My motivation as a pet sitter this time, comes from a dream.

Last night, I dreamt of my dearest cat Prue who we rescued when I was 16 and stayed with my family for 11 beautiful years. I woke up at 3am this morning, with the incredibly strong desire to join Pawshake and tend to animals (cats specifically) while their owners go away on holiday.

I have been a house and animal sitter more times than I can remember, though never through a website, just as part of being connected to my community.

Having an animal, and making sure that they are not just fed and watered but also safe, happy, and at ease, is a huge responsibility as an owner. As someone currently without my own pets, I would love to contribute to your home by stepping in and becoming another familiar face while you and the rest of your family head out of town.

I most understand animals that are timid or suspicious towards strangers, and tend to need that little bit of extra time and tenderness to know that they're ok.

I'm not the pet sitter with vet training or a long list of references about obscure animals they've rescued, but I do know the animals I'm great with almost the instant I meet them, and probably even more importantly, they know me too.

I'm not sure that we really choose our animal friends, as much as they choose us.

My cat Prue spent the first 3 weeks when we got her, hiding behind the washing machine and needing to be fed from there so I just used to sit beside it and quietly read my book or talk to her. Through her life she was Not good with strangers, would hide from everyone except a holy chosen few, and poop inside if she got stressed. Pretty typical behavior for a sensitive cat with a traumatic past, but as her person, going away was always really challenging for me, knowing that it was going to be hard on her. 

If you have a cat that sounds at all like this, then I encourage you to reach out. I'm confident that with the right TLC we can find a way to smooth out the going away process for you and your cat, so that you can enjoy your time away without fretting that they're fretting.

In truth I love all animals, but I'm here at the moment because I feel like I was given stern instructions that this is what I needed to do and so cats is the natural inclination.

With Love

Astraea