A born-and-bred Rotherhithe girl used her last £200 to build a six-figure cat-sitting business.
Michelle Adams, who grew up around Surrey Docks, said she never could have imagined her love of cats could go on to earn her a living.
After leaving school with ‘no meaningful grades’, Michelle went to college to study musical theatre.
“Growing up, Mum didn’t have much – but she always took me to libraries and museums on the weekends.”
She said it was these trips out with her mum that helped to broaden her horizons and aspire for more.
“I went to Goldsmiths to study education,” the 35-year-old told us, “I thought I was going to be a teacher.”
Cat-sitting came about as a way to earn some extra money when studying.
But when she graduated, despite having a degree and a master’s, Michelle said she struggled to get a job.
“That’s when I thought I could do cat-sitting full-time,” she said.
“The idea is when people go away, they often like someone to stay in their house with their cat – cats like to be in their own home.”
Michelle continued: “I only had £200 in the bank, but I had built up a small client base who said they’d follow whatever I did.”
She spent the money on creating a website for her brand, Chatty Cats Care. When she started to get busy, she started hiring students to work for her. “It’s the ideal student job – flexible, not stressful. I went to university job fairs and advertised there.”
Casual workers and students alike, Michelle said the job is also good for people who might struggle in workplace environments.
“I have some staff who are neurodiverse and they do such a great job.
“It helps with anxiety to have an animal around.”
Although she didn’t disclose her salary, she gave us a hint as to how the business was going – “In a year it made £120,000.”
Michelle commented that just before starting the business, she had just lost her dear cat, Gerry, whom she’d had for most of her life.
“He was my grandma’s cat – we took him in when she died. When we lost him it was like losing family.”
“But being around all these cats has helped me to heal from that loss.”
With 74 staff across London and more to be recruited in the summer, it seems things are only looking up. It costs £54 for an overnight stay (£60 for weekends) and Michelle takes a 25 per cent cut of what the staff make.
The cat that got the cream, Michelle – who has only just started taking days off now that the business is making six figures – said she’s looking to the future. But the good news is she won’t be going far.
“I want to start a cat cafe and live above it, hopefully near Tower or London Bridge.”
“The idea is that we would get rescue cats and then people can adopt them.
“I love this area I don’t see myself leaving.”
She added that anyone interested in a job can email her to apply michelle@chattycatscare.co.uk