Hi. My name’s Madolline.

And I’m seeing the world One cat at a time.

House sitting abroad: What I know about visas and immigration

House sitting abroad: What I know about visas and immigration

by | 13 June 2026

In recent months, I have been contacted by people from the UK, the Netherlands and Australia after immigration officials told each of them that house sitting in a foreign country requires work authorisation (e.g. a work visa).

Their messages have prompted me to write a post on what I’ve learned* after I was refused entry to the USA in 2022. My entry refusal received a lot of media attention, with outlets like CBC touching on it years later when several Canadians came forward with similar experiences. One of those Canadians also reached out to me after her plans to house sit in Florida were thwarted when a US immigration officer told her she wouldn’t be allowed to enter the country.

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Another Canadian lady sent me a Facebook message about a year earlier. She told me she was from Vancouver and had secured a TrustedHousesitters sit in Washington state. She, too, was refused entry to the United States after showing an immigration officer one of TrustedHousesitters’ explanatory letters for border control officials. These letters became TrustedHousesitters’ solution to problems like mine and were addressed to:

“As some of our traveller members have, upon their arrival to the United States, been questioned about the nature of our service and the arrangements made among members, we sought the advice of a US immigration attorney. We discussed how US Immigration regulations and guidance determine the nature of “work by foreign nationals which would require work visas/authorization in the United States”, and we, respectfully, do not feel that the above-described arrangements would fall under this category,” the US letter reads. I’m sure CBP officers didn’t appreciate being told what is and isn’t work in the United States, and by a British house and pet sitting company no less.

The second lady—who was turned away at a land border—doesn’t have an entry refusal stamp in her passport, but her name is flagged in the system. Her NEXUS card was cancelled on the spot and she’s been unsuccessful in her attempts to get another one. Every time she wants to cross at the Peace Arch, she is pulled aside for additional questioning. The questioning isn’t as extensive as it was in the months after the entry refusal, but it’s still a huge inconvenience for someone who is only entering the US to get cheaper gas. She has told me some CBP officers have been quite good about the situation while others have been downright jerks. Will she ever be able to cross without all the extra questions? I don’t know. But what I do know is TrustedHousesitters ended up pulling those letters and they now advise sitters to “follow the immigration rules and local laws of the country they’ll be visiting”.

How house sitting is viewed in other parts of the world

A lot of house sitters are now aware they can’t house sit in the United States with their ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization) or visitor visa (B-1 and B-2). There’s no specific visa for house and pet sitting either, and it seems highly unlikely an American or American organisation is going to sponsor someone to house sit.

Back in 2022, CBP told Business Insider that “Under the Visa Waiver Program, nonimmigrant foreign nationals visiting the United States as tourists (visitors for pleasure), engaging in unauthorized employment is not allowed. For example, working as a house-and-animal sitter in exchange for room and board.” But newer TrustedHousesitters members are still being turned away, with one British lady messaging me about her experience. She was refused entry to the United States in December 2025.

United Kingdom (UK)

Corrine Petteys, an American, was refused entry to the United Kingdom back in 2019. I found her story on the Housesit Match website not long after returning to Australia. At the time, Corrine was the only other person I knew of who’d been refused entry to a foreign country because she had intended to house sit. I’m now aware of at least five or six others who’ve been refused entry to the UK for that same reason.

Can Trusted Housesitters be Trusted? We have used Trusted Housesitters twice and could not fault our experience. In fact we have recommended them highly to our family and friends. Sadly, we now feel very differently because we're not at all comfortable with their business model:- This was meant to be our third

Reuters hesitantly approached UK Home Office for comment after I reached out to them following what read like an advertorial for TrustedHousesitters.”Smith said she has house-sat in France, Morocco, Japan and South Korea after spending $169 on the cost of an annual membership to TrustedHousesitters, a platform that connects pet owners with in-home sitters,” the original piece read. Reuters eventually amended the story to include the following information.

TrustedHousesitters said its sitters rarely face immigration issues. However, a spokesman for the UK Home Office said house-sitting in the United Kingdom is considered a form of work and not permitted with a tourist visa.

