Good with pets? Plan a feeding visit
A pet feeding visit starts with the owner's familiar routine and the food they've prepared. Agree what the visit includes, how to get in and who receives the update when you finish.
The pet's food is ready at home, but the owner will be out at the agreed feeding time. If you have experience with pets, this may be help you feel comfortable offering. Meet the animal and learn the household's routine first. You want to understand the visit while its owner is there to explain it, rather than arrive with a question you hadn't thought to ask.
What experience should I describe before offering a feeding visit?
Say which animals you've helped with and what you actually did. Feeding a familiar cat while its owner was away is an experience you can describe. It doesn't need to become a claim that you can care for every pet. Be clear about the kind of help you know, and listen to what this owner needs.
Think about whether you've done it with someone beside you or on your own. That difference is worth mentioning. If you're still choosing an ability to offer, our guide to earning from everyday skills can help you find a starting point. Here, the focus is a planned feeding visit following the owner's instructions.
What should the owner show me before the visit?
Arrange to meet while the owner is home. Have them introduce the pet and show you what they want the feeding visit to involve. Ask which food they've supplied, what instructions go with it and where the things you'll use are kept. With more than one animal, make sure each instruction clearly belongs to the right pet. Neighbouring bowls don't explain that on their own.
Talk the visit through in your own words. Where will you start, what comes next and how should things be left? Let the owner correct anything you've understood differently. Use their routine rather than choosing a food, amount or approach from your own home. If something is unfamiliar or beyond the help you're comfortable giving, say so before agreeing.
What belongs in an agreed visit note?
Write a short note with the owner and have them check it. Include the agreed visit time, the animal you're helping with and their feeding instructions. Add the contact for questions and the update they want afterwards. Keep the owner's names for things so you can recognise what the note means when you're there.
Go through what is included, as well as anything you've left out. A feeding visit doesn't automatically include walking, transport, hosting the pet in your home or medical care. Discuss any additional help separately. You should both be able to describe the same visit after the conversation.
How should we agree on access to the home?
Ask how you'll get in, which parts of the home you may use and how the owner wants you to leave it. Have them show you their entry and closing routine, including their instructions about doors and the animal. This is about their particular home; another household's routine won't answer every question.
Agree on what happens to the key or other means of entry afterwards. If you can't get in, contact the person you've named in advance and explain what happened. Don't pass the access details to someone else to complete the visit for you. Allow for the journey when deciding whether you can make the arrangement you've discussed.
What if something doesn't match the instructions?
Refer to the agreed note during the visit. If an instruction is unclear, ask the contact instead of filling in a missing step yourself. For example, if the prepared food isn't where the owner showed you, explain what you've found and ask for guidance. Experience with another animal doesn't tell you what this owner has arranged.
Before the visit, agree on whom to contact if the owner is unavailable. Say when a request calls for help you don't know how to provide. This article covers an agreed feeding routine. It doesn't teach medication, diagnosis or treatment.
What should I tell the owner when I've finished?
Send the update you've agreed on. Say that you've visited, what you completed from the instructions and anything the owner still needs to address. If something wasn't done, say so plainly. A short account of the visit is more useful than a broad assurance that everything was perfect.
Include a photo only if you've agreed to it. Permission to send an update doesn't include permission to publish images of the pet or the home. Close the visit using the owner's instructions, including the agreed arrangement for the key.
Read about becoming a Tadamer to get to know Tadam. When describing this kind of help, explain the experience you have and how you'll learn the owner's routine. That gives the other person something concrete to ask you about before a visit.
Questions & answers
Does a feeding visit include walking the dog?
A walk isn't automatically part of a feeding visit. Agree on it separately and check that it fits the helper's experience and ability.
Who chooses the food and feeding instructions?
The pet's owner supplies the food and explains their instructions beforehand. This help doesn't include choosing a diet, changing food or giving medical advice.
What should I do if I can't enter the home?
Contact the person named in advance and explain what has happened. Don't give the key or access details to someone else to complete the visit for you.
Do I need to send a photo when the visit is finished?
Agree beforehand on the update the owner wants and whether it includes a photo. Permission to send that image isn't permission to publish the pet or the home.
