What I love most about homesitting – spending time with cats

Posted on 19 September, 2023

Image by Jennifer Moore from Pixabay

For animal lovers homesitting can be the perfect role. It enables people to spend time caring for pets, which for those that don’t want the commitment of owning a pet, can be a great alternative. For Ellen Hart, a former orthopaedic nurse in her seventies from Ascot in Berkshire, it’s enabled her to spend time with feline friends, something she absolutely adores.

Ellen has been homesitting for several years since she retired. She found out about the role after seeing an advert, and thought it sounded ideal and would enable her to keep busy and do something positive with her time that involved pets.

Raised on a farm, Ellen has had plenty of experience looking after animals. She had pet cats and dogs as a child and also enjoyed horse riding, but she describes herself as ‘a cat person’. Her first assignment involved looking after a labradoodle puppy, a dog, a cat, five bantam hens, a cockerel and a rabbit! It was a great success and she hasn’t looked back.

Today Ellen has more than 60 homesits under her belt. Explaining what appeal about the role Ellen said: “I wanted to do something useful and interesting when I retired. Since joining Homesitters I have stayed in gorgeous properties ranging from beautiful townhouses to characterful thatched cottages and met some lovely people.

“All the assignments are varied – sometimes there are animals to look after and in other cases, the owners want someone to look after their home while they’re away for security reasons and to let in the cleaners and gardeners.

“I am lucky that I love driving which has meant that I have taken on assignments in many different locations including Kent, Hampshire and London. Looking after cats though is my favourite thing. I love making sure they are happy and we have great fun together.”

Another highlight for Ellen is going back to repeat clients. “It’s like a home from home, you know where everything is and the animals are so happy to see you again. Some clients even leave little treats for me such as chocolates, special teas or nice cheeses – one lady even made me a ‘pamper bag’ which was really thoughtful.”

To ensure her assignments go to plan, Ellen prints out a checklist of essential items to take with her such as her phone charger, plus she researches new areas and asks clients for recommendations of things to do. She also takes her favourite tea and coffee on assignments and her own pillows, as well as a full sewing kit and her knitting to keep herself occupied in the evenings.

One of the main benefits for Ellen of working through a professional home and pet sitting company like ourselves, is the security of knowing that someone is always available at the end of the phone in case of any issues. We contact all of our homesitters on a daily basis when they are on assignment to check how they are doing.

This is reassuring for homesitters and makes them feel like a valued member of our team. It gives them confidence that they are not alone and have the full back up of a reputable company behind them. We also provide comprehensive insurance cover and emergency cover should any sitter have to leave an assignment suddenly.

We are currently recruiting new homesitters, so if its role you think would suit, check out our Become a Homesitter page to find out exactly what the role entails, the types of people we are looking for and to apply. And who knows, you may end up with your own story on our web site talking about what you love most about homesitting!

Tags:

Share this: