We have a cat that is very high maintenance... He is loving with us (most of the time) but doesn't get along with others (any other beings on earth). Previously it has been very difficult to travel with peace of mind knowing that he was taken care of (and that the sitter was safe :)). Before Elaine we worried about inappropriate elimination etc. while we were gone. I once took him to Wags and he was so stressed out while he was there his immune system was compromised and he left with a bug - which later cost thousands of dollars. Fast forward to desperation... we found Elaine on Yelp and decided to give her a try... We have now been having Elaine come over for a couple of years. Figaro has been doing great and is at a point where he seems very relaxed when we get home. She is very detailed oriented and leaves great notes upon your return. Very trustworthy and is always keeping Figaro's best interest in mind. She has a green thumb too :). A couple of my plants were on their way out and with a few suggestions from Elaine they too are now thriving. The best Yelp find yet!! read more

We've just returned from our first multi-day trip leaving our cat and fish in Elaine's care. Charlie Daisy was well cared for, and Elaine left us a detailed note about the time she spent with the cat, how the cat responded, and what they did each day. She also took in the trash cans and watered our plants. We are very pleased and plan to use her again for any future cat-sitting needs. read more

We have two cats in the autumn of their lives, one of which is diabetic and requires twice daily insulin injections. Elaine has proven to be a reliable, trustworthy cat sitter and I would definitely recommend her to others. We've had issues in the past with boarding (on one occasion one cat boarding place in the city actually gave a potentially fatal double dose of insulin to our cat!). Luckily Elaine is proficient in administering meds :) read more

Elaine is the most thorough, understanding, detail-oriented, capable, sensitive and responsible pet-sitter I could have ever wanted for my elderly cat. She came for a pre-care visit and met kitty, understood her needs, and was entirely prepared for what turned out to be a difficult pet-sitting job - kitty constantly disappeared into new hiding places, threw up her meds, went out of the litterbox, got dehydrated; in short, did everything to make it a nightmare for Elaine. Elaine kept constant contact with me while I was out of town, replaced the litterbox, gave her fluids, gave her all the meds as needed, cleaned up, petted and took care of my cat's emotional needs (and mine.) She left a full report after leaving and recommended future actions. I couldn't have asked for more. And she's not a slick corporate entity with a bunch of people asking you to get on their mailing list and charging outrageous prices. She's someone who genuinely cares and does the hard work to prove it. Pure love. read more

We have 4 cats of varying ages, one is very old, and two are extremely food aggressive, so feeding them is a difficult process. Elaine came to our house twice a day for 12 days while we were out of town, and we couldn't be happier. She updated us while we were out of town, gave our old guy extra special attention (as well as lactated ringers), kept the house clean, and really went the extra mile to keep them healthy. This is the second time we've used her service. We're total cat people, our cats are our family, and we're very cautious about who we let in our house - it's such a relief to find a great petsitter who we can trust. read more

Elaine is a wonderful and caring cat sitter. We have been using her for the past 2 years and she takes excellent care of our elderly cat. I fully agree with all the past reviews. Elaine goes above and beyond the basic needs of our cat. She spends time with him, petting and making sure he has some good love while we are away. Our cat can be difficult and not always good with people coming in to care for him - yet he has really taken to Elaine and I know she works hard to get his approval. Our elderly cat also makes a lot of litter box messes which Elaine diligently cleans up after - so appreciative of this! She also leaves us detailed notes of his behavior and any issues while we were away and communicates so well. - returning calls and emails promptly. You could not ask for better. read more

After a great deal of trouble trying to find a competent pet sitter with the knowledge, skills, and experience to deal with an animal companion with multiple conditions we finally found Elaine. Our cat was a traumatized rescue who has had so much done to her medically and yet she does not run when Elaine enters our home. Elaine has been caring for our very ill 3-time cancer survivor cat for almost a year now. In addition to being a wary-of-strangers, rescue cat, our beloved feline is being treated for kidney failure, lung cancer recovery, seizures, and asthma. -She gets12-14 pills a day and a shot once a week PLUS sub-q fluids twice a week. Elaine is more than up to the task of providing the care that our cat needs twice a week and when we're out of town. She makes our cat feel comforted and loved...and us reassured. Elaine is the most reliable, dependable, trustworthy, professional, loving and gentle cat sitter we've ever had in the Bay Area. We are all very happy with Elaine and the service she provides. We highly recommend Elaine. read more

