What is meet and greet?
Updated By PetymFacts checked against official sources on
Quick answer
A meet and greet is a short visit before any booking where the owner, the pet and the sitter meet. You see how the sitter handles your pet and ask questions; your pet learns the sitter's face and smell. Welfare bodies advise meeting a sitter before hiring. On Petym, the meet and greet is free, before the first booking.
Also called meet-and-greet, pet sitter meet and greet, introductory visit, trial meeting.
Key facts
- The RSPCA advises meeting a pet sitter before hiring them, and suggests introductory sessions before you leave to help the pet settle. RSPCA
- RSPCA Australia suggests a meet-and-greet beforehand if a cat has not met its sitter, to check they are compatible. RSPCA Australia
- England's licensing guidance for dog home boarding requires a documented trial session to familiarise dogs before they board, including with resident dogs. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- The RSPCA also suggests checking references and confirming what insurance a sitter has for emergencies. RSPCA
Why meet a pet sitter before booking?
Because a profile cannot show you how a stranger and your pet get on, and your pet copes better with someone it has met.
Across the pet care industry, the meet and greet is the standard first step before pet sitting, dog walking or home boarding. Some services charge for it; others include it free. It usually happens at the owner's home, or at the sitter's home if the pet will board there, and lasts long enough for the pet to relax.
The RSPCA's advice is simple: meet them before employing them, and if you can, arrange introductory sessions before you go. RSPCA Australia makes the same point for cats, which often prefer a sitter who comes to them, and suggests a meet-and-greet if the cat has not met the person before. For a dog joining a household with other dogs, England's home boarding rules go further and require a recorded trial session.
What should you check at a meet and greet?
Watch as much as you ask. These points come from the RSPCA's advice on choosing a sitter, and from what a sitter needs to know to follow your plan.
- How the sitter greets your pet: calm, letting the pet come to them, reading its body language.
- That the sitter understands your pet's routine: feeding times and amounts, walks, the litter tray, sleeping spot. RSPCA
- Medicines: show how you give them, and watch the sitter try once if your pet will allow it. RSPCA
- Behaviour notes: fears (crackers, the pressure cooker, the doorbell), habits, anything your pet must not have. RSPCA
- Your vet's details and the out-of-hours number, and what the sitter will do in an emergency. RSPCA
- For home boarding: the sitter's home, where your pet will sleep, any resident pets, balconies and gates. Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)
- Keys, the society gate, the watchman and parking, if the sitter will come to your home.
How will a meet and greet work on Petym?
Petym is not taking bookings yet. This is the process Petym has set for when a city opens.
Choose a sitter
You pick a sitter who has passed Petym's checks: identity verified with PAN, pet first-aid training, and for sitters who host pets, a video walk-through of the home and the society's permission.
Free meet and greet
You, your pet and the sitter meet before the first booking. There is no charge for it.
Share the plan
You go through your pet's feeding, walks and medicines, written as you want them followed and logged.
Decide, then book
If it feels right, you book and pay through Petym; if it does not, you do not have to book.
Going away soon? Tell us your dates.
A checked local sitter feeds, walks and keeps your pet company at home, follows your care sheet to the letter and sends a photo every day. Petym is opening city by city: send your dates and we will tell you when a sitter can take them.
- Meet your sitter first, free
- PAN-checked, first-aid trained
- A photo every day
- Pay through Petym, never cash
Questions owners ask
Is the meet and greet free on Petym?
- Yes. Petym's process includes a free meet and greet with the sitter before the first booking, so you and your pet can meet them first. Petym is not taking bookings yet; it will open city by city once sitters there have passed its checks.
How long should a meet and greet last?
- There is no set length: long enough for your pet to relax with the sitter and for you to go through the whole routine without rushing. A nervous dog or a shy cat may need longer, or a second short visit before the booking.
What questions should I ask a pet sitter at the meet and greet?
- Ask how they would handle your pet's routine, medicines and fears, what they do in an emergency, and how they will keep you updated. The RSPCA also suggests checking references and what insurance cover they have. Watch how they greet your pet as closely as you listen to the answers.
What if my pet does not take to the sitter?
- Some pets need more than one meeting, and that is normal. If your pet stays very stressed, or something about the sitter does not feel right, do not book. Arrange another short visit or meet a different sitter; the point of meeting first is that you can say no.
Keep reading
Related terms
More in services and booking
- Background checkA background check is what a pet care service verifies about a sitter before they care for your pet and enter your home. It can cover identity, police verification, references, training and the sitter's home. Services differ widely, so ask what was checked. Petym verifies identity with PAN; police verification is not one of its stated checks.
- Care sheetA care sheet is the written plan you leave for whoever looks after your pet: what and when it eats, walks and toilet routine, medicines and how to give them, habits and fears, and who to call, including your vet. Welfare bodies list these as the essentials. On Petym, the sitter follows your plan as written and logs each task.
- Daily photo updateA daily photo update is a photo of your pet, with a short note, that the sitter sends each day of a booking, so you can see your pet is fed, well and settled. The best updates are specific: food, walks, toilet, medicines and mood. On Petym, a daily photo update is sent every day of every booking.
- Doggy day careDoggy day care is daytime care for your dog while you work: you drop it off in the morning and collect it in the evening, with no overnight stay. The dog gets company, play, walks and rest instead of a long day alone. Good day care screens each dog first and keeps groups small.
- Drop-in visitA drop-in visit is when a pet sitter comes to your home, once or more a day, to feed your pet, refresh water, clean the litter tray or take the dog out, give medicines and spend time with it, then leaves. It suits cats and independent pets that are happier at home. On Petym, drop-in visits are paid per visit.
- Group dog walkA group dog walk is when one walker takes several dogs from different homes out together, instead of a solo walk with one dog. It can give sociable dogs company and exercise, but more dogs means less control near traffic and street dogs. As a benchmark, England's licensing guidance caps a day care walker at 6 dogs at once.
- Home boardingHome boarding means your pet stays in a sitter's own home while you are away, living as part of the household rather than in a kennel run. It suits sociable dogs that settle well in new places. Good sitters take few pets, meet each one first and keep its records. On Petym, every sitter's home is checked by video first.
- House sittingHouse sitting means someone lives in your home while you are away, looking after the house and often the pets. The arrangement is built around the home: security, plants, post. Pet sitting is built around the animal: its meals, walks, medicines and company. Many pet owners want both, which is what an overnight pet sitter staying in your home provides.
- Key handoverA key handover is the agreed way a pet sitter gets into your home: a key handed over, one left with a trusted neighbour or the society office, or a digital lock code. In a flat it also means telling the watchman the sitter is expected. Done well, it is planned, written down and reversed when the booking ends.
- Overnight pet sittingOvernight pet sitting means a sitter stays in your home, including overnight, while you are away, so your pet keeps its own home, routine and company. It suits dogs that cannot be left alone, senior pets, pets on medicine and anxious animals. It is Petym's main service: the sitter follows your pet's plan and is paid by the day.
Keep exploring
Sources
Each source was opened and read on the date shown. How Petym checks its sources
- RSPCA: Exploring pet sitting options (opens in a new tab)
- RSPCA Australia: Can I take my cat with me when I go on holiday? (opens in a new tab)
- Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK): Home boarding for dogs licensing: statutory guidance for local authorities (updated 1 June 2026) (opens in a new tab)