Cat Sitting in Lake Bonny Park

sandi

Florence and Robert were outstanding sitters.  We asked them to arrive a day early as our guests to learn the routine on our farm.  In getting to know them we found them to be good hearted, down to earth people with a love of animals and diligent in learning our routines to care for our poultry, cats and dog as well as our garden and orchard.  Not a typical or easy sit.  We travelled with ease knowing our critters were being well taken care of.

Arriving home, the house was very clean and looked well cared for.  The animals were healthy as were the garden and orchard.  Out pets missed them when they left – our dog stared down the driveway after them until their car was out of sight.

It is nice to find sitters we would like to hang out with and we look forward to having them sit for us again.

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.

Jessica

Kathryn was amazing. She helped me figure plans out after another sitter dropped out at the last minute and saved the day! My cat and fish were well taken care of, and she was super communicative when my tank had a problem child moment. Would definitely recommend her to anyone looking for a reliable, helpful, and caring sitter!!

Matthew and Cheryl

Amber is as good a sitter as you will find anywhere! She treated our cats with such love and care, as if they were her own. She left our house in perfect tiptop tidy shape, and made sure to wash all the towels and linens before she left. She even cleaned out our coffee maker and took up our weekly trash without us even mentioning it! Amber is super kind and personable and we welcome her back to sit for us anytime! If you are looking for a sitter, you should definitely accept her application!

Olivia

Someone was smiling down on us when Kevin and Mary clicked on our very first House Sitter advert.
They are straightforward, pleasant, reliable and fun. They kept in touch about their own plans when their flights were delayed. They tactfully left the house when our own cancelled flights meant we were staying a few hours longer than first planned. 
They sent just the right amount of photos, videos and texts of our cat while we were away! We all loved that. 
And on our return, oh my word, the house fairies had been to visit! They somehow managed to walk the perfect line between improving everything, without interfering at all. Clean, tidy, replenished. They asked what food we’d like on our return and boy did they deliver! Home made bean stew :-) and different things for the children. Really kind and generous.
Communication was clear and also witty..! They dealt with the churn of small mammals our “somewhat independent” cat brought through the flap without complaint. 
They are a really nice couple, exuding a lovely American warmth and charm. It was a real pleasure, Kevin and Mary, thank you.

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.

Monica

We can not exaggerate the care and love Juliet and Laurent gave to our cat, Piero, during his the last few weeks of life. While we left for our trip thinking he merely had a bladder infection, his symptoms turned for the worse a weeks into their sit  and later revealed he had cancer. No one would wish their sitter to  need to hospice their cat but Juliet and Laurent showed such compassion for Piero and volunteered to be with him when we made the decision to put him down. It was an emotional time for all of us and we will be forever grateful to our two caring cat and house sitters.

We have had many fantastic housesitters through zeewoi but Juliet and Laurent top the list. Their professionalism, constant communication and compassion were exceptional.  

Should you have the opportunity to have them in your home, do not hesitate to book them, you will have no regrets. 

We do, however, regret that they had such a short time with Piero and had to experience such a painful event.

Alison

Anna was a wonderful sitter for our furry friends.  My dog, Luke, bonded with her and was sad when she left.  My cats would crawl under the covers and curl up with her at night.  She is a true animal magnet and lover.  I highly recommend Anna to anyone who wants their pets to recieve first class love while away.

Anne Laure

Caroline is an amazing sitter ! We were far away, had never left our cat for such a long period of time and we felt really confident with her. She took great care of our cat Honey as well as she did for the house, pool and garden. She was even able to handle the end of the refection of the bathroom which was a last minute surprise…
We felt Caroline was reliable and self sufficient. We had a great communication with her during our stay abroad.
We even found many nice intentions when we came back from our vacations such as fresh fruits and bakeries for a nice and welcomed breakfast after a night in a plane !
We definitely recommend Caroline for your sittings and we will obviously call her back !

Francine

Steven was a great sitter for our black lab Souris and cat Pinot. They were well looked after and really liked Steven. Our house was in good order when we got back and Steven was kind enough to give us a lift to and from the airport. He was very flexible, arriving day early so we could show him around.