Cat Sitting in Santa Rosa Beach

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.

Melina

There are not enough words in the English language to express my deepest gratitude to Teresa and all the amazing love and care she showed my sweet cat Milo.

From the moment she met Milo, I knew there was going to be a very special bond. 
He instantly relaxed when he first met and already looked so happy and at peace with her. The bond between the two of them only seemed to get stronger and stronger with every day that I was away.

This two-week trip was so important for me as it was the first real "vacation" I had taken in a few years. I was in desperate need of a mental and physical break and knew that in order to have a true "time off', I needed to feel completely at peace with Milo being well-taken care of.

Well my prayers were answered as Teresa was the "cat whisperer" I was hoping for.

I could not have asked for a better, more compassionate, self-reliant, and intuitive sitter ! 

Teresa was also so diligent in sending me her daily picture and video updates of my cat. With every picture and video I saw, I knew that Milo was so happy being with her and I never worried for one minute while I was away. What a gift !

Teresa was also a serious life-saver for me as literally an hour before I was leaving for my trip, I found out my cat's tracker app was not working and after a few emails and phone calls, we found out the tracker's server was down.

Teresa took the initiative to follow up with getting the tracker to work again which was a HUGE stress-relief for me . She is not only wonderfully savvy with animals but also with technology as well ! 

I feel so fortunate to have Teresa in my life now, not only as an amazing sitter for Milo but also as a wonderful friend for life! 

Thank you, Teresa for everything....

Milo and I so appreciate you .....

Nina

After seeing the numerous positive reviews, I knew Cung would be an easygoing and professional cat sitter and house guest, and he was :-) Easy communication, prompt updates and clear concern for Boz & Artie's wellbeing, and pictures of cozying up on the couch together all made our time away secure and stress free. Upon returning home, the cats were chill and the apt was left spotless, as though he hadn't even been there.

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!

Mary & Shane

My husband and I are so grateful for Cendy staying with our ~1yr old cat for nearly a full month. We were nervous to leave her for so long but Cendy had Wilma literally eating out of the palm of his hand and snuggling with him in no time. Cendy was incredibly communicative with us and attentive to Wilma consistently for the entire duration of the sit which was such a relief and gave us the piece-of-mind needed to fully enjoy our trip. We returned back to an impeccably clean apartment and a very content kitty. For the first few days back Wilma was definitely looking around for Cendy, missing her buddy. We (and Wilma!) would welcome Cendy back any time, especially for a longer stay knowing how responsible of a sitter he was. Couldn't recommend enough!

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.

Inma

Jenima is an excellent sitter! She is organized, communicative and flexible throughout the stay. We needed a sitter at the last minute because Jazz got sick, and Jenima saved us. We left a little worried about him, but Jenima took care of him really well and kept us informed. Cats love her! We definitely recommend her to take care of your pets!

Clare

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.

Evelyn & Jeff

We couldn't have asked for better sitters than Pares and Mark. Since our initial contact, it was straightforward to communicate with Pares. We were lucky enough to get a chance to meet Pares with our dog Luna, and Luna got along with her immediately. During our time away from home, she kept us informed about how both our dog and cat were doing, and they were both cuddling with her since the first day. We got a lot of pictures and knew that they were safe and happy. The apartment was exactly as we had left it when we came back. Pares and Mark even ran the dishwasher and the washing machine for us. We couldn't have asked for a better sitter, and it made our trip very easy knowing they were taken care of so well. We'd have Pares and Mark back to our home without any hesitation.

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.