Cat Sitting in Martrin

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.

Joel and Esme

Kathy and Ron have sat for us several times in the past and have always been excellent. They are our "go-to" pet and house sitters and we always check their availability before we post a sit. They are trustworthy, organized, communicate very well, and take great care of our cats and our house. We hope they will continue pet sitting for many years to come!

Meghan

Kristi was an absolutely incredible sitter -- I think our favorite one ever! She was easy to communicate with, kind and personable, and took great care of our pets and our house. It was the first time we had left both our dog and our cat with a TH sitter and Kristi went above and beyond. She was very self-sufficient but provided fun updates and pictures and our pets loved her. Highly recommend!

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!

Erin

Ruthee was a fabulous pet sitter for our three cats while we were gone for a month. Prior to the sit, she was consistent and communicative; she even came over early for a meet and greet to learn the routine. During the sit, she took great care of our three cats by playing with them (she made a fun cat toy!), scooping litter, feeding and watering them, and sent us text updates and pictures. We came home to happy fur babies and a clean home. She left the place very tidy which was greatly appreciated! We are so thankful for Ruthee and would recommend her should the opportunity arise. Your fur babies would be lucky to spend time with her. Thank you again for everything, Ruthee!

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!

Claire

If Cung ever applies to your post for a house or pet sit, I strongly encourage you to jump at the offer. You will not be disappointed. Cung is among the top (if not the top) sitter I’ve ever had and I’ve been on this site for years.

Primarily, Cung is very organized. In the weeks and days leading up to the sit, Cung kept me abreast of his plans and status. I felt very comfortable in the days leading up to the sit because I knew the plan we made to exchange the keys and walk him through the instructions would work as planned. 

Second, Cung really cares. When he got to my apartment after what I assume was a long day of traveling, I explained the care instructions and he was very attentive and cared about the details - asking very specific questions on how to care for my cat and apartment. I had some pretty specific rules about how to feed my cat and take care of him and Cung followed those exactly.

Third, Cung makes you feel comfortable while you are away. I got daily or twice daily updates about my cat. I got pictures which made me feel like my cat was having a good time. My cat came out within an hour of me being away - very fast for my cat as he is shy. Cung must have a calming energy towards animals. Cung was also very responsive when I reached out first - replying within 5 minutes. I really appreciated that. My cat threw up at one point and Cung answered all of my questions to assess whether my cat was sick or had just eaten too fast.

Fourth, Cung will take good care of your apartment/house. I came back to a SPOTLESS apartment. The sheets were washed and folded on my bed. The towels were washed. The apartment had been vacuumed. The kitchen was clean. The dishwasher had been run. Everything was in its place when I returned. Honestly, cleaner than when I left it which is difficult since I am a very clean person. Cung also respects your property. I have an extensive computer setup that he used for work and he was very respectful of that equipment. He asked if he could use it beforehand, which was incredibly polite since he could have used it and I wouldn’t have known. 

In sum. You need to jump at the opportunity if Cung offers to sit for you. I came home to a very happy cat. Hope he will sit for me again sometime!

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!

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 :)