I have used Cat in a Flat to find sitters for my cat for over 3 years and loved it. The app was clear and very easy to use. Since the "merger" with Rover things have gone completely downhill. My current booking and other info was not pulled through, the booking system is now very clunky with a horrible interface. It requires specifying times and the "use same times" function doesnt work if your first and last day requires 1 visit not 2. It doesn't accept the proper format for UK postcodes. I could go on... It seems more like a take over than a merger. A merger would have kept the good features not binned them. From other recent reviews I see that others feel the same. It looks like none of the changes were tested or Rover just doesn't care. A textbook example of how not to treat customers. "Brittney" - I hope you can provide a more meaningful response with the concrete positive action that Rover needs to take to keep its customers, than you have been able to do so far in reply to the other negative reviews. However, I am not hopeful so after this booking I'll be looking for another service.

Edited to add: I've now read some more reviews and am utterly shocked at the apparent incompetence of those managing this take over - from possible animal welfare issues to a complete lack of information to pet owners on the new pricing model. And I see that the treatment of sitters appears to be even worse, truly shocking.

I have been a loyal customer/cat sitter for nearly a decade and have 43 five star reviews. The website was great. However the move to Rover has obliterated that.

Not only was communication pre, during and post migration nearly non existent (we received an email saying there was going to be a switch and that we would receive an email with instructions how to switch and activate our accounts - which we never received)

Most things I’ve had to figure out myself such as reactivating bank details, and etc, automatic increasing of rates, even the character limit on my title has changed.

Not only that but I’ve not been paid for my last 3 jobs that were booked before the merge. These jobs ended 8-14 days ago.

I will be leaving as soon as I get paid. Luckily I have clients who book me privately and I’ll be encouraging the rest of mine to do so if they feel comfortable in doing so.

LOVED the old version. Normal cat in a flat. Great app, great navigation. Now after the merge with rover? Absolute ass. Literally. Will be deleting my profile.

Similar to all other recent reviews, the merger with Rover app has completely destroyed Cat in a Flat.

I'd used CIAF for years as both a cat sitter and cat owner, and found it so incredibly user-friendly. Now it's a complete mess, I cannot figure out how the cat sitting element works, and my regular clients also now hate it. Luckily I am able to contact them all other than via the app, so bye 👋🏻 Rover.

What a shame :(

Completely ruined a 5 year reputation. The merge has left me no choice but to quit using catinaflat / rover. The customers don’t deserve the shambles it has become and I’d rather be out of work than deal with the stress the new platform has induced.

No regard for user experience during cat in a flat takeover. Issues:

- clients had to reconfirm bookings and pay IMMEDIATELY to secure
- increased pricing of existing CIAF bookings 🐽
- sitters not paid until after booking (used to be during) despite payment being taken from owner MONTHS in advance
- fee now taken from owner as well as sitter
- prohibits phone number exchange - concerning in case of emergency where client/sitter have no data, or app issues
- glitchy app - no longer a bookings tabs
- ‘also sits cats’ on profile like cats are an afterthought
- awarded me star sitter status then took it away almost immediately 😂

Greed over regard for cat owners and cat sitters. Moved all my clients off the app to private sits. Rover - you won’t get a penny of my or my cat owners money.

Wird jetzt von Rover betrieben und ist jetzt viel teurer. In meinem Fall doppelt so hoch. Ich werdecdas jetzt nicht mehr nutzen. Schade.

Ich war jahrelang vom Service begeistert.
Aber seit der Übernahme von Rover klappt nichts mehr.
Meine vorherigen Buchungen sind verschwunden, meine ehemaligen Catsitter nicht buchbar.
Beim Versuch zu buchen, hätte ich sofort zahlen müssen trotz einer Buchung für August.
Mehrmaliges Nachfragen werden mit standardisierten Mails angefertigt.
Auch Freunde in England berichteten von den gleichen Erfahrungen.