 

(This May 22 story has been corrected to show that housesitting in the UK is not permitted with a tourist visa, according to a government spokesperson, in paragraph 14)

A UK immigration lawyer later cited the Immigration Rules Appendix V: Visitor in an article titled Housesitters and holiday swappers: what are the immigration law implications?.

The Visitor must not intend to:

(a) work in the UK, which includes:

  • (i) taking employment in the UK; and
  • (ii) doing work for an organisation or business in the UK; and
  • (iii) establishing or running a business as a self-employed person; and
  • (iv) doing a work placement or internship; and
  • (v) direct selling to the public; and
  • (vi) providing goods and services,

unless expressly allowed by the permitted activities in Appendix Visitor: Permitted Activities or Appendix Visitor: Permit Free Festival List.

New Zealand

While I haven’t spoke with any sitters who’ve been been refused entry to New Zealand, I have read about it happening once or twice. The New Zealand Immigration website says visitors cannot engage “with a New Zealand business or person in New Zealand in exchange for goods or services, for example free accommodation in exchange for a review” The website goes on to say: “If you want to work for or with a New Zealand-based employer, you must apply for a visa that will allow you to work in New Zealand.”

Australia

It looks like there’s two options available to foreigners wanting to holiday in Australia:

  1. Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601)
  2. Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) Tourist Stream.

ETA and Visitor Visa conditions stipulate the holder can’t work in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs website says: “Work is performing an activity, in Australia, that a person would normally be remunerated for. This could be payment or some other form of reward.”

The Department of Home Affairs website also says tourists can engage in volunteer work without the government’s permission so long as it meets the following conditions:

  • is unpaid, and
  • would not otherwise be done by an Australian for pay (Mad Paws is where those with the right to work in Australia can find paid pet sitting opportunities), and
  • is short term, and
  • is incidental to your visit to Australia, and
  • is done for a not-for-profit organisation (TrustedHousesitters is for profit), and
  • benefits the community.

A working holiday visa, however, may allow younger travellers to house and pet sit while in Australia.

Canada

I ended up getting a working holiday visa so I could house sit in Canada without issue, but I know of two or three people who were refused entry to Canada because of their house sitting (or similar) plans. The most publicised instance of this is from 2025. A British national was refused entry to Canada because CBSA officers “were concerned she may try to work illegally” after learning “she spent time with a host family, helping with household chores in return for accommodation” in the United States. This lady’s arrangements were found through Workaway, not TrustedHousesitters. But both companies ‘match’ travellers with a home/pet owner or host.

Canada requires visa-exempt foreign nationals who intend to “fly to or transit through a Canadian airport” to apply for an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA). An approved eTA means you can travel to Canada, but it doesn’t allow you to work or study there. Canadian immigration law defines work as “an activity for which wages are paid or commission is earned, or that is in direct competition with the activities of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in the Canadian labour market”. Much like Australia, Canada has paid pet sitting opportunities available through websites like Rover.

The Five Eyes

Being refused entry to any country—e.g. for house sitting without the appropriate visa—must be declared prior to entering a Five Eyes (FVEY) country. The Five Eyes alliance comprises Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, and it’s believed these countries share travel and passport data. An entry refusal doesn’t mean you’re automatically ineligible to enter a FVEY country, but immigration officers are going to ask a lot more questions before deciding whether or not they’ll let you in. Entry refusals must also be declared in some visa applications. I had to declare it when applying for an International Experience Canada work permit.

As for the European Union, the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) will ask travellers if they are “subject of a return decision” before assessing their ETIAS application.

A word of warning

Even if you follow TrustedHousesitters’ general advice—like having a current passport with sufficient validity and enough savings for the duration of your trip—that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to house and pet sit in a foreign country. If you’re still unsure about where you can house and pet sit, I recommend:

  • speaking with the relevant consulate or embassy about which visa (if any) is needed
  • consulting an immigration lawyer
  • doing a bit more research into the topic. A lot of media outlets like to talk about the cost-saving benefit of house and pet sitting on your travels, but not many of them discuss the visa and immigration risks at great length.

There are certain instances where individuals can house and pet sit in another country without a work visa—like Australians and New Zealanders thanks to the Trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement—but it’s up to you to ensure your house sitting plans are above board.

*I’m not a lawyer. This post is general information only and is not intended to be legal advice.

