Cat Sitting in Stewart Gulch

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.

Joel and Esme

Kathy and Ron have sat for us several times in the past and have always been excellent. They are our "go-to" pet and house sitters and we always check their availability before we post a sit. They are trustworthy, organized, communicate very well, and take great care of our cats and our house. We hope they will continue pet sitting for many years to come!

Jenny

Young was the perfect house sitter for us. From the moment you meet her, you can tell she is animal person and is detailed oriented and will take great care of your house and pets. She exudes a peaceful and grounded energy.  She was comfortable with each our pets from the high energy dog to the shy skittish cat. She played with the dog in the yard every day and took him on walks. And she was also very attentive to our cats and figured out how to maintain the equilibrium in the relationship between the cats and dog. She is an excellent communicator; she asked questions when our directions weren't clear and kept us updated on the pets. She is also an amazing photographer. She sent us pics of our pets every day that totally captured each of their personalities.

Esther

We are thoroughly pleased with and impressed by Daniel's kind, generous, and careful care of our cat and our house. He is a committed and experienced sitter who completely understands his role and responsibilities and also how to gently win the confidence and affection of a pet. He is an excellent communicator, and he kept us regularly up to date on our cat's well being--sending us texts and photos at least once/week as we requested. Our cat who is a little afraid of new people, grew fond of him, and we have returned to a very calm, contented cat. We highly recommend Daniel, and we ourselves would be thrilled to engage him again when the need arises.

Sean

Kimberly was a wonderful sitter who watched our two cats for us while we were out. She was willing to come a day early to help acclimate herself with the animals, and this was exceedingly helpful in making sure the cats would be comfortable with her during our absence. I would highly recommend Kimberly if you're looking for a responsible, caring sitter.

Nancy

Kathy and Ron arrived at our home with a most fantastical toy for our cats and a giant apple pie. Need I say more? They are very experienced sitters and brought personal items that they prefer. We knew we were leaving out cats in good hands. 

A large part of their 'job' was hand watering our garden and Ron took that in stride. Everything is thriving. 

Our cats are usually distant with new people but we received photos of them keeping Kathy and Ron company in various situations which was reassuring. They clearly won our cats over. 

Although Ron and Kathy had a ferry to catch on their last day, they took time to wash  their linens and hang them on the clothesline. They also left us a gorgeous plant for our garden. 

We would very much like to have them back for a longer sit if possible.

Chelsey

Windy & Dustin are some of my top go-tos! They are wonderful sitters who I can trust to take care of my cats and goats and love them like their own! They are so respectful of my house and are always flexible with me when plans change last minute.

Nancy

If you are looking for someone to take care of your fur babies and your house while you're away, Daniel is your guy!  I had discovered zeewoi just a couple of weeks before I was to leave on vacation and I was not only apprehensive if the website was too good to be true, but also under a real time crunch.  I reached out to over 100 local sitters and several possibilities fell through.  I was confident I would find the right sitter and when Daniel applied for the sit and I started to text and converse with him, I knew I had found the perfect sitter for my two cats!

Daniel was upbeat and positive, articulate and personable, warm and caring, and he asked all the right questions about Lilly and Eli (I hadn't had the time to complete my Welcome Guide, yet!?!).  I shared that I had an easy cat and problem cat -- Lilly,  who is sweet, social and eats dry food, and Eli who is skittish, was periodically pooping outside the kitty litter box and was eating prescription canned food twice a day mixed with a probiotic and stool firmer.  I asked if he thought he was up for the job and he happily said he was.

Since he flew all the was from Chicago, I thought the least my husband and I could do was pick him up at the airport.  When he arrived, he pulled out his notebook.  He patiently walked with me as I reviewed kitty care, showed him around the house, and where he would be sleeping.  He immediately picked up Lilly who was excited about meeting her new friend and Eli bugged out and down the stairs to the basement (his favorite hiding place!).  We got Daniel connected to the internet, set him up at our dining room table and headed off to airport, leaving our house and kitties in the best of hands.

Daniel wanted to make sure I felt comfortable and assured while we were away.  He made sure to text with me every other day (he had asked my preference earlier), sent photos of Lilly being her cute self while Eli hid during the day although he gave me assurances that he was eating his food and using the litter box (there were a few accidents, but Daniel never complained about these additional duties).    When we returned from our vacation, the house was also spotless and well cared for and Daniel had even washed the sheets for me!

It is with utter happiness and complete confidence that I recommend Daniel as a fantastic Sitter.  He is trustworthy, responsible, caring, and competent, and you can rest assured that both your house and sweet pets will be watched over and treated with TLC -- and will truly be in the best of hands while you are away!

Julie

My husband and I reached out to Toby & Chloe after reading their profile and impressive reviews only a week before our trip, since our scheduled sitter had to cancel at the last moment.  They were very friendly and quick to respond to chat from the very beginning, and ended up exceeding our expectations during their two week stay.  It was evident they had thoroughly read our Welcome Guide beforehand, as they arrived knowledgeable and prepared to care for our home and pets.  They were very willing and happy to take the necessary time with us to walk through the house and meet our cats, as we got them acclimated with our daily routines and answered any questions.  Shortly after we left, our city had a heat wave come through, and after immediately notifying us, Toby went beyond the call of duty and inspected our struggling AC unit to pinpoint the issue.  As far as cat care is concerned, we have two seniors (who have more sensitive tummies) that can get irritated after a fur ball or swallowing anything out of the ordinary.  When this occurred, Toby & Chloe stepped in and took wonderful care of our cat duo; softening their food and even cradling while hand-feeding them for extra comfort.  We truly could not have asked for more affectionate and responsible sitters.  We returned to a spotlessly clean home, happy cats, and well maintained plants and pool.  (They even cleaned our dusty Kitchen pendant lighting, which requires a steady hand and is definitely a time-commitment …We felt like professional housecleaners had been there!)  On our way back, Toby & Chloe stayed in communication with us to monitor our arrival time, allowing them to care for our cats until just before we got home.  Overall, they are very reliable and trustworthy sitters whose genuine goal is to provide a top-quality sit, while maintaining your household and seamlessly transitioning to your pets daily schedule.

Nancy

Kristi was an exceptional house / pet sitter and we appreciate her being so flexible as were not sure how long our vacation was going to be.  She was prompt, courteous, and even drove up the weekend before to meet with us.  She took great care of our house and our dog snd cats loved her.  I would highly recommended her.