Cat Sitter in London – Is this the Ideal Job for You?

Due to frequent demands, we are expanding into other areas of London.
We are interested in hearing from people who would like to do cat sitting, dog walking and looking after other types of pets.
Cat sitting sounds a wonderful job, being paid for fussing cats all day long. Cat Sitting in London must be even better than normal - lots of special cat breeds in lovely houses. It sounds great – so please sign me up for some cat sitting. So what could possibly be wrong with being a cat sitter?

There may be nothing wrong with being a cat sitter for you. However, while for some people being a cat sitter is a great job, for others it would be totally unsuitable. It may be obvious but a good cat sitter needs to love cats. This is not just a requirement, it must be a real love.


Cat sitters do not just do cat sitting. As well as fussing the cat, they also change the cat litter. The cat sitter will also feed the cats, washing the bowls and refilling them with fresh food and water.

1st4 London Cat Sitting requires cat sitters to look after other pets as well. This may include some animals that cat sitters may have an issue with. While most cat sitters are OK with dogs, rabbits and hamsters, there are some animals that are potentially difficult.

Typical animal issues for potential cat sitters are spiders and snakes. Luckily, these animals require minimal and infrequent care but, as a 1st4 London cat sitter, you will still need to feed and water them. Sometimes the owner may require the cat sitter to feed small live animals to the pet. As this is a sensitive and infrequent request, we can organise another cat sitter to do this.

In 1st4 London Cat Sitting’s experience, other animals which cause potential issues for cat sitters include rats. “I don’t like the scaly tail”, or “They might urinate on me.” This is made more difficult for cat sitters as rats like frequent petting and handling.

Demand for cat sitting is seasonal and principally occurs around Christmas and the school holidays, especially the summer holidays. There is also a demand for cat sitters at weekends during the year. Because of this, if a cat sitter wants all year round employment, we require them to do regular dog walking.

As with any good dog walking company we restrict the maximum number of dogs to a maximum of four. While dog walking requires a reasonable level of fitness, we would like you to be able to do a couple of hours a day of dog walking. Typically, dog walking sessions are busy in the morning and evening, with a midday session for those dogs who are walked once during the day. The upside is that dog walking is one of the most efficient exercises in the world and in addition you will be paid to do it! Depending on your weight and height, dog walking will burn about 300 calories per hour. The downside is that you will have to go dog walking in all weathers. Good companies, such as 1st 4 London Cat Sitting, will give you T-shirts, sweaters and rain protection. There is nothing such as a free dinner though and this is a mutual benefit as the free clothes are branded. Dog walking is one of the best adverts for our pet sitting services of cat sitting, dog walking and pet sitting. However, these clothes will not be worn when pet or cat sitting at a home as it could advertise that someone is away on holiday. On the other hand, one of the benefits of cat sitting, with someone going in and out and doing other small jobs such as emptying the mail box, it reduces the likelihood of burglary.

Yes, in addition to being a cat sitter, we expect our cat sitters to do small tasks around the house to help the owners. This can even include buying milk and bread for their return. Cat sitters will sometimes be asked to do light gardening and to water the house plants. It is great if our cat sitters can take some photos as we post photos and comments on the London Cat Sitting website to keep the cat's owners updated while they are away.


Responsible companies, such as 1st4 London Cat Sitting, require cat sitters to be police checked as you are often visiting homes alone. You will also be fully insured by 1st4 London Cat Sitting.

Cat sitting is a great job for those whom it fits - so give it a try!

We have vacancies in central London so, if you meet the following criteria, please contact 1st4 London Cat Sitting for an informal discussion.

Cat, dog and other pet lover
Experience of looking after pets
Do you have regular time available during week days? The busy periods are midday weekdays as well as mid-morning and afternoon. There will also be some work at weekends. The school holidays are a busy period for the pet sitter.
It is a self employed job where your pay will be dependent on your level of business. So are you prepared to work at developing the business in your area of London? We will help you with this.
It suits those who have flexible job hours e.g. writers, semi-retired or those with evening jobs who are looking for an additional income stream.