Table 1 shows the cost of pet sitting one pet in Washington, D.C. for 2 days in mid-July, 2015. The same parameters were used in the search fields of each given website and the most affordable rates were chosen. Some individual pet sitting rates were as high as $99/day so for two days that would be a total of $198. There is no clear distinction as to why there are low rates, from $10/night, to high daily rates such as $99/night. Each pet sitter has great reviews so there isn’t any other way of comparing pet-sitter quality. It is important to note that the focus is on pet sitting and not boarding services. The results below are when you submit the form with your DC zip code and use mid-July dates. The biggest contrast when looking for cat sitting vs. dog sitting rates is this: It’s not easy to find cat sitting rates. You can’t do it from the homepage search box. You have to look at individual profiles to find rates and it is a bit more tedious when you are asked to choose using dog sitting information. This is what makes Dogma very different because in searching for services, we treat cats and dogs equally.
Pet Sitting Rates for 2 days for 1 pet
Service | DogVacay | Rover | Dogma | Care |
Cat Sitting (1 cat, 2 days) | N/A* | $40** | $0 | $40*** |
Dog Sitting (1 Dog, 2 days) | $50 | $20 | $0 | $40*** |
Table 1
Guide
* No searchable, visible cat sitters
** Total of 4 pet visits at $10 per visit
*** Rates are hourly so this was a total of 4 visits at $10 / visit
Pet Sitting Rates for 2 days and 2 pets
Table 2 shows pet sitting rates for 2 days for 2 pets. We also included a third row, which lists 2 pets, 1 being a cat and 1 being a dog because so many households have 1 dog and 1 cat. We could not find rates for that category accordingly. You would need to contact each individual sitter to obtain their rates. In comparison, with Dogma, you can choose “all” pets or individual pets for whatever service needed. Regardless of service or number of pets involved, whether its “all” or just one, you still only pay $5 per month.
Service | DogVacay | Rover | Dogma | Care |
Cat Sitting (2 cat, 2 days) | N/A* | $40** | $0 | $40*** |
Dog Sitting (2 dog, 2 days) | $80 | $80 | $0 | $40*** |
Pet Sitting (1 cat, 1 dog, 2 days) | N/A* | N/A* | $0 | N/A* |
Table 2
Guide
* No searchable, visible cat and dog sitter that you can book simultaneously
** Rate based per visit, unknown if they charge extra for additional pets
*** Care only provides hourly rates so this is 4 visits at 1 hour each visit, unknown if they charge extra per pet or if 1 hour is sufficient per visit
It is important to note that we made a few assumptions on the comparison table. For example, Care.com’s rates for Pet sitting is that the Pet Sitter would only charge $10 / visit. However, we are not certain about this and they could charge more or even less than the published fee, it’s not clear. It is also important to point out that software has limitations. Therefore, it’s smart for companies like Dogvacay and Rover to generalize that most people looking for pet care are dog owners; perhaps because there is a larger market for it. Whatever the case, the point of this comparison rate is, if a User searched for Pet Sitting rates for cats or dogs or multiple pets then this would be a fair representation of what is available in the Washington, DC market. Dogma, being a newcomer, is a service that is needed because there are over 95 Million Cats in over 45 Million American homes. Cat owners deserve some love too! This is not to say that we are exclusively a cat sitting community, but, simply, that we believe in pet equality.
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This research was done on April 6, 2015. If you read this article and find that cat sitting rates are easily available on the homepage search and result fields of the other comparison websites… you are welcome!