This is a trust decision, not a price decision
Pet care is the only home service where you hand over both your keys and something you love. Cost matters, but it should not be the deciding factor. Sitting runs $40–$90 and drop-ins $20–$45, and the difference between the bottom and top of those ranges is small next to the cost of getting this wrong.
Screen before you book
- Ask about your animal specifically. A good sitter asks questions back: temperament, triggers, routine, medication. One who does not ask is not paying attention.
- Check documentation level. Khench shows whether a provider has credentials reviewed and approved or none on file. Pet care does not mandate insurance, so this varies.
- Read the record. Completed jobs and ratings on the platform are more useful than a claim of experience.
- Insist on a meet first. Watch how they greet your animal and how your animal responds. This tells you more than any message thread.
Put these in writing
- Exact feeding amounts and times, and medication with dose and timing.
- Your vet's name, address and phone, plus written consent for emergency treatment and a spending limit.
- A local emergency contact who can physically attend.
- What the sitter should do if your animal will not eat, escapes, or seems unwell.
- How and when you expect updates.
Keys and access
Agree how they get in and what happens to the key afterwards. A lockbox or a temporary code is better than a handed over key, because it is easy to revoke. If you do hand over a key, agree in writing when it comes back.
Warning signs
- Pressure to skip a meet and greet.
- Vagueness about who will actually be doing the visits.
- Wanting to move the conversation and payment off the platform, which removes your payment protection and your record of the agreement.
- No interest in your vet's details.
How the payment protection works
When you accept an offer, payment is authorised but not taken. It is only captured once the job is marked complete, and there is a 48 hour window afterwards in which a dispute holds the funds. Keeping the booking and the conversation on the platform is what preserves that.
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