Looking back on my 2024 house and cat sitting travels

Looking back on my 2024 house and cat sitting travels

by | 31 December 2024

This year saw me reunite with some of my favourite cat friends and I met some cute new ones, too.

I spent a considerable part of the year in Canada* where I did three repeat sits—two in Vancouver and one in Toronto—and got to explore new cities like Victoria and Halifax. I could’ve spent all of 2024 in Canada, but I started to miss home. It also became exhausting (and expensive) going from house sit to house sit. So I decided to return to Australia at the end of August after securing a permanent government job. A permanent job means my future house and cat sitting travels will be limited, but I was able to get one last sit in for 2024.

This post comprises mostly photos from this year’s Canadian cat sitting travels, but I’ll also introduce two of my favourite cats who’ve been featured on my cat sitting Facebook page and Instagram account yet remain without mention on here. Their names are Henry and Josie, and they’re two rescue cats from Toronto.

Henry and Josie

Where do I begin with these two? Henry and Josie are so special. I first met Henry and Josie in 2023 after their owners reached out to me on House Sitters Canada. This would be the family’s first time using a live-in house and cat sitter, and I like to think I left a good impression because I was invited back this year.

Henry and Josie were described as an affectionate, food-motivated duo. When you hear ‘duo’, you’d think they’d get along. But they’re not the the best of friends. Henry would love for them to be mates, but Josie still isn’t sold on Henry. When we all met, back in August 2023, I was told Josie [still] can’t understand why she has to share her humans with Henry. And while Henry is very respectful towards Josie, Josie still feels the need to give Henry a paw to the face every few days.

The family adopted Josie, now aged 10, first, with Henry being a more recent addition. They may have adopted Henry during the pandemic, but I can’t be sure. Henry spent the first year and a bit of his new life living in the family’s office. This—along with under the couch—was his safe space and was somewhere Josie would leave him be. While Henry’s still a little reserved, he now roams freely around the apartment and doesn’t mind helping himself to whatever you’re eating. His favourite daytime napping spot is on the office window bed and he enjoys sleeping between your legs at night. It’s incredibly uncomfortable, but he’s just too cute to disturb.

Josie, on the other hand, will sleep almost anywhere. She loves a good blanket fort, sitting or napping on your lap, sleeping next to you each night, and she’d sleep on top of me if I took a nap on the couch. Josie is also surprisingly active despite being a little more senior and the tiniest bit bigger than your average cat. Watching her run after paper balls and swat at the feather on a stick always made me laugh.

Henry and Josie, despite their differences, are united through their love for food. They’ll wake you up about an hour before their automatic feeder goes off (3am) and again at 7am (that’s when it’s time for wet food). They don’t eat again until around 5pm, but that doesn’t stop Henry from trying to eat all the human food. On this sit, he:

  • ran off with the egg from my Indonesian noodle dish
  • snuck off with a few McDonald’s fries
  • broke through the cling wrap to lick the cream cheese icing off the carrot cake I bought earlier in the day.

These two kitties really do mean a lot to me. Their owners even gifted me a Henry T-shirt and it’s probably the best house sitting gift I’ve received. The material is decent quality and they wear really well. The owners’ Josie one actually looks like something you’d get from a vintage store. For anyone who wants to get their own pet T-shirt made—and I’m guessing there’s at least one or two of you—here’s a link to the Etsy store.

Other cats I cared for this year

This year’s first house and cat sit was an international one. It was one I was familiar with and ended up being the first of two sits I’d be doing for this lady. Her Ragdolls, Jaws and Killer, are still quite young, but they’re not the ‘we’ll chew your cords and destroy all your things’ kind of young cats. Jaws is the one with the taupe-coloured markings and Killer is a flame point (i.e. ginger). Some of their favourite things include  racing out the front door each time you come home, jumping into the fridge and hanging out in the bathroom.


I then spent a few nights in Calgary where I was looking after two rescue cats. Birdie (tortoiseshell) and Tank (ginger). Birdie enjoyed inspecting my dinner(s) and Tank liked to chew on the plants.

Montreal was my next stop. This was a house and cat sit for a friend’s sister. My friend’s sister happened to live a few streets away from where I did my first Canadian house sit. The kitty’s name was Tango and he preferred to spend most of his time outside. Tango wasn’t bothered by the snow, but he didn’t love the rain.

