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Professional cat sitter makes felines purr.

By: DONNA MALOY

Special to the Bay Area Sun
Many cat owners face a serious dilemma whenever they have to leave town. They know that some pets flourish when they are boarded, but a large number of others - especially cats do not.

Fortunately. there is a new alternative that is becoming more and more popular. It's called the professional petsitter.

Clear Lake's Carole Rexer is one of a growing number of bonded, insured cat caretakers who make a business out of tending to the needs of homebound pets while their owners are away.

This month, Rexer is one of four professional pet sitters featured in a national story in "Cats" magazine. In the article, Rexer stresses the "professional" part of this new service industry.

"Professionals want to deal with professionals," Rexer says. In fact, her Clear Lake clientele is almost exclusively professionals who have spent time and money creating a comfortable, environment for their cherished pets and who hate to remove the animals to a kennel whenever they have to leave town.

Veterinarians agree that boarding cats can be disturbing for the animal, which is highly territorial by nature. According to Wayne Hunthausen, immediate past president of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and author of "Cat Behavior and Training: Veterinary Advice for Owners," cats are very sensitive to environmental change.

Hunthausen says pet owners may notice hair loss, decreased activity, lack of appetite and anxious behavior in some felines who have been boarded.

Although many cats are perfectly happy in a kennel, Rexer knows several "finicky" pets and it's one reason she decided to investigate becoming a professional pet sitter. Her research led her to become a member of the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters and also Pet Sitters International.

As a cat groomer and small business owner, she had already seen the importance of belonging to such professional organizations. "Belonging to NAPPS and PSI professionals who have already makes it easy for people to, start their own pet-sitting-business and make it profitable," she says, "You get to network with other professionals who have already solved a lot of the problems you'll encounter. You get-advise and expertise that's purely invaluable."

Rexer herself is a bubbly, energetic woman who is obviously in love with the cats she works with. For her grooming business, Cat Care by Carole, she became a certified feline specialist. She is also certified in small animal first aid and CPR. She's a member of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council. Though 70 percent of her business involves cats, Rexer has had to sit for everything from canine dogs to prairie dogs.

Pet sitting sometimes requires preparing special diets and administering medications, as well as changing litter and checking the overall health of the animal.

Sometimes, Rexer is asked to take the cats to a vet, or to groom them, or to do other special tasks. Most importantly, she makes it possible for pets to stay in familiar surroundings, eating familiar food on an established schedule.

Rexer says pet sitting is a natural. "It's a wonderful business. I get to take care of the animals I love and their owners get peace of mind while they're away What, could be better?"

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