When Sonya Petcavich’s 17-year-old ragdoll, Miss Lily, passed away last winter, she was devastated.
“Miss Lily was the best childhood cat and companion anyone could have ever asked for, and you don’t realize what you’ve got until it’s gone,” Petcavich says.
She wanted a way to fill the kitty void without the commitment of a full-time animal.
That was when Meowtel was born.
The site began with the hope of providing cat owners with a resource to find kitty care and, perhaps more importantly, to also provide a way for catless cat lovers to offer their love, one special whiskered guest at a time.
Petcavich was a frequent business traveler in the latter portion of Miss Lily’s life and it was extremely difficult for her to find quality cat sitters on a regular basis. Thus, she decided to create the Meowtel platform to provide convenience to busy cat owners and business opportunities to cat lovers.
What Makes Meowtel Different
Unlike other pet sitting services (Dogvacay, Rover, etc), this is the first cat-centric boarding service that has a built-in Shelter Incentive Program, which will share profits with participating animal shelters. Meowtel will offer both boarding services and serve as a way for shelters to list cats who are up for adoption or in need of foster homes.
Cat sitter screening process & fees
Each cat sitter on Meowtel is reference checked and will receive a “Verified” badge when we determine that they are a trusted sitter.
To become a cat sitter and publicly list your profile is completely free. Meowtel only takes a 12% commission from sitters when a reservation is paid for and completed, which is among the lowest pet sitting commission rates on the internet.
We know that cat owners want to be fully catered to and don’t want to have to leave their cats with sitters who host dogs or other animals, hence why Meowtel only allows cats to be sat through the platform.
Watch the below video to learn more about the new site and it’s cat crazy sitters.
The Meowtel Shelter Incentive Program
Every time a non-profit organization posts a new listing for a cat in need of a forever home, or a listed cat is fostered/adopted out via Meowtel, the organization will earn valuable financial resources:
The more sitting reservations that Meowtel has going through the system, the higher the financial incentive will be that are offered to shelters – making kitties happier and healthier across the country.
Any non-profit organization in the USA is welcome to participate in Meowtel’s Shelter Incentive Program! They can begin by creating an organization account to begin listing their cats.
How adoptions work through Meowtel
The adoption process is very similar to other pet finding websites: users search for shelters cats in their area and can browse profiles to see which kitty would best suit them. Once they find a cat they’re interested in, all the user has to do is click on the “Foster/Adopt” button to set up an adoption time with the shelter.
Meowtel.com is currently in live beta and has launched an Indiegogo campaign to secure funds for future development. Currently the project has been soley funded by the founder, Sonya Petcavich. She hopes to raise $25k to ensure Meowtel’s continued success.