'I left my office job to become a cat sitter'

A woman who set up a cat sitting business as a side hustle said she "never dreamed" it could become her full-time job - and now she is set to recruit her own staff.

Animal lover Sheree George was working in recruitment and marketing a year ago when she started her new venture.

"I thought, well, if I can do something I love and make a little bit of extra money at the same time, it's win-win," the 38-year-old from Oldham, Greater Manchester, said.

"I wouldn't have dared to dream at that time it would be as successful as it is."

Nine months on and after a busy summer, Sheree is now set to take on four members of staff.

"It was a little bit scary," she said.

"I started to think if this continues to grow at the rate it's growing I'm going to have to seriously think about the future of this.

"I didn't mind going into the office and still doing the day job but I knew quite quickly after starting this that this was really what I wanted to do long term."

Soon, Sheree found herself having to reduce her hours at work to keep up with demand.

"It had grown so quickly in such a short amount of time that at that rate there was no way I was going to be able to do both alongside each other long term," she said.

"No two days are the same, which I absolutely love about this job.

"Constantly meeting new people, constantly meeting new animals, constantly being in different places. It really is a dream job.

"I get to spend time with animals, which I absolutely adore."

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