Hi I’m Katie, owner of Whisker Watch, a cat sitter in Portsmouth. I have lived in Portsmouth all my life and started cat sitting around the area in 2016. Since then, I have obtained a diploma in cat behaviour and am looking to study other aspects of cats including nutrition and complimentary therapies.
Why am I a cat sitter?
I have loved cats all my life but it was a trip with my cousin to Thailand that made me realise quite how much. We were volunteering at the amazing Elephant Nature Park in Chang Mai, where they also have a lot of rescued cats wandering around. One evening my cousin looked and me and said ‘have you just seen a cat?’ ‘Yes’ I replied ‘I thought so’ she said ‘You’ve got a soppy smile on your face!’ Haha OK I thought, I must do something with this passion of mine….. and so came Whisker Watch!
Things I love about cat sitting;
Cuddles and Purrs – OK I am starting with the obvious, but who doesn’t love cuddles and purrs!
Bonding with the cats, taking my time to understand their different personalities and little quirks.
Meeting other cat lovers and talking about cats!
Keeping cat parents up to date with how the cat is doing by sending regular photos and videos.
I also get some sort of weird satisfaction when clearing out litter trays, I must be in the right job!!
My Cats
I was given my first cat on my 7th birthday as a gift from my parents because they saw me fussing over all the cats who would come in our garden. He was a lovely black and white cat I named Jess. Jess was born in the Portsmouth Dockyard and he had shorter legs compared to normal cats. The people we got him from explained that the cats around the Dockyard can have stumpy legs because for years they would be crouching round under all the boats and had eventually evolved to have shorter legs! Jess was a great cat to grow up with and the most amazing furry brother.
Widget was my second cat and my best friend. He was a tabby who grew up to be a big snuggle puss. Widget taught me what it was to be a cat mum. He was there through some ups and downs in my life and always made me feel loved and happy. We built up an amazing bond with each other and people would often comment on our human/cat relationship and how I would instinctively know what it was he wanted (most of the time!)
