How do I become a pet sitter on Manhattan Meow?
On the Manhattan Meow homepage you will find a “Work With Us” section. Please fill out all the forms on this page to apply to become a pet sitter. Please do not forget to attach a recent photo and please note you will be required to pay for and go through background checks as well as an in person interview with Manhattan Meow Founder Neyir.
What does the background check look for?
The background check will require information such as your citizenship and social security number and will look into your criminal history. Your credit history and score are not included in the background review. Please remember that without a background check you cannot complete your application to be come a Manhattan Meow pet sitter. Our third party service provider is Acutraq. For each application we run a search in the following:
Federal Level Criminal Search
Multi State Criminal Search
50 State Sex Offender Registry
Social Security Trace
All Alias Names - searched through Multi State Criminal and Sex Offender - i.e. "Bill" for William, Maiden names. etc.
National and International Terrorist Watchlist
OFAC, DEA, FBI Watchlist and Most Wanterd, CIA, Interpol, and much more. (full list upon request)
Does Manhattan Meow retain a fee from my bookings?
Manhattan Meow will retain a portion of every booking fee. Our platform aims to provide high quality care for pets, peace of mind for owners and many pet sitting opportunities for pet sitters. This requires constant maintenance of the website to ensure that everything runs smoothly for clients and sitters alike. Manhattan Meow reserves the right to change the commission pay out rates.
What is a Manhattan Meow visit Card?
Sitters are required to send a Manhattan Meow visit card each time. We’ll only know if a service happened—and the sitter or dog walker will only get paid—if a Manhattan Meow visit Card is sent.
What are testimonials/reviews and how do I get them?
Reviews and testimonials are great ways to show your past experience with pets and clients alike. The more great reviews you have the more new clients you will attract. Be courteous, responsible, loving and caring and make sure you send lots of pictures and videos of the pets to their owners during visits and the positive reviews will follow. Manhattan Meow sends an automated request for a review 24 hours after the booking is completed. Our experience shows a handwritten note to the owner to thank them for entrusting their pets to your care and gently requesting a review also goes a long way.
Do I need to be insured or bonded or both to be a pet sitter?
Manhattan Meow requires all pet sitters to be insured and bonded to work on the Manhattan Meow platform. We provide general coverage for both, please refer to Neyir for further details.
What fees am I looking at to start?
You will be asked to cover the $25 fee to cover the costs of the background check & setup admin fees before you can start booking pet sittings.
Our Meet & Greet sessions are complimentary, meaning neither you nor MM gets paid for it. Travel expenses are the responsibility of the sitter, please do not accept a sitting if you are not willing / able to cover your travel expenses to and back from the booking. Sitters keep 75percent of the visit fees. These are non negotiable. Manhattan Meow is here to answer your questions and help with emergencies but questions answered in this section will not be addressed separately.
Will I receive a 1099 from Manhattan Meow?
Payments to sitters are made through PayPal, which ensures that they will get the correct documentation required for tax filing and reporting.
· For more information on how Paypal reports sales to the IRS, check out this PayPal article.
· To learn more, see this IRS document: 2019 instructions for Form 1099-MISC
What if I don’t meet the requirements to receive a 1099 from Manhattan Meow?
We encourage you to consult with a tax advisor to better understand your requirements as an independent contractor on the Manhattan Meow platfrom. We are not able to provide legal and tax advice as we are not your employers. It is the responsibility of each independent contractor to manage their own finances and tax obligations.
What are good practices for Meet & Greet sessions?
Meet & Greets are a great way to avoid any surprises. We encourage all our sitters and pet owners to have a meet and greet session before agreeing on a sitting/booking. Be on time for your meet and greet, ask questions, and don’t forget to sort out the access details. Also ask about food preferences of the pet, any other food or water details, access to garbage chutes and cleaning equipment. Check with the owners for any medical needs their pets may have such as oral medication administration or stomach sensitivities. The aim is to learn as much as possible about the pet in advance. Meet and greets are gratuitous sessions for both the pet owner and sitter. It’s an opportunity for both sides to determine whether they are a good fit.
What if I need to cancel a booking?