After about a month in Montreal, I went back to the west coast. I’d secured a sit in Victoria, B.C., which is where I spent the Easter break. Victoria was a city I’d heard so much about last time so I was determined to get a cat sit there. The kitty I was looking after was called Nahlah. She was another sweet, affectionate ginger. And another rescue cat.

I then returned to Vancouver for a 10-day sit in the city’s West End neighbourhood. I was looking after Isabel, a feisty older lady who would stand on her plate to remind me it was time to feed her. The West End location ended up being really convenient because Jaws and Killer’s owner—another West End resident—was heading out of town again. The first few days overlapped with this 10-day sit, and meant I had to do drop-in visits to feed Jaws and Killer their breakfast and dinner.

I went from spending most of May with Jaws and Killer to a relatively short sit in a smaller town in Ontario. This one slotted in nicely with a gap I had between when my last Vancouver sit finished and when my summer sit in Montreal started. I’m not sure the Kitchener–Waterloo area has much to offer international tourists, but the apartment was comfortable and the lady’s cat, Bella, proved to be a total love bug after some initial hissing and scratching.

Most of June was spent in Montreal. It was incredibly humid (I should’ve known), but Montrealers really love summer. The city has festivals and street performances on almost every night of the week, and a lot of restaurants and cafes erect a terrasse to make the most of people wanting to get out and enjoy the warmer weather.

My two Montreal companions were Marlon (black and white) and Penny (white). They’re originally from Calgary, Alberta, and I think this was their first Montreal summer. I don’t know how warm it gets in Calgary, but I felt especially bad for Marlon. He was booked in to get shaved when his owner returned.

It was now time to return to Toronto to look after Henry and Josie. I spent all of August 2023 looking after them and I’d be with them for all of July. I don’t think either one of them remembered me at first, but it didn’t take them long to realise I was OK. And Henry seemed a lot more interested in me after I returned with donuts. I wish I could look after them every time their owners went away, but, sadly, that’s not practical.

The last house and cat sit of the trip was in Halifax. Another city I’d heard so much about and another city I was hoping to get a cat sit in. I think I’d secured the sit while I was looking after Bella, in Kitchener–Waterloo, so it wasn’t one that had been organised months in advance. Because there’s so few sits advertised in Halifax, I was pretty pleased with myself to have landed it.

The Halifax kitty I was looking after was yet another rescue. His name was Sushi. He had the prettiest green eyes and would ‘gift’ me his worm toy over the course of the night. I was gifted the worm toy almost every night of my stay. Another Sushi quirk was that he liked to paw his dry food out of his bowl, place it on the floor, and pick it up—with that same paw—and put it in his mouth.

Sushi would let me tuck him in each night. I don’t know whether he actually liked it, but he allowed it. It was incredibly hot during some of those summer nights in Halifax, but, again, the only one bothered by the extreme humidity was me.

My last house and cat sit for 2024

Upon returning to Australia, I started to think about where I wanted to spend Christmas. Corporate offices are usually closed from Christmas Day to New Year’s Day so that gave me a good week or so to get away. I was tossing up between Melbourne and Hobart, but there weren’t many house sits going in Hobart when I started looking. So I went with Melbourne.

It would be my third or fourth time house and cat sitting in Melbourne, and the second Melbourne sit I’ve done over the Christmas holidays. This time, however, I’d be looking after two kittens. Klaus and Maisy. The only other time I’ve looked after kittens was when I was house sitting in Cincinnati. This was five or six years ago, and the owner decided to adopt them a few weeks before the house sit started.

When I spoke with Klaus and Maisy’s owner, back in September, she’d only just adopted them. She was told they’re part Ragdoll, but I have a feeling they’re more Siamese than anything else. They definitely look Ragdoll-like in their earlier photos, but they appear a lot more Siamese-y now they’re about six months old.

Klaus and Maisy are, as you would expect, playful and curious. They’re also pretty weird and very affectionate. Klaus (grey) is the chill one and Maisy (darker markings) is the menace. They like to watch you from the office window, play with anything and everything that resembles a toy, and snuggle up to you at bedtime.