The Petsitters - Greeting Elaine of The Petsitters! - Pet Sitting Near Me

Elaine at The Petsitters is the best! I have used her for about 20 years (with different cats over time) and she always takes such great care of them and gets to know their different personalities. She truly loves animals, and when I am away, I am always confident they are in good hands and will get lots of attention. She is also great at working with elderly or sick cats, which I unfortunately have experienced too--she gives fluids and pills with no problem. I highly recommend The Petsitters! read more

Elaine is great! She is reliable and always takes wonderful care of my indoor cat while I am out of town. I highly recommend her if you are looking for a new pet sitter in SF. read more

Elaine is an extremely dedicated, dependable, and reliable pet sitter, and I can't recommend her highly enough. She's been looking after our cat for about 4 years now, mostly during our 2-3 week long trips away from the US. Traveling so far from home is a lot of fun and being able to leave our aging cat in such capable hands is very reassuring and liberating, and really helps us make the most of our trips without worrying about things at home. Elaine is very detail-oriented and conscientious, with very clear policies, and thinks of everything ahead of time. While tending to our cat's demands Elaine also takes care of our ailing house plant(s) and mail. You know that no news is good news while we're away, but if we do have questions or concerns Elaine always responds quickly. When we get back there is always a lovely handwritten note detailing our cat's activities over the time we were away, and helpful suggestions based on her observations (such as novel places to put water to get our cat to drink). Elaine also has a great sense of humor and injects lots of this into her notes and emails! There has never been a cat emergency while we've been away but I know our cat would be in the best hands possible should one arise. Whether you are going on a short trip or a longer trip, I would wholeheartedly recommend Elaine. read more

Elaine is amazing! My wife and I just moved to the city and are so grateful we found Elaine for when we go out of town. We have used her services twice and each time has been more and more impressive. She is extremely personable and someone you can truly trust with your animals. If you're looking for someone to take care of your animals while you're out of town, pick Elaine! There isn't enough good things that can be said about her. read more

I'm so happy with Elaine! I'm usually pretty stressed out when I leave town, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that Elaine will take care of everything. She's super thoughtful and attentive not only with the the cat, but also with any other issues she notices in my apartment. Once there was a heat wave while I was gone, and Elaine moved the cat food away from the window and into the shade so it wouldn't get too hot. She also put the dry food in the fridge to keep it fresh. Most recently when I was out of town, the dry food ran out, and she adapted beautifully by finding a sample pack of extra dry food I had lying around, and giving the cat more wet food than normal. I didn't have to worry about a thing. She also leaves a super cute report of what the cat did while I was away: what toys she played with, whether she ate all her food, etc. I completely recommend her to anyone! read more

Won't trust our furry family members to anyone else! We have been working with Elaine for ... oh, going on 20 years now - since 2000. We've always had cats, sometimes one, sometimes multiple. Elaine has always seen to all of our cats' daily subcutaneous fluids (for cat kidney problems) and, when necessary, insulin injections. She dedicates some time each day to pets, brushes, and massages. Elaine is no flake or amateur - Elaine is a total pro: dedicated and loyal to our furry loved ones and what's in their best interests; and receptive and responsive to our parental requests and accommodations. What I value most is that Elaine has proven time and again, year over year, that she is totally dependable and committed. I love her long notes to us when we return from vacation. And she's not making this stuff up: she understands our cats' personalities as only someone who actually spends time with them can. Thank you, Elaine!!! read more

The Petsitters - Happy kitty, likes Elaine. - Pet Sitting Near Me

Elaine is fantastic! I hightly recommend her services. During your first consultation she takes detailed notes regarding your pet. You can email her to get a report and she is very fast in getting back to you. My fur baby is a very timid cat around people yet Elaine was able to take care of her needs and gave her snacks. When we came home we found a happy and healthy cat. read more

Elaine is amazing - she takes such great care of my two cats, I can relax when I have to travel. One of my cats has a chronic illness that requires complicated medications, and Elaine handles her so well that I swear she seems healthier when I get home from a trip! read more

I LOVE Elaine. More importantly, my cat loves Elaine. He's very shy, and hides from strangers, but he doesn't hide from Elaine. In the past, I've come home to a hyper-vocalizing, anxious cat who doesn't come out of the closet for several hours. Once I hired Elaine, I started coming home to the calm, lazy kitty I know and love. Elaine is meticulous about everything and leaves no detail unattended to, which gives me peace-of-mind. She starts with a 30 minute in-person interview, which I expected. But the detail she requests about your animal's needs, behaviours, likes and dislikes, are what really set her several notches above any other pet sitting service I've ever used. Pet Sitters was recommended to me by a friend who said, "Once you use Elaine, you'll never use anyone else, including your friends and family!" That couldn't be more true. :) read more

