What Do House Sitters Usually Do? A Complete Overview (2026)

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📊 QUICK FACTS:

The first time I ever looked after someone else's home and animals, I was in Montanel, France, in a house I had to myself for five months. I had not planned a lifestyle around it. I just needed somewhere to be for a while, and house sitting turned out to be the answer.

The second time was in Sydney — a $3.4 million property 500 metres from the Harbour Bridge, looking after a toy poodle named Coco. Three walks a day, a few cuddles, a harbour view from the kitchen window. That one made it obvious this was not a one-off.

After 15+ sits across 9 countries, Caro and I can tell you exactly what house sitters actually do from day to day: what the routines look like, where the responsibility begins and ends, and how simple the whole thing is when you approach it with the right mindset.

The Number One Job: The Pets

Every sit is different, but one thing never changes. The animals are the primary reason you are there. The home is secondary. Before you think about plants, bins, or cleaning, you think about the pets.

Cat sits are the easiest entry point into house sitting and the ones we recommend to anyone starting out. Cats are independent. They largely manage themselves. Our most relaxed sit to date was in Lullin, France, with two outdoor cats named Piton and Muscaton. They would wander in from the garden when it was time to eat, accept some food, tolerate some affection, and head back out. Caro loved the tick checks after they came inside — she would sit with them in the evening, running her hands through their fur, which both she and the cats seemed to enjoy equally. That was the whole sit. A beautiful house in the French Alps, two cats who barely needed us, and the rest of the day completely free.

Even the most demanding cat sit we have done was not genuinely difficult. In Cries, Switzerland, we had three cats who each needed exactly 82 grams of food twice a day, daily medication, and their teeth brushed. It sounds like a lot written down. In practice it took twenty minutes morning and evening. The rest of the time we had the run of a house with a view over Mont Blanc. If that is the hardest cat sit we have encountered across 15+ sits, new sitters have very little to worry about.

Dog sits require more from you, but they give more back. Dogs are not independent. They need walks, they need routine, and they need your presence in a way cats simply do not. But the trade-off is the kind of affection that is hard to describe to someone who has not experienced it. During our current sit in Athens, the French Bulldog meets us at the door every single time we come home. Every time, as if we have been gone for a week. There is something about that which does not get old.

A typical dog day looks roughly like this: a morning walk, breakfast for the dog, free time in the middle of the day with a shorter walk or garden time depending on the breed, and then an evening walk followed by dinner. The rhythm locks in within two days. Dogs slot into a routine with new sitters faster than most people expect, because dogs care more about consistency than about who is providing it. For anyone working remotely, the middle hours are ideal office time — the dogs are napping, the house is quiet, and the Wi-Fi (always confirm the speed during your video call with the homeowner) makes the setup more productive than most co-working spaces.

The clearest example we have of this is Teddy in Cortona, Italy — an eleven-year-old Labrador who had clearly been doing his morning routine for most of his life. By day two he was nudging whoever was closest with his nose at around seven in the morning, which was his way of communicating that it was time to get up, get dressed, and go. You did not question it. You got up and went. Teddy and Lucca, the other Labrador, would then lead the walk at their own pace through the Tuscan hills before coming home, eating, and spending the rest of the morning asleep in patches of sunlight. The homeowners had built their lives around those dogs. Our job was simply to continue the rhythm they had established.

One rule that matters: do not improvise with other people's animals. If you think you have a better way to feed a dog, or a smarter approach to exercise, or a theory about why a cat might prefer a different food, keep it to yourself until you have spoken to the homeowner. It is not your pet and it is not your call. The owners know their animals. You have been there three days.

Your Basic Daily Checklist

Every sit is different, but this covers the core of what a good day looks like.

Morning

During the day

Evening

That is it. Everything else — garden, bins, plants — gets layered on top based on the specific sit.

The Sweet Spot: How Many Animals Is the Right Number

Through 15+ sits we have landed on a clear preference: 2 to 4 cats, or 1 to 2 dogs. No more than 4 animals in total. The routines are manageable, the independence of the animals gives you genuine free time, and the sits are straightforward enough to get five-star reviews confidently. For anyone in their first few sits, cats with this kind of setup are the path of least resistance to a strong review history.

With 1 to 2 dogs you can give both animals proper attention without feeling pulled in multiple directions. One dog is the simplest arrangement there is. Two dogs means they keep each other company when you are out, which often makes them calmer and easier to manage than a single dog who becomes anxious alone.

Beyond four animals, the dynamic changes. More pets mean more responsibility, more things that can go wrong simultaneously, and a sit that starts to resemble professional pet care rather than a mutual exchange. Sits with large numbers of animals, specific medical requirements, or unusual demands should generally come with compensation. Know what your time and effort is worth and do not undersell yourself. We cover exactly where that line sits in our guide to the difference between house sitting and unpaid labour.

Everything Else: The House

The home is in your care, but it is not your renovation project or your deep-cleaning opportunity. What is expected is straightforward: keep the place as you would if you were expecting the owner home at any moment.

Caro and I have a simple system. We keep our own food in a clearly designated box and a section of the fridge. Our belongings stay in the room we are using. The rest of the house remains as we found it. This approach means we never feel like we have taken over someone's home, and it means the final clean is manageable rather than a full-day operation.

For shorter sits of a week or less, the end-of-sit routine covers the floors we walked on, the kitchen we cooked in, the bathroom we used, and the bedding. Strip the sheets, leave them in the laundry basket or wash them if agreed. Run the vacuum. Wipe the kitchen surfaces. That is it.

One thing beginners often do not anticipate: the handover day. Most sits involve arriving 24 hours before the owners leave, sometimes just a few hours. This overlap is where you learn everything that is not in the welcome guide — which key sticks in the lock, how the coffee machine actually works, which cat comes in first at feeding time, where the fuse box is. Do not skip it and do not rush it. The handover is where a smooth sit is made or lost.

