Holiday Time - Finding A Cat Sitter
Dear Diary,
I dreaded this moment ever since I got Jamie.
But I knew, I had to face it eventually.
My trip to Istanbul was fast approaching. This would be the first time that I would be away for longer than just an extended weekend.
This is where dogs come in handy, right? You just take them with you.
I mean, you could take your cat with you as well. People do.
Some holiday homes allow cats but that was never an option for me.
First, Jamie is not your kind of cat that just chills all day.
He’s curious, he wants to explore and get his claws into stuff, aka furniture …
Second, he’s an indoor cat and I’m living in a top floor flat. There is no way for him to escape. Different story for a holiday home on the ground floor.
So, it was time to dig out my spreadsheet once again and start a new tab: “cat sitter options”.
Option 1: Friends & Family
The probably most obvious and convenience choice for most cat owners is asking family or friends to look after their beloved pet.
Chances are the cat is familiar with them already and you feel comfortable leaving your cat in their hands. Win-win.
Well, I don’t have family here.
I do have friends, believe it or not, and they did actually offer to cat sit. In fact, they’d love to look after Jamie.
However, none of them lives close by and I wanted someone to check in twice a day. And that would be quite a big ask.
Hence option number 1 was a no.
Option 2: Cattery
If you ask Google there are very mixed opinions out there when it comes to boarding your cats.
Some cats and their owners love catteries. Some hate them and would never do it again.
I’ve heard horror stories from friends where the cat was very distressed, had lost weight and had developed a distrust towards their owners when picked up again.
Even though, Jamie is easy going and usually not afraid of anything (my lion king!), I felt very unease when picturing him in a tiny room in an unfamiliar environment.
Don’t get me wrong, there are quite luxurious (and expensive) catteries or so called ‘cat hotels’, where your felines get pampered and well looked after throughout the day.
Though, cats are territorial and they are creatures of habits.
The decision was made, Jamie would stay in the comfort of his own home.
Option 3: Cat Sitter
Onto option number 3, a local cat sitter.
I first had a look around on the Cat in a Flat app. It turned out that there are many cat sitters in my area. Too many.
The crux, anyone can just sign up and become a cat sitter. Not ideal.
My second point of call was our local Facebook group. I’ve seen posts asking for cat sitter recommendations before and soon had a list of 3 professional cat sitters in my area to tackle.
I’m a marketer, I approach research in a very organised and structured way, hence the spreadsheet again.
As we all know an online presence matters a lot those days, no matter what industry you’re operating in.
So, the first check I always do is the website. Followed by socials. It tells you A LOT about the company.
This left me with 2 options, as one didn’t even have a website ...
Next, reviews and testimonials.
This process led to a favourite quite quickly and luckily they still had free capabilities.
Hiring a Cat Sitter
The steps that followed were very straightforward, much easier than I thought it would be.
We agreed on a first meet and greet to see if we all get on with each other.
Big plus, they also have an online portal where you can add any relevant informations about your cat. From routines, to emergency contacts and other habits.
And even better, they have an online booking system.
Both my cat mum heart and marketing heart were very pleased with my decision.
Long story short, I went with Purrfect Paws Midlothian. Sharon and her team are amazing.
They took such good care of Jamie, twice already now.
They spoiled him with lots of exciting toys and extensive play times. And I got updated twice a day with tons of photos and videos, which gave me peace of mind and I could really enjoy my time off.
Happy cat, happy human.
