Good jobs for crazy cat lady's??

Hi everyone!! I'm like a complete crazy cat lady. I'm not kidding, all I ever talk about is cat's, and how much i love them and how epic they are. I'm pretty much obsessed. I always make my boyfriend drive to the local animal shelters to look at the cats and play with them, even though I can't take them, I like to show them as much love as possible especially the special needs ones.. I have three little furbabies of my own, they're like my children. They have free range of the house, and are very spoiled. Only thing is, I got laid off about, maybe a little under a year ago, and now do not have a stable income.....They're all in good health fat and happy, but im stressed out, always worrying that something will happen , and I really want to get these guys some pet insurance. I've been looking for jobs, and applying to places, but the economy is in such a bad place right now, and I'm young and not experienced. So my question is, what is the ideal job for a 19 year old cat lover? The only experience I really have is caring for my three cat's, and I don't think that would be enough for any job working with animals in the real world. I thought maybe a cat sitter? Even though I grew up with dogs and cats, I feel more comfortable with cats. I had a job at a bakery for two years. But how would I get my self out there and really get a job? I'm having a hard time getting started, even though I already know I want to work with animals. Gaaahhhh if anyone has an ideas or is going through the thing feel free to comment :3

 Welcome to TCS @Catfamily7995.   I hope you find lots of information and support here, and enjoy having somewhere to chat in a place no one thinks you can talk too much / post too many pictures about cats. 

It is not an easy time to be looking for work anywhere these days and I wish you loads of luck in searching for a new job.  I went through changing my work last December and it was the first time I'd been close to being unemployed:  it was really scary and not least because of the anxieties about caring for my cat - even though he is insured I still have to be able to pay the money up front and claim back costs once a year.  Some years I get my money's worth and others I pay a lot for the insurance and don't claim much.  Fingers crossed you get something sorted though as it is always important to have some way to meet our family / fur family health care needs.

As for the job hunting:  I don't know what else you have thought about so far but pretty much everything here in the UK now seems to require training, including pet sitting, grooming, animal shelter work etc.  It might be worth trying to volunteer in shelter work even if it's clearing out pens or something just to make contacts and get a bit of relevant work experience?  Also offer to pet sit for friends and family as it all adds to experience and gives you some sources for references - there are some issues like insurance you need to be careful with and talking with others who do it would probably help you a lot.  I know I've thought about doing similar but it was actually a lot more complicated once I got further in to it, and hard to fit around the new job I got to keep the roof over my head and my kitty's and pay for our food.  You could also look at any work you see in pet stores and pet supply supermarkets as some of them offer training as well as there being more chance your work colleagues would be animal lovers.  Depending on your qualifications you could also check out possible work at vet surgeries and training in veterinary nursing, or working in reception type work for animal / cat care organisations.  Something might not be your ideal job or pay well at the start but it might help you make connections, network and build skills to get you where you want sooner or later.  

Good luck with your future plans.    

Welcome here and always happy to meet anyone who loves kitties.

Thanks for the warm welcome you guys! I have actually applied to a shelter that had been doing renovations and needed extra hands, but never heard anything back. One of the laddies there had let me help out for the day, which was cool and encouraged me to put in an application.  I honestly wouldn't mind cleaning out pens, anythings better than nothing. BUT the pet store thing seems like a good idea, and I haven't even thought about that so thank you!! Also, how do you get those little emotion things? haha

Catfamily7995 said:

 
Thanks for the warm welcome you guys! I have actually applied to a shelter that had been doing renovations and needed extra hands, but never heard anything back. One of the laddies there had let me help out for the day, which was cool and encouraged me to put in an application.  I honestly wouldn't mind cleaning out pens, anythings better than nothing. BUT the pet store thing seems like a good idea, and I haven't even thought about that so thank you!! Also, how do you get those little emotion things? haha

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If you didn't hear back from somewhere there is no harm in calling them to ask how they are doing and if they got your application.  Just a thought.  Sometimes places get way behind with things, large organisations can take a long time to process stuff, and if volunteer applications - maybe don't get responded to until they have a space.  Stuff does get lost too and it isn't always that they're not interested in what you have to offer. (From someone who volunteers and sees how chaotic things can be in voluntary organisations as well as any other sorts, and has also been an manager who looked at and interviewed  people for jobs).   

I would also love to work with cats and would happily clean out pens and such like if that's what it would take.  Nothing going here even on a voluntary basis unfortunately.  When I was looking for a job last year I used to check out the pet supply stores in my area on a daily basis to see if there were any jobs coming up and that's when In noticed some of the larger companies funded training for employees.  Where I live a lot of smaller businesses don't advertise in media unless they have to because of costs and if they can interview people who hand in CVs, and reply to posters in their windows they will.  It's worth calling in at any smaller stores and at any other catteries in your area and, if they seem positive, keep doing it every few weeks while you are still looking for work as then people get to know you and also see that you are keen.

For the emotion things - if you are posting from a phone I think it's difficult but from lap top / pc the icon is up in the top tool bar.

