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Caterina & Shai

Perfect carers to put your mind at rest

Picture of House Sitter, House Minder and Pet Sitter at Kiwi House Sitters, New Zealand. User Perfect carers to put your mind at rest
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About us

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Scientist

Scientist

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> About us:

Caterina is from Germany and Shai is from Australia. We fell in love in Australia and have never looked back. We have a deep appreciation of the natural world, the environment and its conservation. We share a passion for travelling and are on a constant quest for knowledge. This is what drove us both to become scientists - Caterina a (general) biologist and Shai a molecular biologist.
We are reliable and caring, non-smoking, tidy and fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

> Why ... Read more> About us:

Caterina is from Germany and Shai is from Australia. We fell in love in Australia and have never looked back. We have a deep appreciation of the natural world, the environment and its conservation. We share a passion for travelling and are on a constant quest for knowledge. This is what drove us both to become scientists - Caterina a (general) biologist and Shai a molecular biologist.
We are reliable and caring, non-smoking, tidy and fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

> Why we want to house sit

We love animals. Caterina specialised in hydrobiology, marine biology and zoology and Shai worked at a veterinary school and has finished his PhD. We both grew up with pets (dog, cats, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, fish, axolotls, birds,... ) and miss having them in our lives. As biologists, however, we are constantly on the move and don't want to cause distress to our companions. Therefore, we see housesitting as a perfect way to meet new furry friends and at the same time combine it with our love of travel and discovering new places. We moved from Europe to Wellington in April 2019 and have since moved on to Queenstown. We have since had two additions to our family (2 boys) who will be travelling with us.

> Our experience

We have previously looked after cats (incl kittens & elderly cats), dogs (incl. puppies & elderly dogs), chickens, ducks, turkeys, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, guinnea pigs, hamsters and fish (salt and fresh water) in various countries (Canada, Australia, all over Europe). We're used applying medications if necessary. In Australia we were especially active in looking after animals (since 2011). One year we took on 5-6 house sits, with each assignment of varying length (1 week - 2 months and once even for 1 year). These assignments involved feeding, walking, grooming and playing with the animals as well as garden maintenance (incl. pool care) and house duties. Caterina also does dog training if time allows and at the request of home owners.

We love being outdoors and we both have a green thumb. We have mowed grass, cut hedges, pulled out weeds and watered plants. Since we lived in houses with pools (mostly in Australia) for several years, we're quite familiar with the ins and outs of pool care too (spa pools and swimming pools).

We have great responsibility and show initiative.

We look forward to caring for your animals and home!

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Pet care

petsWilling to care for these pets

DogsDogs
CatsCats
FishFish
BirdsBirds
Rabbits/Guinea PigsRabbits/Guinea Pigs
Chickens/Ducks/GeeseChickens/Ducks/Geese
Farm AnimalsFarm Animals
HorsesHorses
ReptilesReptiles
NoneNone

Trust

Platinum member36 months+
reviews5 star reviews

Preferences

scheduleHouse sit duration

0 - 1 week, 1 - 2 weeks, 2 - 4 weeks, 1 - 2 months, 2 months +

where_to_votePreferred locations

Anywhere in New Zealand

Reviews (9)

Thank you Caterina, Shai and family for a fabulous first house sitting experience. The house was immaculate, dog well cared for, and the treats were very unnecessary but so appreciated! Recommend to all:-D
Caterina and Shai were the perfect house sitters. They took great care of my cat Smokey and kept me updated while I was away. I returned to a clean, tidy home and well-looked-after property. They were reliable, respectful, and easy to communicate with. I would happily recommend them and wouldn’t hesitate to have them house sit again.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Chris! We really enjoyed looking after Smokey and taking care of your home - it was a pleasure from start to finish. We’re glad we could give you peace of mind while you were away and truly appreciate the recommendation. We’d be delighted to house sit for you ... MoreThank you so much for your kind words, Chris! We really enjoyed looking after Smokey and taking care of your home - it was a pleasure from start to finish. We’re glad we could give you peace of mind while you were away and truly appreciate the recommendation. We’d be delighted to house sit for you again anytime. Warm wishes, Caterina & Shai

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We would highly recommend Caterina & Shai. They were so good looking after Tara and Poppy with their medical needs and their little quirks 😊. We could tell the dogs had a great time as were really chill when we came back home. Thank you ❤️
It was a pleasure to have Caterina and Shai housesit for us. They took very good care of the house and the dogs and were extremely patient and understanding when there was a problem with the heating. We came back to a spotless house and 2 very happy hounds :) Would happily have them housesit again any time!
Lovely family, very kind to drop us and pick us up from the airport. Made life super easy. Offered to get us milk and eggs etc for our return. Pets were well taken care of.
We got Caterina and Shai to look after our dog primarily. Their attendance to him was priceless. They regularly communicated very well with us about his care (he needed Vet care), and often sent updates. They sent photos of our dog, and stories of how affectionate their young children were to our dog; they all fell in love with him. They were respectful of our things, and we returned to a well looked after house.
Caterina and Shai were great house sitters. Great communication and dog and cat were extremely well looked after. Also they went beyond the call of duty having to cut up fallen trees after the cyclone. We really appreciated all they did. Judith
Lovely couple with lil finlay Despite a laundry mishap and not being able to contact us as dont use whats app they coped well with getting it all sorted with the help off our emergency contacts House left pretty much how i left it Thanks for the housesit guys
We interviewed a huge amount of people and knew instantly that they would be the best people to look after our home, cat Findus and 3 chickens in York Bay. We where in Los Angeles. & they contacted us regularly and kept us up to date on the everything. We kept in contact with them via WhatsApp and they were very open to using whatever communication method we preferred. We loved that they had a young boy as we do too and it was great to share our home with another family. Finley was ... MoreWe interviewed a huge amount of people and knew instantly that they would be the best people to look after our home, cat Findus and 3 chickens in York Bay. We where in Los Angeles. & they contacted us regularly and kept us up to date on the everything. We kept in contact with them via WhatsApp and they were very open to using whatever communication method we preferred. We loved that they had a young boy as we do too and it was great to share our home with another family. Finley was amazing and took care of all of Hugo's toys. It was easy to go over everything before they moved in, it can be hard to show someone all the quirks of your home but they just too it all in their stride ! Our house was clean and tidy when we came home and animals happy & fed, thank you x

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