09/08/2025
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PETSITTER…!!
⚠️ Word of warning ⚠️ You might want to make yourself a cuppa ☕️…..😅😌🤣
Because, more than anything, making this post has made me understand why…on the very odd occasion I HAVE to socialise with new people…they very slowly begin to 'glaze over' after 20 minutes or so of me ‘explaining’ “what I do for a living…” 😬😌😂
So, last Friday, as I was driving a beautiful (but clearly very injured) Seagull to the Vets…I came up with an idea to maybe do 'A Day in The Life of Your Petsitter’ type thing and so decided to take ‘snap-shots’ of the rest of my day and see if anyone would be interested in seeing who else I get to look after during the course of one day?
“Cecil” The Seagull :
Like most people, I have rescued a fair few pigeons in my time, so as soon as I saw this injured Seagull flapping around in the middle of a busy road, literally next to a major junction🚦I ran over with the (turns out rather naïve!) idea that I would just be able to grab him and get him to the car to safety.
He, however, had VERY different ideas and was not at all happy with me having the ‘audacity’ to try to save him from being run over!!
And I tell you what, he might have had a severely broken wing but there was clearly nothing wrong with his (surprisingly!) HUGE beak!! Honestly it was absolutely MAHOOSIVE close up!! And he was definitely not afraid to use it, believe you me!!
On reflection, I must have been quite the sight weaving between the lanes of traffic, with first me chasing him…and then him chasing me back…and trying to 'get me' with his giant beak. I definitely remember shouting at one point “Oi, I need them fingers!!” and meaning it!!
He was absolutely beautiful though, so full of character (despite his pretty awful injury) so I just wanted to try to give him the best chance I could and so I drove him to Ashleigh Vets in Chorlton (who were the only vets open at that time of the morning) but who are also actually bird specialists 🦅
And once I got him in the car and we started moving he was definitely a lot less stressed and even seemed curious about everything bless him, kept just looking over at me.
The Vet who came out to see “Cecil” (as I had now called him) was really lovely and promised to do whatever she could for him, although sadly she did say that his wing injuries looked pretty horrific on first look so obviously anything she could do would have to be in his best interests.
“ARLO” 🐱
Fortunately helping Cecil didn't set me too behind for the rest of the morning as I had actually been out and about much earlier than normal that Friday morning in order to see to my first little charge Arlo.
Arlo needed a week of VERY early morning visits (and then a late tea at the end of the day) so that he could avoid the pesky Builders who were carrying out work on the house while his Mum and Dad were away.
Being a gentle little soul we knew Arlo wouldn't like being in the house with lots of banging and comings and goings so before they went away I had lots of discussion with Arlo's Mum and Dad about what might be best for him, maybe a Cattery instead or for him to stay with family or friends etc but then he wouldn't have been able to go outside which he loves, and he knows his Auntie Maggie so well, we decided the best thing would be for him to stay at home but that I would go to let him out each morning BEFORE any Builders arrive (so he can keep away from the house while they are there) and then I would go back and call him in once I knew the Builders had left for the day.
And it's worked wonderfully. As soon as I've gone back every evening and called him he's come hurtling back in from wherever he was hiding, and then he gets the whole house back to himself again all night.
He can also spend the evening going around looking for all the hair ties I hide for him to find....because Arlo is OBSESSED with hair ties!!!
Every morning when I come back to give him his brekkie and let him out... he will have found them all again and he will have the whole collection of them next to his bowl for me to hide again. He's hilarious!! 🤭
“ROSIE” 🐱
So after seeing to Arlo (and Cecil!) next came Rosie and the first thing I had to do was to give him his morning medication.
And yes, Rosie is a 'boy' – long story!! 🥰
Rosie is currently on Thyronorm for his Thyroid, and Cystaid to aid recovery after a recent Urinary Infection.
Aside from Insulin injections for diabetic cats (such as the lovely Mr. B who featured on my page not so long ago!), Thyronorm and Cystaid are the two most common meds for the older cats I look after and are super easy to administer. Cystaid is a capsule that can just be mixed into food and Thyronorm is a liquid that just needs measuring out in a syringe and then can again just be mixed into food.
As soon as he finishes his brekkie Rosie...wait for it...goes and sits by the fridge to 'remind' me to get his Cat Milk which he likes to have as 'seconds' after every meal 🙂
Rosie has only very recently lost his beautiful older brother Vincent, an absolutely DEVASTATING loss not only for Vincent's lovely Mum and Dad but obviously also for poor Rosie...so Rosie is currently getting all sorts of extra treats and goodies to try to make up for it!!