Klaus likes to spends his afternoons napping, but Maisy would rather play and hunt from within inside the apartment. I have caught Maisy staring blankly at a wall, hiding under a mat and with her eyes fixated on the inside of a lampshade. Outside noises seem to pique their interest so I’m curious to see how they’ll respond to Melbourne’s New Year’s Eve fireworks shows.

Plans for 2025

I return to Brisbane on 3 January 2025 and start back at work on 6 January. Now that I have a permanent fulltime government job, I don’t know where I’ll be off to next. Or when. But I do know that I’ll have to be a little bit more strategic when it comes to using my annual leave.

*I have an open work permit for Canada. My working holiday visa is valid until July 2025.

Spending the festive season cat sitting ’round Australia

Spending the festive season cat sitting ’round Australia

by | 5 January 2023

Each Christmas is the chance for me to house and cat sit somewhere new, and this year wasn’t going to be any different. It just wasn’t going to be overseas.

I’d organised sits in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, and I got to spend a few days in Busselton before being reunited with Little Dolly Parton. The bulk of the trip was spent house sitting in Perth, with Christmas Day celebrated in Adelaide and the days leading up to 2023 in Melbourne.

This Christmas break actually marked five years since I started my house and cat sitting journey. Harvey, the former street cat from San Francisco, was the first cat I looked after and subsequent Christmases saw me care for Nika in Boulder, Colorado; Jaspurr in Brisbane, Australia; Pepper in Darwin, Australia; and Pixel in Sydney, Australia. And while I would’ve loved to be house and cat sitting in a cooler climate, I was just grateful to get back-to-back-to-back sits in Australian cities I wanted to visit.

Perth, the first stop on the trip, was the first house and cat sit I booked. I’d been to Perth once before, but I didn’t get to see anything other than the Rio Tinto office building and the hotel room I was staying in. Because of my ongoing drama(s) with TrustedHousesitters, I’ve chosen to steer well clear of them and all my Christmas sits were found on Aussie House Sitters. I signed up to Aussie House Sitters in 2019 and have continued to renew my membership each year. An Aussie House Sitters membership ($84 AUD) is about half the cost of what sitters pay to use TrustedHousesitters ($149 AUD) and, as you’d expect from an Australian house sitting website, they’ve got hundreds of listings for homes all over the country.

I arrived in Perth on a Sunday afternoon and was introduced to Rio, one half of the brother–sister duo I’d be spending the next 20 days with. Rio and his biological sister, Luna, who I met the next day, have very different personalities. Rio wanted to spend ALL his time with you, or on you or on your things. I even have a photo of him sitting on my pizza box that’d been placed on the table for a few seconds while I locked the front door. Luna spent her days and nights outside, and preferred the independent lifestyle. She did, however, like to sit with me after she’d eaten her breakfast and dinner.

My first night in Perth took an interesting turn when another cat appeared in the backyard. I messaged Rio and Luna’s owner asking if she was okay with the other cat being in her yard. Some people don’t care if it’s one of their neighbours’ cats, but they’ll feel differently about a random cat being on their property. The lady I was house and cat sitting for replied saying she’d never seen the cat before. I remember thinking: “Of all the days for this cat to appear, it makes itself known on the day I arrive in Perth?!”

The kitty was extremely friendly, but I couldn’t keep him/her inside because it wasn’t my house. Pixel’s owners, who I’m in regular contact with, suggested I post a picture of the cat to a Perth lost and found Facebook group. Within a few hours, five or six people thought the kitty was theirs. One particular lady kept getting tagged by different people and she was adamant the cat was hers. Her cat, Boo, went missing one week earlier. This lady lived 10km away from where I was staying and it didn’t seem probable Boo had walked that far in seven days. The woman described Boo as shy and reserved, and a bit jumpy. She told me her cat wasn’t very trusting of others. The cat in the courtyard was none of those things—he/she wouldn’t leave me alone. In the end, as I always knew, the kitty wasn’t Boo. A kind stranger from that same Facebook group came by to take this cat to a 24-hour vet clinic to get a microchip scan. I was told the kitty didn’t have a microchip and would be taken to a local cat rescue. The kitty was held for seven days before he/she was put up for adoption.

