Being An International Catsitter Is The Purrfect Way To Travel The World

• 01

  "It’s the ideal opportunity to combine my passion for travel with my love of cats"

  
  via Laurel Steele

  Laurel told the Catster: "The general idea behind international catsitting is that I care for a person's cat(s), in exchange for a free home in an exciting foreign destination. I got started by registering with a petsitting website and was soon contacted by an English woman living in Turkey who invited me to care for her cats for two weeks in a remote mountain village. I had an unbelievable time enjoying the local nature and spending my evenings curled up in front of a fire surrounded by four purring kitties. After that, I was hooked".

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• 02

  Laurel said that so far, she had the pleasure of petsitting cats in six countries,

  
  via Laurel Steel

  She was staying in major cities like Amsterdam, Basel and Barcelona. Currently she enjoys 7 weeks rent free in a quaint Italian hamlet in the heart of Tuscany.

• 03

  Her favorite catsitting experience so far has been in London

  
  via Laurel Steele

  In London, she spent three months (again, rent free!) watching two twin kitties, Lottie and Lucy. Everything was going well, until she came down with a case of severe bronchitis. What could have been a depressing time, was made much easier by having two cats to care of her. As she moved around the house with my box of tissues, Lottie and Lucy followed her. The pair of them snuggled with her whenever possible. She  swear that their purrs (and radiating body heat) made that time bearable.

• 04

  International catsitting has become Laurel’s preferred type of travel

  
  via Laurel Steele

  "It has taken me to places I didn't even know existed and connected me with amazing people — and pets. I feel like I'm simultaneously at home and exploring the world. After a long day of sightseeing, I get to come home and veg out on the couch with a cat or several. It's the perfect balance of adventure and comfort"' she told Catster.

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• 05

  How to become an international catsitter?

  
  via Laurel Steele

  There are three major petsitting websites: Trusted Housesitters, Mind My House and Nomador. The first two primarily feature listings in the UK, while the third mostly offers petsits in France. However, you will find assignments all around the world through each of these sites. Each site charges an annual membership fee, but it's a fraction of the cost of what you'd spend on hotels wherever you go on vacation.

  
  

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