4.6

Laura was friendly during our initial conversations and seemed confident caring for our two cats. Before confirming the booking, I explained that our cats are very much our family and that, because we were going away for 13 nights, regular photos and updates were extremely important to us. Laura assured us this wouldn’t be a problem and even said previous clients had been happy to be “spammed with photos all day long.” Unfortunately, our experience was quite different. Communication throughout the stay was minimal, and we often had to ask for updates rather than receiving them proactively. Although we had agreed to communicate via WhatsApp before the booking, Laura didn’t message me there until four days into the stay. Until then, replies through the app were sparse and often delayed because she said she wasn’t receiving notifications. At one point we went over 24 hours without hearing from her, and because the phone number listed on her profile was inactive, we had no way of contacting her directly. We had also asked not to allow the cats into the kitchen, but when we returned home we found paw prints on the kitchen worktops, suggesting this instruction hadn’t been followed. We had told Laura that one of our cats had previously eaten a hair tie, so we asked that no small items were left within reach. It was therefore disappointing to see photos showing chewed-up licky treat packets and Whiskas food wrappers on the floor, as these could have posed a choking or blockage risk. Finally, we came home to dried cat vomit in three different places, including on our sofa, with no apparent attempt made to clean it up. When we came home the more timid of our cat was crying from under the sofa - a sound she has never done before when we have had catsitters stay over in the past. The lack of communication, failure to follow some of our instructions, and the condition we found the house in meant this wasn’t the experience we had hoped for, and unfortunately we wouldn’t book Laura again.

Poor experience, cats were underfed - judging by the counting the number of packets of food remaining when I returned they were given half what they were supposed to eat. I left clear feeding instructions in a message. No evidence that she played with the kittens judging by the photos, and I had to nudge Laura for photos on several occasions. On the last day she locked herself out, leaving the key on the inside of the lock which required a locksmith to attend at vast expense and to find alternative care arrangements. The more skittish of the two kittens has been peeing outside her litter box ever since I returned and had diarrhea the day after I came back. Very disappointed. This was my first trip away from them since they were born, so it was important that they had a good experience and I don’t believe they did.

Came back to a very happy cat, thank you Laura :)

Laura was really great and sorted everything calmly, even though it was all so last minute. I would recommend

Last minute booking so very grateful. Met before it started. Laura sent photos and films. Will use again.

Laura was an amazing sitter! I booked her to watch my two cats for three weeks. During this time, she made sure to regularly stay in touch with updates, pictures and videos so I wouldn’t miss my pets too much. I came home to two happy cats!