So thrilled to have Found Elaine! For years we always have found a child's friend and neighbor or, one of our kids, stay with our kitty. Then suddenly all the teenagers were gone off to school etc and equally as suddenly it feels like we are traveling constantly! We tried boarding Claude once, and I have nothing negative to say about that operation except that it took Claude a day or so to seem like himself. He has lived here for his entire life, hates going to the vet, no wonder he hated being some were else for days! Yay for Elaine! Now we can leave and feel confident that Claude is getting a little Tlc with his food. Added bonus-Elaine suggested that she take out the trash in trash day, and called us one trip to give us a heads up about a leak in the litter box room. AKA our second bathroom. Thanks Elaine! read more

Elaine is excellent. She took care of my giant rabbit and cleaned up any stray brown pearls in the entryway. She also gave me excellent advice on how to keep the puppy grass/bunny grass cleaner. She is very responsible and although I worry about leaving my bunny, this was an emergency trip. With so little notice as well as the fact that it was "Eclipse Weekend," she agreed to come and bunny sit. I am very grateful to have found her. read more

Elaine is fantastic. I had recently moved and wasn't sure if my cat was ready for me to have an away time yet in his new home. Elaine did a great job getting to know my cat well and understood his patterns right away. I came home to a cleaner and more organized litter box area and pet food storage area than I had left due to Elaine's attention to details and organization! My cat was very happy when I returned, my travel was less stressful, my home is more organized and I have found a trusted pet caregiver I will absolutely work with again. Couldn't be happier. Thank you Elaine read more

I've never posted anything on Yelp before, but I have to give three cheers for Elaine--she rules! She takes great care of our cat when we are away, and we have used her services for nearly ten years. Our cat often looks healthier when we get back than before we left. Elaine is incredibly conscientious and knowledgeable about pets. She is able to give the cat's medicine with ease, and knows a lot about the various prescriptions we've given our elderly cat over the years. She also is trustworthy with the mail and watering plants. We highly recommend her services! read more

I have been using The PetSitters for many years and wonder what I did before I found them! I can now easily go out of town and on trips without worrying about my kitty. Whenever I mention Elaine's name, my kitty gets excited and starts purring and prancing around. They are extremely loving, caring and professional. We love The PetSitters! read more

I have been using Elaine at the Petsitters for over 15 years now and really only have superlative things to say about the service. I am a bit fanatical about getting the best care I can for my cats and Elaine is the same. When my first cat was nearing the end of his long life and required a variety of medical care, including pills, injections, and even daily subcutaneous hydration, Elaine was able to take care of all of that for me. Not the sort of thing that you can ask a roommate or friend to do, and even not something I would necessarily trust a paid professional pet sitter to do, but it was all old hat to Elaine. If you are like me, the best evidence of good care when away is how the pet responds when you first arrive back home. Too many times in the past, before I met Elaine, I would get back to find my cat hiding as if afraid who might be coming in the door, or the his coat would not be well groomed, indicating stress, or worse, finding that only half the allotted food was ever distributed and the litter box is a mess. Needless to say no of this has happened since I started using Elaine. My cats are at the door, clearly expecting a friendly face, and eager to play and cuddle, a sure sign that they were well taken care of. The apartment is just as I left it, plenty of food in the dish, plants are watered, mail is on my desk, litter box is probably even cleaner than when I left. In short Elaine has taken care of it all! And because of her complete devotion to her animal customers, Elaine had often gone above and beyond in her care. One time the landlord changed all the locks in the building when I was away and Elaine could not get into the apartment. Rather than just leaving, knowing that I was due back later that day, Elaine was so concerned about my cat that she spent the better part of the day chasing down a locksmith and my landlord before finally being able to get a new key and into the apartment to see my cat. She did all that and never even asked me for more money to cover her expenses, (although I tipped her well later on). For me what matters with a pet sitter is not how nice their website is, or how polished their sales talk, but rather, how well they actually take care of my cat, and for that reason I have never dreamed of not using Elaine over all these years. read more

Elaine came highly recommended by a friend who insisted that Elaine was the best there is. She wa right-on. Elaine has been hydrating my 11 year old cat once a week for the last couple of years. The US Postal Service's motto (neither rain nor sleet...etc) applies to Elaine who always shows up on time (despite illness and broken bones) and I wish I could trust all my service providers the way I trust Elaine to take care of business skillfully and professionally.. It's a comfort to know how well cared for my cat is. Bravo, Elaine, and thanks! read more

