Are you a paid cat sitter or have you used a paid cat sitter?

[CyprianCat]

Having cats - or should that read 'being had by cats'?! - and happily looking after cats for free for friends and neighbours for many years, I've decided to try to earn a small amount of income on a casual basis by doing it for people I don't know. I'm thinking mainly of a local daily or twice daily visiting service but might be able to offer overnight or longer cat/housesitting to some. Also <whispers> d-o-g walking/sitting.

Any hints and tips from your experience gratefully received.

Yes. I found some on cat in a flat. When my usual cat sitter was unavailable. She was lovely. Unfortunately her and her friend who she also recruited for me, returned to their home country. I have lots of students near me who are missing their own cats. So do it for the cuddles. Which was perfect as my late girl adored anyone!

I have a cat sitter who's looked after mine since they were 4 months old! She's a god send and I dread the day she says she's not doing it any more as she's actually a dog walker who branched into cat sitting and I think only looks after my cats!!
She's £12 a visit and comes twice a day and worth every penny in my opinion!

I have a cat sitter for mine. She charges £10 a visit and used to come twice a day, but suggested that we drop it to once (Agatha has an auto-feeder, too), as the cat avoids her totally and paying her to play for half an hour was pointless. She's great. She does it professionally and has all the insurance and business bank account etc.., and I wrote to my vets letting them know that she was authorised to bring Agatha in if I was in holiday.

I assume you'll need some insurance, even if you're a casual sole trader, as you'll be a key-holder?

Thanks @Toddlerteaplease
May I ask please how much you pay per visit (I see CIAF takes 19% fee off that before the sitter gets their portion), what the sitters do for you and what you look for in a sitter?

Thanks @Plump82
I hope she doesn't stop but if that sad day comes then you can always send me a PM with your area and I'll help you if I can! May I ask please how you found her, what she does for you and what makes you so happy with her?

Thanks @ShoutyCatSlave
May I ask please how you found her, what she does for you and what you like about her (apart from her honesty about one visit being enough for Agatha)? I'm aiming to do something more low key as I don't want to run a fully-fledged business or anything near full-time, just pick up a few hours. I don't have any experience of running a business or even being a casual sole trader. I've been happily doing it for years for free for friends and neighbours without any issue, including having keys, vet visits, sole charge of pets and home for several weeks and so on. I just thought that I may as well try to earn a small income from it. I thought my experience to date may possibly have made me a little naïve about any possible pitfalls and any need for insurance and so on - hence asking on here. Agatha is a marvellous name for a cat btw.

The Cat Butler have franchises for this

We used CIAF to find our one and she is amazing. We were £131.50 last time which was 2 visits a day for 7 days.

We pay next door’s tween £10 to chuck some food down when we’re away for just a night or 2. When we go away for longer we now do trusted house sitters which is honestly the best invention ever so the cats have some proper company- we have a youngster who wants playtime and a shy oldie who needs time to come out so will just hide from a sitter and plants watered, you know the house is ok etc. Previously we were paying the sitter £20 per visit.

Thanks @user836367392
I had seen them but it would be too much of an investment of money and time for me.

I also use CIAF, have done for years. Most sitters on there charge a little more to cover fees. I've used several sitters through that site and many professional sitters use it. The Cat Butler franchise near us is very expensive so I wouldn't use it.

She's actually my mum's friends, friends adult daughter. She also looked after my old cat before we had to put her to sleep. She looked after her so well along with all her medical needs so it was a no brainer getting her to look after my new pair. My girl cat is very, very nervous of strangers but she's absolutely fine with my sitter (probably because she's known her since she was a baby) but it eases my mind that she'll come out for her as she wouldn't eat if it wasn't someone she knew. She does all the feeding and later tray changes - my pair are house cats. She'll play with them and sends on photos when I'm away, usually of boy cat having a snuggle! It's also great having her come in as it means the house doesn't appear empty for periods of time. She's also checked my hair straighteners are turned off and my windows are definitely closed 😂 😂

I signed up with CIAF plus another site, more used for dog walks.

After doing at least one or two sits, most clients offered or were happy to book me directly. I offered a slightly lower rate or they simply wanted me to earn the full fee.

I never took a client without running it through the agency for at least one sit, so that they earned a commission.

I registered as self-employed and I also got my own insurance for piece of mind, through Simply Business, but I stopped the pet sitting when Covid hit, so my experience is a few years old.

I didn't do it for a full-time "wage", but it was when I had primary school children and it gave a little flexibility to fit it in with my schedule and childcare. I worked max 6-8 sits per day in the summer, but some weeks with zero, which suited me.

I still think about those lovely cats, happy times!

I love our cat sitter! I wouldn’t choose one from a franchise or large organisation I have to say. I found ours through asking on our local Facebook group and a lot of people recommended her. She came over to meet the cats before the first sit and was v good with them. I pay her either £11 or £12 a visit, can’t quite remember

I pay £9 for 1 visit or £17 for 2 visits per day. I know the cat sitter personally and she also does dog walking.

We use a cat sitter who is established locally (she also does dog walking). We found her online and have been using her for 5 years for our 3 indoor Siamese.

It is £9 per visit (Herts), we get 2 visits per day, and she is great. We get photos and updates daily. She changes the litter box if we are away for 5 days, she takes out/puts away the bins if needed, takes in parcels etc.

I found my lady via the local FB group. I like her because she's reliable, likes Agatha, even though she is very sulky about strangers in her house! 😀

I think you may struggle to offer your services beyond your existing friend and family circle without a more formal set-up, which may limit what rate you can charge, too.

I've paid teenaged neighbours. They did a great job except one didn't rinse the cat food tins before putting them in the recycling - I didn't think to mention that, no big deal.

I've also paid a woman I found on a cat sitting group on FB and while she spent a lot of time with my cat and he clearly liked her, she ignored my feeding instructions and gave him an all you can eat buffet every day which I was not happy about as he is prone to weight gain and is on strict rations. She had very good reviews and would have been great for any free fed cat but not for mine!

So I suppose my tip is follow the instructions 😄 You'd think that wouldn't need saying and I'm sure it doesn't for you, but that's why I'd be wary about taking the risk with someone completely unknown again.

You should firstly join a pet sitting service so you can get acclimated about the responsibilities (including any licensing) , liabilities etc. so you’re not out loads setting up a business (don’t forget about insurance when you do).

build some contacts and real experience before branching out in your own.

We’ve used a cat sitter. We pay £12 per visit, and usually have one visit per day unless away for a longer time in which case we do 2 visits per day.

I met my cat sitter because we both volunteered for the same rescue, & several of the other fosterers recommended her.

(Past tense because she’s moved away).

She charged £10 per visit, did 2 visits per day & sent photos & videos. She followed my instructions on feeding (as @Esgaroth said, I had to ditch a previous sitter for not doing that), offered to do things like opening & closing curtains & take in post to make it look as if I was at home, & the cats adored her.

My neighbour used her too so after she moved, we started looking after each other’s cats.