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Mortgages, rent, strata fees, gas bills, electricity, groceries… are rising costs of life doesn’t slow down anytime soon.
But a side issue What I’ve built on over the past five years means that despite the stark increase in the price of everything, I haven’t had to give up one of my greatest loves.
Holiday.
My husband and I have been able to continue taking several trips a year until now – thanks to our hobby, cat sitting.
Last year we paid for our trip to Europe thanks to the money we made of it (as well as some airline points from credit card bonuses).
Cat Sitting works through a number of different pet sitting apps, such as Madpaws and Pawshake.
You create a profile and people can then book you to care for their fur baby. We only visit cats once or twice a day in their own home.
We also need to be able to walk there from our place.
When I tell people, they are always jealous of my money-making hobby and say they are going to do it themselves.
That rarely happens. Because it really isn’t suitable for everyone.
In recent years we have given up the Christmas holidays because that is our busiest time. Instead of grilling shrimp on the barbecue, we’re probably walking the streets visiting people’s cats.
Last year we made about 15 visits together, on Christmas Day.
Then there are the accidents.
For example, my husband once had to rescue a poor, sick woman from the bath when he came to visit to feed her cat.
I once came face to face with a woman in a tiny towel who burst out of the bathroom because the people ‘forgot’ to tell us a ‘friend was staying over’… otherwise known as posting their place on Airbnb.
Another apartment’s elevator broke down and we had to walk to the 14th floor twice a day.
I was also once told that I had fed the cat ‘in the wrong dish’.
One time I went to feed a cat before the people had even left their apartment… oops.
Being spied on by owners who have cameras is common. However, it’s not cool to get a complaint that you weren’t there early enough.
We’ve cared for cats on lavish terraces, luxury penthouses and hoarder homes where people didn’t even flush the toilet before going on holiday.
But every time something bad happens, I just think about my next vacation – I’m going to Japan soon – and suck it up.
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