I have returned after a break to move house, focus on studies, and get my life together!

I am an animal lover with lifelong experience taking care of cats, guinea pigs, rabbits, reptiles, frogs, birds, and even sheep and goats! I was raised to adore animals of every kind, and when I'm visiting my parents, I'm taking care of the livestock on their smallholding. We have an attention seeking sheep called Mabel who is more comparable to a puppy than an ovine and several very naughty goats who love to cause mischief. My love for animals extends beyond vertebrates as I keep bees in my spare time despite my total disregard for honey consumption and have several colonies of fancy-breed woodlice.

I grew up with animals, so giving them the love and care they need and deserve is second nature to me. I work particularly well with cats, rodents, and reptiles - and your houseplants if needed! I love well behaved dogs but feel my introverted nature is a little meek for larger, more energetic dogs, and my expertise does lie in the small, strange, and pointy! I have dog walks enabled on my account because I do really need an excuse to go outside more, and having a buddy to do that with would be nice.

The animals I have kept are very particular with their housing arrangements, so it really does take a responsible person to give them a home and I am more than willing to put in the effort to make sure your pet's needs are well catered for. Did you know guinea pigs need a friend, or they get lonely? That goats have very sensitive tummies? Or that a snake can't digest food properly at cold temperatures?

I sometimes work at my mum's in Somerset on our aforementioned smallholding - less so now as an adult with unfortunate adult responsibilities, but over the summer I am there whenever possible mostly to see the animals and spend time in my apiary. The smallholding is where my guinea pigs reside with our ducks, chickens, goats, sheep, and bee colonies. They are all very spoilt, having had thousands invested into their homes and welfare. My ball python is here with me in Stroud, but rest assured his enclosure is securely locked. He does not eat people (contrary to popular belief) and I truly believe upbringing has a direct impact on behaviour - I've kept snakes since I was 15 and I've never been bitten. I also have a prim Persian cat, who enjoys loafing on the windowsill and judging all she sees.

I am confident in administering oral medications and have had thorough experience with such, and I'm not afraid to be a bit more hands-on in giving tablets if I have to (having developed an expert cat worming technique, it is no longer an ordeal) but I have minimal experience with and do not feel comfortable with administering intravenous or subcutaneous injections unsupervised. I'm also semi experienced in cat grooming having groomed my feisty Persian cat at home, and guinea pig grooming as my Texel piggy is not very good at grooming his backside! I would not say book me to give your cat a full lion cut, but it's worth a mention I reckon.

I can drive and have my own car, so in the event of an emergency I can transport your animals to the vet (or wherever else!) and am also happy to give emergency my-flight-was-delayed last minute late night visits where necessary. I live in Stroud but I spend a lot of time in Cheltenham and Gloucester, so I'm happy to travel, particularly for overnight visits - just let me know where abouts you live and I'll see what I can do.

Thank you for taking interest in me - I hope that your pet(s) and I will become great friends! :)