Our booking terms

Our services

We provide attentive in-home care for cats and small pets while you are away, through scheduled visits at your home. On every visit we feed to your instructions, provide fresh water, clean and top up the litter tray, and spend proper one-to-one time with your pet, be that play, brushing or simply company, so they get affection as well as care. We keep an eye on how they are eating, drinking and behaving, administer any medication you have set out, and can take care of the everyday things around the house too, such as post, plants and blinds. We keep you posted while you are away, typically a message with photos after each day's visits, though we are happy to send more, or fewer, whatever suits you.

The specific dates, times, number of visits per day and fees for each booking are set out in your booking confirmation, which forms part of these terms.

Bookings and payment

1. All bookings are made directly with Sally's Pet Care. A booking is confirmed once we have accepted it in writing; there is no deposit to pay up front.
2. Fees are as quoted in your booking confirmation. Quotes are based on the information you give us about your pets and home.
3. Our standard rates, and the peak-time supplements that apply during school holidays and bank holiday weekends, are published on our website. Where a booking runs across both, only the days that fall in a premium period carry the supplement. The full fee for your booking is always confirmed in your quote before you accept it, so there is nothing to work out yourself.
4. Payment is due in full before the booking starts, by bank transfer unless we agree otherwise. We will send you the payment details with your booking confirmation.
5. Additional costs reasonably incurred during a booking with your consent (for example food, litter or other supplies that run out) will be reimbursed by you on presentation of receipts.

Cancellations, changes and extensions

1. We know plans change. You may cancel or change a booking at any time without a cancellation fee; we simply ask for as much notice as you can reasonably give.
2. If a booking is cancelled or shortened, we will refund any fees paid for visits or services we have not yet provided. Fees for visits already made, and for any costs we have already incurred on your behalf, are not refunded.
3. If you return home earlier than planned, we will refund the fees paid for any visits still to come.
4. If you need to extend a booking (for example a delayed flight), let us know as soon as you can. We will continue care wherever we are able to, and any additional days or visits are charged at the agreed rate and payable on your return.
5. If we ever have to cancel (for example through illness or emergency), we will tell you as soon as possible, refund anything paid for services not provided, and where practicable help you arrange alternative care. Our liability for cancellation is limited to the amounts you have paid us for the affected booking.

Your pet's health and information

1. You must give us complete and accurate information about each pet before the first booking, using the Pet & Household Information Schedule we send you, and tell us promptly about any changes.
2. This includes any existing medical conditions, allergies and medication, and anything about behaviour we should know, such as a shy character, favourite hiding spots, or a tendency to bolt at the door. The more we know, the better we can care for them; and full disclosure also ensures our insurance cover remains effective if anything happens.
3. Your pets should be up to date with any vaccinations and flea and worm treatments appropriate for them; if that is not the case (for an indoor-only cat, for example), just let us know.

Veterinary care and emergencies

1. If your pet appears unwell or is injured while in our care, we will contact you (or your emergency contact) straight away.
2. By booking with us you authorise us to seek veterinary attention on your behalf if we reasonably consider it necessary, from your named vet where practicable, or otherwise the nearest available vet. In an emergency we may act first and notify you as soon as we can.
3. Veterinary fees and associated costs are your responsibility unless they result from our negligence, and you agree to reimburse any such fees we pay on your behalf.

Keys, alarms and access to your home

1. Keys are labelled with a code only, never with your name or address, and are kept securely. Alarm codes and entry instructions are stored separately and treated as confidential.
2. Please make sure the access arrangements you give us (keys, codes, key safes, neighbours) work before the booking starts. If we cannot gain access despite following your instructions, the visit fee remains payable.
3. At the end of our engagement, keys are returned to you or disposed of securely as you direct.

Your home and household

1. You must let us know about anything in your home or garden that could pose a risk to us or to your pets, and ensure that gardens, fencing, cat flaps and enclosures are secure and suitable for any pet expected to use them.
2. You will leave sufficient food, litter, bedding, medication and other supplies for the booking, or funds to buy them.
3. We will treat your home with care, leave it as we found it, and keep it secure between visits. We are not responsible for damage caused by your pet to your own property, or for events beyond our reasonable control at your home (such as burst pipes or power failures), except where caused by our negligence.

Insurance and incidents

1. We hold specialist pet business insurance appropriate to our services, including public liability and cover for animals in our care, custody or control. Proof of insurance is available on request.
2. All cover is subject to the insurer's policy terms, excesses and exclusions. Nothing in these terms makes us an insurer of your pet or your property.
3. Any incident, loss or injury must be reported to us as soon as reasonably possible, and in any event within 48 hours, so that it can be properly looked into while the facts are fresh. Claims are assessed and determined by the insurer, not by us, and no payment or admission of liability may be made by us directly.
4. Every claim must be accurate and made in good faith. Any claim found to be deliberately false or exaggerated will be referred to the insurer, who investigate all claims under their policy terms.

Our responsibility to you

1. We will provide our services with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot be excluded or limited by law, and nothing affects your statutory rights as a consumer.
2. Subject to that, we are not liable for illness, injury or loss arising from a pet's pre-existing condition or from information you did not disclose to us, for the actions of your pet while it is not in our care, or for losses that were not a foreseeable result of our breach of these terms.
3. Subject to clause 9.1, our total liability under these terms is limited to the greater of the fees paid for the relevant booking and any amounts recovered under the insurance described in clause 8.

Photos and updates

We love sending photo updates while you are away, and sometimes share the best ones of pets in our care on our website and social media. We never include your name, address or anything identifying your home, and we only share publicly if you are happy for us to. Just tell us your preference, or tick it on the Pet & Household Information Schedule.

Your information

We collect and hold the information you give us in the Pet & Household Information Schedule so we can care for your pets, keep sensible records, administer bookings and payments, and maintain our insurance. Everything is kept securely and only shared where genuinely needed (for example with a vet or our insurer), and we hold it only as long as we need to. You can ask to see, correct, or (where applicable) delete your information at any time.

Ending our arrangement, and general terms

1. Either of us can end our arrangement at any time by letting the other know in writing; this does not affect bookings already confirmed, which remain subject to clause 3, or any rights that have already arisen.
2. We may decline or end a booking if a pet poses a risk to people or other animals, or if material information given to us proves inaccurate; fees for services already provided remain payable.
3. If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest remains in force. These terms, together with your booking confirmation and the Pet & Household Information Schedule, are the whole of our arrangement for the services.
4. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are unhappy with anything, please tell us first and we will do our best to put it right.

And that's it

No signatures, no small print tricks. Make a booking, tell us all about your pets on the Pet & Household Information Schedule we send you, and leave the rest to us. If anything here is unclear, or you would like anything explained before you book, just ask.