Rover App Review for Cat Sitting

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My husband and I have two cats that we love to death, but unfortunately there are times when both my husband and I are traveling for work. When we first started traveling, we were new in town and didn’t have anyone who could check in on our cats for us. I turned to the Rover App when we first started traveling, and I have not turned back! We love using the Rover app to find pet sitters for our cats, and we have had a lot of success.

Rover as a cat sitting app

Rover is a pet sitting app that you can download onto your phone or access from a web browser.  You can use the app to search for approved pet sitters in your area. You can use Rover to find a home to board your dog or cat in, or you can use the Rover app

I had heard of Rover as a pet sitting app, but I did not realize that they offered cat sitting services as well. You can check on a sitter’s profile if they are open to checking in on your cats, or if they are only interested in watching dogs. Rover makes it easy to find a cat sitter near you, and makes it easy to book for your cat sitter when you need to travel.

Benefits of using the Rover app

I highly recommend using the Rover app for pet sitting over trying to find a friend to watch your pets while you are away. On one hand, you never want to burden your friends with having to watch your pets. Especially if you are traveling frequently for work, it can be difficult to find a friend who is willing to check in on your cats every single week.

All of the Rover sitters are required to pass a background check, and are given additional pet sitting resources in case something goes wrong during your visit. It is easy to pay your pet sitter through the app, and makes it less awkward so you don’t have to pay your friends. We have never had a bad experience with a Rover sitter – but if for some reason you don’t like how your sitter is watching your pets, all you have to do is choose a different sitter the next time that you travel! It is also easy to find a back-up cat sitter, if your regular pet sitter is out of town.

How to book a cat sitter with Rover

First, download the Rover app and create an account. (Use my Rover promo code to get $20 off your first booking!) You will enter information about where you live, and details about your pet. You will provide a description of your pet, and care instructions. I recommend being as detailed as possible with the care instructions, so that if your pet sitter forgets any instructions, they can refer to the app. For our cat sitter, I wrote, “Riley needs her litter box cleaned, her food bowl refilled, her water bowl refilled, and a can of fresh cat food.”

Next, you will hit the services button. You will then be brought to the following screen. If you are looking for a cat sitter to visit your house once a day or every other day, select Drop-in visits.

Tip: The app will ask you to select a date range. If you want your cat sitter to visit every other day, you can adjust the exact dates on the “Contact this sitter” page.

Once you select Drop-in visits and enter your address, you will be presented with all of the pet sitters in your area to choose from. I chose our cat sitter based on price and proximity to our house, so she can just walk over when we need her. You can read the pet sitter’s reviews as well.

When looking at the prices, you will select Services on your pet sitter’s bio. You can then see the cost for Traveling Services, and under Drop-in visits the pet sitter will likely have a price for cats. Once you have found a pet sitter that you like, you can say Contact this Sitter.

From the contact page, you can select the exact service dates, and send the cat sitter a message. It’s that easy!

Tip: We have two cats. If you select both animals when contacting your sitter, the price per visit will double since you are paying for each animal. Because cats are lower maintenance, I have asked our cat sitters if they are willing to check in on both of our cats for the price of one. I have never had a cat sitter say no!

Our Rover Review

My husband and I both travel frequently for work, and occasionally we need someone to check in on our cats. We have been using Rover for the past three years to find pet sitters to watch our cats.

If we have a cat sitter watching our cats for the first time, we always have a walk through of our house we are traveling. During the walk through, we will show the Rover pet sitter around the house. We will show where the litter box and food bowls are, in addition to where extra supplies are stored. Our sitters have never charged us for a walk through, it is just part of the job. If our cats are around we will introduce them to the sitter, but our cats take a while to warm up to new faces.

Before we leave on a trip, my husband or I will put extra supplies out on the counter so that the cat sitter does not need to dig through cupboards to find anything. I leave out extra cat bowls and cans of cat food on the counter for easy access. I also leave a written note of instructions, so our cat sitter does not forget any steps that we went over.

During a stay, our Rover cat sitter will typically send us pictures of the check-in. It’s always neat to see how our kittens have warmed up to the cat sitter!

Because my husband and I travel so frequently for work, we have a cat sitter that we always re-book. It is nice for the cats to have a familiar face, and it is also nice to have a person who is already familiar with what our cats need and where all of their supplies is located. If my husband and I know that we will be out of town for consecutive weeks, we may ask the cat sitter to hold onto the key for a period of time.

Rover App and Airline Miles

For those of us that travel for work, we are always looking for opportunities to earn extra points and airline miles. You can now even get American Airlines bonus miles for using the Rover app. Sign up on their site to earn  2,000 bonus miles with your first booking, and then 1 American Airlines AAdvantage mile for every $1 spent on Rover.

We have been Rover users for three years now, and we love how handy it is to use. Anytime I hear someone is worried about leaving their pets while traveling, I always recommend using the Rover app to find a sitter. This post was not sponsored – we are true Rover lovers!

This post featured our cats. Their names are Rusty (fluffy one) and Riley (sleepy one). They are 3 years old and are brother and sister!

Also check out:

• Flying with a Cat 101: Travelling with Pets on an Airplane
• 30 Jobs That Require Traveling for Work
• How to Build a Business Travel Capsule Wardrobe
• The Ultimate Business Trip Packing List