Including Auntie Maggie hand-feeding him his Lik-i-Lix 🥰
And setting an extra 'Timed Feeder' for 12pm so that he can have a spot of lunch 🥗
And when I go back in the evenings to give him his tea I set another timer so that he can have a 'midnight feast'....although we actually secretly set it for 10pm in case he wakes up early and is hungry 🙂
And I DO still get to say hello to our beloved Vincent on every visit as well (so he is definitely still with us in Spirit) because there is THE most gorgeous photograph of him where his ashes are, as well as another beautiful 'montage of photos' from when he was first rescued as a kitten to his final days that takes pride of place on the fireplace...because as his dad said on the note he left for me “It is his house after all” 😭
It's still pretty bloomin tough though I'm not going to lie. Because losing ANY of my little Charges is awful enough...but losing little ones that I have looked after for well over a decade...that is hard 😟
“MISS LILY & MISS DAISY” 🐱 🐱
Next after Rosie, were Miss Lily & Miss Daisy who I had actually been on my way to earlier in the morning when I came across Cecil…but then with having to take Cecil to the vets in Chorlton the order of my visits needed to change so I wasn’t criss-crossing around 🚗
Lily & Daisy are two absolute beauties who my wonderful clients rescued after their old girl Cleo (who I looked after for many years) sadly passed away.
To start with Lily & Daisy were super, super timid and practically lived in “their” airing cupboard upstairs 🙄
In fact that's where I did my initial 'meet and greet' with them, stood outside the airing cupboard, with their mum and me both just looking in at them 🙂😝😏
Now, of course, they couldn't be more affectionate (or cheekier!) and are an absolute joy.
Despite having an entire gorgeous 'Cat Breakfast Room' to themselves, Lily has somehow managed to 'train us' into bringing her brekkie (and tea!) direct to her bed. A whole new meaning to the expression “breakfast in bed”!! 🍳🍽️
Already now running slightly later than expected (after the whole Cecil debacle) I had another unexpected delay at Lily and Daisy's when, as the girls had finished their breakfast and were about to go out into the garden, who did we see outside the patio doors but Mr. Fox, come to see if we had any goodies for him. I do know this fox lives at the bottom of their garden so I wasn't unduly panicked to see him but I still didn't want the girls to go outside until he had gone back to his bed! 🦊
So, as you can see it became a bit like “Me..watching her...watching him...watching her....”. 👀 🐱 🦊
Fortunately it wasn't too long before he gave up and wandered back to the bottom of the garden though. And he looked in really good health so that was good.
“LILY” : (a.k.a “Lily-Beans” a.k.a “Beans”) 🐱
Next was another Lily, also known as “Beans” who I was looking after for a few days while her lovely mum and dad were getting married 👰🏻🤵🏻💒
Lily is a beautiful Bengal Cross, a 'rescue' as most of my little charges are, and the most sensitive little soul.
She has always been a house cat for as long as I have looked after her but her mum and dad slowly started letting her out into the garden with them and she loved it so much that she has progressed to having her own cat flap now and comes and goes to her heart's content. Which is wonderful! Except for poor Auntie Maggie, because of course this being my first time looking after her as an 'outdoor cat' well, to say my heart was literally in my mouth every time I went, just praying she would come back in each morning and evening and hoping she would be ok, would not be an understatement! 😮💨
Most times she was out when I arrived but soon came back in so clearly wasn't going far. But of course on Friday morning....no Lily Beans to be seen 😓 So, after spending most of the visit hanging out of various windows trying to spot her in the garden or in neighbouring gardens, I finally went to feed Sylvia (their Hamster who lives in their little boy's room) and as I passed the lounge, my eye was automatically drawn to something...only bloomin Beans!! 🤩🥳 She'd been inside all along!! She'd been sat casually watching Auntie Maggie looking for her and shouting her…from the top of her indoor ceiling-high Cat Tree!! Little monkey!! I have never been so relieved to see her in my life!!
“Back Home For A While” 🏡
Lily-Beans was my final Breakfast visit on Friday morning and then it was back home for an hour or so to let my dog “Sweetpea” out in the garden for a while. She is a former street dog from Bosnia and loves nothing more than to climb into her giant plant pot, kick out whatever soil doesn't pass muster for whatever reason, and then sit in it for an hour or so 🙄🤪
In the “Maurice Made It” studio : 👩🏻🎨
While Sweetpea was 'busy' in her plant pot I needed to finish and pack 3 items that were waiting in my little “Maurice Made It” studio (which for anyone who doesn't know is my little home studio where I make personalised pet products). I have a separate page for this which anyone is welcome to have a look at but, as you would see, I am not taking any new Orders at the moment and all social media relating to “Maurice Made It” is currently 'on hold' until 1st October following the loss of my beautiful old boy Maurice, after whom the studio was named.
