Australians search for "pet sitting in the minder's home", "in-home pet sitting" and "home-based pet sitting" interchangeably, and they are not the same service. Choosing the wrong one is a common source of disappointment, so it is worth two minutes to get the terms straight.
The three arrangements
1. Boarding at the sitter's home
Your pet goes to the sitter and stays in their house. This is sometimes called home-based boarding, minding, or pet sitting in the carer's home. It is a paid service, usually booked through a commission marketplace. Your pet is in an unfamiliar environment, often with the sitter's own animals and sometimes with other guests' animals.
2. In-home pet sitting, meaning visits to your home
A sitter comes to your house once or several times a day to feed, walk and check on your pet, then leaves. Your pet stays in familiar surroundings but is alone between visits. This is paid per visit and suits cats and independent adult dogs better than it suits puppies, anxious dogs or animals needing frequent medication.
3. House sitting, meaning someone stays in your home
A sitter lives in your house for the duration of the trip. Your pet keeps its own bed, routine and territory, and has company overnight. The house is occupied, which some homeowners value independently of the pet care. This is what Sitterly does, and on Sitterly it is a non-monetary exchange: no fee is charged for the care, and the accommodation is what the sitter receives in return.
How to choose
- A cat who dislikes travel and copes alone for stretches: visits at home, or house sitting for longer trips.
- A dog with separation anxiety: house sitting, so someone is present overnight.
- A puppy or a senior pet needing medication several times a day: house sitting.
- A confident, sociable dog and a short trip: boarding can work well and is often easier to arrange at short notice.
- A trip of one or two nights: visits or boarding are usually more practical.
- A trip of a week or more, or a house you would rather not leave empty: house sitting.
The question that settles it
Ask how your pet copes with being somewhere unfamiliar, and how it copes with being alone. If the answer to either is badly, someone staying in your home is usually the better arrangement.
The cost difference is not what most people expect
Boarding and visit-based sitting are paid services with a per-night or per-visit rate, plus platform fees on both sides. A non-monetary house sit has no fee for the care at all, because the arrangement is an exchange rather than a purchase. What you give up is the commercial relationship: there is no invoice, and equally no commercial recourse. We set the trade-off out in full in paid pet sitting versus house sitting.
What does not change between them
Whichever arrangement you pick, the same things determine whether it goes well. Meet or video-call the person first. Write down the routine, the vet's details and who can authorise treatment. Agree what happens if plans change. None of this depends on which of the three services you chose, and all of it matters more than the choice itself.
For the handover itself, our guide to preparing your home and pets has a checklist you can work through, and the emergency vet guide covers the authority question that catches people out.
If house sitting sounds like the right fit for your next trip, you can read how Sitterly works or browse sitter profiles.