How to lose customers in one easy go. Like everyone else I was a loyal user of Cat in a Flat but went in after the merge to find a completely different and inferior set up. They even changed the password criteria so my usual one was invalid. Can't find my usual sitter but they offer loads not in my area. Luckily I have other contact with my sitter and will deal with privately.

I used to cat sit through this app but cat sitters have been completely screwed over by the merge with River. No notice board and it shows sitters miles away, because the algorithm favours only the most established sitters instead of locals. The platform has been ruined.

Ik heb ruim 1,5 jaar met plezier oppaswerk gedaan via Catinaflat. De commissie was altijd een aandachtspunt, maar naar mijn mening niet abnormaal hoog en nog in verhouding tot de dienstverlening van het platform.

Helaas slaat de overgang naar Rover wat mij betreft de plank volledig mis. Hoewel er wel een FAQ beschikbaar was, zijn zowel oppassers als klanten die niet dagelijks inloggen in de praktijk nauwelijks op de hoogte gebracht van de veranderingen. Juist bij zo’n grote overgang mag je verwachten dat er actief en duidelijk wordt gecommuniceerd, bijvoorbeeld per e-mail of via andere directe kanalen.

Ik heb van diverse klanten vernomen dat zij helemaal niet op de hoogte waren van de merge. Sommigen konden na de overgang zelfs niet meer inloggen, wat voor veel verwarring en frustratie zorgde. Dit heeft niet alleen gevolgen gehad voor de gebruikservaring, maar ook voor het vertrouwen in het platform.

Daarnaast heb ik sterk het gevoel dat vooral mijn klanten nu financieel de dupe zijn en onnodig veel betalen. Waar Catinaflat nog redelijk in balans was, voelt het bij Rover alsof klanten vooral een poot wordt uitgetrokken, zonder dat daar een duidelijke meerwaarde tegenover staat.

The Cat in a Flat website was a fantastic service for both cat parents and sitters, and the keyword here is "WAS". Since the takeover by Rover, the website is virtually unusable since merging both systems, there are broken links everywhere and sitter profiles don't appear on search results. Sitters were not notified of our accounts being suspended, and the only way to reactivate them is by being forced to merge our existing CiaF accounts with Rover. I am losing bookings from previous clients as they cannot find me on the website, and despite following Rover's instructions my account still remains "deactivated". And let's not get into Rover's predatory pricing and fees for both sitters and owners...

Extremely disappointing and frustrating.

Cat in a flat has completely changed and merged with Rover’s platform. As a sitter who has been using cat in a flat for over 7 years, I am extremely dissatisfied with this merge. CiAF used to be incredibly easy to use, offered unique sitting experiences for owners who needed twice a day visits and did not try to push cat owners/sitters into the needs/services required for dogs. Absolutely would not recommend booking through this service anymore, it’s more beneficial to go privately.

Sehr schade - mit der Übernahme durch Rover ist die Plattform und der Service katastrophal geworden!

Ich war langjährige Kundin bei Catinaflat und immer zufrieden :) Die Cat-Sitter sind toll geblieben. Nur deshalb gibt es 2 Sterne.

Nun bin ich gezwungen mir einen anderen Anbieter zu suchen. Die Katzenbetreuung ist nach wie vor gut, nur die Geschäftspraktik von Rover sind nicht seriös. In Euro angegebene Preise werden einfach in GBP umgeändert ohne die Zahlenwerte zu ändern. Durch den Wechselkurs werden die Buchung so gleich mal teurer. Die Servicepauschale ist "dynamisch" und wird ebenfalls in BGP angegeben. Zudem werden zukünftige Buchungen nicht auf der Kreditkarte vorgemerkt sondern direkt abgebucht. Somit entsteht im Zweifelsfall eine hohe Kreditkartenabrechnung, wenn man seine Buchungstermine weit im Voraus plant.

Die App-Oberfläche ist ebenfalls nicht nutzerfreundlich. Die geplanten Buchungstermine kann man nur in einer Unterrubrik des Posteingangs finden und da auch nur im jeweiligen Chat mit dem Cat Sitter.