Everyone has emergencies that are unavoidable, so a certain number of cancellations are inevitable. In the event that a sitter cancels we will have to cover the booking with another sitter. Always keep your calendar up to date and only accept only thr bookings you will be able to accommodate. Repeat cancellations will result in a review of your continued relationship with Manhattan Meow as a pet sitter and may result in ending your affiliation with us. If you need to cancel a booking please contact Neyir as soon as you can so a replacement for you can be found ASAP.
How and when do I get paid after I have completed a booking?
We conduct payments through PayPal and will pay your fees into your PayPal account 48 hours after the completion of the booking. This is to allow enough time for the client’s funds to clear in our account.
An Important point to remember: Booking and getting paid through Manhattan Meow is required as per our Terms of Service. Never accept cash or checks as payment—this can expose you to fraud and affect your ability to show proper documentation for tax purposes, and may result in the termination of your affiliation with Manhattan Meow.
I am at a cat sitting and the cat looks sick. What do I do?
Immediately contact the owner and the Founder, Neyir. Inform all parties of the situation and be as specific as possible by taking pictures and videos. Follow the instructions of the owner, making sure to do all these via the Manhattan Meow platform, for your own protection and documentation.
I am at a cat sitting and the cat has had a stomach problem and left evidence of it everywhere. What do I do?
Pets are like children, they will have accidents. At the meet and greet ask the owners about any likely situations and how they would like you to handle them. Ask to be shown where the cleaning supplies are kept for this purpose. If you are uncomfortable with pet accidents, cat sitting may not be the best job for you as accidents are common and owners will expect you to be able to deal with them in a gracious and considerate way. We encourage sitters to deal with cleaning up any cat related messes but of course only in a basic way, this does not extend to stain removal from carpets or furniture or any ither extensive cleaning.
The client wants me to book me privately. What do I do?
Kindly remind the owner that the under our terms of service private bookings will result in termination of your access to Manhattan Meow platform, and that booking on the Manhattan Meow platform ensures safety, confidentiality and protection against legal issues and liabilities for all parties.
Which neighborhoods does Manhattan Meow cover?
Manhattan Meow aims to provide pet owners with trusted local pet sitters. To this end we cover most Manhattan neighborhoods, please see the following list:
Manhattan Meow Cat sitters are all local residents in your neighborhood. All our pet sitters are insured and bonded. If you are looking for a trustworthy local cat sitter who has gone through a background check and in person interview please contact us. Manhattan Meow is a local woman owned small business. We all are pet parents ourselves and we understand your concerns about your cats. You can see our 5 star reviews in Google, Yelp and on our own website. Our local cat sitters have experience in kitten care, senior pet care and medication administration. If you need a local trustworthy cat sitter who can administer insulin injections please let us know.
- Midtown East
- Midtown West
- Murray Hill
- Union Square
- Upper East Side (UES)
- Upper West Side (UWS)
- West Village
Do Cats like to be alone?
Chances are your cat likes to stay to him or herself most of the time, so you might think they don’t even notice your absence each day after you head to work. Actually, you’d be surprised at how much they do notice.
Why should I book a cat sitter instead of placing my cat in a boarding facility?
“Cats are territorial and it’s typically much more stressful for them to be placed in an unfamiliar environment, especially if that environment contains the sight, scent, and sounds of other animals,” says Pam Johnson-Bennett, cat behavior consultant and owner of Cat Behavior Associates, LLC. “When cats are placed in a boarding facility, they get the double whammy of not having the cat parents around as well as losing their territory.”
Why Should I book a Cat Sitter, Pet Sitter via Manhattan Meow Platform?
Dear Pawparents,
We may often be tempted to just reach out to a familiar cat sitter, pet sitter, but here why we believe you should consider Manhattan Meow:
1. The Manhattan Meow platform provides greater Peace of Mind that the Sitting will take place – no matter what.
If a cat sitter is booked, becomes ill or has a last minute conflict we will do our utmost to find a suitable replacement. As Manhattan Meow’s founder and cat sitter, I am always happy to personally step in and help with the visits. Regular daily reports helps us track Sittings not yet completed and follow up immediately with enough lead time to make alternative arrangements.
