Trusted Pet Sitters

[Lunificent]

I’m thinking of joining this site. has anyone used them for their cats? My big concern would be paying the annual membership then finding no one is available for the dates I need them on.

I used Trusted Housesitters and all went well. I had no problem finding people to house sit and look after my cat for my 2-3 week trips. I don't remember the membership being expensive .

We use trustedhousitters and I think it's well worth the price of membership - for us it pays for itself with one week of no cattery fees. We have had wonderful housesitters from all over the world and the UK - in addition to taking care of the cat they bring in the mail and parcels, water the garden etc.

I've had no lack of applications (apart from Christmas, understandable as most people will want to spend it with family). I guess it may vary depending on where you live - I'm in London so of course there are lots of people looking for free accommodation for a week or two.

I am a member of Trusted Housesitters. Completely worth it! I can now enjoy holidays knowing my cat is well looked after (he's loved all the house sitters so far). We've saved a fortune in cat sitters but I do it not to save money but because it's the best thing for my cat.

I live in Salford which I worry will not be a location anyone is attracted to. That said we’re in a lovely house and suburb, very close to RHS Bridgewater and other attractions. Do you think we’d get applicants?

@Lunificent

I live in Salford which I worry will not be a location anyone is attracted to. That said we’re in a lovely house and suburb, very close to RHS Bridgewater and other attractions. Do you think we’d get applicants?

Where I live is pretty boring. But that didn't really matter to any of my sitters. Three of the four were people returning to the UK after working abroad. They just needed a roof over their heads (or a succession of them) while they decided where they were going to live and/or buy a house. So they were all very professional people. They were as grateful for somewhere to stay free of charge as I was to have someone looking after my cat and my house free of charge.

The fourth seemed to be a lifestyle sitter. She had a sister who she stayed with when she couldn't get a sit, but she was happy to have a peripatetic life for a while.

I got to meet three of the four before they did their sit, but one young couple were flying in to the UK the night before I was leaving, so we chatted by zoom instead.

@Lunificent

I live in Salford which I worry will not be a location anyone is attracted to. That said we’re in a lovely house and suburb, very close to RHS Bridgewater and other attractions. Do you think we’d get applicants?

I think you'll get applicants. We live in Leeds and I imagine it's not seen as a holiday destination (although we live in a lovely area). For each sit we've always had several applicants. Some people have reasons for visiting a certain area - such as it's close to family members or friends. Others sitters just want to see somewhere different. One man was from down south but searching for a house in Yorkshire. When you join Trusted Housesitters and create your profile you can really sell your area. I talked a lot about proximity the the Yorkshire Dales and towns like York and Harrogate. I think it sparked interest.

Yep. My immediate area is pretty dull, though semi rural. So for shops and stuff it's rubbish. But there's a stately home about five miles away, there are nice walks, and a station into London (slightly under an hour away).
But only the young couple needed any of those things (he needed to commute into London for a few days in that three weeks). When I spoke to the others at the end of the stay, they hasn't bothered doing much at all. One worked from home, one house hunted in the area, the others were basically quite happy to have somewhere to stay and just nipped into the nearest town occasionally. None were looking for a holiday.

I suspect that remote working has helped here - there are a lot of people who just fancy a change of scene while working their standard hours.