@Angela-HeadOfCommunity @Foldor13 @ Cuttlefish
I did one cat sit in a house that had an Aga in the kitchen. It certainly did help to warm up the space, especially when I was baking sourdough bread.
Those two dogs look like they worked out the warm spot 
During two of my recent cat sits, the cats would lie on top the radiators when they came on for 2 hour. Somehow they knew exactly which hours of the day they were on!
Youāve from a lovely part of the UK. Iāve got a lot of love for Brighton and one of my regulars is based there so Iām looking forward to heading back there again in a few months.
I think Iām going to take a serious leaf out of your book and aim to be in a far milder climate during some of our harshest Winter months. Iām so over these dull days with relentless rain, I really am.
I agree. You canāt beat an aga and being snuggled up with a couple of kitties as well! This was me huddled round the aga not too long ago!
Iām cold bloodied and British!! I take a halogen heater with me and a doggy heat pad. The pad is great for just putting on your lap when sitting down. It plugs in, has a long lead and apparently uses around Ā£30 of electricity a year. The heater is pretty economical too. And if you have a poorly pet then they can use the pad 
Completely agree, most of our winter sits have had one, really warm and fabulous for drying stuff!
As an aside, we spent nearly 3 plus years in the Algarve, thanks to Covid!
One house we were there for 18 months and it was seriously cold in the winter.
Fortunately we had an electric blanket, a pellet burner kept one room at a good temperature and we used the air con for heat when we got up.
The bonus was lovely warm sunshine through the day!
At night we once reached minus 13!
This comment is a real eye-opener for me. I had naively been flirting with the idea of taking off to somewhere potentially in Southern Europe in an effort to escape the miserable British winter. I had no idea temperatures tended to plummet to as low as that overnight in Portugal during the winter. I appreciate you sharing this is Iām now going to consider perhaps going further afield for a milder winters experience.
We spent 2 months housesitting on the Costa Blanca last winter- mid Dec- mid Feb- Denia area. The weather was generally lovely in the day time ranging from 16-23Ā°c and lots of sun in the day time but nights could get quite chilly. Two sits. The first was south facing with a roof terrace- lovely! The second (longer) sit was a villa with pool north facing which was not ideal. Practically no sun in winter to warm up the house- we needed heating most of the time. Its probably a perfect locaton for hot summers! At a certain point the CH packed up and the wood for the log burner ran out so we were left with just one AC unit for heating. Not ideal! We wanted to test out Spain in winter- as perhaps the only possible alternative to escaping to the tropics! It was a good experience but a south facing villa makes a huge difference! A neighbour just down the hill from us had full sun and was sunbathing by her pool most days! I did not even get my bikini on once! It was only possible down on the beach!
Therefore we re again on the tropics for winter!! Currently Singapore- which is actually rather too hot & humid! You canāt win really!!
I grew up in England and our house was ALWAYS cold in the winter. We were also quite poor, and to this day, a cold house makes me feel like a sad cold child who is poor. (ie. I donāt enjoy it-- which might be why I live in the Mojave desert with the opposite problem now )
With utilities being the cost they are, I certainly donāt blame people for trying to tough it outā¦ but yes, as a house sitter I wouldnāt enjoy not being able to get comfortable/warm.
So, for you itās not about pet sitting but a holiday! In fact I would suggest that is the reason most are on this site. I donāt suppose it really matters but there is a certain amount of hypocrisy involved.
Thanks for sharing all this with me. I really hope you can somehow manage to find a way to keep cool in Singapore! Always a challenge to find that sweet spot where temperature is concerned!!!
I find the tone of your comment to be somewhat hostile and I do not appreciate you suggesting that I am essentially after a free holiday. Like the overwhelming majority of people on THS, I am a devoted animal lover and a very committed pet carer. People have a right to be happy in their environment whilst they are taking care of othersā pets and for some, this means not being uncomfortably cold.
Hi All ā¦ I just wanted to sayā¦ please be considerate and respectful to other members at all times.
I agree with @Chatsetchiens. And I find many of your comments on this forum to be unnecessarily provocative. The THS exchange is most definitely not ONLY about the pets. Most sitters are pet lovers first and foremost and many of us are also travellers who love to explore new places at the same time. That is the whole concept of the exchange. Many sitters and hosts also become friends in the process. You have mentioned in several threads that your only interest is that the sitter takes good care of your cats and all the rest is irrelevant. Perhaps, since it seems more of a business exchange to you, you should consider a paid pet sitting service?
I agree. While I love animals and they are the top priority during any sit we take, if it wasnāt for the traveling and exploring new areas of the world, we wouldnāt be doing this. If all I wanted was to spend time with animals, I could just stay āhomeā and adopt more pets. Or volunteer at shelters.
Hi @Ken
Your words are unfair and you make an incorrect assumption about the vast majority of our amazing sitters and if indeed having a āholidayā was the reason, sitters would be leaving in their droves after the first one or two sits in fact, there certainly wouldnāt be sitters like me who have completed over 200 sits.
If any sitter is looking for a holiday and admittedly there might be a few who have not done their research into exactly what being a TrustedHousesitters involves and who might believe they are getting a FREE holiday their hopes will be short lived and any potential sitter reading this and believing it to be true please move on and book a cruise or an all inclusive vacation resort, not a THS pet and house sit and hereās why ā¦
House sitting is far from traditional travel it is MUCH more than that, itās a total lifestyle choice with the opportunity to have wonderful experiences, connect with like minded people and even make life long friendships, not your preference but then we are all different.
Most importantly this lifestyle comes with huge responsibilities, the main one being the care of beloved, living creatures without a voice or a choice only the ones we make for them and having the right sitter in place is who our sitters are and how pet parents/owners like you can travel with peace of mind leaving your pets at home ā¦ thatās not āsitters on vacationā and having a comfortable, living environment is everyoneās preference, is it not yours also?
A reminder to everyone please be respectful in your comments, even if you disagree with the opinions of others.
āIf it wasnāt for the travelling and exploring new areas of the world we wouldnāt be doing thisā. Not my words but Danandams.
I was stating a basic fact as to why this site exists. How can you say my words are unfair? Just what is it with people and virtual signalling?
Completely agree with the comments re Ken.
Not going to get involved with a slanging match, but we most certainly do not do this for a free holiday.
Some may ,most donāt, to us its a full time unpaid job.
If we choose to into Europe, whats wrong with that.
Donāt forget travel broadens the mindš.
As for our 3 years in Portugal, that certainly wasnāt planned, thanks Covid!
As it turned out it was the best thing 5hat happened to us, no draconian lock downs, Covid free and best of all we really got to know the locals.
Iām a Scot travelling in Scotland so packed a hot water bottle and lots of warm clothes just in case.
I also grew up in the UK, north of Scotland. We lived in an old farm house with a coal fire, aga in the kitchen and a storage heater at the top of the stairs. Yes, it was cold. Think ice on the inside of the windows but we dressed accordingly. Warm underwear and lots of layers.
Have people forgotten how to dress in cold weather?
This is why, on longer sits, I always ask about energy costs. I would rather contribute to bills than be too cold or warm during a longer sit. A simple conversation can stop a lot of misery.
