Cat Sitting in Hawfields

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.

Jenny

Young was the perfect house sitter for us. From the moment you meet her, you can tell she is animal person and is detailed oriented and will take great care of your house and pets. She exudes a peaceful and grounded energy.  She was comfortable with each our pets from the high energy dog to the shy skittish cat. She played with the dog in the yard every day and took him on walks. And she was also very attentive to our cats and figured out how to maintain the equilibrium in the relationship between the cats and dog. She is an excellent communicator; she asked questions when our directions weren't clear and kept us updated on the pets. She is also an amazing photographer. She sent us pics of our pets every day that totally captured each of their personalities.

Jenner

Great pet sitter - took perfect care of our cat and our home. They were super communicate leading up to and during the sit and left our apartment in great shape. I'd absolutely recommend them to any future sitters!

KOLBY

Becca was fantastic - we cannot say enough about how great she is as a pet and house sitter and as a human being! Becca committed to the sit 8 months in advance and was great  with her responsiveness in communication during the long lead up to the sit. She arrived early and got the low downs on the animals and house stuff prior to us leaving. She woke up crazy early to help us get to the airport and picked us up when we returned, which made the traveling so much easier on our end. She left the house spot-less (and this is no exaggeration), with the linens cleaned, and a wonderful meal waiting for us upon our return. She is an absolute gem of a person with a great sense of humor and a kind and compassionate nature, and she really enjoys the animals in her care. Our dog and cat were very well cared for and totally at ease upon our return. If you are lucky enough to have Becca sit for you, you will be very pleased at how well she does the job!

Julie

Sabre is a sweet, honest person who stepped up at the very last moment (after the prior sitter flaked out) to watch our dog and cat for 17 days. When there were a couple minor accidents, she informed us of them right away. One involved a burnt pan (easy to do if you’re not familiar with an induction stovetop) which she offered to replace. 
   Sabre also washed the towels and sheets, and made up the bed before we got home. The yard was pooper scooped and litter box was clean. Pets seemed well-cared for.
   When she had to leave town for several hours one day, she made sure to arrange for our neighbor take care of the pets.
   Additionally, I appreciated how she didn’t assume that it would be ok to bring her cat. When we found out she was going to keep her cat in a kennel during her stay here, we told her she could bring him which worked out fine. 
   Overall, I would confidently recommend Sabre to watch your pets and house.

SARA

Kathryn was a wonderful sitter for Princessa!  She was flexible and communicative and took great care of my cat and home.

Nancy

If you are looking for someone to take care of your fur babies and your house while you're away, Daniel is your guy!  I had discovered zeewoi just a couple of weeks before I was to leave on vacation and I was not only apprehensive if the website was too good to be true, but also under a real time crunch.  I reached out to over 100 local sitters and several possibilities fell through.  I was confident I would find the right sitter and when Daniel applied for the sit and I started to text and converse with him, I knew I had found the perfect sitter for my two cats!

Daniel was upbeat and positive, articulate and personable, warm and caring, and he asked all the right questions about Lilly and Eli (I hadn't had the time to complete my Welcome Guide, yet!?!).  I shared that I had an easy cat and problem cat -- Lilly,  who is sweet, social and eats dry food, and Eli who is skittish, was periodically pooping outside the kitty litter box and was eating prescription canned food twice a day mixed with a probiotic and stool firmer.  I asked if he thought he was up for the job and he happily said he was.

Since he flew all the was from Chicago, I thought the least my husband and I could do was pick him up at the airport.  When he arrived, he pulled out his notebook.  He patiently walked with me as I reviewed kitty care, showed him around the house, and where he would be sleeping.  He immediately picked up Lilly who was excited about meeting her new friend and Eli bugged out and down the stairs to the basement (his favorite hiding place!).  We got Daniel connected to the internet, set him up at our dining room table and headed off to airport, leaving our house and kitties in the best of hands.

Daniel wanted to make sure I felt comfortable and assured while we were away.  He made sure to text with me every other day (he had asked my preference earlier), sent photos of Lilly being her cute self while Eli hid during the day although he gave me assurances that he was eating his food and using the litter box (there were a few accidents, but Daniel never complained about these additional duties).    When we returned from our vacation, the house was also spotless and well cared for and Daniel had even washed the sheets for me!

It is with utter happiness and complete confidence that I recommend Daniel as a fantastic Sitter.  He is trustworthy, responsible, caring, and competent, and you can rest assured that both your house and sweet pets will be watched over and treated with TLC -- and will truly be in the best of hands while you are away!

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!

Will

Jinnie was an excellent house sitter for me and my cat Felix.  Completely responsible and reliable and helpfully flexible.  She was willing to work with me as I dithered on whether I was actually going to go on my trip (which was dependent on good weather), and when I finally decided on making my trip one day shorter.  House was clean and organized on my return, and, more importantly, my cat was calm and relaxed on my return.  I would happily have Jinnie come sit for me and Felix again.

Phyllis and Alan

Cat and Paul were wonderful sitters - our cats were contented and calm when we returned.  And the house was spotless.  Plus Paul mowed our entire yard including the back meadow - what a surprise! We very much enjoyed visiting with them as well and getting to know them.  Highly recommend :)