Several TrustedHousesitters members have been refused entry to the US within the last few months. One of them was a 67-year-old retired nurse.

Members have also had problems in Canada and across the UK. Read more of these TrustedHousesitters horror stories over on Reddit.

Hi. My name’s Madolline.

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

House and cat sitting my way around Brooklyn

House and cat sitting my way around Brooklyn

by | 23 February 2022

I was able to extend my stay in New York City by picking up two house and cat sits in different Brooklyn neighbourhoods.

The first Brooklyn sit—found through TrustedHousesitters—was in South Slope and the second was in Prospect Heights. The South Slope house and cat sit started the day my Chelsea sit ended, and the sit in Prospect Heights commenced the day I finished up in South Slope. Back-to-back-to-back sits in New York City saw me save about $4,000 AUD on accommodation costs.

Kiki (calico) and Paco (tabby) were the first cats I looked after. Kiki, the more dominant personality and a bit of a bully, was born in Belize. Paco, on the other hand, was a gentle soul who was found on the streets of Brooklyn as a kitten. I was told Paco would require a bit of extra work because he’s incredibly shy. Paco—much like Coffee, one of the Chelsea Ragdolls—was actually easy to win over and that was without treats. It was Kiki who proved to be a lot more work. Kiki needed mental stimulation and didn’t like not being allowed outside for the first few days I was there.

My next two cat friends were also rescues. Monty (grey and white) and Rosie (black and white)—two-year-old littermates—are probably the shyest cats I’ve cared for in the four and a bit years I’ve been doing this. Monty was intrigued by my presence, but you could still sense he was fearful. Rosie was a lot more wary of me and would hide under the couch each time I entered the apartment. However, by Tuesday morning, she decided I wasn’t all that bad because she jumped on my bed and we slept in until 11am.

The Prospect Heights sit happened to be my first ‘word of mouth’ sit, and was brought to my attention by a lady I house and cat sat for back in 2020. The Prospect Heights apartment was directly across from the Brooklyn Museum and down the road from Grand Army Plaza, and provides an ideal base for anyone wanting to experience everything Brooklyn has to offer.

I was pretty lucky to score an extra week and a bit in New York City thanks to these guys each needing a house and cat sitter. While I preferred the location of the Prospect Heights apartment, I think the South Slope sit offered a unique experience with the apartment’s railroad-style layout. It’s something I haven’t seen before and probably won’t see again. I did, however, miss having a washing machine and some extra space, but I was rewarded with these  NYC luxuries in Prospect Heights.

Things to do

I probably had a few too many rest days in Brooklyn thanks to an ongoing sinus infection and not wanting to leave the apartment(s) because of the negative temperatures outside. But when it wasn’t snowing, or raining, or really windy, here’s some of the things I enjoyed doing/visiting/eating around Brooklyn.

Vanderbilt Ave from Grand Army Plaza to Atlantic Ave

This part of Vanderbilt Ave was recommended to me by Kiki and Paco’s owner when we caught up for coffee. The stretch of road is mostly restaurants, cafes and bars, and some fun street art (Atlantic Ave end). I had intended to get coffee at Caffè De Martini, but the Little Cupcake Bakeshop shopfront caught my eye. Little Cupcake Bakeshop had heaps of delicious-looking cakes and slices, and they made a good iced caramel latte.

Prospect Park

Prospect Park was central to both apartments I looked after, but I visited while I was house sitting in South Slope. The Boathouse is a good place to start. Walk up to the Endale Arch and you’ll end up at the Brooklyn Central Library.

Green-Wood Cemetery

Green-Wood Cemetery was on my itinerary, but I randomly walked past it on my way back to the subway station. It’s a very peaceful place and the snow that had fallen earlier in the day made it even more serene.

House of Wax

The House of Wax bar was something I read about on Atlas Obscura. I love the more morbid and peculiar attractions, and House of Wax was definitely one of them. The bar’s drawcard is its collection of medical and anatomical wax works.

The Social

The Social had the first decent ice cream I’ve had on this trip. I wasn’t too keen on Chinatown Ice Cream Factory or the Van Leeuwen Ice Cream tubs, but I did really like The Social’s butter pecan pie crumble and ‘ooeyer and gooeyer’.

