Cat Sitting in Pocahontas

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.

katie

Best house and pet sitters we've ever had! They definitely gave our cat and dog plenty of love and attention.

Emelia

My partner and I left our cat Mango in Lindsey's care for a month so that we could get married.  We were going from FL to ME, so it was a long way from home.  We were gone for a month.  Picking the right houses sitter was important.  We are so glad we picked Lindsey (and she picked us). From before Lindsey got on her plan to fly down, until she was back home again Lindsey was communicative, considerate and positive. We felt like we had a family member staying at our place and because of who she is, Mango and our home's well being was a weight off our mind during the wedding. If the need arises in the future we will definitely be giving her the right of first refusal. Thank you so much Lindsey!

Kathleen

Toby and Chloe were one of the best house sitters we have ever had! As a small animal vet I have seen many types of pet sitters and these guys are top notch. Our pets are not easy either. We have special needs dogs, cats on medication, dogs with behavioral issues, horses, chickens, goats and a large (100 lb) Sulcata tortoise who needed close monitoring of the temperature in his barn. Everyone was thriving and happy when we came home. They read through the packet and asked thorough, thoughtful questions. They went above and beyond grooming, mucking and grazing the horses and goats everyday. They chopped greens and fruit daily for our tortoise. If we had known how amazing they were we would have booked a 3 week trip instead! Can't recommend them enough.

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.

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!

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!

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!

Steven

Kristine was wonderful again as our local sitter from just down the street. 
The boys take to her like she is their best friend whenever she comes to sit with them. She sent us photos of them playing, relaxing, drinking water and eating so we knew they were well taken care of. 
The house and the cats were in excellent shape and excellent hands while we were away. It is wonderful that she enjoys the house and the cats so much and tells us so.
Kristine comes with our highest recommendation!
Thank you Kristine!

Cynthia

I whole-heartedly recommend Carly and her partner Fanny to sit for you! They were fabulous and reliable house sitters from start to finish. Carly was timely and thoughtful in all of her communications and let us know the state of affairs in our apartment with our cat and plant babies while we were away. They followed our directions to a 'T.' We came home to find a happy cat, thriving plants, a spotless apartment and laundered linens. We would definitely consider contacting them again to house sit for us!