The bags? Packed. The tickets? Nonrefundable. The cat … needs a sitter. Does a responsible cat parent:
A. Slip the neighbor kid 10 bucks and pray he shows up.
B. Ask a friend for a favor and hope they know what they’re doing.
C. Cross their fingers that the litter robot doesn’t break.
D. Pay an experienced, insured professional.
Thankfully for cats everywhere, D is becoming a more common answer! From June 2014 to June 2024, Google Trends shows an over 77% increase in searches for cat sitters.
But when you’re competing against untrained labor and other pet businesses, how do you know how much to charge for cat sitting? While $15 – $25 per visit is an average pet sitting rate, the right price for cat sitting can vary widely. (Stay tuned for a detailed breakdown!)
Choosing cat sitting rates that make you money while earning return customers means carefully weighing your experience, competition, and services against your business costs. As we discuss tips for setting cat sitter rates, apply them to your business to find prices that hit the sweet spot.
See How Much Cat Sitters Make Near You
Cat parents will likely compare your prices with other local sitters, so your rates should be reasonable and competitive for your area. And keep in mind that cat sitters in big cities usually charge more due to higher living costs and greater demand from a bigger pet population.
Search Local Rates
Try these tactics to find local competitors’ cat sitting prices:
- Search for “cat sitter near me” or “cat sitter [your city]” to check out the prices of popular sitters in your area.
- Check local community boards like neighborhood Facebook groups.
- Try pet care business directories like Bring Fido or PetSitUSA.
- Browse pet care platforms like Rover and Wag. Platforms for cats like Cat in a Flat and Meowtel offer even more specific rates. Note that prices might be higher or lower than standard depending on the platform. (Read up on the pros and cons of the two most popular pet care apps for cat sitters in our Rover vs Wag review.)
To give you an idea of how cat sitting rates vary by region, check out this map with the average pay for cat sitters by state and experience:
Average Hourly Cat Sitting Rate By Region
(Starting Pay — Experienced Pay)
Alaska $12.82 – $23.48
California $18.03 – $26.52
Hawaii $15.81 – $26.24
Oregon $16.37 – $24.64
Washington $14.90 – $23.51
Colorado $16.29 – $25.00
Idaho $13.07 – $22.58
Montana $14.18 – $23.04
Nevada $15.09 – $23.34
Utah $12.81 – $21.92
Wyoming $14.37 – $23.11
Arizona $15.93 – $24.21
New Mexico $14.93 – $23.28
Oklahoma $11.36 – $19.99
Texas $12.73 – $21.71
Illinois $15.55 – $23.63
Indiana $12.49 – $21.05
Iowa $11.66 – $20.20
Kansas $12.10 – $21.07
Michigan $13.29 – $21.66
Minnesota $14.45 – $23.65
Missouri $12.63 – $22.10
Nebraska $13.60 – $21.36
North Dakota $13.63 – $21.07
Ohio $12.40 – $20.87
South Dakota $13.81 – $19.74
Wisconsin $13.28 – $21.14
Connecticut $16.67 – $25.54
Delaware $14.03 – $24.72
Maine $16.53 – $24.15
Maryland $15.78 – $24.01
Massachusetts $16.61 – $24.90
New Hampshire $14.68 – $23.92
New Jersey $15.64 – $23.77
New York $16.68 – $25.46
Pennsylvania $13.26 – $22.45
Rhode Island $14.55 – $23.65
Vermont $14.63 – $24.76
Washington DC $17.00 – $24.58
West Virginia $11.92 – $20.44
Alabama $11.20 – $19.85
Arkansas $12.79 – $19.71
Florida $14.42 – $22.94
Georgia $12.55 – $21.68
Kentucky $12.15 – $20.59
Louisiana $11.92 – $20.95
Mississippi $10.89 – $19.35
North Carolina $12.98 – $21.36
South Carolina $12.35 – $20.90
Tennessee $12.92 – $22.45
Virginia $14.90 – $23.51
*Data based on average cat sitter profile pricing from Care.com.
