Case Study - Teachers Lyndsey Weekes

Posted on 18 July, 2016

Cat at home

Teachers Lyndsey Weekes and her partner Ian, who live on the outskirts of Liverpool have been using the services of national home and pet sitting agency Homesitters Ltd for the last year.

They first approached the company not long after moving house when they didn’t have anyone to look after their cat, Tilly.

In their previous home neighbours would look after Tilly while they were away. Their new home had no close neighbours and they didn’t have anyone nearby who could help.

Keen to avoid putting Tilly in a cattery, Lyndsey researched cat sitting services online and found a couple of local firms who would visit the house twice a day, but they were fully booked.

Lyndsey said, “I wanted to minimise the stress for Tilly, she’s an elderly cat we adopted a couple of years ago when her owner moved into a care home. Tilly likes her home comforts and routine. Like most cats she is territorial and doesn’t like change, so I didn’t consider putting her in a cattery.”

Lyndsey came across Homesitters Ltd online and they seemed like the ideal solution. Not only would Tilly be able to stay at home but there would be the added security of someone looking after their new house.

Their first homesitter, Bill came to the house to meet Lyndsey, Ian and Tilly before the scheduled home sit and the couple felt reassured leaving their pet and their home in Bill’s hands, in fact he has home sat for them several times since that first assignment.

Lyndsey comments, “Bill is very calm and capable as well as flexible and understanding. He really seems to care about Tilly which is very important to us, and knowing she is in such safe hands has taken away all the anxiety I used to feel when packing for a holiday and preparing everything for Tilly.

“Tilly no longer sulks when we get home from a holiday and this is a real bonus. When our neighbours used to feed her whilst we were away she used to sulk when we got home. Now her routine carries on as normal and the homesitter becomes her ‘substitute parent’ – in fact we’ve taken to calling Bill, ‘Uncle Bill’! – she sleeps on his bed and enjoys sitting on the arm of the sofa so he can scratch her under the chin and she is perfectly happy when we come home.”

Lyndsey is also impressed with the minimum impact the homesitters have on her home so she doesn’t need to spend a lot of preparing the house beforehand or tidying up afterwards. The homesitter cleans the bathroom and hoovers, so when they return from holiday, their home is just as they left it. In fact when ‘Uncle Bill’ came to home sit for a weekend recently while they attended a wedding he even brought his own sleeping bag so they didn’t have to bother washing extra bedsheets.

Lyndsey now includes Homesitters in her holiday planning saying, “I factor Homesitters into my holiday budget and I am happy to pay for the premium service they provide. They are extremely reliable and responsive and I know they’re not going to let me down, particularly as they are a nationwide company so they have more options than a local service might.

“Now when I want to book a weekend break or holiday I contact Homesitters and book in a home sit and have the peace of mind that Tilly – and the house – will be well looked after while we’re away.”

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