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Meet & Greet Overview

The Meet & Greet is a complimentary, 15-30 minute meeting between you and your sitter, typically held at your home. It's an essential opportunity to get to know each other, introduce your cat(s), and discuss important care details. This meeting helps ensure the sitter is a purrfect fit for your needs and establishes trust before the reservation begins.

Scheduling the Meet & Greet

Once you submit a reservation request, you can arrange the Meet & Greet by messaging your sitter via the Meowtel Chat inbox or using the Chat button in your Reservations screen. We recommend offering 2-3 time slots to help your sitter quickly check availability.

Key Information to Discuss

During the Meet & Greet, you'll share vital details to ensure your sitter has everything they need to care for your cat(s), including:

1. Your completed Vet Release Form
2. Feeding and medication instructions (if applicable)
3. Emergency contacts
4. Where extra food and litter are stored
5. Hiding spots for your cat(s)
6. Disposal of used litter
7. Any special home instructions (e.g., a lock that sticks, or a light that needs to stay on)
8. Any additional tasks (such as watering plants or bringing in the mail)
9. This is also when you'll provide your sitter with a key or access code for your home. Be sure to test the key(s) before the meeting ends to confirm they work properly. You’ll also want to discuss the method and timing for returning the key after the reservation.

Location and Timing

The Meet & Greet should always take place at your home so the sitter can familiarize themselves with the space and your cat(s)’ routine. We ask that both you and your sitter respect the agreed-upon time to ensure the meeting goes smoothly.

Meowtel Promise

For Meowtel Promise reservations, if you’re not completely satisfied with your sitter after the Meet & Greet, we’ll make it right. Simply contact us, and we’ll cancel the reservation and issue a full refund.

Sitters will happily offer a free Meet & Greet to clients upon receiving your reservation request on Meowtel.

We require that the reservation request is sent in first for the following reasons:

1. Sitter Safety: Sitters want to know who they are meeting, especially when they are going to a stranger's home. Having a complete profile on Meowtel with your cat's information will increase the likelihood that they will accept your request.
2. Intent: Out of respect for our sitters' time, we want clients to demonstrate to our sitters that their intent to book cat sitting services is serious and legitimate.
3. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee: If you are not fully satisfied with your sitter after the Meet & Greet or during the reservation, please call 1-844-636-9835 so we can help you re-book with a new sitter to ensure we can deliver on our purrfect hospitality promise.*

*Only eligible reservations qualify for the Meowtel Promise.

Yes. However, when you book with a Meowtel sitter whom you and your cats have never met, a Meet & Greet is highly recommended to make sure that the sitter will be a purrfect fit for your needs, and to ensure trust is established before the reservation takes place.

The Meet & Greet is also the ideal time to make arrangements for the key exchange or provide keyless entry instructions, so that the sitter can test them and ensure they are working properly prior to your departure.

The Meet & Greet should always happen at your home so that your sitter can meet you, and get acquainted with your home and your cat(s). This is also the perfect time to elaborate on your cat’s care routine and point out where you store extra supplies.

Additionally, the Meet & Greet is when you would provide your sitter with a key or code(s) to access your home. We highly recommend having your sitter test the key(s) to ensure there will be no problems upon entry.

Yes. Make sure that the Vet Release Form and My Cats section are completed beforehand to help your sitter provide the best care possible while you are away and guarantee your cats will be covered by our Premium Insurance*. 

As the Meet & Greet is also the ideal time to do the key exchange, it may also be helpful to have a spare key ready for your sitter, as well as a list of important information that might be useful to your sitter during the reservation (such as emergency contacts; where extra cat food is stored; if there are any particular places your cat(s) like to hide; if there’s a sticky lock or other household quirk(s) the sitter should be aware of, etc.). Please also ensure your home meets our Fit for Service Home Environments policy prior to your sitter’s arrival.

*Only eligible reservations qualify for the Meowtel Promise.

The Meet & Greet is a complimentary 15-30 minute meeting typically held at the client's home and is an opportunity to introduce your cats to the sitter, answer the sitter's questions from the Meet & Greet form, and provide them with a copy of the key (or entry code) for your home. 

In addition to meeting your sitter, the Meet & Greet is the purrfect time to ensure your sitter has all the information they’ll need in order to provide the best care possible for your cat(s). Some examples of important details to share with your sitter during the Meet & Greet include:

• Your completed Vet Release Form
• Feeding instructions
• Medication instructions (if applicable)
• Emergency Contact(s) 
• Where extra food and litter are stored
• If your cat(s) have any particular places where they tend to hide
• How / where you dispose of used litter
• Any special details regarding your home (such as a lock that sticks or a light that needs to remain on, etc.)
• Details regarding any additional tasks you’re expecting to be completed (such as watering indoor plants or bringing in the mail)

Please also provide your sitter with a copy of your key(s) during the Meet & Greet, so they do not have to make another trip to your home to pick it up, and be sure to test the key(s) before they leave to ensure it’s working properly. In addition, discuss and agree upon the method and timing for key return. This could involve arranging a time after your final scheduled service for the sitter to return the key in person or agreeing on a secure location where the key can be safely left.

Our sitters are expected to respect their clients’ time by arriving when scheduled. We kindly ask that you please respect your sitter’s time by being present at the time agreed upon as well.

Last Updated: March 4, 2025

Our sitters reserve the right to limit the time spent in a home or cancel a reservation if a client or client’s home does not meet satisfactory cleanliness, safety, comfort, or wellness standards. These cancelations may occur after the Meet & Greet or during an in-progress reservation if the sitter feels their health or safety could be adversely affected by being in your home, or if they do not feel comfortable with the condition that the cat(s) may be in. We will always notify you if this is the case.

Below are some examples of why a sitter could cancel due to health/wellness sensitives or safety issues while in, or while entering, certain home environments:

1. Excessive cat dander, hair, or dust
2. Excessive litter box/bathroom accidents or cat vomit, particularly in carpeted areas
3. Repulsive odors
4. Pest or parasite infestations, including cockroaches and fleas
5. Extreme indoor temperatures
6. Point of entry obstructions or safety hazards caused by overgrown vegetation or insect/rodent habitats
7. Hoarder homes
8. Aggressive cats that attack a sitter through bites or scratches
9. The client being in a state of intoxication, abusive or mentally unwell behavior during the Meet & Greet or at any point during the reservation
10. A cat that is showing signs of animal cruelty or abuse, including neglect or severe health concerns
11. Illegal substances or drug paraphernalia in the home
12. Unannounced home dwellers or visitors, such as Airbnb guests or roommates
13. Communicable diseases, such as, but not limited to: Ringworm, URIs (Upper Respiratory Infections), etc.

If your home is reported to us as unfit for service or if a sitter believes to have encountered an instance of animal cruelty, any Meowtel sitter may alter the visit duration to stay only as long as it takes to complete the critical care tasks (feeding, water refresh, medications, litter box scooping) or cancel the reservation altogether and we reserve the right to not provide service to you moving forward.

We want you to have a purrfect experience, and that starts with ensuring your home is in a clean and comfortable state for when you meet your sitter at the complimentary Meet & Greet.