Pro Tip for Comparing Rates: Many popular pet care apps like Care.com charge a booking fee, while others like Rover and Wag! charge commission on top of a fee. Keep this in mind when comparing cat sitter prices across apps.
Create a Competitive Pricing Strategy
Ideal pricing is more than choosing the average dollar amount for your area, though — there’s some strategy (cat-egy, if you will) involved. Your cat sitting fees should also reflect how much competition you face and what makes your business unique.
Say you’re the only option in town with pet CPR* and medical experience – you might be able to charge a premium by specializing in care for senior pets. But if you’re one of many local cat sitters with similar credentials and services, making cost-conscious prices your selling point could be a stronger tactic.
Ask yourself:
- Are you a premium cat sitting business at the top of the price range that offers special services or highly experienced and recommended care?
- Are you a budget-friendly cat sitter at the lower end of the price range with simple, straightforward services who aims for more jobs to turn a profit?
- Are you a balanced mid-range cat sitter with a reasonable price, a helpful blend of services, and some experience?
Price your cat sitting accordingly.
*Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation
5 Things to Base Your Cat Sitting Rates On
Location and competitors are important, but you also need to get paid for the amount of work you do, your time, and the skill required. Many professional cat sitters use these five factors to modify and define their prices:
1. Type of Service
Buying organic wet food for your cat is more expensive than bargain kibble because of the ingredients, time, expertise, and care involved. Think of your services as a similar menu with options at higher and lower prices based on what you invest in them. Here are a few common services and rates for cat sitters:
Drop-In Visit
Daisy Care (Biddeford, ME): $18.50+ for 15 minutes
Sugar House Pets (Salt Lake City, UT): $17 – $20 for 15 minutes
Deeksha’s Purrfect Cat Sitting Service on Meowtel (Hartford, CT): $30.50 for 20 minutes
Overnight Stay
Kiersten G. on Care.com (Lansing, MI): $31/night
Kayden G. on Sittercity (Duluth, MN): $60/night
The Comforted Kitty (Santa Monica, CA): $125/night
Holiday Care
Cara’s Cat Care on Meowtel (Lakewood, OH): 15% surcharge
Meow Cat Sitting (North Asheville, NC): +$8/visit
Jennifer T. on Rover (Fort Wayne, IN): $25/holiday drop-in visit
Basic Services: food, water, litter, and playtime
Most cat sitters include these basics in their base price. Other sitters may add getting the mail or sending a daily pet photo to their free-of-charge list.
Premium Services: medicine administration, bathing, grooming, appointments, etc.
Most cat sitters charge extra for these services.
Cats in the City (Portland, OR) also offers higher-priced packages with grooming, boarding, and cat taxi services.
Carolina Pet Sitters (Columbia, SC) also offers special rates for pet taxi, house monitoring, and plant care.
2. Duration of Care
Not only are you charging for your expertise, you’re charging for your time. Will you charge hourly, daily, by the visit, or by the cat? You may also want to set a rate for overnight stays in the client’s home, which could include extended care and housesitting tasks.
Sample Duration of Care Price Menus
Crescent City Cat Sitters (New Orleans, LA)
15 minutes: $20.75
30 minutes: $26.75
60 minutes: $36.75
Kristen on Meowtel (Manassas, VA)
20 minutes: $22.00
45 minutes: $43.50
60 minutes: $65.00
Overnight: $76.00
3. Number of Cats
The saying goes that having two cats is no harder than having one. But the same isn’t true of caring for someone else’s pets. Multiple cats require extra attention to meet each cat’s needs (especially if they’re shy and decide to hide from you separately).
You may want to clarify the maximum number of cats you include in your base price, set a flat rate per extra cat, or require clients to select a longer 30- or 45-minute visit to allow enough time to address multiple cats’ needs.
