Wealthy residents of some of Australia’s poshest suburbs are paying $78 an hour for professional pet walkers to take their cats for a stroll.
Pet sitter Sarah Kwong charges $38 per half-hour visit and makes a tidy sum from ‘fur parents’ in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and north shore.
Such financially frisky felines are often feted as full members of the household on par with human children, which pet sitters say is a concerning trend.
Cat walking is not a walk in the park even for professionals as there has been fierce backlash from dog owners worried the felines will be savaged by their nemesis pets.
Pet sitters working in some of Australia’s poshest suburbs are taking clients’ cats for walks, but the practice is upsetting some dog owners
Pet sitter Sarah Kwong (pictured) encourages clients to put their cats on a leash
Ms Kwong said she takes her clients’ cats for a short walk because it ‘provides enrichment’ for the animals, and encourages them to do the same.
‘I tried to encourage some cat owners, some kittens they are very friendly, very active types,’ she said.
‘I think that’s OK to take them for a walk. Not a long walk, just around the block.’
She also reported seeing an increase in customers – who live in some of the country’s wealthiest neighborhoods – treating their pets like real children.
‘It’s too much… some owner is like thinking their baby, it is their human baby,’ she said, adding that pets who are regarded as animals are more relaxed.
North shore cat owner Anna Nguyen (pictured with Maxim Louis Vat) takes her cat for walks at the local dog park
Bengal cat Maxim Louis Vat has been trained to walk on a leash since he was 12 weeks old
The North Sydney cat has been appointed a ‘diplo-cat’ for the local council’s Bark in the Park
Maxim Louis Vat enjoying the sun at the park
As more lawyers and bankers put their cats on leashes, a heated debate in one of Sydney’s most privileged suburbs erupted on a local Facebook group when one resident asking cat owners to stop walking them in off-leash dog parks.
‘Where else are we supposed to walk our cats? Control your dogs,’ one cat owner who likes to walk her pet hit back in the comments.
North shore cat owner Anna Nguyen, who was not involved in the online discussion, said her eigh-month-old kittie Maxim Louis Vat plays happily with dogs at a park in St Leonards.
‘He is an indoor cat. I started taking him to the park when he was 12 weeks old,’ she said.
‘The dogs got so excited seeing my cat as they probably have never seen a cat there. They played joyfully.’
As a result of his adventures at the dog park, the Bengal feline has been appointed a ‘diplo-cat’ for North Sydney Council’s Bark in the Park, where he represents all felines in the region to promote the council’s dog-themed annual market.
Ms Nguyen said her 8 month-old kittie plays ‘joyfully’ with dogs at the local off-leash park
Tonkinese cat Ruby (pictured) is taken for walks at the local park and even goes to the beach
Neutral Bay local Stephen Barbour said he has been walking his cats in dog parks for 20 years, while eastern suburb breeder Kerri takes her prized cat to the beach instead.
‘It means they can be indoors of a night and not hurt wildlife but still get an adventure outside,’ Mr Barbour said.
‘Dogs tend to bolt over to the cat which if properly trained, will just jump up onto the owner.’
Tonkinese breeder Kerri said she takes her cat Ruby to the beach on a harness to get her ‘outdoors in nature’ as the cat lives in an indoor/outdoor enclosure.
‘We are obviously you know the risks and I don’t really take her to places that have off-leash dogs,’ she said.
Pet sitter Ash told Daily Mail Australia her cat enjoyed going to the garden while on a leash
Claire Daniels runs a cat concierge business across the eastern suburbs of Sydney, employing five people, and said she doesn’t believe cat walking will become mainstream.
‘Cats enjoy the freedom and that control, so it’s very hard to get a cat to walk on a lead,’ she said.
‘Probably it’s when they’ve been taught to do it from a very, very young age.
‘A cat that’s never been for a walk on a lead is literally just going to lie on the floor and not be very nice.’
Cat concierge business owner Claire Daniels (not pictured) said cat-walking won’t become mainstream
This Birman cat loves to go for walks on the leash, according to owner Brittney Romana
Claire Daniels (pictured) does not believe most cats enjoy going for walks on a lead
She said although more felines were being kept indoors to protect native wildlife and avoid injury from cars or other animals, cat walking is still niche.
‘To be honest, they’re still not going to get that enrichment from going outside in my opinion, even on the harness. They’re not free to do what a normal cat would do with that environment.’
Ms Daniel’s business offers home visits throughout the eastern suburbs for $39 for a half an hour visit, which includes pet feeding and playing.
She said many of her clients are families or single people, usually women, who want a bespoke service catering to felines.
Ms Daniel’s said many of her clients are families or single people, usually women, who want a bespoke service catering to felines
