“"Cautionary Note for Cat in a Flat Users: Exercise Care in Selection and Booking"
The experience as a cat sitter on Cat in a Flat (catinaflat.com) proved to be disappointing. While the platform's concept is appealing, there is a lack of reliable implementation. The emphasis on the application process and document submission for cat sitters does not ensure trustworthy and professional service providers, as evident in numerous 1-star reviews from other customers. Finding a reliable cat sitter on Cat in a Flat requires a stroke of luck.
Furthermore, I would like to expand on my experience with Cat in a Flat by highlighting another critical point. As a seasoned pet sitter with over 8 years of experience, certification, and a proven track record of reliability, I was willing to contribute a significant percentage of my earnings to Cat in a Flat and provide professional services for customers in Bern.
Despite my transparent communication about my existing pet care website and willingness to collaborate, Cat in a Flat did not accept me into their community. The reason provided was that it would be a pity if they had to pay double for insurance. This justification proves to be unfounded and unprofessional.
As an independent pet care provider, I have clear structures, including transparent payroll management and existing liability insurance. Every provider should have the freedom to register on the platform and offer their professional services. Instead of explaining the reasons for their concerns about potential double insurance payments, my account was suspended without a clear explanation.
This lack of communication and unprofessional handling has disappointed me with Cat in a Flat, and I advise all pet care providers to explore alternative platforms that value transparent and cooperative collaboration. Cat in a Flat has completely lost my trust.
Additionally, I want to emphasize that customers should also scrutinize their choices and bookings on Cat in a Flat (catinaflat.com) to avoid any bitter disappointments.”
“After years of positive experiences with them, I am today forced to write a bad review and warn my fellow cat owners.
I booked a cat sitter for the Xmas period and I had then to extend the booking.
The website tells you that, in order to do soy, you have to cancel the original booking and make a new one.
When I did that, I was charged £90 as a late cancellation fee, despite me immediately booking again the exact same cat sitter for a longer period.
Once I realised the problem I tried to undo my original booking cancellation and asked the cat sitter to decline it instead, which they did.
The booking was noe showing a £0 fee and I moved on, only to find out they still charged me the £90.
I now find myself very stressed that recovering my money will not be easy and will take time, and I am genuinely flagstabbered that such a non transparent process is allowed.”
“Awful experience with sitter Sini Manner through Cat in a Flat. Despite positive reviews.I booked Sini Manner via Cat In a Flat for one week 10/9 to 17/9. At the beginning of the sitting my rescue cat went missing. This is extremely out of character for my cat and extremely worrying. Sini Manner could not have cared less and appeared extremely irritated at my concerns to the point of anger. Rather than spending time looking for my lost cat Sini Manner went out to dinner, walks, shopping etc and ignored my messages. In fact she was more concerned with the fact that two light bulbs had blown and claimed that she couldn’t see and had to go and buy new ones. (I had left money for emergencies - which she took when she left!) Sini was very angry about this (something beyond my control) Requesting updates and photos met with a shocked face! Messages ignored and If I asked at where my cat was she just stated “hiding” and when I asked in the house the reply was “I suppose so” Very poor communication & it turned out my cat had hid in the cupboard much of the week because He was so nervous of Sini Manner.
Upon returning home the house was in a shocking state. A box of frozen food that had been delivered had been dumped on my sofa, one of my canvas pictures had been thrown down the back of my radiator, scrunched up pieces of kitchen roll everywhere, dirty cat litter dumped in a bag on my carpet, dirty cat litter all over my carpet, cats dish clearly not washed, water bowls not filled or changed all week, boxes of cat food missing, dirty cat litter thrown in my recycling bin, garlic and oats all over my kitchen floor, washing up bowl on the kitchen floor, marks on my ceiling, garden table broken and left out and more gas and electricity used than I use in a month. To top it off Sini Manner left an angry note blaming me for my cats disappearance, angry about blown lightbulbs and is refusing to return my keys. Avoid Cat in a Flat and Sini Manner at all costs.”
“Ive found two fabulous sitters through this site. First Michelle who I used for approx 6 years until she stopped & now Chrissie. Chrissie is equally as fabulous as Michelle and am forever grateful for cat in a flat for making it possible to find teo such great ladies”
“Ohne Beweis musste ich mehr Geld bezahlen als was vorher vereinbart wurde mit dem Ausrede, es wurde von meiner Bank als Bearbeitungsgebühr abgerechnet! Obwohl meine Bank alles verneint hat… Außerdem steht überhaupt keine Telefonnummer zur Verfügung und man muss alles per Email abklären. Je mehr ich versucht habe per Email mit denen zu kontaktieren, desto mehr ähnliche Emails mit den wiederholten Texten hab ich bekommen ohne mit irgendwelchen Beweis zu schicken… Am Ende haben sie auch mich bedroht entweder ich bezahle sogenanntes Geld oder muss ich ein Strafgebühr im Höhe von 500€ bezahlen!!!
Es war echt eine furchtbare Erfahrung…”
“Do not trust Good reviews on their site
Hired a cat sitter (Lily M, London) for the first time based on positive reviews on catinaflat.com
The cat sitter knew there was a camera as we had told her. From the second day onwards she kept turning the camera away when arriving and turning it back when leaving. On the fourth day she forgot to turn the camera away and we were absolutely shocked to see her spraying my partner’s perfume all over her then removing her sweater and spraying it all over it. The scene was almost comical - check
out the video!!! The next morning she returned, turned the camera away but we could hear drawers being opened and rummaged through.
