Cat Sitting in Carver Manor

Tracy

We were very lucky to have had Nia for our recent house sit. She communicated well before the sit and arrived as planned. We shared a meal before we left which gave us time to get to know her and tell her about the house and our pets.
After we left it soon became clear the cats loved Nia and the attention she gave them. We were kept informed throughout her stay with regular updates and video clips of what they were up to and how the garden was growing etc.
We highly recommend Nia as a pet/house sitter and we would certainly have her back should the opportunity arise.
Thanks again Nia

winslow

I am struggling with naming our top adjective to describe Michael and Jeanne.  "Conscientious" will likely be it but then again, "personable," "reliable," "organised," and "animal-loving" are top contenders. 

If you are reading this review and contemplating inviting this couple to watch your pets, then look no further. We have had a number of excellent house sitters but this pair was next level in terms of the love they showed our cats, Maxx and Nala.  When we came back, we could our animals already missed them.  These cats, who have never slept with anyone other than us, were getting in bed with them each night -- and that meant climbing stairs! 

The day before our trip, Nala got an ear infection and had to be put on steroids for asthma.  Michael and Jeanne did not sign up for that when the sit was booked but they took it in stride.  In the last-minute rush, I relayed that Nala needed her oral steroids morning and night.  Michael read the RX label, indicating one dose a day, and contacted the vet to clarify.  So you can see why "conscientious" is right up there.  They saved Nala from an overdose!

We were gone three weeks and they sent us just the right amount of pictures and videos.  They bought cat toys (I forgot to put ours out!) and actively engaged with them, including 20-minute massages for Maxx.  I truly believed them when they said they fell in love with our fur babies.

The house was spotless (which was not important to me but truly appreciated) but I smiled when all six water stations in our yard were filled.  They took seriously my love for and the needs of the wildlife in our yard.  Our plants were all in good condition as well.  

Sensing they were "next level" when I met them, I predicted they would want to leave a meal for us upon our return.  I asked them not to but they found another way to bow out with class.  They made a donation to a nonprofit I work with instead.  This I learned from the lovely thank you note they left. 

I hope they will consider Charles and I friends because we certainly feel that way about them now. What special people.  If you book them, treat them well because they are going to do that for you for sure.

Steven

Our review is written by Steven (house owner, host + my father) + also by Kim (the daughter).

Written by Kim: This was our first house sit since the passing of my mother in late Dec 2023.  I was helping my father Steven (whose profile it is) manage all the emails + try + find a great house sitter + came along Gretchen’s profile! Not only is she a cool cat + someone you might want to get to know, I found myself quickly talking to her. I shortly found out her profile is just a glimpse of how interesting she is but talking to her was so much better!  She is a world traveler with many experiences + stories to share. We quickly became conversationalists who could talk forever + probably will continue to do so! Thank you TH! 

She is easy to communicate with + continued the consistent communication all along our journey of having her as our *first* guest after my mom’s passing. It was clearly a time filled with anxiety + sensitivity so there were some sensitive topics to go over + Gretchen got it right away.  A few of our rooms in the house were off-limits (as they housed my mom’s things) but we reassured her the house has ample space for her to enjoy + there are many lovely outdoor spaces to boot!  When she arrived she felt she was in paradise + really relished in the outdoor beauty + the indoor coziness. We were happy to share it with someone who appreciated it so much! 

She also was very understanding with the fact that both my dad + I would both be involved as we both handled different parts of the stay. Me, writing + setting up the Welcome Guide + would go over the situation but then upon her arrival my dad would take over + answer any questions mostly during her sit. The good part of having 2 people is she had accessibility to us both, in the case she needed it + sometimes it came up! She juggled all the communication oh so well.  My mom usually handled most of the logistics so this being our first time we were nervous something would come up we might not know but it didn’t!  It was new territory for us + we wanted to make sure she had everything. 

Gretchen handled it all with such ease, seamlessly, really respecting our wishes/desires + taking all the information into her hands + making it seem easy on her end to do so. 

She was easy to coordinate schedules with!  There was a gap in her 1st + 2nd sit but everything went seamlessly even when my flight had a day long delay. She was able to coordinate schedules with me arriving in between, then leaving, my dad arriving different days + us extending the trip too. It all worked out! We were all a good team!

