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Cat sitting is more than feeding a cat.
Feed the cat, refill the water, clean the litter box, spend some time with them and go home. What I learned quickly, however, is that looking after a cat involves much more than completing a list of tasks. Through my own experience cat sitting, I have come to understand that every cat has their own unique needs to be met.
I’ve found that the first day taking care of someone's cats is often the most informative, yet full of unknowns. From the moment I step into their home, I already start learning about their behaviour. Do they come and greet me? Do they remain curled up on the couch? Do they meow at me? These first interactions might seem simple and straightforward, but cats are so much more complex than that.
Cats work on their own terms. Some cats I’ve cared for wanted attention the moment I stepped into their home, while others needed more time before they felt comfortable approaching me. I’ve also found that simply being present without direct attention is enough for a cat to feel calm and safe. I’ve put this tip into practice during my cat visits by greeting the cat first and then immediately cleaning the litter box, filling up the water bowl and preparing the food. I use this time to observe whether the cat comes and hangs around me or keeps to itself. This gives me an initial idea of how comfortable the cat is with my presence and how much interaction they might want from me.
Cats may show that they're becoming comfortable with you by rubbing against you, head-butting, following you room to room or choosing to settle nearby. Even exposing their belly can indicate that a cat feels relaxed, although, as I've learned, it isn't necessarily an invitation to touch it. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is to not force these interactions. Giving cats the choice to approach me helped me build my relationship with them more naturally and I’ve often noticed them becoming more comfortable over the course of a few visits.
Sometimes, however, those interactions don’t go quite as expected. No matter how closely you observe a cat’s behaviour, there may be times when their boundaries aren’t as clear, or you simply misread them. I experienced this recently while caring for a cat that I have previously cared for. An interaction I interpreted as comfortable ended up with me being bitten on the hand. It was a reminder that getting comfortable and familiar with a cat doesn’t mean you should stop observing their behaviour. Cats can subtly express behavioural discomfort and noticing this is just as important as if the cat seeks attention.
Beyond understanding a cat’s behaviour, cat sitting comes with the important responsibility of taking care of someone's cat while they’re away. I’ve realised that this is more than refilling the water bowl and topping up food, it's actually checking whether the cat is eating properly, whether their litter box habits have changed, and whether anything seems unusual. Some cats also require medication or specific routines to be carefully followed, and this responsibility is usually underestimated.
I have cats of my own, so I understand the feeling of leaving your furry friends at the care of someone you don’t fully know. You're trusting that person to notice when something isn't right and, more importantly, to know what to do when it isn't. Being on the other side of that trust has made me realise just how much responsibility comes with caring for someone else's cat.
Experiences like these have taught me that cat sitting is more than just meeting a cat’s basic needs. Feeding the cat, cleaning the litter box and refilling the water bowl are necessary but understanding the cat’s personality and boundaries is equally as important. Most of all, I’ve learned that caring for someone else’s cat means paying attention to the little details and accepting the responsibility that comes when being trusted with someone’s furry friend.
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