Next stop

My next house and cat sit is somewhere totally new for me—Salt Lake City in Utah. It’s a short sit, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to stay in the state’s capital.

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Cat sitting amidst coronavirus hysteria in New York City

Cat sitting amidst coronavirus hysteria in New York City

by | 18 March 2020

I arrived in New York City after my bus from Baltimore was not only 45 minutes late, but made four stops along the highway because the engine was overheating.

I was then successful at navigating my way around Port Authority, where the bus terminates, until it came time to find the correct subway platform. Little did I know there was four floors of trains at this station. I did, however, work this out after five minutes of only 7-line trains passing on either side of me.

When I eventually got to Clare’s, I was greeted by one of her cats. Little Hans. He’s very social, but Clare later told me he can be funny about the company he keeps. We went on to discuss Clare’s travel plans. Clare was booked to go to Italy, but she decided to change her plans last week. She was now going to Spain. We ran through most of the things I needed to know about the house and cat sit before I showered and went to bed. We ran through the other stuff—like rubbish, the several keys and mailbox—the next morning.

Day one

Clare left for the airport on Wednesday evening and was sitting on her Barcelona bound plane, waiting for it to take off, when Donald Trump announced the European travel ban. She said half the plane got off and she followed not long after. Clare messaged me to say she’d be coming back home that night. She returned to the apartment at about 11.30pm and we discussed what we were going to do. She was considering rebooking flights to somewhere in Mexico, but we decided to chat about it again in the morning. This was the first time coronavirus had affected my plans all trip. I went to bed thinking I didn’t want to be in her space after her travel plans fell through. I was prepared to leave and return home earlier than expected, but I was hoping it didn’t come to that.

Day two

The next morning, Clare read US citizens and permanent residents would be allowed back into the country if they chose to continue with their European travel plans. She rebooked her flight for that night. Clare then looked at the CDC website where they’d changed the status to red—‘Widespread sustained (ongoing) spread and restrictions on entry to the United States’—for most of Europe. Spain was off. Her plans, and mine, were uncertain again.

I left for the day and told her to message me whatever she decided to do. I said I could leave as early as Friday if she decided not to bother booking something a third time. I didn’t want to leave because I was having such a good time in New York. But, in reality, I wouldn’t be needed as a house and cat sitter. Clare messaged me while I was on my Tenement Museum tour and said she was now booked to go to Mexico on Friday morning.

Clare left for the city of Merida on Friday morning.

The cats

Enough about coronavirus. Both of Clare’s cats are former street cats. Little Hans, the older of the two, was found in Clare’s mum’s yard while I’m not 100% sure about Bonnie’s story. I do know she was pregnant when she was originally taken in by someone else.

Hans is very friendly. He likes to sit on the bed with you and knead into your chest. He’ll sit with you—on the same chair—when you’re at the dining room table. He’d place himself under the covers most nights, but would jump off the bed only to return about half an hour later.

Bonnie, the black and white cat, is a lot more reserved. But she’s very vocal. It took her a day or two to warm up to me. And even then, she was still a bit wary of me. Bonnie loves to be petted and her favourite spot is on Clare’s bed. She’s super special because she has one stumpy leg. That leg doesn’t have any toes. If you think of a pirate peg leg, that’s what one of her back legs looks like. It doesn’t cause her any pain, or interfere with her day-to-day living, and Clare thinks she was born like this.

Little Hans and Bonnie don’t really interact with each other—they just do their own thing. They don’t fight over food, or for attention, but Bonnie did hiss at Hans a few times.

About a week later

I was checking news.com.au each day to see what was happening with coronavirus in Australia and the US, and I learned I would have to self-isolate upon my return to Brisbane. That means spending 14 days at home. I then got a notification on Facebook about the US potentially stopping all incoming and outgoing flights within the next 48 to 72 hours. I thought it’d be best to leave as soon as I could. I called Delta on Monday morning to change my Thursday flight to Tuesday. I’d be flying out of LAX at 9.45pm on Tuesday.