Elaine was my pet sitter for four years while I lived in San Francisco. She was extremely thorough in getting all the information she needed on access to my building and care for my two cats. Her years of experience show in her excellent advice; if I have any questions on cat care, I know I can ask her and get a helpful and well-thought out response. She's the most knowledgeable cat sitter I've ever had, and now that I've moved out of the area, I'll definitely miss her--and I'm sure my cats will too! read more

Elaine is great. She's taken wonderful care of two my cats now, my fish, and my plants. Travelling can be stressful enough without the added worry of whether your pets and home will be well taken care of while you're gone. Elaine is very thorough and ensures all details are worked out ahead of time. She's communicative during the trip and leaves very detailed notes for when you return. I would highly recommend her services to anyone who has pets and needs to travel. read more

Elaine loves animals, and she is the best pet sitter in the business. She has looked after all of my cats over the decades, and I could not be more satisfied with her services. Whenever my husband and I go on vacation we feel secure knowing that Elaine is taking care of our beloved feline family member, as well as watering our plants and sorting our mail. As soon as we walk into our home after a trip we look forward to getting Elaine's detailed writtendescription of our cat's activities during our absence. We are so very appreciative of Elaine, and cannot recommend her highly enough. read more

Elaine took wonderful care of my two cats while I was out of town for 4 days. Before I left, she came and did a thorough interview, asking many good questions about their routine and needs. One cat is elderly, on blood pressure medication, and bulimic, so he's a challenge to care for. Though her questions and our conversation, she showed herself very knowledgeable and experienced in caring for cats--and very fond of them, so I felt confident she was the right person to care for my two cats. When I returned, both cats were calm and contented. She had left a detailed write-up about how things went. In addition to their behavior showing how well things went, she left the apartment very clean and tidy. The cats were brushed. The feeding area was sparkling clean. The litterbox area was tidy, and there was no litter scatter anywhere in the apartment (no mean feat!). I recommend her services highly as a cat sitter! read more

I called this service to inquire about having someone look in on my cat for 2-3 days over the course of 1 week. When I asked Elaine if she could check on my cat for those days, she immediately said she "would not be inclined" to work with me because "what type of person leaves their cat alone for days at a time." She said that she only accepts consecutive days of service, after which I said I would be flexible and agree to 5 consecutive days IF she had the availability. She would not listen to me after that point, and continued to judge me and make comments about why anyone would leave their cat unattended for more than 1 day. After that, I told her I did not call to be judged, and she continued to tell me why she would not work with me. This was UNBELIEVABLE and UNPROFESSIONAL! I was appalled. I would never want someone like that in my house. read more

So, apparently we are a bit unusual in that we have pet rats (which, btw, are amazing for tiny SF apartments and when you're allergic to cats). Thus, when my wife and I needed to travel for Thanksgiving a year ago, we weren't sure who would watch them. Thankfully, we heard back from Elaine, who truly treated them with the same love and care as she does with the "normal" animals. It's now been over a year, and we've had Elaine watch them many times. Each time, she's been meticulous with their care and health details and has always gone above and beyond our expectations. We always have complete confidence that the boys are in good hands. I would recommend her services to anyone, even if rodents aren't your thing! read more

Elaine is a rockstar. From the first moment I spoke to her on the phone, I knew I was speaking to someone who takes pet care very seriously. She's a true professional. She explained her services very clearly, and she followed through beautifully. Even though we were on an international week-long trip and had no phone access, she made the time to send us update emails letting us know that our kitty was just fine with plenty of little details about his happy kitty life. When we got home, we found a clean litter box, a very relaxed cat, and a long letter explaining everything that happened during her week with him (like his first report card!). She took the time to tell us where he liked to play, what toys he enjoyed, how his litter habits went, and when and how much he ate: all the things I'd want someone to notice when I'm not there to make sure he's ok. She even took the time to clean his little treat tree, a task I had been too lazy to do for weeks. I would recommend her services in a heartbeat! Thanks, Elaine! read more

I have used Elaine twice this year, once on a 10-day trip to Panama and again recently for a 10-day trip to Italy. My cat, Milo has had separation anxiety and a history of urinary tract infections in the past, so I was often hesitant to leave him for vacations longer than 5 days, especially with someone who is not familiar with FLUTD in male cats. Milo has had the surgery, and although he cannot get blocked physically, I still worry. Milo is very comfortable with Elaine and I have had no problems since she has been caring for him. I will often check in with Elaine by email when I can, while I am away, and she has always been very responsive. I am very happy with Elaine and feel that my pet is in good care with her. She even brings in the mail, waters the plants, and will take out the trash if requested. read more

