If the rating is for whether they came and changed the food and water every day, then they get a 5…read more However, if the rating is based on the amount of stress and distress imposed on me as the cat owner, it's a zero.
When I interviewed them, they said they would do what was on the list and then sit quietly for 30 minutes and read a book. I suggested they could turn the TV on and they literally said no they did not want to disturb the cats, and sitting quietly would be best for the cats. I got anything but!
The person that came completely disrupted the household. First, I had a 6 foot screen that sectioned off a part of the house that I did not want them going through - she literally moved the screen to walk throughout that part of the house!! That was an immediate violation of privacy.
Next, she took it upon herself to move my garbage pail out for garbage day. I never asked her to do this, because I can get fined by the HOA for having the pails out overnight. Plus, I did not want her walking through the garage either! Again, another area of the house that should have been kept private.
She also went out the back door to put feed in the birdfeeder. This was something she did ask about in the chat, and I was with friends and on reflex I said yes. I immediately regretted saying yes as I realized the cats would be disturbed and also might get out. Honestly, I didn't need that conversation when I was on vacation. Birds are wild and should be fine. It was just way too much.
When I returned home, I saw that she moved all of the cat toys to make decorations. Cats are very sensitive to smell.
I had a very simple list: change the water, food, and add one cup of litter to the litter robot. Otherwise, I liked their approach to sit quietly to see whether my shy cats might come out.
Moving around the house, opening all the doors, had to be disruptive for the cats. I also was extremely worried that one of my cats might slip out the door.
She also changed the litter in the litter robot drawer. Again, this was not on her list to do. Now I had to worry about whether she put it back together again correctly,
Ironically, she sent me a picture of the litter box, and I noticed that the sand was considerably below the fill line. When I asked about it, she said that she forgot to add litter that day.
In the end, instead of just coming in the front door and leaving by the front door, she roamed around the entire house, and went through every entry in the house. I was stressed and distressed as to whether things were properly locked, whether a cat would slip out from one or the doors, and I hated the fact that from my cats' perspective, she was everywhere.
Finally, they take your key and make a copy of it and keep it. I am so extremely not comfortable with this. Yes, they told me at the interview, but I didn't realize how much it distressed me. So I had to spend the money to get my locks changed.
When I provided her this feedback, she said that clients liked that she took initiative and shut down my account. So this review is written for those people that would prefer to have a cat sitter come and just be there for 30 minutes to reassure your cats they are not alone. That's what they told me they would do.
If you like somebody to roam around and act on their own initiative in your home, then the service is perfect.
I also want to emphasize that nothing was taken and they did an excellent job in posting pictures on the app. For me, it was just that the initiative was way too much.
