Christmas cat sitting challenge is on full speed tomorrow, which means I will be on the road from 6am to 6pm or even later. I might have limited access to shops and need to be comfortable for long duration of being outdoor.

Therefore, Catsmas sitting require special packing. I will write another post to show you my normal gear after New Year.

In this picture, you will see (from left to right): 

• Da Bird toy
• Tea bags – in case I run into a customer who have no tea at home and the shops are closed
• Charger – for phone and iPad
• Book – currently reading Surviving the Twenty-First Century by Chris Patten
• A pouch full of keys
• Tools keychain consists of a Fox 40 Micro emergency whistle, a Swiss Army Knife, a mini torch (you can see my review here), a glow in the dark stick, a Leatherman Pocket Tool, and a door pick multitool. These are all trial and tested pet sitter must have! I will do a separate post to show you in details and explain you why I need each of these tools.
• Hand cream – we wash our hands many times a day and often with cold water in winter because customers tend to turn off the boiler when they are away. I happen to have this one right now but my favourite one is La Roche-Posay Lipikar Xerand Hand Repair Cream (you can read the review here).
• Filofax – I can’t live with my Filofax. My Filofax is my brain. I wrote about it here.
• A shopping bag – always handy to have in case we need to buy cat food or cat litter. Crazy enough, customers often forget these things!
• Roots backpack – best backpack in the world for pet sitter! If they discontinue I don’t know what to do, unless they come up with something better!
• Food – shops are usually closed, there are some sandwiches, biscuits, cakes and fruits in this bento box.

Not in the picture: 

• Good rain resistant coat – crucial for winter in Ireland
• Good pair of water resistant shoes – again, crucial for winter in Ireland! I usually go for Birkenstock or Ecco.
• Good woollen cardigan – keeps me warm even if I am soak
• Jeans – doesn’t show dirt if I am dealing with cat vomit or poop
• Phone – can’t be in the picture as I was using the phone to take this picture
• Wallet – with money and very importantly a Leapcard with enough money as it might be difficult to find a shop to top up the card over Christmas

I am now all set to go and let’s hope the weather is not too bad tomorrow and that there is no cat emergency!

People don’t realise how much planning we have put into so to do our jobs over Christmas. We usually start planning Catsmas sitting since September!

Want to know more about my life as a cat sitter? Follow my blog so that you can get to know more about all the ins and outs of my very special job!