Hello! I’ve had a few sitters favorite our stay, but have not yet found anybody to commit. It’s a beautiful house/area halfway between SF and LA in CA wine country. We have 6 low maintenance cats and one easygoing small dog. Any advice on how I can attract more candidates?

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Welcome to the forum @Justin I found your listing by searching the dates .. I think you need to improve the photos in your listing - the first one doesn’t attract me to the sit and so sitters are probably just scrolling by without looking any further . Can you say more about your area and why a sitter would want to visit - maybe add photos of these attractions too ? There is no photo of the outside space of your home . Since you want sitters to spend a lot of time at home with your pets you need to show them what your home offers them in return . You offer use of your car which is a bonus - If you look at other listings for your area you will see your “competition “ and what they offer the sitter . The bathroom sides look cluttered- maybe clear them and retake the photo - if that is how it will be when the sitter arrives . Also the photos shows the dog and cat on the bed - not all sitters will want to have pets sleeping on the bed - especially with 7 pets - maybe clarify if that is where they usually sleep ?

Part of the struggle you will have is there are easily over 60 pet sits in California in October - many farther north toward the Bay Area but many also in SoCal and a couple in between. So, there’s a lot of competition. You have a lot of indoor pets, so thats challenging as well, and only a 4 hour window for sitters to visit the area, do a wine tour, etc is not much time. Many sitters put a cap on how many pets they will watch - especially indoor pets like cats. We do many cat sits but our max is 3 if they are indoor. It is impossible to keep fur and smell at a comfortable level with more cats (for us, anyway). Also you should mention where the pets sleep. Some sitters do not want to sleep with pets. The fact that you offer a car is a big bonus so I might suggest putting that somewhere much more visible that it can be seen at a quick glance. I would add a list of things a sitter can do within a 4 hour time range - how far is the beach? How many wineries are within that time range? What local state parks with hiking trails are nearby? Do you have bicycles to loan? SLO is a very nice town, I would add that to your listing and maybe a photo or two of SLO. Take a look at your competition, if you have access to it, and look at their photos. Many sitters with experience look for very tidy homes. You also have. Two senior cats (only one requiring medication) but people can worry about that as well. Another challenge is you don’t have any reviews yet. Good luck but always have a plan B!

These are the additional things I would like to see in your listing: How many minutes does it take to drive/walk to the beach and to town? Are there dog-friendly places to eat? How often do you walk Pretzel, and for how long each time? Short pee breaks, long sniffy walks, etc. You offense the use of your car, which is great, but how would a sitter get there if they didn’t have a car? Can you pick them up at the train or bus station? A nice photo of the patio would be a good addition. I think your departure and return dates and times could be problematic for many. Can you offer that the sitter stay the night before you leave and the night you return? Otherwise, it’s pretty tough for someone who doesn’t live fairly close by.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful and comprehensive response. Those are all great suggestions. I will make the needed changes and updates to make my listing more attractive. Thanks for your time!

Thanks so much for your response! I will change the 4 hour window to 6. The dog can be left alone that long, even if he gets lonely. I’ll make it more clear that he can go in the car and to many places (beaches, wineries, etc.) in the area. I’ll also make it more clear that the cats are indoor/outdoor and very low maintenance. Even the senior cat doesn’t take much extra effort. I appreciate your time.

Thanks so much! These are all great suggestions. I will update my post to include all of that. I really appreciate your time.

Having trouble finding a sitter in Central CA for Oct. 7-21

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat

Smiley 25 August 2026 06:37 2

Yours is a common question here on the forum so you need to follow these instructions so kind members here can advise:

Moderation note: corrected link

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Having trouble finding a sitter in Central CA for Oct. 7-21

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