Some House Swappers are Animals!
Nicole Frank is one of the leading experts of the home exchange community. Nicole has been an avid home exchanger since childhood and has completed dozens exchanges around the world with her family. Nicole’s "Key to Home Exchange" appears weekly on RoofSwap.com with do’s and don’t regarding house swapping and tips and advice on a wide array of travel topics. Have a question for Nicole or want to share some insight of your own? Visit our Member Forum section and post your comments and questions.
It's hard to relax on vacation if you are worried about the feathered or furry friends you have left at home. Several RoofSwappers have sent us emails asking about trading pet care when on a RoofSwap. "We have a small parrot. Is it fair to ask our home exchange partners to look after her?" wonders one RoofSwapper. "Will having cats sink my chances of getting a place in my dream destination?" frets another.
In the 40+ mutual vacation exchanges I have done I have cared for farm animals, dogs, cats and fish. When I started exchanging I had no pets. I now have cats. Pet care can be a tricky issue to negotiate. Let's look at some positives and negatives of leaving pets at home when you do a vacation swap.
CAT-ACCESSIBLE ELEVATORS
We have cats, and we say so in the first line of our listing. Before making this change, I would respond favorably to a swap offer and start making plans, only to discover that an exchanger with an allergic family member had not read later in my listing that I have pets. Even with the cat info front and center I still mention the cats in the first email I write to another swapper, just to make sure it is clear. One woman admitted she had contacted me despite her cat allergies because she was hoping we could "leave the cats outside at night when we return to your home." We live in a high-rise city apartment and our cats are too short to reach the elevator buttons, so it would be hard for them to let themselves in and out.
The number one thing that limits our ability to get the swap we want is the fact that we have cats and many people are allergic to them. If you want to make sure you are able to do a lot of home swapping, seriously consider the negative effect having pets will have on the volume of exchange offers you receive. Many people are also allergic to dogs. Fish and reptiles don't promote allergies but some birds, such as cockatiels, shed dander and can cause an allergic reaction.
ARE THE SWAPPERS ALLERGIC TO PETS, OR "ALLERGIC" TO DEALING WITH THEM?
I sometimes wonder if people who claim to be allergic to our cats are simply reluctant to clean out a litter box, deal with smelly wet cat food or if they worry about cats shedding fur. There are easy solutions to all of these problems. Combing the cats every day and vacuuming the furniture keeps pet hair at bay. An easy-clean room like an enclosed porch or basement can be designated for the cats during home exchange. That keeps any shedding contained.
We have a self-cleaning litter box and a food dispenser that is set to automatically dispense dry cat food twice per day. The cats have a re-circulating water fountain with a 1-gallon reservoir. A $300 investment in these gadgets lets swappers use our home without having to do cat-care chores. It also puts our minds at ease knowing that cat care is automated when we are on vacation and we are not reliant on the exchangers to keep our kitties alive.
"LOANER CATS"
The flip side to allergic home exchangers is those who see a house as more homey with a cat or two in residence. Those who have cats in their own home are usually delighted to have a "loaner cat" come along with the swap home. I count myself among those who see a cat in a swap home as a plus. That isn't to say all of my cat-care experiences have been positive when on home exchange. One kitty was described by her owners as "affectionate". She was, until they left. Then she would mew sweetly until we approached. The moment we came near her she would hiss, spit and swipe at us with her claws. We tiptoed around her all weekend, but we survived without claw marks.
The scariest cat swap I ever did was with a couple who owned a town home in Washington, D.C. Despite the busy urban area in which they lived, they insisted on letting their cat in and out via a cat door. Each time it disappeared down the block I was terrified the cat would be hit by one of the many cars whizzing past the house.
CREEPY PETS
Would you feed a live mouse to a snake? One intrepid exchanger I know was asked to do just that during her first home swap. Some people keep other reptiles or large spiders as pets. Many people have a snake phobia, mouse or insect phobia so keep that in mind if you want to be a successful swapper.
DELICATE PETS
After agreeing to care for exchange partners' parrots, Alma, who exchanges her Boston-area home received a 16-page list of bird care rules. "I was willing to keep the food and water dishes full and to clean the bottom of the cage, but they had a very precise schedule for feeding and exercising this bird. I didn't want to spend hours each day dealing with their rules so I canceled the swap". We exchanged with a couple in Virginia who had similarly complex rules for the care of their two pampered purebred cats. Having had cats all my life I know they are not going to expire if they do not get fed exactly three times each day at precise hours.
CARE INSTRUCTIONS
It's best to send any specific pet rules to swappers before they commit to caring for your pet. And keep those instructions as clear and stream-lined as possible. Remember to provide the name, address and phone number of your veterinarian. You may also want to give the vet an advanced directive about what sort of care you want so your pet does not suffer if s/he has medical problems during a swap. Make sure to leave enough pet food. We did an exchange in France with a couple who had a dog and a cat. They left a few cans of food but we were stuck trying to find more of their brand in a strange country after just a few days at their home.
PET EXCHANGE IS MY FAVORITE PART OF SWAPPING
Having lost a pet to a disease she picked up in a boarding facility, leaving my pets in my own home when I go on vacation is my favorite part of home exchange. Pet exchange can make a mutual swap feel even more like home. As long as you make it as easy as possible to care for your animals, most swappers do not mind taking on this chore. Just make sure they know about your pet tarantula before they find him crawling around on your bed.
Happy RoofSwapping!
Nicole I. Frank,
Your Key to Home Exchange
