kitties, and cats can develop illnesses that can be fatal in less than 24 hours (such as a urinary tract blockage). Therefore, we require once-daily, or more frequent, visits.

Why do you have cut-off dates for booking around the holidays?

To others, this would probably seem counter-intuitive! However, this is an owner-operated business. While we strive to fulfill the needs of as many clients as feasible, we do put cut-off around the holidays so that we can make plans as well based on the work schedule. 

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Of course, there may be situations where we'll bend the rules (sudden emergency in the family, etc). 

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And you may be wondering - what about those spur-of-the-moment weekend trips? Well, if you have an inkling that you'll be doing that - and usually, people do have an inkling - let us know the approximate dates so that you're on the calendar. We never require exact dates when booking for holidays. We will always confirm dates beforehand with you. 

What are the designated holiday periods?

Starting with Memorial Day Weekend in 2018, we will be adding holiday fees added to the cost of the visits. Holiday periods are based on the federal holidays. It is going to be $5 additional per visit on the following:

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- Entire Memorial Day Weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

- July 4th Holiday (will vary depending on day of week, but will be 3-5 days)

- Entire Labor Day Weekend (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday)

- Thanksgiving Holiday (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday)

- Christmas/New Years Holiday (December 23rd - January 1st)