A friend of mine recommended Elaine a couple of years ago and I use her every time I have an extended trip. She is GREAT! She is completely professional, but warm and loving to my cats. She leaves a detailed note at the end that gives all the updates...from how they were eating, using the litterbox, playing and lap time! Knowing I can depend on her makes time away easy. I would highly recommend her to anyone who loves their pet(s). read more

Elaine looked after our two cats while we were away for 10 days over the holiday, and we couldn't be happier. She was extremely professional, making a very thorough preliminary visit to establish not only the surroundings of which she'd be working in but also to get a baseline for the cats and their personalities and behaviors. Upon request, she wrote us a detailed update on the boys, and left a descriptive letter on our return. Our instructions were followed to the letter, and we will definitely be using Elaine again. read more

I am so happy we found Elaine! We were concerned about leaving our two pet rats for our long summer vacation. We were glad to find somebody with some experience with pet rats. After meeting Elaine, we knew our pets would be in good hands. Elaine is very professional; she wanted to make sure she had all the necessary details. You can tell she has honed her process down to a science. I think Elaine is somebody who cares deeply about all living things; we didn't ask her to water any plants, yet she still watered our front native garden because it was looking sad. She took in a potted plant that looked like it needed extra attention. But, most of all, she took wonderful care of our pets. We could not have been happier with Elaine. read more

I found Elaine over the thanksgiving holiday in a last minute pinch. She made time to meet me at my place, took time to orient to my place and my cat. Through the whole intro she took meticulous notes and asked a lot of questions... My cat is a litte needy and she was in a great mood and groomed when I came back. Elaine also left a note about all the details. I would highly recommend her for your petsitting needs read more

I'd never used a pet sitter before and was a little nervous about leaving my two cats and fish tank with someone I didn't know. But Elaine made me feel so at ease and confident that everyone was in good hands while I was gone. She was so patient with my long list of instructions, took her own detailed notes and confirmed everything again and asked the right questions. All my pets seemed very happy when I returned. I would not hesitate to recommend her and I plan to call her every time I go out of town. read more

Elaine at the Petsitters is awesome. We have been using her for 6 years and she is completely trustworthy. She knows everything there is to know about cats and gives them all the love and attention they need when we're gone. She also looks after everything else-- garbage, mail, plants, etc. She's extremely thorough and leaves a detailed report about the cats. read more

The Petsitters is the best--I love being able to go out of town and feel sure my cat's in great hands. Elaine is so reliable and detail-oriented. I know everything will be fine while I'm gone. She's very knowledgeable about animals, friendly, and prompt. A dream! read more

Elaine is THE BEST. I used her for about 10 years up until this past July when my 17 year old cat passed away. Not only is she 1000% reliable and always available (I swear she only took one vacation in 10 years!), she's also extremely knowledgeable about cats. My cat suffered from various illnesses the last 3 years of his life and after receiving a diagnosis or treatment suggestion from my vet, I would call Elaine to get her opinion. She answered a lot of questions for me that my busy vet couldn't and gave me some good tips for how to keep him as comfortable as possible at home. She also administered medication and subcutaneous fluids on each visit. I couldn't leave my cat alone for more than one night and I travel quite a bit so I kept her very busy. Not once was she unavailable or a no show. I have nothing but good things to say about her. I loved Ernie like he was my child and she took great care of him. If I could give her more than 5 stars, I would! read more

We have an old cat (Sydney, he's 19 years old) who is very affectionate and really misses us when we go away. He's a fospice cat, so we can take him back to the SF SPCA for a vacation when we're away, but we've noticed he gets unsettled when he's out of our home. So we decided to try a petsitter over a recent 2 day weekend away to L.A. Elaine got back to me quickly after I emailed her the night before and arranged to come and meet me and Sydney on short notice. Elaine was so professional, asked lots of questions and wrote everything down on her form. I felt completely ok with leaving my keys, my house and my precious cat to her for the weekend. When we got home Monday morning, Sydney was snoozing on the couch and seemed very happy and relaxed. The note Elaine left for us telling us how Sydney was whilst we were gone was such a nice touch. Sydney still had plenty of food and water left so we knew he was taken good care of whilst we were gone. We will be using Elaine again, she gave me such peace of mind and Sydney was so much more relaxed. Thank you Elaine! read more