Petcetera

I actually had a very good experience with Stephanie and Petcetera. I have three cats that are not so happy when I leave for long periods of time, so I decided to try Petcetera. Stephanie was very friendly, seemed to genuinely care about the welfare of my animals, and worked with me on a last minute request. She even gave me a free consultation simply because she happened to already be in my neighborhood that day, which she didn’t have to do. Technically I wouldn’t know, but I believe she put her time in that I paid for since they had finished a lot of treats and toys were moved. She also cleaned up after them since one tends to poop on the floor when left alone. I plan on using Petcetera going forward.

I chose Pet Cetera based on the recommedations for Steph. When I met her I thought I had finally found a cat-​sitter for the long-​term. However, it wasn’t Steph that came. When I returned home, it seemed my notes on their «Don’t Kill my Pet» sheet were untouched, because I had left my mail box key there for my mail to be picked up, (b/​c that’s a service they listed as included) but the key was untouched, and no mail retrieved. Also the wet food had run out, but my notes indicated to feed half of what was fed. His toy which I said would be placed on top of the fridge was also untouched. His water also, looked as if it had not been changed in days, it was incredibly dirty! I’m disappointed I didn’t get Steph as that’s who all the rave reviews are about, so unless I can specifically request for her, I may not use this service again.

We were shocked to read the negative review of this business. We have been using Petcetera since we moved to DC 3 years ago. When Stephanie comes to pick up our golden retriever, we are toast. He loves to go with her. And our stay-​at-​home cat is well taken care of during our absence. There have never been any glitches. We highly recommend the fine caretaking offered by Petcetera, without any reservations.

I’ve used Stephanie and Petcetera on and off for 6 or more years. I’ve always found her professional and trustworthy. She’s been great with my cat as well, and has always done the little extras that make me feel comfortable leaving my cat and my home in her hands when I am gone. She doesn’t just do cat food and litter, but takes the time to play with my cat, and from the feedback I get when I return, i can tell that she has spent quality time interacting with my cat who gets very bored when left on her own. The reviews below does not ring true at all for me as they are so different from my experience with her.
The only caveat I had had is that once she assigned someone to my new home who I had a misunderstanding with — I thought I had asked her to wheel the trash to the curb and wheel it back the next day, and to feed canned as well as dried food, but neither were done. in her defense, I didn’t leave written instructions and it was the first time with the new sitter, so it may have just been a misunderstanding.

I have to say I’m a little rattled — I just received an incredibly nasty letter yesterday from the owner making convoluted arguments against each point I made in my review.
(Note — this is over a year after the incident and ten months after the review!)
Very scary. And very unprofessional.

Julia hit the nail on the head. The original owner of Petcetera left, and the new owner, Stephanie, is a nightmare. Why do I say that? When I returned from vacation, my Ipod was missing. I thought I had misplaced it or something. A couple of days later I called Stephanie, new owner of Petcetera for some other reasons. These were the first words out of her mouth: «Oh, I have your Ipod. I wanted to see if I could figure it out.» If that weren’t bad enough, I discovered that my grandmother’s engagement and wedding ring were gone. It was at this point I called the police. Unfortunately, there was no proof she took the rings, so they couldn’t do anything. And I made her return the Ipod. I do not trust this woman, and would never, ever use her again.