CatInAFlat WAS an amazing app. It was ideal for both cat sitters and owners, it had an intuitive interface and was clear and easy to use.

Then it merged with Rover. And by “merged” I mean cannibalised. Rover bought out CatInAFlat and instead of seeing what made the app popular in the first place it just copy and pasted its own layout and branding with no forethought. It has become a confusing mess for sitters and owners alike.

Look for freelance cat sitters instead because this app will waste your time.

I want to raise serious concerns about how the transition from Cat in a Flat to Rover has been handled, as it has had a significant negative impact on my work.

I’ve been a dedicated cat sitter on Cat in a Flat for eight years, building up a strong reputation, a large number of positive reviews, and a base of loyal repeat clients. Since the move to Rover, that history has not carried over in any meaningful way. My visibility has dropped, my past reviews are no longer reflected properly, and the position I once held as a top sitter in my area has disappeared.

What’s most frustrating is how abruptly this was implemented. Despite Rover owning Cat in a Flat for some time, there was no gradual transition or proper preparation for sitters. Instead, everything changed almost overnight, leaving both sitters and clients trying to make sense of a platform that feels poorly adapted for cat sitting.

There are also serious issues with pricing transparency. Clients who have tried to rebook me have seen rates that are far higher than what I actually charge. I have never set my prices at those levels. Additionally, even though I have clearly specified that I do not charge extra for additional cats, Rover is automatically adding fees for multiple cats anyway. This is misleading for clients and makes it look as though I am inflating my prices, which is damaging to trust.

The platform itself feels unreliable, and the lack of proper support only makes things worse. The support chat appears to be little more than automated responses that don’t address the issue at hand. It’s difficult to get meaningful help, and problems remain unresolved.

There is also an imbalance in how sitters are being recognised. Rover’s existing “Star Sitter” system favours those who have been on Rover longer, while experienced sitters coming from Cat in a Flat are not given equivalent standing. This is despite many of us having years of experience, extensive reviews, and a high number of repeat bookings. That history seems to have been disregarded entirely.

Overall, the situation gives the impression that the focus has been on scaling the platform rather than maintaining the quality and trust that Cat in a Flat was known for—particularly when it comes to cat-specific care.

For clients, I would strongly suggest reaching out directly to any sitter you previously worked with on Cat in a Flat and arranging bookings privately where possible. At present, the platform is inconsistent, pricing is not transparent, and the protections offered may not be as reliable as they seem—especially where pre-existing conditions are concerned.

Cat in a Flat used to be a platform that worked well for both sitters and owners. Unfortunately, this transition has undermined much of what made it effective, and the people who built its reputation are now left dealing with the consequences.

EDIT: Currently looking for a sitter myself from Friday to Sunday and Rover quotes £193 for 3 cats x 4 visits! This is ludicrous!

It has deteriorated significantly since the merge with Rover. I am a cat owner and I cannot find sitters near me, details of sitters have been lost of made incorrect, and it has made it harder, not easier, to find useful, reliable sitter listings

I was a sitter on Cat in a Flat and as others have said, since the merger with Rover, there have been lots of issues. My main issue is that I have bookings approaching, and I need to contact the owners to arrange a Meet & Greet and get my instructions. Unfortunately, I’ve sent everyone a message on Rover and not a single one of my owners has received a notification that I’ve messaged them. For bookings from new owners, I don’t have any contact details to contact them any other way, so what am I supposed to do? I also have a few owners whose numbers I don’t have because I updated them through Cat in a Flat. If this issue doesn’t get fixed I’m going to have to turn up at their houses to let them know I’ve been trying to message them to arrange a key pick-up; how embarrassing and unprofessional. Rover support just keep saying that owners will see my message when they log in, but they’re not going to log unless they know there’s a message! If Rover communicated the change to owners, at least it would prompt them to log in. Otherwise they might only log in when it gets very close to their booking and they realise that they’ve not had their M&G or given a key to anyone.