We immediately cancelled her and found an alternative solution for our cat. Returning home the flat was filthy, with cat litter all over the floor.
I messaged catinaflat and sent them the video. They said they would “investigate”. I followed up over the next couple of months with several emails asking for updates. They finally replied saying that the sitter (Lily M) had received some positive reviews from other clients and they could not disclose the conclusion of their investigation. Lily M is still active on their website.
Long story short: catinaflat makes their money from cat sitters, and the way they excused this behaviour didn’t make sense except if you consider they don’t want to lose the revenue Lily M generates for them.
The conclusion from their inaction is that good reviews on their website cannot be trusted.”
“Just arrived home from a holiday in Tenerife, I was very anxious about leaving my 2 year old male cat as I haven't left him alone in the house for a week. I must say my cat sitter Patricia was amazing, she sent pictures of my boy everyday which made me feel at ease knowing my boy was well looked after. When I arrived home my house was spotless , she cleaned up a broken candle and bottle of aftershave which my cat had knocked over. I will definitely be using her again for future holidays.
Thankyou”
“Cat sitter bailed on me after 1 day when I was abroad, causing huge stress. Cat in a Flat kept 7 days money nevertheless despite me being a loyal customer since 2017. Not much point in using them any more in my opinion as no protection if anything goes wrong. You might as well take the risk and find a local sitter yourself.”
“Cat in a Flat made it possible for us to connect with a wonderful cat-sitter on very short notice. Their site is easy to use and their policy gives you peace of mind when leaving your cat in the care of someone that perhaps you don't know that well. We don't use catteries, so this is a great place to go if your usual cat-sitters can't help you out!”
“Très bonne appli. Simplement je ne comprend pas pourquoi c’est les catsitters qui doivent payer les taxes sur les gardes et non pas les propriétaires. Sur airbnb c’est l’inverse et c’est bien plus logique.
Ici on est taxé à 20% donc ça fait mal et ça pousse à passer en dehors de la plateforme …”
“Thank you Cat In A Flat for my FULL REFUND after my awful experience with “cat sitter” Sini Manner. Although your complaints system is biased & your cat sitter vetting system close to non existent it appears some people do have a relatively good experience. Unfortunately Sini Manner provided an extremely poor level of care, dire communication and left my house in a shockingly filthy state. I would urge you not to let Sini Manner near your cat or your home.”
“Unfortunately did not have a good experience with Cat in a Flat. I went into it feeling confident things were going to go well and I wish I could say we had had a good experience. I found a sitter with 5 star reviews, read through them, thought I'd done my due diligence. However, we had an issue with our sitter not replying to communication for hours/days while we waited in for her to come over and meet us and our cats (as we were meant to do before we went away). We would then eventually get a message late in the day that she couldn't come, so we'd organise another day, same thing would happen. I contacted Cat in a flat because we were at a loss what to do and even thought we would have to cancel our trip because of this. They took weeks to reply saying they would investigate. I replied and then it was another few weeks before I got a snooty, condescending email turning everything round on me. One part was worded patronisingly, but basically saying I should have contacted them as soon as I had an issue - which I did. By the time they replied we'd had to find another sitter at short notice and had already been away. Would never use again.”
“Awful experience with sitter Sini Manners through Cat in a Flat. I booked Sini Manners via Cat In a Flat for one week 10/9 to 17/9. At the beginning of the sitting my rescue cat went missing. This is extremely out of character for my cat and extremely worrying. Sini Manners could not have cared less and appeared extremely irritated at my concerns to the point of anger. Rather than spending time looking for my lost cat Sini Manners went out to dinner, walks, shopping etc and ignored my messages. In fact she was more concerned with the fact that two light bulbs had blown and claimed that she couldn’t see and had to go and buy new ones. (I had left money for emergencies - which she took when she left!) Sini was very angry about this (something beyond my control) Requesting updates and photos met with a shocked face! Messages ignored and If I asked at where my cat was she just stated “hiding” and when I asked in the house the reply was “I suppose so” Very poor communication & it turned out my cat had hid in the cupboard much of the week because He was so nervous of Sini Manners.
Upon returning home the house was in a shocking state. A box of frozen food that had been delivered had been dumped on my sofa, one of my canvas pictures had been thrown down the back of my radiator, scrunched up pieces of kitchen roll everywhere, dirty cat litter dumped in a bag on my carpet, dirty cat litter all over my carpet, cats dish clearly not washed, boxes of cat food missing, dirty cat litter thrown in my recycling bin, garlic and oats all over my kitchen floor, washing up bowl on the kitchen floor, marks on my ceiling, garden table broken and left out and more gas and electricity used than I use in a month. To top it off Sini Manners left an angry note blaming me for my cats disappearance, angry about blown lightbulb and is refusing to return my keys. Avoid Cat in a Flat and Sini Manners at all costs.”
“My sitter had to cancel last minute as she was ill with Covid. Thankfully I was able to find someone else quickly through Cat in a Flat!
Christmas saved :slightly_smiling_face:”
