Cat Sitting in East Forest Park

Katharine

Seàn was an amazing pet and house sitter! He was super communicative and took amazing care of my dog Nala and cat Bruce. They were happy and loved while I was away- I couldn’t have asked for a better sitter for the two little fur babies! He sent great pictures and checked in every day so I had nothing to worry about. On top of all that, he also kept my place immaculately clean and left my place in wonderful shape. We can’t wait to have him back to sit and I would highly recommend him to anyone and everyone looking for a sitter!

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

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.

Sandi

Chris and Julia were our very first sitters and are the most perfect house/pet sitters anyone would ever want!!! Julia sent video/pictures of our fur babies everyday and we noticed early on that our animals were very relaxed and happy!! This made our trip so enjoyable and stress free knowing that our animals were safe and being spoiled and loved the whole time. They even trained our dog to sit while her leash was being attached and was able to pet and hold our cat that is somewhat nervous around strange people he doesn't know. When I got back from the trip, the house was very clean along with Julia/Chris had washed the bed sheets, bath towels, vacuumed, dusted etc., and even washed the pet bedding. They also left some SE Asia treats for us to try which so sweet of them. Definitely the perfect house sitters!!!

Tiffany

Paige, David, and family were WONDERFUL sitters for my crew! They were so pleasant and personable, and the pets warmed up to them very quickly. Even my rescue cat who tends to stray away from men loved David. I received regular updates and communication (before and during the sit). I truly did not have any concerns while I was away knowing that everyone had such great care and attention given to them. (I know the dogs had a good time because when I came home there was no commotion over my return.) I was away on NYE and Paige had no issues keeping an eye on one of the dogs who has anxiety surrounding loud noises. The family cleaned up after themselves and may have left the house cleaner than when I left! Truly such a great family who I would welcome back any time!

Carrie

Oh wow! Everyone should be so lucky to have Nicholas and Veerle watch their house and pets. These lovely people are pros! They communicated early and often, were super accommodating to some last minute changes (it was originally going to be only our cats to watch but we decided to keep the dog home as well so that added to the schedule and care needs) and they left the house spotless and all set up for another sitter who came in after them. 

We didn’t get the chance to meet because my departure and arrival times but I dearly hope I get to in the future because they were just great! I even heard how nice they were from My neighbors who say them out walking our dog. :-)

They also sent regular pictures of the pets which look like pro-photography! 

Cannot recommend this couple enough! Your pets and house will be in good hands!

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!

Heather

Jose was a wonderful pet/house sitter for us recently. We highly recommend him. He was wonderfully reliable and responsible and took such good care of our two pets.  

On short notice Jose drove down from Grass Valley to the East Bay for a bit of a quiet get-away while working a really hard job teaching online.  We know how hard that is firsthand and partly why we needed our own get-away for a last-minute backpacking trip.

We have a recently rescued pit bull and a rescued cat that we're still introducing to each other to make sure the dog doesn't eat the cat (as he seems to want to), and the cat doesn't blind the dog (as she would if he tried to eat her). That might be more background than is needed in a review but Jose made us feel comfortable about everything because of how conscientious and responsible he clearly is. We could tell when we talked to him that he was genuinely kind and eminently trustworthy.

We are very grateful and hope Jose was happy with everything too because we know what a value his care was to us. Jose truly deserves any and all house-sitting gigs that strike his interest. Ours was not the easiest and he was amazing.  Get him if you can.

gretchen

Tonya was great and filled in after our other sitter had to cancel. She was very self sufficient and navigated acclimating herself to everything since she arrived after we left. She gave thoughtful updates on my cat and I could tell she really enjoyed her, so that means the world to me! She left the place immaculate and we will certainly have Tonya back!