London Pet Sitter Job

Due to frequent demands, we are expanding into other areas of London. We are particularly interested in those living in:

• South London, especially the Clapham area

• Paddington

• Victoria

• West London, especially Maida Vale

We are interested in hearing from people who would like to do cat sitting, dog walking and looking after other types of pets.

Pet Sitting for some people is a great job, for others it would be totally unsuitable. A good pet sitter needs to love animals, all animals. It is not just a requirement, it should be a natural love. Whether it is a cat, dog or an animal which some people may have a phobia about. Every animal in the world is sometimes a pet, though our London pet care has not included pigs - yet!. However it can include reptiles and snakes, as well as the more normal hamster, cat, dog, rabbit, guinea pig, fish and birds. Typical animal issues for potential pet sitters are spiders and snakes. Luckily these animals require minimal and infrequent care but, as a pet sitter, you will still need to feed and water them. Sometimes the owner may require the pet sitter to feed small live animals to the pet. In my experience other animals which cause potential issues for pet sitters include rats, “I don’t like the scaly tail”, or “They might urinate on me.” This is made more difficult as rats like frequent petting and handling.

Demand for pet sitting is normally centred around the major holidays of Christmas and school holidays, especially the summer holidays. There is also a demand for pet sitters at weekends throughout the year. Due to this seasonality, pet sitting companies often require the pet sitter to do regular dog walking in addition which is something that is required all year.

Due to the high demand for our services at Christmas, we will only recruit people who are available every day during the Christmas / New Year Period. We are also only interested in those available at midday Monday to Friday.

Dog walking with a good pet sitting company will restrict the maximum number of dogs to four or fewer. Whilst it requires a reasonable level of fitness, most pet sitting companies will require you to be able to do one dog walking session a day as a minimum. 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. So that is a couple of one hour walks. 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 Dog Walking, will give you T-shirts, sweaters and rain protection. This is a mutual benefit as the free clothes are branded. Dog walking is one of the best adverts for their pet sitting services. However, these clothes will not be worn when pet sitting as it could advertise that there is someone away on holiday. On the other hand, one of the benefits of pet sitting, with someone going in and out and doing other small jobs such as emptying the mail box, is that it reduces the likelihood of burglary.

Pet sitting often requires the pet sitter to do other small tasks around the house. A pet sitter will sometimes be asked to do light gardening and to water the house plants. Pet sitters often look after cats who, due to their territorial origins, rarely like leaving their home. Cat lovers hate parting from their feline partners so companies such as 1st4 London Cat Sitting will post photos and comments on their web site to keep the cats’ owners updated while they are away.

Good companies, such as 1st4 London Pet Sitting, will require a pet sitter to be police checked as you are often visiting homes alone. You will also be fully insured by the company.

Warning to those who are pregnant or trying for a baby - this job requires regular contact with cat litter which can be dangerous for an unborn baby due to the risk of catching Toxoplasmosis.

Being a pet sitter in London 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 Pet Sitting for an informal discussion.

• Cat, dog and other pet lover

• Experience of looking after pets

• Are you available at midday during the week? Our busy periods are midday, with also mid-morning and afternoon. There will also be some work at weekends. The school holidays are a busy period for the pet sitter.

• Are you available every day during the Christmas / New Year period (including Christmas Day) ?

• You have internet access you can check at least twice a day.

• The job requires a commitment to the pets and their owners so is only for those who will stay with us for a minimum of one year.

• 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 and semi-retired people who are looking for an additional income stream.

Denise and Steve