As others have said, Rover is set up for dog care services. The needs of dogs and cats are very different, and Rover doesn’t have the functionality to accommodate the needs of cats, so there are various issues related to that. The fees owners are expected to pay vs the small flat fee on Cat in a Flat is also off putting. But my main concern right now is that I have bookings coming up, my only way to contact owners is through Rover/Cat in a Flat, and my messages aren’t triggering a notification to my customers. I’m just getting repeated upbeat, AI replies telling me not to worry. I don’t know what’s wrong with them, honestly - we have very different standards. Unlike Rover, I am worried about my customers but I don’t know what else I can do other than leave this review and hope it prompts them to take some action to fix this quite serious issue ASAP.

The merger with Rover has been managed atrociously and has left multiple catsitters and owners completely in the lurch, with inconsistent access to booking details (even imminent/current bookings).

Sitters are caught between adhering to Rover t&c's of not contacting owners outside the platform, or risking a ban to reach out privately to booked clients to advise them of the platform changes (and consequent pricing/payment changes), which neither catinaflat nor Rover have done.

The poor management of this merge has left cats at risk of not being fed as booked (as booking details did not transfer over correctly, and contact outside the platform is technically prohibited, meaning many Sitters may not have backup contact details), sitters at risk of not being paid (as payment terms have now all changed, not to mention pricing being much higher on Rover), and owners at risk of paying twice AND potentially being left without their booked sitter.

Absolute shambles all round, and a real loss for the catsitting community as there is now no dedicated catsitting platform. Rover is only suitable for dogs, and is not set up to manage catsits effectively or safely.

Despite having 2 years to prepare for this "merger" with Rover, the handover has been an absolute disaster. Zero communication to sitters or owners, zero support, everything breaking, and reviews being lost in the transition. Two years. Two years to get this right!

And what have we ended up with? A dog walking/sitting/boarding platform where cats (and the people who care for them!) are an afterthought.

The fees are insulting: 15% from the owner AND the sitter?! Ludicrous.

I've been going back and forth with a regular client over a booking for today - it was never confirmed on the new platform as they couldn't find where/how to pay. I still showed up and did the job, because that's what a professional does! The payment will now have to be sorted separately, outside the platform entirely... So, well done to both CIAF and Rover for completely failing their own users and losing out on their cut through sheer incompetence!

I am writing to express my disappointment in the utter mess the Rover merger has been with Cat in a Flat.

I have been a cat sitter on Cat in a Flat for over 7 years. Rover acquired Cat in a Flat over two years ago and, until recently, did nothing to meaningfully integrate the two platforms. Then, suddenly, the merge was pushed through about a week ago with very little notice or preparation for sitters.

Since the merge, all of my reviews and repeat bookings have disappeared. When I search for my profile now, I no longer appear as a top sitter in my area, despite previously holding that position consistently. Years of work building trust, credibility and a loyal client base have effectively been wiped out overnight.

Good, experienced cat sitters have been forced onto Rover, which is primarily a dog sitting platform, and expected to simply adapt without any real support or transition period. This has created confusion not just for sitters but for clients as well.

I have already had customers try to find me on the new platform, only to be shocked that my rates appear to have doubled. I have not set my rates anywhere near that level. The platform is clearly buggy and displaying incorrect pricing, which puts me at a serious disadvantage and risks losing long standing clients.

To make matters worse, Rover has an existing system where some sitters have been awarded “Star Sitter” status. This system was already in place for long standing Rover sitters who are now at a clear advantage in this merger, while those of us coming from Cat in a Flat, despite years of experience and over 100 reviews and more than 200 repeat customers, are effectively excluded from the same recognition simply because our history was built on Cat in a Flat, which they have now absorbed.

It feels like Rover does not genuinely care about pet care, particularly cat sitting, and is instead focused on maximising profits. The way this merger has been handled shows a complete lack of consideration for the sitters who built Cat in a Flat into what it was.