For longer sits, more comes up naturally: plants that need watering (ask the homeowner when and how much before they leave — plants are easier to kill than most people think), a garden that might need a mow on a month-long sit, bins that need to go out on the right day. The Cortona welcome guide covered all of this in detail: which bin went out on which morning, where the nearest vet was, what the cats down the street were called. That kind of guide makes everything straightforward. If the homeowner does not have one, take notes during the handover and ask about anything you are unsure about. Our what not to do guide covers the handover mistakes that cause the most problems.

Communication: The Part That Earns the Review

If there is one thing that separates sitters with pages of detailed five-star reviews from those with generic ones, it is communication. Not frequency — the right frequency is whatever you agreed with the homeowner before they left. It is the quality of it. If you want to understand how verified reviews actually work and what homeowners are really reading, we have a full breakdown.

A photo of the dog mid-walk. A short message to say the cats have eaten and are settled. A quick note to mention that you noticed the plant on the windowsill looking a bit dry and you have watered it. These things take two minutes and they allow a homeowner to genuinely switch off and enjoy their trip rather than spending it wondering how things are going at home.

Ask before the sit how often they would like updates. Some owners want daily photos. Others say something like "just let me know if something goes wrong." Both are fine. Agree on it upfront and stick to it, and if anything unusual happens, contact them immediately regardless of the agreed schedule.

In 2026 it is increasingly common to arrive at a sit and find automated feeders, water fountains, or pet cameras already set up. These make your job easier and give the owners extra peace of mind. Check them daily, make sure they are functioning, and flag any issues promptly. One important note on cameras: pet cameras pointed at feeding areas or doors are completely normal. Any camera in a bedroom, bathroom, or private living space is against THS terms of service and the law in most countries. If you find one in a private area, document it and contact THS support immediately. Our house sitting safety guide covers what to do in detail.

Over-communicate rather than go quiet. There is no scenario where a homeowner comes back frustrated because you sent too many photos of their cat.

Keeping the Home Safe

Simply being in the house is the most effective security measure there is. A property that looks occupied is far less likely to be targeted than an obviously empty one. Beyond that, the habits are small: close windows when you go out, lock the front door, set the alarm if there is one, collect post so it does not pile up at the entrance, and turn a light on in the evening if you are out late.

The other security priority is making sure the animals cannot escape. This sounds obvious until the moment you are pulling on a lead by the front door and a small dog has already squeezed through the gap. Before every walk, leash first, door second. Every time, without exception.

The Long Game: Being Invited Back

We have been invited back to our sits in Bochum, Cries, Cortona, Lullin, and Ostuni. Multiple homeowners have asked us to return before we had even left. Once a homeowner knows and trusts you, they will choose you over an unknown applicant with a better profile every time. The relationship you have already built is worth more to them than starting again from zero.

Konrad's mother once told him about a woman she had met through house sitting who had taken this principle to its logical conclusion. She had built relationships with four different homeowners across the year and was cycling between their homes on a rotating schedule — back-to-back sits, no rental costs, no utility bills, a job she kept throughout. Four homeowners who trusted her, four homes she knew well, a lifestyle that cost her almost nothing to maintain. In Konrad's view that is the purest version of what house sitting can become for someone who commits to it properly.

You do not need to engineer that from the start. You just need to do the basics consistently: turn up when you said you would, look after the animals with care, leave the house clean, and communicate throughout. The invitations come naturally after that. If you are still building your profile and review count, our complete profile guide covers what makes homeowners choose one applicant over another.

Konrad & Caro 🐾🚐

DM us @housesittersguide if you have questions — we answer everyone!

FAQ

• What does a house sitter actually do all day? 

  The day is built around the animals. For cats this typically means feeding morning and evening, cleaning the litter box, and providing company when they want it — which leaves most of the day free. For dogs it means morning and evening walks, two meals, and a shorter midday walk depending on the breed. Outside of pet care, house sitters keep the home tidy, water plants, collect post, and send photo updates to the homeowners. The workload is lighter than most people expect.

• Is house sitting suitable for first-time pet carers? 

  Yes, and a cat sit is the ideal starting point. Cats are independent, their routines are simple, and the margin for error is small. A sit with two cats in a nearby location is a low-pressure way to learn what house sitting involves before moving on to dogs or larger properties. You will almost certainly earn a five-star review from a cat sit done competently.

• How many animals should a house sitter take on? 

  Two to four cats or one to two dogs is the sweet spot for most sitters. It provides companionship without complexity, and the routines stay manageable. Beyond four animals the responsibility increases significantly, and sits with large numbers of pets, specific medical requirements, or demanding routines should generally come with some form of compensation.

• Can house sitters change how a pet is fed or cared for? 

  Not without asking the homeowner first. If you have a different approach to exercise, feeding, or routine that you think might suit the animal better, discuss it with the owner before making any changes. The animals belong to the homeowner. Their established routine exists for a reason. Follow it unless you have been told otherwise.

• How often do house sitters get invited back?

  Frequently, once a relationship is established. Most of our return invitations came without us asking — the homeowners simply contacted us when the next trip was booked. Owners who have experienced a sitter they trust are reluctant to start the selection process again. Doing the basics consistently is enough to become someone's permanent preferred sitter over time.

• Can house sitting replace paying rent entirely? 

  For some people, yes. With enough established homeowner relationships across a year, back-to-back sits are possible. There are sitters who rotate between three or four trusted homeowners across the calendar year, maintaining a job alongside it and spending almost nothing on accommodation. It takes time to build those relationships, but the path to it is simply doing good work on every sit.

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