Cat Sitting in Silverlake

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.

Bill & Kathy

We were so pleased to meet John and Trisha! We had them come in a day before we left and enjoyed a nice meal with them and they got to meet Delilah (even if she didn’t seem interested) but she soon warmed up to them - except for the Cat Videos - she wasn’t very interested 🤣 When we returned our home was so clean (probably cleaner than we left it)! We got frequent pics and updates on our Princess! They also left us with a Progress Report with Delilah’s activities and what they did at the house before they left.
We would highly recommend John & Trisha if you are lucky enough to have them apply for a House Sitters job!

Bill, Kathy & Delilah 🐈‍⬛❤️

joby

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"!

Alexis

Elisabeth was an excellent sitter for our cat.  We were away for two weeks and received daily photos and notes from her about Catman's activities (i.e., sleeping and eating).  She is definitely a cat lover and that was evident from our cat's calm behavior when we returned.

Olivia

Someone was smiling down on us when Kevin and Mary clicked on our very first House Sitter advert.
They are straightforward, pleasant, reliable and fun. They kept in touch about their own plans when their flights were delayed. They tactfully left the house when our own cancelled flights meant we were staying a few hours longer than first planned. 
They sent just the right amount of photos, videos and texts of our cat while we were away! We all loved that. 
And on our return, oh my word, the house fairies had been to visit! They somehow managed to walk the perfect line between improving everything, without interfering at all. Clean, tidy, replenished. They asked what food we’d like on our return and boy did they deliver! Home made bean stew :-) and different things for the children. Really kind and generous.
Communication was clear and also witty..! They dealt with the churn of small mammals our “somewhat independent” cat brought through the flap without complaint. 
They are a really nice couple, exuding a lovely American warmth and charm. It was a real pleasure, Kevin and Mary, thank you.

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.

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!

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!

Jim

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

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!