The rest of my time in Western Australia was spent exploring places like Rottnest Island (home of the quokka), Nambung National Park and the Pinnacles, Cervantes, York, Busselton, and Margaret River. I probably had a little too much time in Perth itself, but there’s a lot places outside the city I’d still love to see.

Quokkas on Rottnest Island

I was meant to arrive in Adelaide just before midday on 22 December, but my flight was cancelled. Virgin couldn’t (or wouldn’t) put me on any other flight despite Google showing two or three Virgin flights out of Perth at a cost of $1,200. They chose to re-book me on a flight scheduled for the following morning and told me to head to a hotel that they’ll reimburse me for. In all the years I’ve been flying, this was the first time I’d had a cancelled flight. A cancelled flight is a huge inconvenience for anyone, but I felt really bad about it because I was responsible for someone’s cat.

It’d been an exhausting few days and I couldn’t wait to do nothing with Little Dolly Parton when I finally got to Adelaide. I’d also been dealing with another dreaded sinus infection so lazing around the house sounded like the perfect way to spend Christmas Day after getting up at midnight and 3am the past two mornings.

Dolly was just as cute and comical as I remember her being. She’d run to the front door to investigate any noises coming from outside, chill on her cushion and jump on the bed to demand your attention. She’d then request you stop patting her by letting out a little meow. Our Christmas Day was spent in the air con eating all the things I’d bought at Adelaide Central Market.

My trip to Adelaide was a quick one and now it was time to head to Melbourne. Melbourne was recently named the world’s friendliest city, and it was somewhere I hadn’t been back to in about five or six years.

I spent the next week caring for a low maintenance kitty called Willow. Willow’s family owns a very comfortable, nicely renovated three bedroom home in Northcote. Their house was decorated with art, ornaments and things from their travels, and it’s probably one of only a few homes I’ve stayed in where you got a real sense of the people living in it.

Willow—like Rio and Luna—was another mostly outside cat. All cats in this local council area, however, have to be inside by 7pm or the owner risks being fined. Willow was good with her 7pm deadline and never ventured outside the family’s yard. She spent her days lounging on the deck and evenings were for snuggling up against me in bed.

The unexpected warmer weather in Melbourne made it difficult for me and my sinus infection to want to do anything, and my first day in town was re-allocated as a rest day. I’d intended to venture straight into the city, but I decided it was best to do this the next day. I definitely didn’t expect it to be 37°C when I arrived, but I should’ve remembered the “Melbourne: Four seasons in one day” phrase. Despite most days averaging 35°C, I got out to Fitzroy and Collingwood. I also enjoyed walking along High Street in Northcote and stopping in at all the boutiques. I went to the National Gallery of Victoria, walked along the riverfront at Southbank, admired at city’s street art and explored the many laneways in the CBD.

New Year’s Eve came and went which meant my Australian house and cat sitting holiday was almost over. I flew home on 2 January 2023, and I’ll probably stay put for a good four or five months before travelling again. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing this year, or where house and cat sitting will take me, but I’m still pushing for TrustedHousesitters to update their house sitting abroad advice.

Another rendezvous with Pixel in Sydney

Another rendezvous with Pixel in Sydney

by | 30 October 2022

After a crazy few months, I couldn’t wait to get away again even if it was only for one week.

I’d been invited back to care for Pixel—everyone’s favourite Cheshire Cat—while his humans holidayed in New Caledonia. Their overseas trip was a bit of a last-minute one which meant a close friend spent the first two or three days looking after Pixel before I was able to fly in.

I first met Pixel in April 2021 when Australia was experiencing a COVID-19 outbreak. Mind you, back then, an ‘outbreak’ was as little as three or four cases in any Australian city. I remember wanting to get away for the upcoming Easter break, but my options were limited. Booking domestic travel was risky because states and territories could go into a sudden lockdown meaning interstate visitors weren’t allowed in. There weren’t too many house sits being advertised either. Of the few available, one was in inner city Sydney. Sydney wasn’t at the top of my travel wishlist—I’d been a few times before and I hadn’t felt the need to return in recent years—but I’m glad I responded to the ad. While I keep in touch with a lot of people I’ve house and cat sat for, I probably WhatsApp Pixel’s owners at least once a day.

