Este Cardos keeps a laser pointer in her purse at all times. It comes in handy on her day-to-day rounds when meeting her clientele, the cats of Evanston.

Cardos is a professional cat sitter and the founder of Purrfect Pawz N Palz Cat Sitting. 

“I just knew this is where my heart was,” Cardos said. “This is what felt right to me. This is what I wanted to do.”

While Cardos’ business was originally for both cats and dogs, she made Purrfect Pawz N Palz cat-exclusive in spring 2020 to differentiate herself from other pet care companies. 

Her services are focused on providing cat care while their owners are away. She offers a minimum of one daily check-in between 25 and 45 minutes to feed the cats, play with them and change their litter boxes. 

To help professionalize her services, Cardos gained certifications in the professional pet-sitting industry. She is a certified professional pet sitter, trained in pet first aid and CPR for animals. She has also been trained in how to work with nervous cats.  

Cardos also said the pet-sitting industry often overlooks cats in favor of dogs.

“(Cat owners) always felt like they were getting a second-class service from a pet care business,” Cardos said. 

For some Evanston cat owners, finding Purrfect Pawz and Palz was a relief — especially those who don’t have family and friends willing to cat sit. 

Evanston resident Aidan McKinlay needed somebody to watch her cats Frankie and Kerfluffle while she traveled for work. McKinlay found Purrfect Pawz N Palz online and said the reviews encouraged her to trust Cardos with her cats.

“We just care so much about them as our pets,” McKinlay said. “It’s important to us that someone’s going to come and see them every day that we really trust and that we know is going to take good care of them.”

Cardos said making a living caring for cats is her dream.

As her business grows, she said she appreciates the bonds she builds with returning customers and is always ready to greet her clientele with fresh catnip and beaming lasers. 

“Working with animals, they just have always brought me so much joy,” said Cardos. “It’s an emotionally rewarding experience.” 

Before taking on a pet project, she requires the owners to fill out a cat personality survey and schedules a meet and greet to familiarize herself with the cat. 

Jade Bartlett, an Evanston resident and owner of cats Adler and Amira, said she found Cardos’s cat care incredibly helpful.

“She is fantastic,” Bartlett said. “She’s incredibly trustworthy, incredibly reliable and her services are incredibly easy to use.”  

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @ellie_skelly

Related Stories:

— Northwestern Students adopt and foster pets during the pandemic

— Northwestern researchers find that pets can tell time

— Dogs parade through downtown Evanston in Dogtopia costume contest