Places to go

I have been to New York before so a lot of these recommendations wouldn’t necessarily appeal to a first timer. And some of the things I had planned to see where either closed, or non-operational, because of coronavirus. It was strange to see the streets, subway stations and trains empty, but it made getting around a lot more pleasant.

I wanted to see more of Williamsburg and Clare’s neighbourhood, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Clare’s neighbourhood offered a convenient base for my time in New York City. It was close to several subway stations, and there were food options aplenty on nearby Nostrand Ave and Fulton Street.

Brooklyn Bridge Park

I haven’t walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, but Brooklyn Bridge Park was good enough for me. It gives you a great view of the Manhattan skyline and it was a short, direct train ride away from Clare’s place.

Tenement Museum

Turns out the Tenement Museum is close to where I stayed the first time I visited NYC. I even went to the gift shop on that trip, but I didn’t realise it had a museum attached to it.

A workmate actually recommended several of the tours, but I ended up going with Under one roof. It was interesting to hear about the different families who lived in the tenement (‘tenement’, as I learned, pretty much means ‘apartment building’) in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and how they’d come back as guests on the tour. I learned there was a Chinese Exclusion Act that was repealed in 1943. This then meant the US granted visas to up to 200 Chinese people each year.

Chelsea Market

The first thing I saw at Chelsea Market: ‘We have decided to close our store’ sign at the entrance to Anthropologie. I had a feeling this meant most things in Chelsea Market would be closed as well. But this was not the case. Thank God. My favourite stores in Chelsea Market were Posman Books (reminded me of Kinokuniya bookstore) and Pearl River Mart. Pearl River Mart sells a lot of Japanese things—Gudetama staff, Japanese sweets, etc. And I found a good Thai restuarant, Ayada Thai, inside.

The High Line

The High Line is directly above Chelsea Market. It’s a public space/park built on a former rail line. It goes for about 2km, and offers nice views of the Hudson River and Lower Manhattan. 

Smallpox Hospital ruins

I found out about the Smallpox Hospital ruins on Atlas Obscura. It’s located on Roosevelt Island which lies between Manhattan and Long Island. The island’s meant to be overrun with feral cats, but I only saw one. While the hospital ruins mightn’t interest everyone, if you keep walking down to Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, you’ll get a different view of the city. The park is free and wasn’t overrun with tourists (coronavirus could be to blame for this).

Museum of Sex

This one probably isn’t for everyone, but the Museum of Sex had a very interesting abortion exhibition. One of the ladies I learned about on the Witches of Old New York tour, Madame Restell, featured in it. Madame Restell spent 40 years performing abortions in New York City.

The museum also details the history of pornography and there’s a lot about webcamming.

Chinatown and Little Italy

I feel parts of Chinatown and Little Italy kind of overlap, but it’s a fun area to walk around. Street art everywhere you look, fun shops, and plenty of restaurants, bars and cafes.

World Trade Centre

I did a 9/11 memorial tour and museum visit (highly recommended) when I came in March 2017. As I was walking to Target on my first day, I happened to pass through the World Trade Centre site again. I could see there was all this new artwork, and they’d added tables and chairs. It offers a nice space to just sit back and people watch.

Williamsburg

I spent my last day wandering around Williamsburg. Mainly to look at street art. Williamsburg’s known for its street art scene. Candace, from my Charleston sit, also gave me a list of vintage stores to visit, but—of course—these were all closed because of coronavirus. I was really hoping to check out Catland, a curiosities-type store. But, again, it just wasn’t meant to be this time ’round.

Next stop

My stop next is home where I, like everyone flying into Australia, must self-isolate for two weeks. I’m not complaining about spending the next two weeks at home with my cat, but it does suck not being able to leave for a snack or coffee. Or groceries. And I’ll miss documenting all the coronavirus craziness in New York City.

I’m not sure when I’ll take off again, but let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.

Hoteling it in Hobart

Hoteling it in Hobart

by | 3 November 2019

I wanted to visit Hobart (again) before making my way to Launceston for my first interstate house and cat sit. So I booked a room at the same place I’d stayed about five years ago. The Alabama Hotel.