Sample By-the-Cat Rates
Kitty Kat Kuddles Kare on Rover (Niceville, FL): +$7 per cat, per visit
Catbuddy (Chicago, IL): $32 per cat, 2nd cat free, 3rd cat +$5, 4th cat + $5
4. Special Needs
Cats that need you to administer medication, serve up special diets, or navigate behavioral issues take more expertise, time, and attention. You can add upcharges for specific needs, or build specially priced care packages for senior and special needs pets.
You could also tie time limits to pets with different needs in your services menu, like the smart cat sitters over at Fuzzy Friends Pet Care:
Short Visit: $20/day
One 20-minute visit
Qualifying clients only
Regular Visit: $27/day
One 30-minute visit
Great for cats who free-feed and do not take medications
Basic Visit: $54/day
Two 30-minute visits (AM and PM)
Perfect for cats who eat twice per day or need medications
Longer Visit: $34/day
One 45-minute visit
Great for cats with health issues or that just need extra attention
5. Location and Travel
A cat sitter’s billable visit is usually limited to time with cats, so you’ll need to factor travel time and expenses into your fee. Time spent getting to a job is time you can’t spend with someone else’s pet, so it’s reasonable to charge each client for your trip, including a percentage of your business gas bill or metro pass.
Travel costs and ease of travel also vary if you’re in an urban or a rural area. To define the boundaries of your territory for clients, you could add a map of your service area to your site, like Critter Sitters, or stipulate a maximum travel distance. Breaking down your pricing by mileage from your base, like Cats in the City, is another option.
How Much to Charge for Cat Sitting
After batting around those five factors and making some decisions for your business, the actual amount of your cat sitter rates will depend on how you decide to present your costs to customers and how you account for your business expenses. Let’s break this down into bite-sized pieces.
Hourly vs Flat Rate
In other words, will you charge by the actual time you spend with pets (say, $35/hour), or by the visit (say, $25 for a 15-minute drop-in visit)? There are benefits and drawbacks to each pricing strategy.
Hourly Cat Sitter Pricing
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
Fair Pay You’re guaranteed to be paid for all your time on the job. |
Efficiency Isn’t Rewarded Once you’re done taking care of cats, your billable time stops. So as you get faster and more confident, you make less per visit. |
|
Needs-Based Care If a kitty turns out to be higher maintenance than the owner said, you might be glad not to be confined to 15 minutes. |
Complex Tracking When time is money, log it carefully. If you oversee a staff of cat sitters, recording time can get complicated fast. |
|
Pay for Work You’re only charging for the time you invest in cats, which may be appealing to some pet owners. |
Uncertainty for Clients Cat parents could be wary of not knowing how much they’ll pay if you don’t set a specific time limit. |
Fair pay
You’re guaranteed to be paid for all your time on the job.
Flexibility
If a kitty turns out to be higher maintenance than the owner said, you might be glad not to be confined to 15 minutes.
Pay for work
You’re only charging for the time you invest in cats, which may be appealing to some pet owners.
Efficiency = less pay
Once you’re done taking care of cats, your billable time stops. So as you get faster and more confident, you make less per visit.
Precise tracking
When time is money, log it carefully. If you oversee a staff of cat sitters, recording time can get complicated fast.
Uncertainty for clients
Cat parents could be wary of not knowing how much they’ll pay if you don’t set a specific time limit.
Flat Rate Cat Sitter Pricing
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
|
Motivation for Efficiency If you only have so much time to finish all your cat care, you (or your staff) won’t waste time. |
Risk of Underestimating It’s hard to guess the time each cat needs. If a cat’s food bag is empty when you arrive, you might have to spend all your care time (and more) running to the store. |
|
Simplicity Billing and keeping track of services is straightforward for you and your clients. You know what you earn; clients know what they pay. |
Inflexibility You’re locked into the time you charged for. If you spend 30 minutes finding a hiding cat, only to realize he needs a vet pronto, you’re going into unpaid overtime. |
|
Easy to Market Packaging your services by the visit is client-friendly since cat parents know what they’ll pay upfront. |
Over- or Under-Charging If a cat needs more care than a client paid for, you’re stuck either investing your own time for the good of the cat or doing a poor job and losing future business (not recommended). |
Motivation for efficiency
If you only have so much time to finish all your cat care, you (or your staff) won’t waste time.
