What is a Meet and Greet?

Here at My Three Cats, we always do a ‘Meet and Greet’ before our first visit whilst customers are away. During the COVID 19 pandemic, we adjusted this meeting to an online call to stick by social distancing rules, however with the restrictions lifted we have reverted to our in-person introductions so you can meet us in Real Life before you go!

 

So, what is a Meet and Greet?

Well, a Meet and Greet is a face-to-face consultation with our customers in their homes before our very first visit to feed their cats.

Depending on where they live, customers are allocated a cat-sitter to take care of their cats whilst they are away. A Meet and Greet is their chance to meet their cat-sitter, discuss their cat’s feeding habits and needs and ask any questions.

We want customers to feel comfortable handing a key to their home over and we understand that this can be a bit daunting. We aim to reassure our customers that we are trusted, reliable and professional and their security is just as important as the care we provide for their cats.

 

The layout of a Meet and Greet

At the start of a Meet and Greet we introduce ourselves and give a short background of the business – from our beginnings in 2017 to now. Usually, at this stage, most customers have completed some basic information about their cats on our ‘Time To Pet’ app so we already have some details (and maybe a photo!) If they haven’t had a chance to do this yet, we can also update this so that their kitty’s information is always up to date.

 

Food 

When it comes to food, we ask all sorts of questions! We need to know what they eat, the quantity and where their bowls are in the house. But wait, there’s more! Don’t be afraid to tell us how your cats eat their food. It’s more common than you’d think for cats to like their food warmed up in the microwave. Some like it chopped up or hand-fed to them. Others need feeding a bit at a time so they don’t eat too quickly and vomit. Some eat up high on a shelf, others have timed feeders or bowls registered to their microchips. Other cats might have a special diet, or they could be a fussy cat, greedy cat or maybe a poorly cat that needs some encouragement to eat – whatever the routine is, we will stick to it so that the cat is in its usual pattern.

 

Water

After food comes water, and my-oh-my! are there a variety of drinking vessels!  Round bowls, flat bowls, cups, pint glasses, washing up bowls, fountains, taps, beakers and so many more! A lot of cats also like to drink from running water so, with their owners’ permission, we might let them have some fun in the sink (and probably send a video to their owners too!).

 

Litter trays

And how could we forget litter trays, they’re a whole other area! Every cat has its own toileting habits and with so many different types of litter, we need to follow instructions closely. With that being said, regardless of litter type we will always scoop any ‘solids’ at every visit and dispose of them in an outside bin.

 

Those three aspects are the most important ones to know as they’re the crucial parts of a cat’s needs. So with the practical parts of the Meet and Greet covered, we turn to how we can tailor our visits to suit the cats’ personalities. We ask about their favourite toys or (if they’re a shy kitty) where they like to hide so we can check on them. What are their favourite treats, do theylike to have a cuddle or be picked up and where is their favourite sleeping spot?

 

Medication

We discuss the cat’s health and if they are on any medication we take detailed notes about when to give it. We ask for their vet’s contact details and discuss what will happen if the cat becomes unwell. We will also ask for permission to personally take the cat to their vet if there is an emergency and we are unable to contact the owner.

 

Home Security

This is the end of questions about the cats – it is all noted down and will be further passed onto our system so that we can keep a record of the cats for future visits. However, we now ask a few more questions about house security. These are little ‘housey’ things you might not have realised we could also do (seeing as we are a cat-sitting business… right?). Our cat-sitters are more than happy to leave lights on at night, open or close curtains, put bins out and even water any plants you might be worried about. We will also ask customers for a local emergency contact just in case of anything like a leak or a key issue.

 

Lastly, we discuss the house key. We can either take a copy with us at the Meet and Greet or the owner may want to supply a coded lockbox. Lockboxes work wonders for us as we don’t have to carry keys around and they are already safe and secure at the house.

Contacting us for your future Meet and Greet

And that’s it, that’s a Meet and Greet. If you are booked in with us soon and have any questions, please feel free to send us a message on our app ‘Time to Pet’. Invoices will also be sent via the app and any messages you receive by your allocated cat-sitter can be found there too along with reports on how your cats are doing.