The Alabama Hotel describes itself as a ’boutique style art infused hotel’, ‘with emphasis on creating an enjoyable, affordable and artistic space’. I already knew the hotel’s amenities were pretty basic, but it redeems itself with the vintage interiors, furnishings and bric-a-brac scattered over two floors. It has a small bar and nice outdoor space, and they do coffee from 8am each day. The hotel’s location’s pretty decent, too. It’s on Liverpool Street. Less than a minute away from Elizabeth Street Mall, and about a 10- to 15-minute walk to Salamanca Place and Franklin Wharf. And there’s a Woolworths a few doors down.

It cost me just under $500 for five nights in a deluxe queen room. This time my room was directly above the bar and looked out on to Liverpool Street. Room 17 has a queen size bed, bar fridge, dressing table, heater and fan, and a small wardrobe to hang your clothes up in. Each floor has separate male and female bathrooms, and I’ve never had to wait to use the shower. Not back in 2014 and not in 2019 either. Shared bathrooms gross me out, but the ones here are really clean (shared bathrooms still gross me out). Enough about the hotel, here’s some fun things to see and do in Hobart.

Places to go

Battery Point

I have a feeling this is one of the most expensive suburbs in Hobart. Traditional homes, with beautiful gardens and views of the water. My favourite thing to do is walk up and down the streets admiring the architecture, and people’s well kept gardens.

North Hobart

Continue walking up Elizabeth Street for about 20 minutes. There’s Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and Mexican restaurants, European-style cafes and the typical Australian pubs/hotels, and the State Cinema. The State Cinema has been operating for 100+ years. The cinema’s bookstore is also worth checking out.

Hobart Cat Cafe

On my way to find lunch in North Hobart, I saw what I thought was a shopfront selling cat trees/towers. I thought a shop like this, especially in Hobart, was odd. I crossed the road to have a better look and could see it was actually a cat cafe. My favourite! This cat cafe is huge and they have a proper food menu. It looks like all the food is made to order in their kitchen. And like all cat cafes, they’ve got a drinks menu (alcohol included (unlike most cat cafes)).

The seven or eight cats they’ve got are rescues and I’m sure they love their new home. Some of their play things go from floor to ceiling, and they’re spoilt for choice when it comes to finding a comfy spot to nap in. Another great thing about Hobart Cat Cafe is you don’t need to book. You can just rock up. Like I did.

Hobart CBD

The city centre has some good stores and the food options are a lot better than I remember them being last time. I picked up a cute fox print from merchant and Thai Veggie Hutt, directly under the Alabama, has delicious-looking vegetarian dishes. The only downside is they close at 4.30pm. And they’re not open on Sunday. Augustus Chocolates is another good one for homewares. Hobart also seems to be big on street art now. You’ll find it everywhere you look in the CBD.

Daci & Daci was my favourite place for pastries and sweets, and they do breakfast ‘til 11am. And I like the Brunswick Hotel. It seems like a more grown up pub/hotel, with a great duo playing the night I went. Harry and Jane. This place gets extra points because they do espresso martinis.

Salamanca Place

The Saturday market is overrated. I told myself I wasn’t going to bother with it again . And I shouldn’t have. I went down at about 11am. As expected, it was ridiculously hard to get around. Some of the stalls have some good stuff, but I’m sure you can find it at other locations around Hobart and Tasmania.

I do, however, like the shops down here (i.e. not the market stalls). Norman and Dann was my favourite this time. Lots of Japanese-y stuff, cat stuff and cute homewares.

Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens

The gardens are about two kilometres out from the CBD. Easily walkable in the cool weather. Beautiful rose gardens. And it’s surprising to see they’ve got a substantial succulent and cactus collection.

Museum of Old and New Art (Mona)

I didn’t visit Mona this time. I considered it, but the main exhibit I wanted to see—’Eat the Problem’—finished in September. I don’t think this gallery will appeal to everyone. Some of the exhibitions are a bit crass. There’s a poop-making machine, a wall of vulva moulds, and it’s owned by a professional gambler. And it’s a bit of a pain/expensive to get to if you don’t have a car in Hobart. The Mona ferry is about $20, and I’m not sure if that’s each way or return. Uber might be an affordable alternative.