Simplicity
Billing is straightforward for you and your clients. You know what you earn; clients know what they pay.
Easier to market
Packaging your services by the visit is client-friendly since cat parents know what they’ll pay upfront.
Risk of underestimating
It’s hard to guess the time each cat needs. If a cat’s food bag is empty when you arrive, you might have to spend all your care time (and more) running to the store.
Less flexibility
You’re locked into the time you charged for. If you spend 30 minutes finding a hiding cat, only to realize he needs a vet pronto, you’re going into unpaid overtime.
Over- or under-charging
If a cat needs more care than a client paid for, you’re stuck either investing your own time for the good of the cat or doing a poor job and losing future business (not recommended).
Charging hourly or a flat rate by the visit may work better for different kinds of businesses:
- Flat rates are good for cat sitting small businesses with multiple employees or many jobs. Billable time is easy to track, sell in high quantities, and explain in your marketing. It also holds employees accountable for efficiency.
- Hourly rates are good for solopreneur cat sitters who interact more with cat parents. If you have the time and space to explain your rates to clients, they may appreciate the greater precision and better care potential of an hourly rate.
Adding Your Overhead
Overhead is the cost of doing business — things like marketing and cat sitter insurance that are essential to get you gigs. Many cat sitters calculate their total monthly overhead cost, divide it by their number of jobs per month, and add that cost to their service pricing. This shares your business expenses with all your clients.
Note: Setting up a business involves extra costs (unfortunately, at the time you want to keep your rates the lowest). Consider saving or bringing on investors to cover startup expenses.
Overhead Costs for Cat Sitters
| Expense | Average Price |
|---|---|
|
Transportation You need a reliable way to get from A to B (or in this case, from A to cat). Factor gas costs and vehicle maintenance or bus/metro passes into your budget. |
$30+/week |
|
Pet Supplies You may be glad you brought extra food, treats, or toys if a cat runs out while in your care. Cleaning supplies like trash bags, enzyme spray, and paper towels could also be handy — check with cat parents about preferred brands to avoid damaging their belongings. |
$70+ |
|
Cat Sitter Insurance Vet visits and pet injury lawsuits can get pricey fast. If you make even one claim for a $1000 vet bill or $600 locksmith bill, pet sitter insurance can pay for itself many times over. |
$19.08/month from Pet Care Insurance (PCI) |
|
Business Registration Registering a pet sitting business or starting an LLC costs a small fee. This makes you a legal, taxable business and avoids trouble later. Check your state guidelines to find out how much to budget. |
$50+ |
|
Taxes If you own a cat sitting small business, set aside a percentage of your income for end-of-the-year state and federal taxes. Rates vary by state. |
Between 20% – 33% of your income |
|
Scheduling and Bookkeeping Software Automating your bookings and finances makes budgeting easier. Try a basic QuickBooks accounting subscription for $35/month. For pet care scheduling, our partner Petsked offers a basic plan for free! |
$35+/month |
|
Professional Website or App Membership Whether you build a website or pay a fee to create an app profile depends on how much you want to DIY. Website builders like Squarespace keep design simple for a low monthly fee, or you could hire a freelancer on Upwork or Fiverr. |
$25+/month |
|
Marketing Budget Advertising on social media or handing out business cards keeps your marketing costs relatively low. If you’re not confident creating a marketing strategy, hire a freelancer or agency to promote your business. |
2 – 10% of your revenue |
Transportation | $30+/week
(ongoing)
You need a reliable way to get from A to B (or in this case, from A to cat). Factor gas costs and vehicle maintenance or bus/metro passes into your budget.
