Cat Sitting in Saltaire

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.

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!

Ann

Catherine was wonderful!  She took care of my cat and house while I was out of town and left and Jack the Cat very and calm and the house in perfect shape which I so appreciate.  I could return home and attend to other things rather than cleaning house.  I would recommend her as a sitter to anyone.  She was easy to communicate with, provided updates and pics of Jack, willing to jump in and assist me as I left or returned.  She has a sweet and warm personality and enjoys what she does with house sitting.   Thank you Catherine!

Diane

Wow!  Just wow!  We cannot say enough about the care and compassion Trisha and John provided to our cats and our home.  We are always somewhat nervous about a new pet sitter in our home, but that all faded when we met this wonderful couple.  They provided daily updates as requested, complete with pictures, videos and personalized captions.  Upon our return, we were greeted by happy and content kitties.  There was no sign of anxiety in Tika!  Yea!!!  Our home was clean, the sheets and towels were washed and bed remade!  They even left behind thank you notes and little gifts!  What a breath of fresh air these two individuals are!  We hope to have them back again soon.

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.

Kaori

Elyse was one of the best pet sitters we've ever met! Couldn't recommend her more. We hope she stays at our place again. She sent many pictures of our beloved cats throughout our absence. We returned to our cats seeming relaxed and happy as ever. She also left our apartment sparkling clean. 10/10 :)

Marni

Danny and Jo did a great job caring for our 3 cats and fish AND lots of plants (and home of course) while we were out of town for 3 weeks. We came back to a very clean house, sheets, and towels all clean and folded and fresh sheets on the bed they were using. The plants were all alive too, which is a first for us (again, we have a lot of plants!). The cats were happy to see us and they were all accounted for (a past sitter lost a cat for a week - they escaped outside as a non-outside cat). Everything was in its place and looked great. We received regular updates (via text) with photos of the cats lounging about which was important for us. Danny asked good questions when they visited us before the sit, and when reviewing our pet/house sitting instructions. The only thing we noticed that was different was that our 2 young cats were a little lighter (not necessarily a bad thing) but we understand that being gone for that length of time can be stressful on our furry family, which almost always affects their eating habits. All in all, we would definitely have them again!

kevin

Tracy was an ideal pet sitter when we left for 12 days. She was communicative, friendly, and most importantly took perfect care of our two cats and our house. I would highly recommend her for any sit!

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!

Paola

Chris was a fantastic cat sitter for our elderly and high maintenance kitty.  Chris was the perfect combination of responsible and on top of her medication needs while also being calm and relaxed about her picky eating habits and the need to monitor her food and medication consumption.  He was prompt, easy to get a hold of,  responsible, and overall, a great sitter.  I would definitely recommend him and most certainly hope to have him stay with her again.