Cat Sitting Specialists since 2014. Spanish-British couple, non-smokers, very house proud and reliable!

About this sitter

~~ AVAILABILITY:

We are currently looking for housesits from 6th December, over Christmas and New Year, and until February. We'd love somewhere with a nice Christmas atmosphere in December and then somewhere close to nature from January. Central Europe, Scandinavia, Iceland... but we are open to other locations too.

NB: Whilst we usually house sit together, I (Maria) am also interested in housesitting on my own in Madrid. We also welcome messages for future opportunities if you think we'd be a good match for each other.

~~ ABOUT US:

We are a cat whisperer couple with over a decade of house sitting experience. Since our first house sit in New Zealand in 2014, we have completed 85 house sits in 24 different countries (with several repeat invitations) and cared for 129 cats.

We have acquired our extensive experience in cat care not only through house sitting, but also through volunteering in cat shelters for a number of years, as well as through fostering many cats and kittens in our own home until they found their families.

Non-smoking, self-sufficient, proactive, organised and reliable - our aim is to always provide the highest level of care and attention to the homes and pets entrusted to us.

Mark is originally from England and I was born in Spain. I am bilingual in English/Spanish and speak intermediate German. We rent a little "home base" in Transylvania and earn our income online, which means we spend a lot of time at home with the pets!

~~ OUR NEEDS:

Honest and open communication is very important to us. We are very house proud and our references speak for the level of dedication, commitment and love that we bring to every single assignment. All we ask for in exchange is:

• A clean, orderly home, free of smoke and mould;
• A fast and reliable internet connection;
• 2 separate sleeping areas;
• A peaceful environment that allows us to relax and work effectively.

Access to a vehicle outside large cities is always a great incentive! We have clean licences and can drive both manual and automatic cars. In some instances, we may be able to bring our own car.

~~ PLEASE NOTE:

We do not accept house sits where we are requested to pay a deposit or cover utility bills. We view house sitting as a mutually beneficial arrangement built on reciprocal trust and respect - just as we do not ask homeowners to cover our flight, fuel, or food expenses, we believe it is not in the spirit of this arrangement to request payments from us.

Why they want to house sit

Working from home, we welcome a change of scenery from time to time. House sitting gives us the chance to enjoy a 'home away from home' while travelling.

And as genuine cat enthusiasts, we very much enjoy spending time loving, entertaining and learning from the cats we get to meet!

We also truly love the feeling of giving our hosts complete peace of mind during their absence. Our house sitting experiences have enriched our lives in ways we never thought possible and we cannot imagine stopping anytime soon.

Their experience

We have been house sitting since 2014 - originally full time, then part time. Whilst cats are our passion, we are also happy to look after anything "small and furry" - including fancy rats (I had some a few years ago and it pains me to think how misunderstood and unappreciated they are!). We have also had tropical fish tanks at home and looked after chickens whilst house sitting.

BUT SORRY, NO DOGS... The animals' wellbeing is our top priority! Since we are not experienced with dogs, we cannot accept house sits with canine residents.

What can they bring to the assignment

We are experienced with both young and senior cats, are particularly good with shy / scared cats (including those who are said to "hate men") and can administer medication if required. We love spending quality time with the cats and even travel with our favourite cat toys!

With regards to your home, we bring the experience of having cared for many different types of properties - from small apartments to large luxury houses, both in urban and rural areas. We are proactive in the care of the homes entrusted to us and treat them with care and respect.

We are happy pottering around in a garden: lawn mowing, watering, pruning, weeding.

We also have some experience of looking after swimming pools.