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.
Kerry and Megan were wonderful sitters and took great care of our two cats while we were on vacation for two weeks. They were responsive, gave us regular updates, and seemed to really care about Tumba and Cappa. When Tumba was more timid toward the beginning of our trip and not eating her meals fully, Kerry was sure to ask for additional suggestions from us on how to coax her to eat more. Kerry and Megan also left the house just as we'd left it for them. We really appreciated them going the extra mile to ask about additional cleaning products so they could clean our bathrooms. It felt great to come home and just relax without needing to remake the bed. Thanks for everything, Kerry and Megan! We would certainly entrust our home and kitties to you again in the future.
Amanda is truly our trusted sitter "find"! She comes back regularly, so much so that our kitties think she is their secondary owner! Always reliable, clean, responsible and most of all loves our cats as much as we do! Good communicator, self reliant - all in all a perfect "10"!
Brian is a very professional sitter that does a good job, pays attention to details and is easy to work with. I have a lot of plants. A lot. He suggested me do a video for the plant care so he could be sure of which ones needed what. Brilliant! I’d never thought of that. They were in great shape when I returned. I explained that I needed some flexibility with travel dates, he agreed and rolled with the punches like a champ when my dates did indeed change. Unfortunately, he was a bit allergic to my cat but made it work anyway. He was really awesome about everything including a tree that fell next door in a storm and blocked the road for three days. I appreciate that he appreciated how funny and how much personality Boo has. They got along well and I received some great videos. I returned home to a happy cat and a house well taken care of 😊. I would definitely recommend Brian.
Angel was absolutely the best house sitter we could have hoped for. She is a very warm, open and diligent person and our two cats adored her. She looked after our house and garden with really conscientious care. She won over our very timid cat, Billie, and sent regular photos of both cats looking supremely content which gave us perfect peace of mind. The house was completely spotless on our return and the garden was fabulous... no mean feat since there was a heatwave while we were away and she kept everything watered and in great condition. We would have Angel back at the drop of a hat and cannot recommend her highly enough.
Ruoyi was the perfect sitter for our cat Toni! We would highly recommend her to any pet owner, and hope she can sit for us again in the future. Ruoyi was very thorough - she made sure there was full alignment on all the specifics of her pet duties, and she asked thoughtful questions regarding details we forgot to include in our guide. She always provided us timely updates at the agreed cadence, and gave us a ton of photos. From the photos, it's clear she got in a lot of play time with Toni, which we really appreciated! :) We were able to enjoy our entire vacation stress-free knowing Toni was in such good hands. Ruoyi left our apartment completely clean and offered to wash linens.
I highly recommend Daniel as a pet sitter and house sitter! He took care of Pipa for over three months this winter and did an outstanding job. From the first day, it was clear that he had a genuine love for animals and a great deal of experience with pets. He was very attentive to his needs and always made sure he was comfortable, well-fed, and had plenty of playtime. In addition to his pet-sitting duties, Daniel also went above and beyond by processing my postal mail and keeping the house well-organized. He was very responsible and reliable, always arriving on communicating, putting the bins out, and watering the plants on time, and keeping me updated with photos and messages. I felt completely at ease knowing that my cat was in such good hands and that my home was well-cared for while I was away. When I returned from my trip, Pipa was happy, healthy, and well-adjusted, thanks to Daniel's excellent care. I would definitely hire him again and recommend him to anyone in need of a trustworthy, caring, and responsible pet and house sitter!
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.
Karen was able to step in a sit for me on short notice after another sitter canceled. She was very thorough and communicative and I felt I had left my apartment and cats in good hands with her. I came home to a clean apartment and happy cats. I definitely recommend Karen as a sitter.
Heidi was an outstanding cat sitter for my Luna! She was very communicable via calls or texts. She followed all my guidelines for feeding and care of Luna. Luna was very content when I arrived home thanks to Heidi! My home was immaculate when I arrived and she did some snow shoveling. She even pulled a large broken tree branch off my roof following a windstorm. I hope Heidi is available for my next trip because she is awesome. Jim
Is it better to board cats or leave at home?
Veterinarians advising to leave cats at home with a pet sitter who will stay overnight in your home, boarding is not recommended for cats as they are stressed in a new environment, you can find a sitter who will care for your cats and home for free at Zeewoi.
How much should you pay someone to watch your cat?
At least $20 per visit, $60 per overnight watching in your home or $40 for a cat boarding, otherwise you can find a free sitter at Zeewoi.
What do people do with their cats when they go on vacation?
Inviting a cat sitter to your home, boarding the cat with a local business, asking a friend, family or neighbour to feed and check the well-being. The most efficient way to leave your cat during your vacation is with Zeewoi cat sitters for free, in this way, you will save cat sitting costs and make vacation not only for you but also for your cat sitter!