Meowtel: In-Home Cat Sitting

Really glad I discovered the Meowtel app. I’ve been pet sitting for over a decade, but the majority of my clients hire me to care for their dogs. I’ve been wanting to work with more cats, and oh boy, this app delivered! I’ve been on this app a bit over a month, and have already made tons of new local connections. I’ve met great people and adorable cats - many of which who are hiring me on a recurring basis, so my schedule is already booking up like crazy. I really appreciate how much thought and effort Meowtel puts into vetting their sitters - it lets me know they actually care. I went through a detailed application process, including a background check, reference checks, and a virtual interview with a Meowtel staff member. I’m sure this helps keep their platform full of dedicated, high-quality cat sitters, rather than overloaded with random people just looking for a side gig. I have a few minor suggestions on how to tweak the app for a better user experience (for Sitters), but overall, I’m happy with it. My main hang up is the 30% fee taken from earnings. This means I have to set my prices higher than some people can afford. I’m also not a fan of the “one price fits-all” approach that Meowtel encourages. I’d much prefer being able to adjust my pricing depending on each booking - such as an upcharge for multiple cats, cats with special needs or medical requirements, bookings further outside of my service radius, etc. I do understand charging by time blocks, (20, 30, or 45 minutes), but especially as a veterinary professional, I don’t want feel like I’m overcharging for very simple bookings compared to high-maintenance or medical bookings.

I tags to say, tye good thing about this app is that it inspired me to connect with other local pet sitters and work together , because this is just another exploitative app designed by people who don’t know how to design apps, banking on being the combo McDonalds/Uber of catsitting. As a sitter…this app takes 30%, which means if you don’t want to drastically underprice/undervalue your labors and experience to get clients through this app, good luck. I’ll stick to my local clients through word of mouth rather than offering poverty level rates to compete with unskilled sitters who are undercutting actual professionals. The onboarding experience is ridiculous. They want you to give several references, but not personal ones. I gave professional pet sitting references and they asked them questions like “if this person lost your keys, what would they do?” and asked them what else I do for a living…why would a professional client know that??? When it came time for my final zoom onboarding with Meowtel, my attempts to log in got me “host not ready” messages…then I got an auto email saying I wasn’t approved because I didn’t make the meeting. Lololol If you want a good cat sitter…reach out locally. Talk to your neighbors. If you find someone through this app, they are getting ripped off trying to offer your kitties care. Everyone deserves better than this.

Love that there is a high quality pet-sitting service dedicated specifically to felines, with sitters who are fully vetted and background checked and who specialize in the art of cat-care. The best cat-caregivers possess a combo of skills and traits that cater to cats’ unique sensibilities (including a calm, patient demeanor) with the ability to gain their trust and put both felines and their humans at ease…as a cat-mom, communication is key when I’m away so knowing you can count on updates with pictures / videos during each visit goes a long way. Meowtel sitters are held to a very high standard in order to maintain a 5-star rating, and you can read reviews from each sitter’s previous clients to get an even better sense of the quality of care you can expect to receive. They have a genuine love of felines, are detail-oriented, possess a high level of emotional intelligence and an innate ability to read feline body language and behavioral cues, with years of hands-on experience. Would highly recommend.