Cat sitting in York
Cat sitting in York, in your cat’s own home.
I come to your cat once or twice a day while you are away, so they keep their own windows, their own tray and their own hiding places. I have a long-haired cat of my own called Charlie, so I know both the cat who wants a cuddle and the cat who wants none of it.
A drop-in visit
£1530 minutes
Longer visit
£22 for an hour
Overnight in your house, £50 a night
Same price every day of the week, except bank holidays. I usually reply the same day, and I come round to meet everybody before anything is booked.
Your cat stays put. I do the travelling.
A good cattery is a good thing, and plenty of cats settle in one perfectly well. What a cattery cannot do is keep the room your cat already knows. Staying at home means there is no carrier and no car journey, and they keep the rooms, the smells and the hiding places they already know.
Leaving them at home means the only change is who opens the door. The furniture still smells of them. They can go to the window they like at the hour they like it, and they carry on with the week they would have had anyway. If you’re deciding between care at home and a cattery, I’ve put the practical differences together here.
It suits most cats, and particularly
- Nervous or elderly cats, and anyone who has had one bad cattery stay already.
- Cats on prescribed medication at set times.
- Indoor-only cats, where the whole risk is a door left open.
- More than one cat in the same house, carrying on together in the rooms they share.
When another option suits your cat better
- They are unwell enough to need watching through the night. That is a job for a vet or a veterinary nurse.
- You would like them boarded. Everything I do happens at your address, and mixing households of cats is how illness travels.
- Nobody can be at the house for an introductory visit before you go. I always want to meet everybody first.
Half an hour, in order
A full half hour, and it goes quickly.
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Letting myself in
I let myself in the way we agreed, and I come in the same way every time. Cats work on pattern, and a sitter who arrives through a different door is one more strange thing in a week that already has enough of them.
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Food and water first
Their food, in their bowl, in the place it normally sits. Clean bowl, fresh water, every visit. I look at what has gone from the last bowl, because on a shy cat that is the most useful thing in the house.
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The tray
Scooped every visit, and the litter changed as soon as it needs it. What comes out of a tray tells you whether a cat is eating, drinking and well, so I have a proper look before I clear it.
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Finding your cat
I look. Not a shout from the hallway. Under the bed, behind the sofa, on top of the wardrobe, in the airing cupboard. If your cat wants nothing to do with me they are left alone, and I sit down and get on with something else, which is usually when a shy one decides to come and see what I am.
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Ten minutes that are theirs
A brush, a wand toy, or sitting on the floor being ignored. This is the bit I look forward to. Charlie is long-haired, so I am used to a knotted ruff. When he is especially pleased with himself he climbs into my lap, purrs like a tractor and dribbles all over me, and I have made my peace with it.
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The house, then the message
Post off the mat, curtains and lights as you have them, doors and windows checked. Photos and messages go to you at the frequency we agreed, written from your hallway while I am still standing in it.
Once a day, or twice
Two visits is what most cats here end up on: morning and evening, so the tray, the water and anything prescribed are seen to at both ends of the day. One a day suits a confident adult cat over a short trip. We decide it together when I come round.
How long you are away
Visits suit a long weekend, a week, or a fortnight equally well. If there is also a dog in the house, or your cat genuinely comes apart on their own, an overnight stay at £50 a night puts someone there all night instead.
What a visit covers
Ask me about extra cats.
Included
- Food in their own bowls, water changed every visit
- Litter tray scooped every visit, changed when it needs it
- Prescribed medication, including injections such as insulin where agreed beforehand
- A proper look for them, wherever they are hiding
- Attention on their terms, brushing if they allow it
- Post, curtains, lights, and doors and windows checked
- Photos and messages, at a frequency we agree
Not included
- Boarding at my house, or any mixing with other households
- Trips to the vet, cattery or groomer as a booked service
- Anything that needs veterinary judgement beyond your written notes
- Food, litter, medication or vet costs
- Letting an indoor cat out, or shutting an outdoor cat out
More than one cat is normal. On an overnight stay each additional pet is £25 a night on top of the £50 base. For drop-in visits it is not a fixed surcharge. Tell me what is in the house and I will quote before anything is booked. All the prices are here, and if you have a dog as well, an hour-long visit at £22 covers a walk in the same trip.
Keys, doors and what happens if
Written down before I hold a date.
Keys and access
We sort out keys when I come round, and agree how they get back to you afterwards. If you are in a terrace with no side access and a key safe is the sensible option, we work that out before you travel.
Flaps, doors and windows
If your cat is indoor-only, the flap stays locked and every external door gets checked before I go. If they use a flap, how it is set and when it gets locked is agreed with you before you travel, and you will hear from me if they have not come back in.
If your cat needs help
If they are off their food, hiding differently, or clearly unwell, I’ll contact you as soon as I can and follow the arrangements we agreed. Who authorises treatment, and up to what cost, is written down before the booking, so the decision is already made when it is needed.
Drop-in visits stay within about five miles of York. Five miles is what I can genuinely manage twice a day across the city. Everywhere I cover is listed in full.
Every booking starts the same way, with a free introductory visit at your house and your cat in the room. What the first visit involves.
Questions about cats
All questions and answersIs one visit a day enough?
Most of the cats I look after are on two, morning and evening, so the tray and the bowl are seen to at both ends of the day. One a day can be enough for a confident adult cat over a short trip. We settle it when I come round, once I have seen the house.
What if my cat hides the entire time?
Plenty do, and it is not a failure. I still do everything, I still look for them properly, and I watch the food, the water and the tray to know they are up and about between visits. If I have not laid eyes on them, I say so, and I tell you what the bowl and the tray say about how they are doing.
Can you give my cat medication?
Prescribed medication by mouth, in food or as drops, at the times written in the care notes. I can also give injections such as insulin where you provide clear written instructions and we have gone through them together before the booking. I am not a vet, so if a routine is beyond what I can take on I will say so when I come round, before you have committed to anything.
What about the cat flap?
Your arrangements, written down before you go. Indoor-only means the flap stays locked and every external door gets checked before I leave. If your cat uses the flap, we agree beforehand how it is set and when it gets locked, I follow that carefully, and I will tell you if they have not come back by the time I lock up.
Tell me a little about your dates and your cats.
Your dates, your postcode, how many cats and whether they go outside. I usually reply the same day, and if I’m not free I’ll tell you straight away.