So here’s a thing, my neighbour’s cat ‘Trevor’ died recently so I’ll no longer be doing her a favour looking after him when she’s away. I thought ok I’ll look for a local sit that includes a cat… I don’t usually do local THS sits or cats as hubby is allergic so we’re dogs/equines only as a couple and only outside of the UK. BUT disappointingly I found a plethora of local listings that were pretty unappealing - listings that strayed far from a straightforward cat and dog scenario that I was seeking:
*an Airbnb with guests sharing the pool and garden
*3 dogs despite only one dog being listed (the extra dogs are sprung onto sitters last minute according to several of the reviews I read).
*single night stays
*lots of gardening chores
And in many cases (over half that I skim read) the request to not leave the pets for more than a short time as they’re not used to it….
So no I won’t be sitting locally anytime soon ….. and I now need to find a nice neighbour that I can get my cat fix from on a casual basis.
I do paid sits in my local area. I have enough regular clients to keep me going now, but I started with Cat in a Flat..
I eventually “rested” my profile on the site, because I became quite depressed by the number of indoor-only cat “owners” who thought it was fine to go away for two weeks ….. And just have someone drop in twice a day to put down some food and scoop the litter. (Something people do because it’s a little bit cheaper than paying a sitter to live-in) So I moved to Live-In Sits Only.. And then, as I say, managed to tick over with the regulars I’d built up.
While your stated search results do not inspire joy then hopefully you were simply unlucky. Suggest try again in a week or two. Maybe results will be better. Keep smiling
Given some learning experiences then we - seemingly like you - have increasingly clear tolerances when reading listings. We search selectively. Sometimes we get excited and leap for the apply button. Sometimes we apply with targeted reservations, with intent to clarify specifics. Often we quickly discard, as the listing does not meet our specific criteria and preferences. And sometimes we run away as the listing is plain nonsense or expectations unreasonable.
@BonnyinBrighton is it a near-term / last-minute date range you’re looking at? if so, maybe your results are showing all the rejects that no one else picked…
I simply searched my immediate local area via the Map option…. no dates selected. This is why I’m surprised as I was open to most things…. and not feeling too picky tbh just a cat to love on … alone or with a dog or horse maybe…
I get so many sit requests from locals that are honestly insulting. Why would I want to sit for your 5 pets for two nights 15 min from my house in your boring suburban, not so clean home? I am clearly not a room mate kid who needs reviews for my profile. My profile clearly states that I own my own business, I am too old to have room mates and I have over 34 five star reviews. Now I have to take my time to politely write back and decline. I’m sick of it. meanwhile I keep missing sits in NYC because there are STILL glitches on the app. And because THS promotes local sitters to HO’s all the good NYC sits only want locals. Where is the travel aspect in that please? False advertising much?? Why can’t THS promote my 100% 5 star profile of 8 years member ship to HO’s in places I want to travel to? I am so tired of being treated like an unpaid employee by THS. Where is MY customer service? MY membership benefits?
@anon93260006 you could change your location to NYC - Then your profile will appear when hosts in NYC search for a sitter and they may contact you as a local sitter. Just add a sentence in your profile to explain that NYC is where you are looking for sits .
Maybe your new neighbor will have a cat. You also could try using the Nextdoor app to offer sitting for others in your area. Likewise with maybe Facebook community groups. In my area, there’s a very active group and folks are always asking for or offering help of various kinds.