2. How can you be sure that the sitter stays the promised full 30 minutes? Your pets needs deserve our full time, love and attention. The upcoming Manhattan Meow app will require the sitter to log in start and end times for each Sitting from your GPS home location.
As per our policy, Sitters who fail to log start and end times will be warned and potentially excluded from the Manhattan Meow community.
3. Only when you book a sitter from the Manhattan Meow platform are they covered under the Manhattan Meow’s insurance.
Having an insured and bonded cat sitter is the safest option for your pet and your home.Can a kitten be left alone at home?
You can leave a kitten home alone for short periods of time. Kittens younger than four months of age should not be left alone for more than a couple of hours. Over four months, they can handle up to five hours. When they turn six months, they should be able to handle your 8-hour workday.
Do cats miss their owners?
Cats form very strong bonds with their human companions and family members. Even though they may play it cool, they will notice you’re gone and they will miss your attention. If your cat starts meowing loudly when you leave the room, that’s one sign they miss you.
Other symptoms may include clinginess, loss of appetite, depression, anxiety, vomiting and diarrhea, and house-soiling.
What is at stake if I leave my cat alone at home for longer than 24 hours?
Whenever you need to leave your cat alone for more than 24 hours, you should have somebody checking in on them.
Here are some situations that might occur if the cat does not have someone checking in on them:
- Your cat can run out of food and water
- Food and water can go bad and cause health issues
- There can be weather changes that will affect your cat’s well-being
- Your cat can get ill or injured
- The litter boxes will be full, and your cat will start house-soiling
- Your kitty can get lonely, depressed, or anxious
How do I book a Sitter?
Please go to our Bookings page and search for a cat sitter in your area. Once you have selected a sitter, please contact the cat sitter via the Chat window, and once you agree on all the details and have a meet and greet you can complete the booking by submitting the payment on our secure platform.
Will I be able to meet with the sitter before agreeing to the booking?
We recommend to always have a Meet and Greet session for all new bookings so that everyone is comfortable with each other. You of course will not be charged for the Meet & Greet Sessions.
Do you do background checks on your sitters?
Yes we do! Our third party service provider is Acutraq. For each application we run a search in the following:
Federal Level Criminal Search
Multi State Criminal Search
50 State Sex Offender Registry
Social Security Trace
All Alias Names - searched through Multi State Criminal and Sex Offender - i.e. "Bill" for William, Maiden names. etc.
National and International Terrorist Watchlist
OFAC, DEA, FBI Watchlist and Most Wanterd, CIA, Interpol, and much more. (full list upon request)
Will I be charged separately for the Meet & Greet session?
No, you will not be charged for the meet & greet session.
However please note that our complementary Meet & Greet session is available for one initial visit. If you need your sitter to come a second time it will be consider and charged as a 30 min visit. One Cat : 30min visit $30/visit* Two Cats: 30min visit $33/visit* Three Cats: 30min visit $35/visit* Insulin Shot visit $50/visit* 60min visit $50/visit* (****Plus Manhattan Meow Booking Fee and New York Sales Tax.) In case of cancellations: if cancelled 5 business days before the booking starts a $50 cancellation fee is applied if cancelled with less than 5 business days notice 50% of the total is charged if cancelled after the visits start due to clients plans change full fee is applied. Visit Times: Unless your pet is on medication and needs to be visited at certain times due to health reasons the timings of the visits may vary due to weather conditions, route of the sitters, unforeseen situations (such as a sick pet requiring immediate attention). If your pet is on medication and needs to be visited at certain times please make sure to let your sitter know and please note that an additional fee of $35 will be added to your fee to be passed onto your sitter. Manhattan Meow Cat sitters are all local residents in your neighborhood. All our pet sitters are insured and bonded. If you are looking for a trustworthy local cat sitter who has gone through a background check and in person interview please contact us. Manhattan Meow is a local woman owned small business. We all are pet parents ourselves and we understand your concerns about your cats. You can see our 5 star reviews in wGoogle, Yelp and on our own website. Our local cat sitters have experience in kitten care, senior pet care and medication administration. If you need a local trustworthy cat sitter who can administer insulin injections please let us know.