Pixel’s owners happened to be some of the first people I spoke with after being refused entry to the United States. I don’t know what time it would’ve been back in Australia, but I was one of the last passengers to board the Sydney-bound Qantas flight at 10.30pm Los Angeles time. Pixel’s owners offered a lot of support and kind words via WhatsApp, and they even did some quick research into the legalities of tourists using TrustedHousesitters in the United States. Their WhatsApp messages made me feel a little less upset/annoyed/angry about the situation and the long flight I was about to endure. TrustedHousesitters—the website I’d organised all my house and cat sits through—has come out saying what happened to me was all a “misunderstanding” because US immigration doesn’t understand the “concept of house sitting”.

Back to Pixel. It’d been a good eight or nine months since I saw Pixel last. He’s lost a bit of weight thanks to a revised feeding routine which sees him get one scoop of dry food and one pouch of wet food each day. We like to joke Pixel has lost weight to help him land a movie role in Hollywood. Pixel has become a bit of a celebrity following what happened to me at LAX. A lot of media outlets have chosen to use a Pixel selfie to accompany their reporting and, of course, people on the internet have a lot to say about Pixel’s face. Usually ‘That cat looks pissed off’ or ‘That’s one angry-looking cat’. Pixel is neither of these things, and he seems to be more affectionate and chill than ever before.

What I did during the week

The Sydney weather has been pretty shitty all year and this week was no exception. Thursday was the first day it hadn’t rained at all all week. Every person I spoke to would say something like: ‘How nice is the weather today?’ The rideshare driver I had on the way back to the airport told me all about his Saturday morning in the sunshine. He said this is some of the best weather the city’s seen in 2022.

The heavy, never-ending rain on Monday made it difficult to get up, but I eventually made my way out to the Mitchell Road antiques warehouse. This is somewhere I like to visit each time I’m in town. It’s huge and a lot of the stuff is reasonably priced. Reasonably-priced things can be hard to come by in Sydney.

Bondi Beach is another place I like to visit when I’m here. My favourite vegan Lebanese restaurant is no longer, but the Sunday markets were still on despite the rain. A workmate also recommended the Sculpture by the Sea exhibition which stretches the Bondi Beach to Tamarama part of the Bondi to Bronte walk.

A few other things I enjoyed:

  • Walking from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach along Bondi Road. I’m always getting the bus through here, but this is the first time I’ve walked it.
  • The Art Gallery of New South Wales. I didn’t know this even existed until this week. The Royal Botanic Garden is next door and it’s a 15-minute walk down to Circular Quay.
  • Shopping along Oxford Street and admiring all the pretty terrace homes (and their Halloween decorations) in the streets off the main road. There’s a hub of activity happening in the backstreets of Paddington that I’d like to check out properly next time. Newtown is another good area for shopping, and has plenty of food choices and lots of murals.

Next stop

I’m on my way home where I’ll be working up until the end of November. From 27 November, I’ll be off on a month-long domestic cat sitting adventure through Aussie House Sitters. Perth is my first stop, then Adelaide and I’ll be in Melbourne for New Year’s Eve.

Swapping an overseas cat sitting holiday for two weeks in the South Australian capital

Swapping an overseas cat sitting holiday for two weeks in the South Australian capital

by | 11 August 2022

I think everyone knows US Customs and Border Protection put an end to my most recent house and cat sitting plans, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me holidaying somewhere else.

I still had a good two months off and didn’t want to spend that time sulking about what happened at LAX. The only requirement for my next house and cat sit was it had to be somewhere in Australia*. I was hoping for a winter sit in Hobart, Launceston or Perth, but I was open to sits in a few other places. While somewhere in Tasmania was my first preference, an ad for a two-week sit in the South Australian capital city of Adelaide piqued my interest. It was the photos of the cat—whose name is Little Dolly Parton—that made me really want to apply. Dolly’s owner responded to my message almost immediately and agreed to have me sit for her. We messaged regularly in the lead up to the sit and she said she’d be happy to pick me up from the airport. The offer of an airport pick up never goes astray, especially when you land at 9pm.