Pet Supplies | $70+
(ongoing)
You may be glad you brought extra food, treats, or toys if a cat runs out while in your care. Cleaning supplies like trash bags, enzyme spray, and paper towels could also be handy – check with cat parents about preferred brands to avoid damaging their belongings.
Cat Sitter Insurance | $19.08/month from Pet Care Insurance (PCI)
(ongoing)
Vet visits and pet injury lawsuits can get pricey fast. If you make even one claim for a $1000 vet bill or $600 locksmith bill, pet sitter insurance can pay for itself many times over.
Business Registration | $50+
(one-time)
Registering a pet sitting business or starting an LLC costs a small fee. This makes you a legal, taxable business and avoids trouble later. Check your state guidelines to find out how much to budget.
Taxes | Between 20% – 33% of your income
(yearly)
If you own a cat sitting small business, set aside a percentage of your income for end-of-the-year state and federal taxes. Rates vary by state.
Scheduling and Bookkeeping Software | $35+/month
(ongoing)
Automating your bookings and finances makes budgeting easier. Try a basic QuickBooks accounting subscription for $35/month. For pet care scheduling, our partner Petsked offers a basic plan for free!
Professional Website or App Membership | $25+/month
(ongoing)
Whether you build a website or pay a fee to create an app profile depends on how much you want to DIY. Website builders like Squarespace keep design simple for a low monthly fee, or you could hire a freelancer on Upwork or Fiverr.
Marketing Budget | 2 – 10% of your revenue
(ongoing)
Advertising on social media or handing out business cards keeps your marketing costs relatively low. If you’re not confident creating a marketing strategy, hire a freelancer or agency to promote your business.
You also want to add a margin of profit to your rates. After all, if you charge the exact amount you need to run your business, you just break even. Your expertise is valuable, and it’s okay to charge for it!
The average profit margin for pet sitters is 15% – 30%, depending on overhead costs. The higher your overhead, the more you have to charge to stay profitable. Keep an eye on competitor pricing in your area to avoid overcharging. If you can’t match similar competitors’ rates while still making a profit, you might be in an area with too much competition.
Discounts and Packages
Customer loyalty is key to keeping cat sitting businesses running. Customer acquisition costs anywhere from 5 to 10x more than customer retention, so repeat bookings aren’t something you want to leave to chance.
Consider these discounting strategies to keep your current clients purring:
- Customer loyalty programs like discounts for long-term clients, repeat customers, or multiple cats encourage pet parents who love you to come back.
- Bundling or packaging services for a discounted rate can also encourage cat parents to try out services they might have skipped, or purchase more services and feel like they’re getting a bargain. Everyone wins!
Communicate Your Value
If you have cat sitting experience, you know what can go wrong when animals are involved. But you may need to make a case to cat parents for why they should hire a professional — and not just trust the neighbor kid or a self-dispensing feeder for their cat’s health and safety.
Here are a few tips to help potential clients see the true value of your cat sitting fees:
- Create a professional website, social media presence, or app profile: Clients need a place to find you online, and you need a place to explain the importance of your services to as many people as possible. A well-designed, professional web presence for your business can quickly communicate what makes you a great deal.
- Emphasize your experience: Highlight pet professional certifications and licenses, years of experience with cats, and specialized knowledge like medicine administration to build a case for why you provide better care than competitors (or amateurs).
- Post reviews and testi-meownials: People love talking about their cats! If you know happy customers who would share a picture of their little floof and talk about their good experience, reach out and ask for a short testimonial video or quote for your website. If your business has good Google Business reviews, add them to your site!
- Create a cat care blog to show your expertise: If you enjoy writing, blogging is a simple way to improve the lives of cats and cat parents, drive more searches to your website, and demonstrate that you know your stuff.
