I’ve got 2 sits booked in for this month just sitting on my own to get my ‘cat fix’ as hubby is allergic. I’m looking at maybe another one for September then maybe a Christmas sit with hubby downunder. This is our level of sitting, I think most sitters kind of toodle along doing the odd sit that catches their attention here and there….I’ve met a few of you who do this full time and there are some Forum threads discussing that particular situation but what about the majority of us who just toodle along; we’re the sitters who do it a few times a year? How do you manage/approach your sitting ‘hobby’?
Pretty much the same as you @BonnyinBrighton.
When we started 13 years ago we were hardly ever at home and averaged about 12 a year. I think that was partly because of the novelty and we were newly retired.
Over the years our rate has slowed down and we may pick up a couple of ‘new’ sits that take our fancy and still do a couple of repeat sits in the Peak District and Northumberland.
We moved to the coast last year and feel very settled and involved in the community. We have lots of visitors so although I check the listings (too) regularly it has to be something pretty special to tempt us.
Great topic @BonnyinBrighton . We used THS to complement (almost ) full time sitting so would browse the opportunities daily .
I’m interested to know how often sitters that sit less frequently look at the listings on THS .
I’ve got just x2 searches set up (Jersey Channel Islands and Perth Australia) so I rarely just browse listings. Just recently I was missing darling Trevor RIP my neighbour’s cat who I used to visit a lot so I looked for a cat sit locally… and got two!
I browse new listings continuously and spend far more time than is healthy on the forum. I don’t partake in any other form of social media.
Started sitting in 2010 when we took early retirement with no plan at all.
Like @Twitcher , we did about 12 a year including overseas.
I now try and plan around 7/8 per year with a month at home inbetween sits - no chance! I have all of Yorkshire in my favourites and have just fitted in a sitting in Ilkley when we really should be at home.
I look at other listings during the day for anything unusual. Next one is in Dunbar Scotland
We just started last year and did 5 sits while travelling in the UK. Have some alerts and favourites set up. I have a browse randomly as well. My membership runs out very shortly and if I get offered a good deal to stay on I might, but if I don’t get the offer well I might just move on to something else. Haven’t seen too much that suits to be honest.
I have friends who joined as sitters but have never done a sit…. I think they like the idea and often browse listings but never apply 
they’ve just renewed too!
Being newbie sitters (ONE for 9 nights under the belt), I am planning to grab some short sits while in Chicago, IL US for 3 months from July - October. We live in Mexico for the other 9 months where we use THS for sitters (working great!). I’ve got probably 15 sits favorited in Chicago proper. I stalk the listing in Chicago weekly looking for more things that catch my eye to favorite. I can expand to suburbs near my mom once I’m there if nothing is materializing as I search. I cant wait to do more sitting solo or with hubby to explore, increase my quantity of sits w/ good ratings and get my pet fix all at once. I check the forum daily for interesting topics and tips. Being a sitter AND having pets is a bit complicated to cover all the bases when we (or I) want to do a sit.
Honestly, I replaced all my holiday planning and long weekends with House sitting, after our first house sit. I realized with my partner, that we were getting better holidays, in better places, with amazing pets (sometimes my partner will literally pick a house sit because of a specific dog or cat) we save money and we meet amazing people. For us it was a no brainer and became super addictive. I think we explain this to our friends who join and once they get a taste of it, they are hooked themselves. It’s highly addictive.
Also just as a suggestion, try Aussie House sitters in Australia, they have usually 3 times more listings there and are way more affordable as well. In saying that I traveled Australia and it was also very manageable using THS.
Good luck in Aus
Hanging out with a dog or cat is my form of (social) and I watch movies on the couch next to the pet which is my (media)
Of the 3 sits we’ve done downunder only one was planned in advance, the other two were last minute and I met the HOs for coffees locally whilst staying with our son, so all very ad hoc.
Yeah Aus is super chill. Love it, took my partner to Aus to see my family and we had a really great time with house sitting there. Some of the houses there are beyond stunning.
Same here. A few times a year of 3-7 sits is enough as a solo sitter. Also, I am happier doing sits that are shorter for a week or less. Extended pet stays might feel different if one is working remotely. Currently on a 3 week sit in a very tiny very cluttered home. Great pets, but I feel like I want to clean and organize although I resisted the impulse!
I did about a dozen sits each year for my first two years of membership, all while telecommuting.
During my third year, I did maybe seven. This year, I’ve done only a couple on THS and don’t plan more.
I’ve been weaning myself off THS and have been doing sits off the books. I’ve been accepting friends’ requests to sit, repeat sits and referrals, though not many. Mostly, I’ve been doing more nonsit travel. Like I’m doing a bunch in Europe now.
Even when I was sitting the most, I’d check listings a few times a month at most. And less so when I started sitting less. For me, sitting has always been icing.
We’ve only done 4 sits this year compared to 10 last year - all local. We keep an eye out for local sits that we’ve favorited. Have a repeat sit coming up next month which we’re looking forward to. Also doing our first international sit in seven years in July which will be followed by 10 days of our own personal travel. Been spending more time on personal travel lately.
We’re combined members and we love to/live for travel. Travel makes us happy but we are committed to our pets and love our home, friends, family and one of us is still holding on to a hybrid job. We also cannot afford to pay for both pet care and accomodations for as much travel as we’d like to do. The sits that we host allow us to stretch our travel dollars because we aren’t paying a “cat tax.” The sits that we do allow us to enjoy some slow travel within a few hours or to visit far flung places and skip the accomodation fees. We’ve consistently taken summer or fall sits within a few hours driving distance in order to get out of our city. We’ve traveled to further away cities that we love or that were new for us, and even once to France as sitters. We mostly do cat sits because we love cats and they are easy for us even if they have some “special needs.” As much as I love dogs, we don’t want our own now but an occassional dog sit that also allows us time to explore is ideal for giving us our doggy fix. We have a multipet sit coming up in July (our second sit of 2026) with 3 indoor cats and a pitty in a country house and I am so looking forward to it. I realized after we confirmed that there would be no large screen television or any television at the sit, and while I love kicking back with the animals and watching movies, I’m fine with catching up on reading or even doing some creative work in a quiet country setting.
My husband and I moved to Europe from Los Angeles and sometimes we will look when we are interested in visiting a city, or when we are planning on coming back to Los Angeles or New York we will see if there’s something interesting that could also save us money and agrees with the amount of time that we can devote. Recently we’ve been going for more cat sits than dog sits because they are of course easier. But I know pretty soon I’m going to need a doggy fix! We do it pretty much for fun though it won’t break us if we have to get a hotel for a few days.
It seems that many of us are very casual sitters. We’re the sitters who aren’t ’hard core’ and we look for nice easy sits for respectful pleasant home/pet owners.
I assume by “hardcore” sitter you mean full-time? We sit full-time, but we also look for what we consider “easy” sits — a genuine mutual exchange with appreciative hosts and a stress-free experience for everyone involved. We couldn’t sustain this lifestyle if we chose sits that lacked that balance.
Our next sit is in a stunning home in a beautiful village, caring for two 40 +
year old tortoises.
Our idea of an “easy sit” sometimes includes dogs because we love walking, so having a dog as a companion is a bonus. That said, it’s only appealing if the dog can be walked in beautiful surroundings straight from the doorstep. (We don’t take on puppies or dogs with reactive or significant anxiety-related behaviours.)
We’ve been able to sit full-time for several years without having to compromise by taking sits where the responsibilities are overly demanding or onerous.
Whether we sit once or twice a year or full time - it works well only if the mutual exchange is there and both parties feel like they are benefiting from the exchange .
#WinWin