I was introduced to Little Dolly Parton before Dolly’s owner left to spend the night at her mum’s place. Dolly’s owner was off on a long-awaited overseas holiday early the next morning. Dolly—who was described as “a very independent lady” in the listing—was a little unsure of me to begin with. She was curious, but cautious. She let me pat her a few times before she started getting sassy about it. Dolly’s owner said Dolly would come around in the next 24 to 48 hours and might sleep on the bed. I was told Dolly “loves a snooze and a cuddle”, but it does take her a while to warm to strangers. By the end of the sit, I’d say Dolly really liked me. She’d greet me at the front door, follow me to the bathroom and sit next to me on the bed while I used my laptop. Dolly would also jump on the bed as soon as I rolled over to check my phone each morning.

You could hear Dolly running through the house during the night because her heart-shaped tag jingles. She’d run from the living room to the kitchen (to snack on her dry food) and then through the bedroom to the bathroom to drink from her water bowl. Dolly really likes to drink water from the shower so her owner put a bowl IN the shower. I’d change the water out each evening and Dolly would be in the shower within the next few minutes to drink from it. Dolly also enjoyed going through my suitcase and shopping bags, inspecting my gum boots after I’d worn them, and creeping on me from under the timber stool in the bedroom.

The home I was staying in is perfect for solo travellers like myself. It used to be a villa that’d been converted into three smaller apartments. It was cosy and conveniently positioned between two main roads/thoroughfares. Buses to and from the CBD left every 10 minutes, and there was a cafe pretty much directly across from her home. That particular cafe was a bit overpriced, but the one where Dolly’s owner worked at—a 10-minute walk up the road—turned out to be my favourite local spot.

Things to do

All I knew about Adelaide was it’s referred to as ‘The city of churches’ and that it’s got its fair share of wineries. I don’t like wine, but I do appreciate architecture. None of the churches I saw were overly impressive, but the city does have a lot of nice-looking older buildings.

Art Gallery of South Australia

I’m not a huge fan of art galleries, but I’ll still check out one or two in whichever city I find myself in. The Art Gallery of South Australia might be one of a few art galleries I’ve actually enjoyed. It’s easy to navigate and it had a lot of pieces I was interested in. The gallery is on The University of Adelaide’s city campus which I spent the afternoon admiring.

Adelaide Central Market

Adelaide Central Market was the first place I went to in Adelaide AND the last place I went to. I could’ve easily eaten here every day I was in town. The internet says it’s the largest undercover market in the southern hemisphere and it has everything from made-to-order Italian food to vegan pasties and handmade skincare products.

Fleurieu Peninsula

South Australia’s Fleurieu Peninsula is known for its beaches, cute coastal towns and wineries. It’s a good day trip option from Adelaide, with the drive to my first stop—Port Willunga Beach—taking less than an hour.

My next stop, Port Elliot, is known for its bakery. The Port Elliot Bakery had people lining up around the corner when I stopped by at around 11am. The Strand [street] is the town’s retail strip and the beach is a bit further up. I stopped at the d’Arenberg Cube on my way back to Adelaide. The building/gallery/wine tasting and restaurant/experience was described to me as “a poor man’s MONA”. That person was right. It’s definitely no MONA, but it’s still worth checking out if you’re in the area.

Hahndorf

Hahndorf is a small German town in the Adelaide Hills. While only 15–20 minutes outside the city, it would probably take all day to get there on public transport so it’s only doable with a car. The main street is full of German bakeries, cafes and pubs. Lots of cute homewares stores, too.

Plant 4 Bowden

I wouldn’t have known about Plant 4 Bowden unless it was for a primary school friend’s sibling. It’s an old building filled with cafes, bars and restaurants just outside the CBD. The iced miso caramel latte at My Grandma Ben’s was good, but I’m not sure about their curried red lentil and chickpea toasted sandwich. I wanted to try the margherita pizza at Fun2seeya Pizzeria, but they’re only open for dinner during the week. Real Falafel, one of my favourites at Adelaide Central Market, is also out here.

Next stop

I’ve still got another few weeks off before returning to my previous contract job. I’d love to get another [domestic] sit in, but I’m not sure that’ll happen. I’ve got a fair bit of ‘life admin’ to tend to following this ordeal and I should look at putting money aside for legal advice.

*TrustedHousesitters says “international house sitting is very much allowed“ and it was a “misunderstanding of the concept of house sitting” on the immigration officer’s part.