Mexicana y British couple - friendly, organised, reliable animal lovers, available from June!

About this sitter

Hello, we're Patch and Mara!

Patch is from Shrewsbury/Wales and Mara is from Mexico City. We've both been living in London for over 15 years. Patch is a book editor and designer and Mara works as a costume artist in film and TV.

We're both organised, reliable animal lovers and particularly love cats (whether very cuddly and playful or a bit shy or aloof) and dogs (our favourite breeds are boxers, border collies and Belgian shepherds).

We're also very clean, tidy and respectful and treat others' homes as we would like others to treat our own.

We both occasionally do paid pet-sitting in London. When we pet-sit in other places, we do it as a mutually beneficial exchange, where we go somewhere we like and the pets’ parents know that their pets are being cared for by trustworthy, reliable animal lovers. We particularly like petsitting for people who also appreciate and enjoy the convenience of this exchange.

Why they want to house sit

We both have lots of rural cravings, and we're into hiking and climbing, so are particularly drawn to more mountainous places. We also like just having some quiet, extra space from time to time, as this is something that can be lacking in London. House- and pet-sitting allows us to get this extra space in some lovely places at the same time as looking after some lovely new animal friends.

We've decided to spend June to September this year travelling around house- and petsitting together, partly to make time for both of us to consider career changes and partly to spend time in some lovely places. Patch will be still be working during the week, so most days we'll be at 'home' for most of the day, but we'll go out for longer walks some days.

We already have some places booked for June and July in the UK. We're now trying to find some places in the EU for August and September - particularly anywhere near mountains and/or good climbing destinations. Spain would be particularly good as Patch is learning Spanish!

Their experience

We've been petsitting for several years now, mostly in London. To see our reviews on other websites, see here for Mara: https://catinaflat.co.uk/pet-sitter/22302 and here for Patch: https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitters/united-kingdom/england/london/l/1058705 and https://catinaflat.co.uk/pet-sitter/138993

Patch grew up with rescue cats, rescue dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs and fish and was particularly fond of his female tabby, Izzy. He has a soft-spot for shy cats and once spent several weeks coaxing a very shy, newly homed rescue cat out from behind the TV. He also likes playful dogs.

Mara grew up with two rescue cats and when they grew old they needed quite a bit of care, so she has lots of experience with special diets, helping with medicine and caring for elderly cats. She also has experience looking after dogs.

We both like other animals as well as cats and dogs (we'd love to look after some ducks and/or chickens!). Although our previous experience is more limited with other animals, we're calm, responsible people who learn quickly and pay careful attention to detail.

What can they bring to the assignment

As your pet-sitters we will:

-arrange a free meet and greet to get to know you and your pets, by video-call if further afield
-provide fresh food and water for your pets daily
-clean food bowls and any litter trays
-give lots of playtime and cuddles (if your pets like playing and cuddles!)
-give medication if within our capabilities
-send daily photos and updates if requested

We're also adept at basic plant care, know how to use a log burner and are quick to learn how to use any household or pet-related gadgets.