I always have had this anxiety about talking on the phone which is probably why I never hear back from anyone. I do know what you're saying about things getting lost at work though hahaha so that makes sense. I have started looking at local pet stores because we have a bunch around here and it's holiday season! I do reallllyyyy want to volunteer at a shelter.

You might want to contact local vets and/or animal hospitals, too. They might be looking for somebody to clean out animal pens, prepare food, etc. It's a good step on the way to getting started. 

Welcome to TCS!

Thanks! Just finished filling out an application for Petsmart.... The applications now are RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Catfamily7995 said:

 
Thanks! Just finished filling out an application for Petsmart....

The applications now are RIDICULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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   Well done you'      Good luck with submitting it.  

Tell me about the applications!   I had to fill some out a year ago when I was applying for jobs and it was wildly different to the previous times I had to do it, and all electronic too which was very wierd!

Thank you, thank you! haha! I know. The surveys are the worst. How are you supposed to answer some of them? It's like they want you to pick the best wrong answer. The electronic ones, I feel that so many people fill it out that way now that they dont even look at the ones filled out online.

Painfully I believe they are all designed following psychological theories, to screen for people who have the desired kind of outlook / approach the company is looking for.       I have no idea if they work or not.      Well done you for getting through at least one application any way, it is quite an achievement.  I felt quite proud of myself once I'd done it and think you should too.    Hopefully you will hear back reasonably quickly.

Hi

I can't help thinking "but you're only young!" therefore nothing to be scared about, but I don't want that to seem patronising :-)  You haven't said if you already have any formal qualifications, but these days you can get onto a vocational qualification course with only 5 GCSEs. You sound like you would be a great veterinary nurse or assistant, so you are still young enough to train for this and make a good career out of it.  There are some animal shelters which do have paid positions and they usually only require a basic knowledge of animal welfare needs as well as the ability to work hard. It can be very physical work, as my eldest son found out (as ten years ago he was your age and in a similar position, and got a job at the Dog and Cat Shelter, which involved a LOT of dog walking and cleaning out of pens etc.)

you could always consider training to do something you would be able to do from home as a self-employment business, and the possibilities are endless for this. What are you good at, because most things can be turned into a work-from-home venture. I did several things to work from home when my kids were young,, including selling organic nappies and baby slings, books, tutoring for GCSE's in certain subjects, and proof reading. 

As for cat-sitting, I wouldn't expect someone to have any specific qualification to look after my cats, the most important thing is that you understand cat needs and behaviour. We have looked after a few cats in our time, as it's a very cat-friendly house. I never charged because it was for friends, but you could easily do it as a business, but you need to be aware of tax and N.I. requirements. You would be unlikely to make enough to have to pay much tax, if any, but you would need to keep up your N.I contributions on a voluntary basis as they affect your future entitlement to certain benefits and pensions.

Also, consider selling pet products online, if you can afford to or can borrow money from family, get yourself some stock in bulk, of things you know will sell, then put them on Amazon via your own website (not hard to do. I made a basic website with a link to my Amazon "storefront") I don't know if you are claiming any benefits (are you in the UK?) but if you are, your age means you come under the "umbrella" of young people's funding for setting up a business etc, so ask to speak to someone at the JobCentre or better still, Connexions, and they can put you in touch with organisations who help young people start their own business, often funded for a certain number of months, with support etc until you get going. If you are in the UK why not also get in touch with someone like the Princes Trust? I had a lot of dealings with them when I worked with young people and they were fantastic, getting youngsters into training and pointing them in the right direction based on whatever they were interested in.

Finally, don't forget that volunteering really does carry a lot of weight on your CV, as it shows you are willing to commit to working, even for nothing! as well as the valuable experience and often formal training it provides that is invaluable when applying for paid work. so you could perhaps ask around some veterinary surgeries or rescue centres;often this is a good way to hear about the paid jobs coming up, and many employers would rather hire someone who is already a familiar face, who knows how the place is run and who they know well (though you would still need to do well in an interview. 

If I can offer any more help please do let me know; I understand both from my work and from having sons who were once your age what a difficult period it can be. 

Hello!! As far as formal qualifications go, I'm not sure what they are, and therefore, unsure if i have them I'm not good at much except for talking and breaking things (when im mad) I got a bad temper lol. The only thing id say i excel in is caring for my cats, and painting. I have thought about selling my paintings on websites like Etsy, but like a lot of things, you have to have money to invest in your product/work and i have none. My boyfriend and I sell our video game collections on ebay and im sick of that, although we made a good profit on all the things we sold over the past few months. any money we get, goes straight to the kittys.

Do you need to have any prior experience working with animals to be a veterinarian assistant, because I pretty much haven't looked in to it much with the assumption that you do need to be in school for it. I'm not in school, in fact, I dropped out about a year ago which I regret, and dont regret. School was always super stressful for me, and like anyone else in high school, all i wanted to do was stay in bed. I had struggled with depression for years before i dropped out, and i missed so much school that i failed everything and would be in high school until like 21. I want to get my GED really bad, and they offer classes with in walking distance from where I'm living now.

