A day in the life of a cat sitting business owner

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Once, a friend introduced me to another friend and mentioned that I was a “cat sitter”. The immediate reaction of this other friend was that this was something that I did ‘on the side’ or for friends and families. They were quite surprised – pleasantly so – when I told them that I’d actually built a very successful business around cat sitting. It made me realise just how special The Cat Butler is – and how different our services are to other cat sitters.

To show you just how different we are and how unique our services are, I wanted to share a few snippets from my day…

Wakey wakey, human!

I don’t need an alarm clock in my house. Instead, I am woken up by my cat, Billy, gently – at least to begin with! – tapping my face with his paws. I get out of bed, and I am herded to the kitchen and straight to the cupboard where their food lives. Billy does not know the meaning of the word “subtle”!

As he is enjoying his breakfast, I power on my laptop and check my schedule for the day. A full morning of visits, some new booking enquiries to deal with, and a new Cat Butler to welcome to the team.

On with the visits

My first visit of the day is a regular called Monty. I’ve looked after him for many years, so we know each other well. He has had issues with his kidneys for a little while now and needs daily medication for this. I check the instructions that his humans have left and head inside.

After feeding him, cleaning his litter tray, and giving him his tablets, me and Monty head to the sofa for the most important part of my visit – the cuddles, Monty is an incredibly affectionate cat, and when his humans are away, he needs some reassuring affection (which I am always more than happy to give!).

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Time to go, and it’s on to the next house, where I’m looking after two young and very energetic kittens. Unlike Monty, these two are not interested in cuddles; they just want to play!

After we have worn each other out with a game of ‘catch the mouse’, I do a quick sweep of the house. I bring in the post, open the curtains, and tidy up the ‘little accident’ that one of the kittens has had behind the sofa. I take some photos and videos of the two girls and send them over to their owner so they can see what a good time they are having.

Finally, the last visit of the morning is to a shy tortoiseshell called Max. Max was a rescue cat. He has been with his humans for over a year now, but he is still a little wary of new people. I know he won’t be in when I get there – he will be hiding in his favourite spot in the garden where he will be watching me.

For Max, the cuddles and the playtime aren’t as important as the reassurance that he hasn’t been abandoned again. Every day I visit, he comes a little closer, and today he actually came and sat beside me… albeit only for a few seconds! Good boy, Max – this is great progress!

Everybody wants to be a (Cat Butler) cat…

Since the restrictions – or some of them, at least – has been lifted, we’ve seen steady growth in the number of new booking enquiries coming in each day. Whenever a new enquiry comes in, I take the time to get to know the cat that we will be looking after. I start by asking their owner some questions – what their cat is like, what they expect in terms of care, whether they have any medical conditions, and so on. Having this information enables me to match them with the right Cat Butler. For me, it’s not just about looking at who is available for the week in question; it’s about considering who will be best placed to give that cat the best care possible.

Word is spreading

As demand for The Cat Butler services grows, we have expanded our team. Every single one of our cat sitters has been vetted, DBS checked and trained. They are also fully insured. Most importantly, they only ever become part of our team if I know that they love cats and that I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I’d trust them with my own felines.

Today, I’m spending some time with a new cat sitter. She has already been vetted and has spent time shadowing some of our more experienced cat sitters as part of her training over the last couple of weeks. I’m catching up with her this afternoon to check-in, to see how she is finding things, and to make sure I answer any further questions that may have arisen since we last spoke. From next week, she will be an official member of The Cat Butler team – she’s ready, I know she is, and I am really excited about having her on board.

How does your job compare?

What I do today – it’s a far cry from what I was doing this time ten years ago, when I worked in The City and would spend my day crunching numbers. It doesn’t feel like work at all, and I absolutely love what I do and the flexibility that being a Cat Butler provides.

If it sounds as purr-fect to you as it does to me, then why not have a chat with us about becoming a Cat Butler franchisee? If you love cats and would love to build a successful cat sitting business around your lifestyle, your family, and – most importantly – your passion, then we want to hear from you!

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