Other things worth checking out

  • Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery—admission is free or at least it was when I went.
  • Hobart Convict Penitentiary—I did a tour of this place last time. Very interesting.
  • Mt Wellington—I’ll be driving up here tomorrow before making my way to Launceston.

Next stop

Launceston is my next, and final, stop on this trip. I’ve got a 10-day house and cat sit in West Launceston. This sit was found through Aussie House Sitters—a website I haven’t used before. It has more Australian house sits than TrustedHousesitters, housecarers.com and MindMyHouse combined.

What’s next: Two years on from my first house and cat sit

What’s next: Two years on from my first house and cat sit

by | 14 October 2019

With no new cat sitting content to share right now, I’ve decided to reflect on my house sitting journey so far. I’ll touch on where I’m off to in the next few weeks and where I hope to make it to in 2020.

The journey began about this time two years ago. When I responded to my first ad on TrustedHousesitters. After celebrating the 2017 holiday season with Harvey, I spent the following Christmas in Boulder, Colorado, tending to my favourite cat so far, Nika. This was my fourth house and cat sitting trip since starting out.

My last international cat sit saw me brave the humidity in Birmingham, Alabama, where one-eyed rescue cat Zoey cat kept me company for two weeks before I boarded the train for New Orleans. I had a week ‘off’ in New Orleans, i.e. no cats to care for.

I’ve gone on to do another 14 house and cat sits since December 2017. I’ve sat for the same couple twice. I’ve done three separate sits in Seattle. Meeting very different personality types each time. And I’ve been invited back to look after several cats I’ve cared for. If only America wasn’t so far away.

A bit closer to home, I did a one-night sit for a couple in my hometown. I’ll be looking after their cat again this weekend. They’ve got a lovely, spacious garden for an inner city property. The only downside to this place is your neighbour’s property seems like it’s less than a metre away. Their Ragdoll, Kush Kush, is another memorable character.

I looked after my friends’ cat for a week in September while they holidayed in Sri Lanka. My friends’ neighbourhood is another good one. Yeerongpilly. Their cat previously belonged to an old manager of mine and they took him on at the beginning of the year.

Then just the other day I saw an ad for a sit in Savannah, Georgia. Savannah’s a city I’ve recently become interested in and the sit would’ve seen me celebrate Halloween in the US. This is still something I’m keen to do, but it won’t be this year. While waiting to hear back about the Savannah sit, I saw an ad on Aussie House Sitters for a sit in Launceston, Tasmania. I’ve been wanting to go back to Tasmania for quite a while and I’ll often search my usual sites for Hobart sits. While it’s not Hobart, Launceston will be somewhere new to explore. I spoke with the homeowner a day or two after responding to her ad, and she said she’d love to have me. She told me she’s used a live-in sitter before and loves the idea of being able to offer her home to someone in exchange for cat care. For anyone who’s looking to get a house sit in Australia, Aussie House Sitters seems to have more Australian listings than all the other sites combined.

I’m also keeping my eye on ads for Singapore sits. It’d be a nice, short getaway over the Christmas break. Most workplaces in Australia close from Christmas Eve up ‘til New Year’s Day and it’s not that much more expensive to fly at that time of year. Brisbane to Singapore return usually starts at around $500 AUD and it goes up a couple of hundred dollars around Christmas. It’s a lot more affordable than planning a house and cat sitting trip to somewhere in Europe during December. And, of course, I’m always looking to return to the United States. Savannah and Charleston are high on my list for cities I’d like to house sit in next.

Now for some self promotion. For anyone who’s interested, I post quite regularly to the One cat at a time Facebook page. There’s more cat photos and less pretty scenery shared on the Facebook page. The cat photos seem to generate a fair bit of engagement and interaction between the people who like/follow the page. I also had my house and cat sitting article published in the October edition of Travel Play Live. It’s is an independent travel magazine produced in Australia. You can buy it online or at one of 800+ newsagencies across Australia.