I've thought about all sorts of career paths over the past year, and now i have some ideas, I'm having a hard time picking. Like pet grooming, I've thought about. I could get my GED and then go to college online for that. I could take out a loan?

I mean this might sound pretty pathetic, how do you even go about volunteering? Do you walk in and say I wanna volunteer?

I'm trying to apply to all the pet stores, Volunteer at a cat shelter about fifteen minutes away from me.

Oh! Also I don't live in the UK, I live in NY

LoL, it's always interesting here with being international but it does mean you can get some really different ideas.     On the dropping out of school, depression and stuff, you are not alone on these fronts and like @Catfamily7995  said without wanting to be condescending - you are young.   Meaning this in a really positive way - it is a little more natural for you to get back in to some kind of education if it helps you get in to the line of work you want.  I was rubbish at working on anything that didn't interest me though I managed to stick things out at high school and college to get qualifications.  Only because I got a clear idea of what I wanted to do; before that it was hard going and I was pretty much bottom in everything.    (Still am come to that, shouldn't be laughing).   Trying to change direction now in my 50s any sort of education is a bit daunting.    I am great at putting my self down and I am also one of the first to tell other people not to do it.  Everyone has potential if they allow themselves to see it and can take what ever opportunities they can to head towards their goal - however small the steps may seem to be.  Seems to me you are now motivated enough to do this so good for you. 

Many of my friends' kids left school having dropped out with few exam qualifications and no direction  but 3 or 4 years down the line and in their early 20s they are right there working hard at what they now know they want to do with their lives - and you can bet they will do better than the people who are doing it because they've been told to or couldn't think of anything else!  If you need to go through an entry level course to show you can study then you can do that, and quite often it's possible to do these things on line and possibly get grant funding to help you if there are fees to pay.  If you get that job then sometimes employers help too, like I said earlier.  That's how a lot of animal groomers and veterinary nurses get their qualifications.  No idea what the situation with training grants in the US is for people not working or under a certain age but it is worth checking out.  A quick on line search is a good start, and any local community centres, libraries and other neighbourhood resources are going to be a good bet.  

As for how to find opportunities for volunteering - yes, absolutely go in to places and ask if they take volunteers, offer the kinds of things you would be willing to do for shelters and rescue places or at the vet surgeries, and any local catteries or similar too.  If you have any recognised pedigree breeders they might appreciate people helping with cleaning litter and stud pens, and also socializing kittens.  Anything you can stick at is good for future job applications or promoting yourself in self employment.     It is hard because everything needs you to put yourself forward and that is draining even for the most energetic and self confident of people, but you can practice and once you get over the first couple of times it gets easier as you realize you can do it and survive.  It does help if you can laugh at yourself rather than getting mad or upset so it's worth practicing that.    

AWWWWW haha you guys are so reassuring it's awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much! in the U.S. Alot of places dont hire you if you're under eighteen, unless your related to family of the business, and also some of the shelters here require you to be eighteen to volunteer. Not sure if it's the same where you are. everyone i went to school with is now in college and im just like "uggghhh i love cats. now what" Tomorrow im going out to the pet stores and also stopping by the shelter i want to volunteer at because i know they are looking for volunteers and i visit often.

I never knew you could work for catteries because i thought it was more of a family thing? I think I may be a little confused on that though.

You shouldn't put your self down, you sound absolutely amazing!!!!!

If your talking about the 'surveys' that are kind of like personality tests the best thing to do is try not to figure out test or try to 'beat it'.  There are things built into it to catch people who do that.  Answer the questions without going to extremes.  Usually they are a 1 to 5 thing you want to stay in the 2 to 4 range rather than answering with a 1 or a 5.

That's usually what I do. But one question was like. describe your self at work with one adjective: Competitive, or, Complicated? Like neither one of those sound good to be at work.

Catfamily7995 said:

 
That's usually what I do. But one question was like. describe your self at work with one adjective: Competitive, or, Complicated? Like neither one of those sound good to be at work.

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Yep, that's not a good one!   There always seem to be a couple like that with neither suiting and no alternative.  You just have to go for the one that is least on another planet for you.

I really dislike questions like that.  It's like they are trying to draw you into over thinking your responses which is what you don't want to do.  Just go with your first instinct, your gut instinct.  The main thing is to not over think your responses to those personality type questions.

Catfamily- I think petsitting is a great idea. I did this in the 90's and it was great. There is a book called 'Pet Sitting for Profit' by Patti J. Moran. She pretty much started the industry. You can also go to Petsittersinternational.com. They actually have a pet sitters group you can join. From there you can get group rate insurance etc. You can also get all the forms etc. you would need for your business. When I did this I pulled a business license for $150 and then on line got business cards ( 200 for around $15 ) I advertised on Craigslist and the fact that I was licensed helped.Everything you need to know about Pet Sitting is ther and all the support you need is on the web site.You can also get business insurance through them and group health. It is not expensive. If you do those things you put yourself a step ahead of those that just call themselves pet sitters and you can charge accordingly. I am considering doing it again. Whatever you do I wish you luck.