Pet sitters aren't that unique as an entity. Pretty much everyone who has a “fur baby” has either used them or at least heard about them, or have seen ads for them online or elsewhere.
However, they're generally aimed at dogs, something Alabamians admittedly have a lot of. Newsweek in May published research by Zippia, a career and jobs portal, that used data from the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Kennel Club and the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine whether dogs or cats were the most popular pet in each state.
It found Alabama ranked No. 2 behind Arkansas and ahead of Mississippi, Texas and Tennessee in canine popularity, with the Southeast being the most dog-partial region in the U.S. (Cats are most popular in the Northeast, for the record, and the national ratio according to the American Pet Products Association is 1.4 to 1 for dogs.)
Still, there are enough cat owners out there where a new business that opened at the start of 2024 in the Gadsden area, specializing specifically in cat sitting, has enjoyed a successful first seven months.
Royalty Cat Care is the brainchild of Leslie Thomas, a stay-at-home mom and a self-confessed “cat person through and through” who was looking for an outlet.
She provides drop-in visits, “litter box detox” and “cat chauffeur” services within 200 miles of Gadsden through her website, Facebook page and iPhone and Android apps.
Thomas said she home schools her two daughters, ages 9 and 6, noting, “I love being able to raise them and teach them at home, and would not change that for the world.”
As they got a little older and more independent, however, she found herself looking for a little personal time. She took up the ukelele as a hobby and “fell in love with it” and planned to teach her kids how to play, but she observed, “That doesn't get you out of the house.”
Thomas had previous experience as a pet sitter and mobile groomer, but had to quit when she was expecting her first child because she couldn't transport her grooming table around.
“I caught wind of someone being a cat sitter, and it sounded like fun,” she said. “I thought, 'I can do that.' ”
Thomas said she spent three months getting things organized, “policies, service agreements, what insurance I needed to go with.” She has an associate degree in accounting and said that helped in organizing the business. She's also certified by the American Red Cross in cat and dog first aid and insured by Pet Sitters Associates, according to her website.
“Even though it is like a hobby, I want to do it right,” she said. “You're going into people's houses and taking care of their pets, which they look at as children. I take it seriously.”
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Thomas will look after other small animals and even sits with dogs for a local rescue group, but her focus is on cats. (She has two of her own: Samson, 12, and Boy, 7.) She said so many pet sitters are geared toward dogs with their marketing, logos, even their business names.
“You wouldn't prefer that a dog person be a cat sitter,” she said, “because cats and dogs are very different.”
Thomas said cats are “low stress” compared to dogs, which is important to her given that this is a pastime she's doing for fun. She said they also are more easygoing to deal with, unlike dogs whose owners have specific and detailed demands for sitters.
“I'm still a stay-at-home mom and I have to get a sitter lined up when I have drop-ins,” she said. “My schedule is more conducive to cats.
“Dogs need to be let out first thing in the morning, the last time at night and two or three times in between,” she said. “That's a big interruption in my day. Plus, dog people tend to want overnight (stays) or boarding and I'm not set up for either of those. I'm also not set up for walking dogs, if a stray were to attack I wouldn't know what to do because I'm not a dog person, I don't have experience in that.”
Thomas offers her services between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., according to her website. During her drop-in visits, she makes sure litterboxes are scooped “every single day, not every other day,” noting that signs of a cat's health can be found in the box.
“I have play time with them, or if they don't like play time, I just wait for them to come around,” she said. “I figure out what they like." A lot of times cats have preferences with toys, “one specific toy they get into,” although she said owners need to take those up and put them back out to keep their pets from getting tired of them.
She'll brush cats, although she doesn't do grooming for longhair varieties, and will bring “feline enrichment” items. Those include puzzles where cats can seek out treats, and something she's developed called an “outside inside box.” That's a box with outdoor items like leaves, branches and pinecones that Thomas has cleaned and dried out so cats can “sniff around and enjoy it.”
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And business? “I'm actually busier than I anticipated,” she said. “Again this is a choice. I'm not doing this to pay bills or anything with it. I genuinely want to be there and have been busier this year than I thought I'd be.
“For a long time dogs have dominated the pet scene,” she said, “but cats are making their way up there. We're seeing it on the internet with cat videos and stuff. There are other cat people out there.”
To check out Thomas and her services and rates, visit her website at https://bit.ly/3WaZbq9 ; her Facebook page at https://bit.ly/3Sgb25i ; call 256-344-1395; or email royaltycatcare@gmail.com .
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Feline fanciers take note: New business specializes in sitting services for cats
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