As great as the idea of the Pet Sitting Network might be, it seems to me that it isn't that helpful at a crunch time, like around the holidays. This is our first winter in Zurich, and I must say finding pet-care for our cat and dog while we're away proved to be a grand pain! It seems that many of the people in the Pet Sitting Network are away for the holidays, or are otherwise busy. So we had to bite the bullet and resort to that other option of paying a professional pet-sitter an exorbitant amount of money. But even that wasn't easy given the time of year! Many of the posts and links I found on this forum or searching the web seem to be out-of-date, and many of those that aren't were already booked. So were the pet-hotels I contacted as a last resort (as much as both we and our pets hate them).. So after receiving many many "Sorry, but we're fully booked" emails in response, I came across this website (which I must say I am not affiliated with in any way):
www.petsitting24.ch
Unfortunately, you have to pay a (non-recurring) 30CHF for a 90-day membership before you can contact any of the pet-sitters listed or post a listing. But it had 286 pet-sitters listed within 10km from us, and within 24 hours of posting my ad I heard back from 4 pet-sitters who were interested in the job!
I hope this is helpful to someone out there who's in the same pickle. And if you have any other helpful links/info, please share them here!
And happy holidays to everyone!
@

Thank you for posting this! it is a great resource to know about.

It is a good site ( been a member for over a year and it has always kept me busy and interact with locals ). Pet sitters do not pay to enlist though.

Yeah, I've been thinking about enlisting myself as a pet-sitter after I come back from the holidays, at least till I figure out what it is I'm doing here.. (Trailing-Spouse Syndrome!)

Fun job, paid holidays, free pets and language practice and if one is lucky free food and internet - what else can you expect ?

Petsitting24 is a good site, but just a heads-up for dog owners:

It's up to the dog owner to ascertain if the petsitter holds the qualification/certification required to work with dogs under the TSchV; many sitters listed do not. It used to be a bit more obvious, the filter was "Ausbildung - Ja/Nein'. Now the filter is simply titled 'Qualification', and it looks like many sitters just list 'Referenzen vorhanden'. (One of the comsumer magazines did a bit on this a few months ago...)

As many expats don't know the new law, it's easy to get find oneself in a bit of a pickle when you hire a dog sitter who does not hold the requisite coursework or qualifications. Afterall, in our home countries it's pretty much unthinkable that dogsitting would require this. (No qualifications are necessary for cat or other small animal care, though.)

Just an FYI, since the dog owner bears the ultimate liability.

But other than that - a good site and a much needed resource.

There is a field for the pet sitter to state if he / she has the necessary qualifications, and I believe this is shown to owners.

Aha - I see.

If you use it as a guest all you see is the Qualification heading, not the check boxes.


In that case... and in the words of Emily Littella: "Never mind".

Careful that this doesn't turn into an 'Ads and Replies to Ads' thread please. Advertisements for pet-sitters and those offering to pet-sit (with the exception of posts in the Pet Sitting Network) go into the Pet Trading Post which is in the Market Place and not Pet Corner which is more an advice section.

The person in question does not sell her services - so not for market section.

On here, for simplicity's sake, we do not differentiate between paid and unpaid. Things offered for Free also go into the Market Place. We have no method of checking what changes hands and as you've doubtless seen, one post or Thread in the wrong place leads to a whole string of them - and do we get a load of flak when we start moving.

I know this sounds very pernickety to helpful members but Mods see the other side of the coin.

Just got a cat...successfully navigated the challenges to obtain a cat in Switzerland...who knew it was so tough.

Am interested in insight as to how much a "cat sitter" is going to cost to come by the house one or two times a day to look after the cat when we are away.

Appreciate any experience folks have.

Ca. 25 - 200 per day.

Seriously, prices are all over the ball park. Much depends on exactly what you need, on the season, on the distance your sitter has to travel, whether your cat is indoor/outdoor, whether your cat has 'special needs', etc.

If you are asking the sitter to stop by multiple times during the day, expect to pay more.

Demand is very high over holidays, many sitters have booked holiday jobs a year in advance - so if you are traveling this Christmas, worry more about finding a responsible sitter than what he/she will be charging.

Congrats on finding your kitty.

They charge usually 25 - 30.- per Visit, which is too much for me.

Enjoy your furry ball!