I loved this app and used it as a cat sitter for 8 years. Since the merger with Rover the interface is so much harder to use, the options available and pricing have gone downhill, my clients and their names are gone from the gallery, everything has just massively worsened. My availability was amended without my knowledge, and services I am not equipped to offer like boarding added to my profile, with dog care added as an option with cat care removed from my profile entirely. Payment details are gone and payment now takes longer. I'm really annoyed.

I’ve been using Cat in a Flat for around 5 years as a part-time side hustle, and until recently, it was an excellent platform. It was intuitive, easy to navigate, and made communication with owners simple. Over the years I built up a strong base of repeat clients, and the whole experience felt well-designed specifically for cat sitting.

Unfortunately, that’s all been undone since the merger with Rover. Rather than improving the platform, it feels like Cat in a Flat has been completely absorbed and replaced. The features and simplicity that made it so effective have been lost, and what’s replaced it is a confusing, poorly adapted system that doesn’t suit cat sitters or owners.

The transition itself was incredibly abrupt. Despite Rover owning Cat in a Flat for some time, there was no gradual rollout or proper support. Everything seemed to change overnight, leaving both sitters and clients struggling to adjust to a platform that feels ill-suited to their needs.

What’s particularly frustrating is how existing sitters have been treated. Many of us came across with years of experience, excellent reviews, and loyal repeat customers, yet that history appears to have been disregarded. Rover’s “Star Sitter” system seems to favour those already established on their platform, putting experienced Cat in a Flat sitters at a disadvantage.

It’s also clear that Rover is primarily designed for dog services. Cat care has very different requirements, and the platform simply doesn’t accommodate them well. On top of that, the pricing structure is far less appealing compared to the straightforward fees Cat in a Flat used to offer.

Overall, what was once a fantastic, niche service has become a frustrating and time-consuming experience. I’d recommend looking for independent cat sitters instead, as this platform no longer delivers what it once did.

Fantastic care, by Ashleigh for our cat. But payment policy has changed. It has always been that payment is taken at the time of the service.
Due to change of ownership payment is is now being taken in full at the time of the booking. So if booking for a future holiday they will sit on your money for months. Will not use them again if this does not change

This site was great up till it merger last week with Rover. It's now borderline unusable. I lost all my bookings, past, present and future overnight and had to go through hoops to get to the right support to get them back. Rovers terms are not the same as cat in a flat and so now customers I've had for years will now be charged extra because of rover fees. However I can't remove these loyal customers from the app without facing a fine. It's not on, this is affecting people's livelihoods. My account was moved to "away" and I didn't they notification of this so wondered why I had not had any messages over Easter. This is not on and such a poor show by both companies.

I have used catinaflat for 7 years as a part time hobby / small side hustle. I have had a great experience all these years, with many repeat customers. The app was easy to navigate, easy to communicate with owners and set my availability. However this has been completely destroyed in the merge with Rover.
My profile was deleted in the middle of a booking, meaning I was unable to communicate with the owner whilst on a job. 7 years of reviews and customers has been deleted with no notice. I received no communicate that this merge would be happening (or I would have made arrangements mid booking!). Rover app is completely useless - expensive fees for owners and sitters, poor adverting (looks like I’m mainly a dog sitter who also does cats - no thank you!) and hard to navigate. Rover and catinaflat have been completely useless helping resolve my account being deleted with just AI chat bots sending me in circles. I give up and am now going private.

I have regular clients on Cat in a Flat that I have catsit for for years, and the recent merger with Rover is *atrocious.* Didn't keep my settings the way I had them, my profile was reverted to a much older version, my profile was updated to say I took dogs (no), the website is completely unnavigable from the cat sitter's side. My clients are also now being charged more than I had my rates set even though I corrected it on the new platform. Now we are paid after the job is over, apparently, so if I need to take the bus to a client's house I now need to wait for that reimbursement in the form of payment for the booking even later and pay it out of pocket...

I am so incredibly pissed off and upset that we are are dealing with this on both sides. I use Cat in a Flat for my own cat too and think I will look elsewhere the next time I need to book. See less