Cat Care By Catkin

03/19/2025

Happy Spring, Cat Lovers! 🌷

Little Onyx here wants to say that he would love for you to hire me to care for your kitties this Spring and Summer. Onyx was rescued from a local feral colony and joined our family around the holidays. He was scared at first, but with time and patience he's playing with the big cats and learning how to "indoor cat"! 🥰

I'm now based on the southeast side of Indianapolis near University Heights, Garfield Park, Southport, and Fountain Square, but I still serve the east side (Irvington, Emerson Heights, Warren Township, etc.), downtown, and other locations on a case-by-case basis. Existing east side clients will continue to pay my old fee of $30 per visit, with new clients outside my new service area paying $35 per visit. Clients within my service area pay $30 per visit.

What I offer you as a cat sitter:

🐈‍⬛ Nearly 40 years of cat caregiving experience, many of those years working in cat rescue and fostering, community cat TNR and colony management, pet retail, veterinary kennel work, and animal shelter kennel work and cat adoption counseling.

🐈‍⬛ Personalized cat-focused care. I go beyond basic care (food, water, and litter) and can offer environmental enrichment (playtime, petting, light grooming, etc.), medical care (medications, fluids, diabetes care), and consent driven interactions (I respect that not all cats desire interaction, and I also go along with the cat's pace and comfort level). My visits are a minimum of one hour but can occasionally go over if required for your cats' care. I do not charge for going over an hour.

🐈‍⬛ Trust and Respect. I understand that you want your home and your pets to be safe and cared for, so I offer additional support which can include daily text updates with pictures and videos, turning lights off and on, bringing in mail, checking locks and alarms, etc.

🐈‍⬛ A professional who values growth in my knowledge and skills. Last year, I joined Pet Sitters International, and I hope to soon take the PSI certified pet sitter exam and also do training in other areas such as the Fear Free method.

Please reach out today to book a free meet and greet in your home. I look forward to meeting you and your cats! 😻

03/01/2025

Consent is important in your relationship with your cat! 😻

Ask "consent" before petting or picking up a cat. This simple gesture can go a long way in building trust.

02/23/2025

Life stages of cats 🐱

Did you know that there are 6 different life stages in cats? And that a 6 month old cat is the equivalent to a 10 year old human? Learn these interesting facts and how you and your veterinarian can implement a life stage wellness program to deliver the best care for your cat by reading the AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines here: http://www.catvets.com/professionals/guidelines/publications/?Id=425

11/02/2024

I still have a few openings in November and December is currently open. Trust your cats with a seasoned cat sitter who will give your cats the royal treatment they deserve while you travel. 😻

Avari, my 17-year-old calico, wants to remind everyone that I still have openings for pet sitting over the holidays. Trust your cats with someone who truly cares about them and who has many years of experience caring for felines. Message, text, or call Cat Care By Catkin to set up a free meet and greet at your home. 😺

10/17/2024

Avari, my 17-year-old calico, wants to remind everyone that I still have openings for pet sitting over the holidays. Trust your cats with someone who truly cares about them and who has many years of experience caring for felines. Message, text, or call Cat Care By Catkin to set up a free meet and greet at your home. 😺

09/25/2024

Meet Stihl, pronounced "Steel"! She's a gorgeous senior cat I've been caring for over the summer and will care for this autumn. She doesn't want me to pet her yet, but that's totally ok. Consent is key to kitty happiness. Maybe someday she'll grant me the privilege of petting her beautiful fur. Isn't she simply stunning? 😻

08/11/2024

Caring and professional feline care in your home

08/11/2024

My profile is now in the Pet Sitters International Locator! 😺

Caring and professional feline care in your home

08/08/2024

My little rumpy Manx mix girl, 13yo Tenshi, wants to let everyone know that I am now an Indy south sider and am seeking new south side clients in neighborhoods such as University Heights, Southport, Beech Grove, etc. As a thank you for their business, my existing east and southeast Indy clients will continue to pay for care at my regular service area rate. Please tell your friends and family about me, one of the coolest and most passionate cat sitters in town.

Also, doesn't Tenshi look adorable on this little flower bed? It's part of a new cat tree I got for my cats to help them adjust to our new home. I look forward to helping your cats adjust to your absence when you have to leave home and want the best care for them.

07/11/2024

I provide cat sitting services for Indy's south side and occasionally in Greenwood near the Indy/Marion County border, but for your cat or dog (or other pet) sitting needs further south in Johnson County, especially in Franklin, please consider PAWSible Improvements. She also offers dog training and has experience with training service dogs. 😻

07/04/2024

I'm now an official member of Pet Sitters International and sometime in the next six months I'll be taking the examination to become a certified professional pet sitter. I had wanted to do this seven years ago but got sidetracked, so I'm happy I have another opportunity. 😺💜

06/04/2024

Did you know that I can help with giving your cats their medication and other health care tasks?

This past week, I helped a client give their cat both pills and liquid medications. Having worked in the veterinary and animal sheltering fields as a kennel attendant and a cat adoptions counselor, as well as having many chronically and acutely ill cats in my own care, I've learned how to administer pills, liquid meds, subcutaneous injections such as insulin, and topical medications. I also know how to check insulin levels with a glucometer, give subcutaneous fluids, and tube feed.

I can give your cat medications during regular cat sitting visits ($30 or more if you live outside of my service area) or we can schedule medication only visits ($20 or more depending on distance). (Existing clients will remain at their current rates after I move to a new home this summer!) I love to help people with their cats' care needs, so please reach out to me for a free meet and greet. 😺

05/19/2024

Irvington is in my service area and most of my clients either live there or nearby. I have a lot of personal history with Irvington connections and I even lived there for a few years, once as an infant at the old Children's Guardian Home, which is now Irvington Preparatory High School, and years later I lived in a rental home across from the old McShane's Irish Pub. My family attended Downey Avenue Christian Church (where I also got married the first time) and my first administrative assistant job was at the Disciples of Christ headquarters, which is now senior apartments. I have so many memories of Irvington, and I've always loved the haunted stories and the history as well as the cats of Irvington. ❤🐈

05/17/2024

Look at this beautiful girl I had the pleasure to care for this past week. 😻 Her name is Miss Meow and, true to her name, she loved telling me about her day each time I visited. We also played a lot and she wanted alllll the pets. ;)

I'm already booking for June, so please contact me soon for your summer pet sitting needs. I'm excited to meet you and your pets!

05/03/2024

Last week, my oldest cat, Avari, turned 17! According to cat age charts that I found online, Avari is a "Super Senior" or "Geriatric," and if she were a human, she would be around 84 years old! Avari has a few health things going on, so we'll be going to the vet soon for a full senior exam and tests. Despite these issues, Avari still has a huge personality and she loves to play. She gets along with all of my other cats and has never met a stranger. She is also still her usual ornery self. I love my magical elf kitty! 💖

04/05/2024

What are you and your cats doing on Monday to celebrate the full solar eclipse? I will be working from home, with my cats nearby, and going outside in the afternoon to watch with my safety glasses. Here in Indianapolis, we will have totality, which means the sun will be completely covered by the moon for a few minutes. If we're lucky, we might get to see the sun's corona! I'm really excited. I remember the partial eclipse here back in 2017, but apparently this will be even more amazing. Have fun, keep your cats inside (or harnessed and leashed if walking outdoors), and be safe. Also, enjoy this article about your cats and the solar eclipse by the esteemed Ingrid King, one of my favorite cat writers.

Will your cat notice the solar eclipse? We have answers for you.