The first item I needed to finish was a special 'Cat Nap Mat' and 'Cat Nip' Kicker Toy for one of my beautiful little charges Odin 🐱 who had been taken ill the previous Tuesday and rushed to the Emergency Vet Hospital, where his mum had said it was very much touch and go. And he hadn't been allowed home since then because his breathing wasn't considered stable enough 😟
Then...the ABSOLUTE BEST of news on Thursday evening...his mum messaged to say he was going to be allowed home on Friday afternoon!! Yay!!! 🤩🥳 There would still be results to wait for, and possibly further tests....but he would be home and that was the main thing.
He would need to have LOTS of rest, and he would absolutely HATE not being allowed outside while he was recovering so I made him a little personalised “Recovery Kit” with a paw-sonalised 'Cat Nap Mat' (for resting) and a 'Kicker Toy' filled with our super strength Canadian Cat Nip or 'Cat Crack' 🤭 to try to keep him entertained, and I obviously wanted to make sure it was delivered before he got home from the Vet Hospital in the afternoon.
I also needed to finish a special Mug for the owner of a small local Rescue called 'Hearts 4 Paws' who specialise in rehoming Sight Hounds. I recently fostered two beautiful dogs called Sylvie and Mora (a mother and daughter) who had been rescued via 'Hearts 4 Paws' from the most horrendous situation in Spain, both of whom have now found the most perfect forever homes...and they wanted to say a small thank you to the lady and Rescue that saved them. So I designed a little cartoon type illustration of Sylvie and Mora on the front...and then added the Rescue's own logo on the back and it turned out really nicely.
Then I just needed to make a Dog Tag for a gorgeous dog called Cookie...which needed to go into a much larger Paw-cel that I needed to drop off at the Village post office for her 🐶
“Helping Out at Dogs4Rescue” 🐶🐶🐶
Next I was back out again (posting both parcels on the way!) and heading to Dogs4Rescue where I help out every Friday afternoon for a couple of hours, helping to look after their disabled dogs a.k.a “The Handicans”.
Anyone who follows Dogs4Rescue (which is literally only 10 minutes down the motorway in Irlam) will know instantly who “The Handicans” are and, honestly, they are just more wonderful that I could ever describe.
Lollipop only has two front legs and no back legs. Odin has two front legs and one back leg. And Panda has all four legs but her back legs are completely paralysed. And yet all three of them are completely independent and can get around perfectly well by themselves...and all have such a huge zest for life it is completely contagious 🤩
And every Friday I take them on a Road Trip 🚗 to a nearby secure field so they can enjoy some new sniffs and zoom around on their special wheels. And I honestly don't know who enjoys it more, me or them! 😅
“Collecting my New Foster Dog - ‘Big Z’” 🐶
As I was leaving Dogs4Rescue in the afternoon I collected the dog I was going to be fostering for the next 10 days.
I am only looking after her until next Sunday and then she is off to her forever home 🥳 “Big Z” is from Turkey and one of the dogs saved by Dogs4Rescue from the horrific new 'massacre' law in Turkey to 'remove' 4 million dogs from the streets 😤🤬 As you will see from the photos she is absolutely blinking HUMUNGOUS 🙂 She took up almost the entire back seat of my car...and takes up almost the entire length of the “big sofa”. BUT she is the best natured dog you could ever hope to meet, just the most beautiful 'gentle giant' and my lot loved her straightway, even Sooty the cat 🐱
After a little walk with “Big Z” and Sweetpea and then settling “Big Z” in a bit more, it was back out for some more cat visits, beginning with Frankie.
“Frankie” 🐱
Frankie sadly lost his brother Benny (yes, Frankie & Benny!) so being on his own now (while his family are away) he just wants to have some company and to sit next to you!! Well usually more ON you than next to you!! 😜And...amongst Frankie's other main interests..we have 'trying to chew the arms of glasses', trying to eat 'The Brush', and going to sleep 'licking your hand' 😌 He also likes to snack constantly and has a little chip activated feeder in the kitchen so every so often he gets up and disappears and I hear the whirr of it opening and closing before he's back in for more cuddles 🥰
And...of course...as you will see....he's also ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!!! 🤩
“Back Home Again” 🏡
After Frankie, it was onto some Teatime visits (the same cats I had been to see at Brekkie)...then it was back home….again!!
And first job, making tea for everyone 🐱🐶🐶🙍🏻♀️ (in that order!)...before relaxing together for a bit.
Then later, another short walk for Big Z and Sweetpea before..finally.. all getting ready for bed!! 🛌 😴
“The Best End To The Day” :
The VERY best end to the evening though was Odin's 🐱 mum messaging with a photo of him back home after his big adventures at the Emergency Vet Hospital...relaxing on his new 'Cat Nap Mat' Oh my heart ❤️🩹 Soooooo good to see him back home again where he belongs.
It's been a good day ❤️