She absolutely loved our older cat, Benny + he fast + furiously fell in love with her oh so easily. When I saw him, he looked oh so loved + after saying hi to me went over to ‘her’ bed + slept there waiting for her to come back. She sent many pictures, videos + even cute creations + toys she made for our Benny + it was obvious the house + our Benny were her first priority. 

She even asked us if she could help prune our flowers/shrubs, something my mom used to do + honestly it was an honor to hear her ask that. She was welcome to set up her art studio + play away. She was very communicative when our house cleaner, landscape gardener + house manager showered up for different reasons. When I arrived back for a short stint before she came back the 2nd time our mail was so well organized it was an assembly line! She also offered to take down our xmas tree (as we were a bit behind in taking down our xmas decorations) + she was sensitive to the fact that we were adjusting to a new normal. 
Thank you so much Gretchen! You made our first sit in a long time so seamless + such a relief that we are ready now to host again. We only wish we could have more Gretchen’s! (She’s also a super talented artist!)

Written by Steven: Overall, Gretchen has been an absolute treasure.  She has fulfilled our goals for a house sitter perfectly - she took good care of the house, great care of our treasured pet, Mr. Benny + took care of the grounds such as watering a few plants + trees.  She excelled in all the above + is welcome back anytime I will be out of town in the future.

Heather

We literally cannot say enough positive things about Susan and Miranda! They are the best! From start to finish, they did an amazing job communicating with us, giving our 3 (somewhat needy) cats extremely high quality care and tons of attention, and keeping our house clean and plants watered. They took adorable pictures of the cats and sent them to us several times a day, played with them and gave them so much love and affection, and when we got home the house was even cleaner than when we left. We even asked them for some tips on how they were caring for the cats because our cats seemed happier and more relaxed than ever when we returned home to them! This was by far our best cat/house sitter experience to date. We hope Susan and Miranda are available again in the future to sit for us and would invite them back without hesitation.

Thea

Hannah and Joseph were brilliant sitters - totally reliable and trustworthy. Quick to respond to queries and their past experience with dog/ housesitting was very apparent. Our 2 dogs and 1 cat were well looked after and the house was spotless on our return. We are totally happy to recommend them.

Sunny

Kathryn was such nice and kind sitter that both of my boyfriend and me were grateful to have, including my cats!!
My cats seemed having great time with her, being around her, chilling on couch with her, or even sitting on her. I got several photos of my cats from her with whort updates. I’m thankful that she let me do facetimes with her when I missed my cats.
The house was clean and tidy when we came back.
I definately will ask her again to sit my cats and house when I need.

Thank you Kathryn!!:)

Stacey

Florence is everything you want in a cat sitter!  We have two cats that need a lot of human attention.  One takes multiple medications twice a day and they both are used to eating on their own schedule and having people around so it is always very important to us to find a pet sitter that will be spending a lot of time in the apartment and that doesn't mind being very attentive.  We were able to meet Florence before our trip and felt 100% confident that she would take great care of our cats.  Florence is comfortable giving medication, she sent us photos and updates and left our apartment spotless.  We were so happy that we had her come back the following week when we went away again for a short trip!  We will definitely contact Florence again whenever we travel and hope that she is available!

kevin

Tracy was an ideal pet sitter when we left for 12 days. She was communicative, friendly, and most importantly took perfect care of our two cats and our house. I would highly recommend her for any sit!

Natalie

Ann Marie was an excellent house sitter who went above and beyond. She flew in a day early and stayed at a local hotel so we she could meet my cat and get the keys before my early flight the next morning. 

When I returned, she and Tryke were best friends and the house was immaculate. She even washed the sheets and towels, and remade the bed. I strongly recommend Ann Marie for any future sits!

Deb

Rick and Sally are marvelous cat sitters and we would gladly have them back anytime. We highly recommend them to any and all pet owners.  They arrived when they said they would and were ready to go when we returned, making sure our cats were present before departing.  Our home was left spotless, undoubtedly better than we left it for them.  We can't urge you enough to engage them if you can!