Become a cat sitter in London
Visit cats in their own flats for £15 to £25 a stop, pick the hours that fit your week, and keep up to 90% of each booking through sitter cashback. Short visits, no rosters, no assigned shifts.
Petme is live in London. Get verified and start accepting cat visit requests in your borough.
What keeps a London cat sitter busy
London is built for the work. Most of the city lives in flats and terraced houses with no garden, so the cats are indoor pets that stay put while their owners travel, and a sitter who comes to the flat is the only real option. Two calendars feed the demand: term dates empty student and staff flats across Bloomsbury, Camden, and the university belt over the winter and summer breaks, and the professional crowd leaves for the Christmas holidays, August, and Easter. Flat density is the sitter's friend here. In boroughs like Hackney, Islington, and Clapham you can line up several cat homes inside a few connected streets, so a tight round of short visits stays worth the trip without ever needing a car.
In-home, not boarding
Feeding, water, a litter change, play, and a wellbeing check in the cat's own flat. Photos after every visit win the rebooking.
Own a few streets
Flat-dense boroughs pack cat homes close together. A tight, tube-connected round keeps short visits worth the trip with no car.
Keep up to 90%
You set your rate. Petme keeps a small commission, and sitter cashback pushes your take-home toward 90% per visit.
London pockets with the most cat visits
Hackney, Islington, and Clapham lead the volume, while Camden, Greenwich, and the inner-east boroughs keep visits ticking over all year. Pick a couple of neighbouring areas and own them.
How payouts and cashback reach you
Every London booking is paid through the app, so there is no cash to chase at the door. Once a visit is marked complete, your earnings move to your linked bank account with the platform commission already taken out and sitter cashback applied, which is what carries your take-home toward 90% per visit. You can follow each booking and payout inside Petme.
Cat sitting in London, answered
The questions London sitters tend to ask before they take their first booking on Petme.
What can a cat sitter earn in London?
London cat visits on Petme pay £15 to £25 each, rising for twice-daily visits or homes with more than one cat. You set your own per-visit rate, and sitter cashback lifts your take-home toward 90% of every booking. A tight round of nearby flats is what turns single visits into steady weekly income.
Do I need experience to start cat sitting in London?
No formal experience is needed. London owners care far more about reliability and calm, quiet handling than any CV, because most are trusting you with a key to an empty flat. A verified profile that names the boroughs and streets you cover is what lands the first bookings.
How do new sitters get their first London clients?
Because London cats are visited at home rather than boarded, owners hire whoever lives nearby, so your first jobs usually come from your own building or street. Flat-dense boroughs like Hackney, Islington, and Clapham pack dozens of cat homes into a short walk, so listing the exact areas you serve is the fastest way to surface in nearby searches.
Which months are busiest for cat sitting in London?
Two calendars drive demand. The academic terms empty student and staff flats over the winter and summer breaks, and the professional crowd leaves town for the Christmas-to-New-Year stretch, August holidays, and Easter. Every indoor cat left behind in a London flat needs a daily visitor, so holding bank-holiday availability books out fast.
Why do London owners choose home visits over boarding?
Cats are territorial and travel poorly, and most London cats live in flats as indoor pets, so owners overwhelmingly want a sitter who comes to the cat rather than moving it. Each visit covers feeding, fresh water, a litter change, a little play, and a wellbeing check, with photos sent straight after so the owner can relax abroad.
Can I fit cat sitting around a job or studying in London?
Yes. There are no minimum hours and no assigned shifts, so you set the schedule yourself. The compact, tube-connected inner boroughs let you chain a few nearby flat visits into a short route that slots around office hours or classes, with no car needed anywhere in London.
Do I count as self-employed cat sitting in the UK?
Yes. Cat sitters on Petme are self-employed and responsible for their own tax. Register as a sole trader with HMRC once you pass the £1,000 trading allowance, keep records of your earnings, and file a Self Assessment return each January. In-home visits and drop-ins need no licence; only overnight boarding requires one from your borough council.
How do payouts and cashback work for cat sitters?
Owners pay through the Petme app when they book, so there is no chasing cash at the door. Once a visit is marked complete, your earnings move to your linked bank account with the platform commission already deducted and sitter cashback applied. You track every booking and payout inside the app.
Cat sitting jobs in other UK cities
Petme is hiring cat sitters across the UK. Pick another city to see local rates and where demand is strongest.
Start cat sitting in London
Set your own per-visit rate. £20,000 vet protection on every booking, cashback that keeps your clients rebooking, and fast payouts to your bank.