I'm sure many of our clients would say their cat(s) is/are most important 'thing' in their life, and good quality, loving care is top priority, but what about your home?
Thankfully, we've never had any concerns regarding security, however, ensuring your home is safe and secure whilst you're away is also vital, as your home is your safe space, so we do take this seriously. There are many practises we have, as a company, to make sure your home is well cared for, and left in a safe, secure manner, whilst your cat is under our care, and fun fact; I'm a black belt, having trained in martial arts for a number of years, so I'm conscious of our own safety, so I do hope this blog may help other professional pet sitters stay safe, too!
We maintain a lived-in appearance of your home, by: - Opening at least front facing curtains/blinds in the morning, and closing in the evening. - Picking up post, so it doesn't pile by the front door, or in your postbox. - Leaving at least a landing light on (many clients opt for lights on timers, too).
We visit twice each day as standard, so we are at the property regularly, and although we have time slots, unless your cat has medication required at specific times, we won't necessarily be visiting at exactly the same times each day, meaning our schedule can't easily be tracked by someone with dodgy intentions!
We have unmarked vehicles, and although there are benefits to both sign written and unmarked vehicles, people don't necessarily know whether we are a professional company providing a service, or whether we reside at the property.
We are very conscious of our surroundings and who's around us. We don't disclose to neighbours or postal workers when clients are due home, as although you may have known them for years, we likely don't, and we don't know who else is listening! We'll leave it up to you, should you wish to inform your trusted neighbours!
We always securely lock doors behind us. This may sound obvious, but we're aware some people don't always use the bottom deadlock, as an example, but if it's there, and we have a key, we will lock it! We always check doors are securely locked before we leave, too! We will also lock ourselves inside when visiting, too, for our own safety!
We never post keys through postboxes at the end of a set of visits, just in case you experience a delay in returning home, and your cat requires continued care, or in case someone undesirable happens to see, and tries to retrieve the key to gain very easy access!
We advise keeping windows closed whilst you're away (not locked, as these are an emergency exit), but keeping all trickle vents open for ventilation. You may wish to look into window restrictors which screw onto the window frames, for upper floor windows, should you wish to give your cat a little more fresh air, without windows being fully open (investing in a catio or cat proof fencing is another great option for this!).
We always set alarm systems. We've dealt with many different types of alarm, so please do set yours, and give us instructions on how to use it. Rest assured, alarm details are securely saved, and no one else has access to this information! If your alarm system is 'manned', do let the management company know that we will be caring for your cat(s) and property for your holiday period, and we are happy to give them our number plates, so they know all's OK when we are there.
We have a policy for no third parties entering your property whilst you're away, which includes, but is not limited to cleaners, friends, family, neighbours, and other workers. This is for our health, safety, and liability reasons, and should anything look out of place, we will know to take action!
We are very used to working around cameras in the home! We appreciate pet parents enjoy watching their cats, but we do hope we can put your mind at rest, and you don't waste your well earned holiday watching Kitty TV whilst lounging round the pool!
So, to summarise, we hope you'll agree, we don't overlook anything when it comes to home security, and we do everything to keep the home and ourselves safe and sound!
Don't forget, we send updates at the end of each day, where you'll receive a photo of your cat(s), when possible, and what they've been up to that day, so unless you hear otherwise, everything is running smoothly and under control! We've worked with other people's pets since around 2008, so we are well seasoned pro's, and have dealt with so many different scenarios, so your cat(s) is/are in safe, qualified hands!
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