Cat Sitters in Stafford Albemarle Glebe

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.

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!

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.

Brandon & Travis

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.

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!

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.

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!

Bridget

Lindsey watched our cat and dog for a long weekend when we went out of town. She was a very communicative sitter sending frequent pictures and voice notes with updates. She did a great job of following their schedules and giving them attention. The animals seemed to be happy and relaxed when we returned home and I believe Lindsey enjoyed getting to discover all of the eateries our town has to offer. A win-win for everyone!

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!

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.