- Advertise your pet business insurance: Pet sitter insurance tells clients that you’re a responsible pro ready to get cats help when they need it. Inexperienced cat sitters often don’t realize how seriously (and expensively) things can go wrong. An insurance badge (like this handy one from PCI) shows you offer mature, professional care.
- List and explain your pricing: Listing your service menu and cat sitting rates takes all the guesswork out of booking you. Make your prices easy to find by placing a link in your website menu or listing rates on your profile page.
Who Does It Well: Purrmore Cat Care
The savvy sitters over at Purrmore Cat Care demonstrate authority on all things feline with cat care articles and trust badges, including their PCI insurance badge.
Raising Your Rates to Reflect Cat Sitting Costs
As your business grows and flourishes, you may need to raise your rates. Here are a few indicators that it’s time for a price bump:
- Demand is increasing: If you’re having trouble keeping up with scheduling or getting more requests than you can cover yourself, consider raising your prices to accommodate a solution. You could hire employees to help you carry the heavier client load, or consider leaning into specialized care with a more limited clientele.
- Overhead costs are rising: As the price of running your business goes up, your overhead costs increase, which means you’re making less and less profit. You may need to adjust your cat sitter cost for inflation every few years. A new, state-of-the-art boarding facility or a fleet of vans for your add-on pet taxi service could also do it.
- Your experience is growing: If you started out as a cat sitter with nothing but a love of cats and a dream, as you gain experience, certifications, and advanced knowledge, you can adjust your prices to reflect the higher quality of your care.
Naturally, springing higher prices on returning clients goes about as well as surprising your favorite feline. Personalized emails that state new prices, explain the reason for the increase, and highlight the benefits your new rates make possible can smooth any ruffled fur and keep your customers’ trust.
Budget for Business Expenses
We already mentioned setting aside money for taxes, bookkeeping, and cat sitter insurance, but we wanted to discuss one last aspect of liability for cat sitting businesses: recordkeeping.
Keeping records of your services, rates, receipts, and client agreements protects you in the long run. If there is a lawsuit against your business, providing the court and your insurance company with records detailing when payments occurred and contracts were signed can keep you out of legal trouble and avoid expensive court fees.
Try to store your records in at least two secure places. Affordable online document storage like Shoeboxed or other accounting software can keep your records straight.
Cat Sitting Rates to Meow About
Setting the right price for your cat sitting services is the difference between connecting with your clients and looking wistfully at your target market from the outside, pawing to be let in.
The good news is that any cat sitter can nail their pricing!
Matching your rates to your area, experience, services, business expenses, and demand just takes research and determination. If you already wear your speckling of cat hair like a badge of honor and know four ways to get a picky kitty to eat, you have the most important stuff handled.
Now go forth, research cat sitter rates, and keep making the world a more feline-friendly place.
Want to continue building your pet care business? Check out these 9 tips for better cat sitting.
FAQs About Cat Sitting Fees
A cat sitter usually spends about 15 – 20 minutes on a drop-in visit, which includes scooping litter, topping up food and water, and playing with social cats. Cat sitters may suggest 30-, 45-, or 60-minute visits for multiple cats, pets with medical needs, or cats that need more time to warm up to strangers. Most sitters visit cats one to three times per day.
Cat sitting can be profitable if you set competitive rates to account for your overhead expenses and profit margin. Cat sitters in large cities tend to have the most demand for their services, so urban areas typically have higher hourly cat sitter rates.
While some cat sitters struggle to make pet care a full-time gig, many cat lovers enjoy earning extra cash by caring for cats on the side. To make cat sitting profitable part-time, set your rates high enough that expenses and travel don’t eat up your profits. Pet sitter insurance can also keep your side hustle from resulting in expensive claims.
The typical cat sitting visit involves caring for cats’ basic needs — food, water, litter changes, and socialization. Some cat sitters include housesitting services like turning on and off lights, watering plants, setting alarms, and getting mail while cat parents are away. Cat sitting can include daytime or overnight visits in the client’s home, or boarding in the cat sitter’s home.
