Cat sitting in York

Cat sitting in York, in her own house.

I come to your cat once or twice a day while you are away. No carrier, no car, no corridor of other cats — she keeps her own windows, her own tray and her own hiding places.

A drop-in visit

£1530 minutes

Longer visit

£22 for an hour

Overnight in your house, £50 a night

Ask about your dates See all prices

Same price every day of the week, except bank holidays. Nothing is held until we have met your cat.

A long-haired cat asleep, curled up on the bed in her own home

A cattery moves the cat. I move instead.

Most cats do not object to being left. They object to being caught, boxed, driven, and then put in a run that smells of forty other cats. A week of that is a week of stress for an animal whose entire sense of safety is territorial.

Leaving her at home means the only change is who opens the door. Her furniture still smells of her. She can go to the window she likes at the hour she likes it. When you get back there is no decompression week and no cat who will not speak to you.

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.
Two or three cats in one house who would be split up or charged for separately elsewhere.

It is the wrong choice if

Your cat is unwell enough to need someone watching her through the night — that is a vet or a nurse, not a sitter.
You want her taken to my house. I do not board cats, and mixing households of cats is how illness travels.
Nobody can be at the house for a meet and greet before you go. I will not take on a cat I have never met.

Half an hour, in order

Thirty minutes, honestly — not eight minutes and a photo.

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.
Food and water first

Her food, in her bowl, in the place it normally sits. Water changed rather than topped up. I look at what has actually gone from the last bowl, because on a shy cat that is the most useful thing in the house.
The tray

Scooped every visit and changed when it needs changing, not when the week is up. What comes out of a tray tells you whether a cat is eating, drinking and well, so I check it rather than tip it.
Finding her

I look. Not a shout from the hallway — under the bed, behind the sofa, on top of the wardrobe, in the airing cupboard. If she wants nothing to do with me she is left alone, but I want eyes on her before I go.
Ten minutes that are hers

A brush, a wand toy, or sitting on the floor being ignored. Charlie is long-haired, so a knotted ruff and a cat who tolerates the brush for exactly four strokes is familiar territory.
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 rather than made up later.

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 at the meet and greet.

When an overnight is the better answer

If there is also a dog in the house, or your cat genuinely comes apart on her own, an overnight stay at £50 a night puts someone in the house all night instead.

What a visit covers

Ask me about extra cats.

Included

Food in her 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 her, wherever she is hiding
Attention on her terms, brushing if she allows 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 needing veterinary judgement rather than following your 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.

“Maude was perfectly cared for for the day by Tamara, thank you so much for looking after her so brilliantly.”

Katy L.
Verified Rover booking

Keys, doors and what happens if

Written down before I hold a date.

Keys and access

How I get into the house, and how that access comes back to you afterwards, is agreed with you before the booking. If you are in a terrace with no side access and a key safe is the only sensible option, we sort that out before you travel, not on the day.

Flaps, doors and windows

Indoor-only is treated as a rule, not a preference: the flap stays locked and every external door is checked before I go. If she uses a flap, she is never shut out while she is still out, and you will hear from me if she has not come back in.

If something goes wrong

If she is off her food, hiding differently, or clearly unwell, I follow the arrangements we agreed and get hold of you or your nominated contact. Who authorises treatment and up to what cost is agreed in writing before the booking, so the decision is already made when it is needed.

Where I can get to twice a day

Drop-in visits stay within about five miles of York. That is not a marketing radius: two visits a day only works if I can get between houses at the times I have promised, and the A64 and a race day do not care what the map says.

Visits, twice a day

York, Acomb, Clifton, Fulford, Heslington, Bishopthorpe, Huntington, Rawcliffe, Poppleton, Haxby, Copmanthorpe, Dunnington

Overnights reach further

Strensall, Stamford Bridge, Tadcaster, Easingwold, Pocklington, Wetherby

Just outside it? Ask anyway. There is no travel surcharge — whether I can take it depends on what else is in the round that day.

Everywhere I cover

How you actually book me

Five steps, in this order. The meet and greet happens in your house, with your cat in the room, before anything is booked.

You send me your dates

Dates, postcode, and what animals you have.

We talk it through

Routines, access, and whether I’m the right fit for your animals.

I come to your home

A free meet and greet in the house I’d be staying in, before anything is booked.

We write the care down

Feeding, walks, medication, your vet, and who to contact if something happens.

Square invoice, dates held

I send a Square invoice; the agreed deposit secures the booking.

Ask about your dates

Questions about cats

All questions and answers

Is one visit a day enough?

For most cats, two is the honest answer — morning and evening, so the tray and the bowl are not left from one morning to the next. One a day can be enough for a confident adult cat over a short trip. We settle it at the meet and greet, once I have seen the house.

What if she hides the entire time?

Plenty do, and it is not a failure. I still do everything, I still look for her properly, and I watch the food, the water and the tray to know she is up and about between visits. If I have not laid eyes on her, I tell you that instead of sending a photo of an empty sofa.

Can you give her 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 tell you that rather than agree and hope.

What about the cat flap?

Your rules, written down. Indoor-only means the flap stays locked and every external door gets checked before I leave. If she goes out, I will not shut her out — and I will tell you if she has not come back by the time I need to lock up.

Send me your dates and I’ll tell you if I’m free.

Your dates, your postcode, how many cats and whether they go outside. If I’m not free I’ll say so straight away rather than leaving you waiting.