I would strongly suggest that if you previously had a cat sitter on Cat in a Flat that you trusted, you reach out to them directly and book with them privately. The app is currently unreliable, and the protection they advertise is not as valuable as it seems. For example, claims can be invalidated if your cat has a pre existing medical condition, which significantly limits its usefulness.

Cat in a Flat was once an honest, well functioning platform that truly supported cat sitters and owners alike. Rover has turned it into a frustrating, disjointed experience, without taking the time, care or consideration needed to properly support the people affected by this transition.

Unfortunately this would have been a positive review had I written this prior to the merger with Rover. I have used the site for many years now, going back to 2018 for my first booking and have had an overall positive experience. Some sitters were subpar, but some real great ones. The website/app has evolved in that time and worked really well for what I needed as an owner.

Since the merger, it is apparent the previous owners/creators have sold it to Rover who are not cat-focused and it just does not work in the way it did. Unless something is fixed, I am going to be looking elsewhere for a cat sitter in the future.

We were given zero communication on this merger and I only found out via Reddit. Since then it has been nothing but AI/generic responses to sitters/owners problems. The costs are astronomical by now charging the owner and the sitter a fee and also in some instances charging additional cat fees making a twice daily feed for a 2 cat household incredibly expensive. I know the cat sitters are trying to work with the pricing models to make it work, but have encountered problems in being able to change those figures.

The messaging I have seen from CIAF was that nothing really would change for sitter/owner when in fact it has completely changed by forcing all to the dog-centric Rover platform. There was zero engagement with sitters/owners about the move to actually check the features Rover offered translated to cat sitting. Disappointed in Kathrin Burkhardt and Julie Barnes for not considering the product they sold to make a few £££ and leaving the so called "community" network they created behind to be just another cog of Blackstone.

The recent app update merging with Rover has drastically reduced the quality of the app. The speed is slower and it seems like many users may stop using the app or look for alternatives.

Cat in a flat used to be a 5* site, but the merge with Rover has absolutely ruined the experience for sitters. I won't list all the reasons, as they are covered in other recent reviews, but I highly doubt I will be using the new service unless considerable changes are made; at the moment it is no longer fit for my purposes.

This used to be a great platform for cat sitters & owners. Now they've sold out to Rover it's completely changed! As sitters we had barely any prior warning of this merge & so many people have had problems since. We have just been lumped on to a predominantly dog care app and it's just not on. I will be taking my services off app.

I'm writing this from the sitter's perspective, following their utterly disastrous merger with Rover. You've had nearly two years since the acquisition to prepare for it, but you've decided to release something apparently entirely untested, which breaks, omits 10+ years of reviews as a sitter, forces the parties to only communicate through their platform - all with higher fees - all without communication to your sitters or cat owners. Slow clap.

You've lost me, and a whole bunch of others.

Seit Update und Übernahme eine absolute Katastrophe.
Die App ist so nicht mehr nutzbar.
Auch online das gleiche Gesicht.
Als seit Jahren angemeldeter Kunde sind aus meinen Katzen zwei Mischlingshunde geworden. Umkreissuche findet nur noch wenige Anbieter und diese sind kilometerweit entfernt.
(in mittlerer Großstadt)

Terrible since they have merged with Rover! Unfortunately, this app used to be great until the merger with Rover! Now the app is clunky, complicated and lots of people have lost bookings or had details go missing since the merger.

Prise de contact avec un proprio sympathique, je passe tant par l'application que la version web, je fais ma prestation, et le dernier jour j'essaie d'aller voir mon tableau de bord pas possible de trouver cat in a flat mais plutôt un vieux profil Rover. Je me demande si à cause de ça mes 43€ je ne vais pas les avoir dans l'os. Gestion vraiment pourrie de la transition.

It's a useful site to find better cat sitters. Trying to reach someone about a continuous technical issue is impossible. I have no idea how they have merged with Rover. I do not recommend using their services. Find a more professional company.

The merge with Rover made me loose my account and can’t even connect anymore even on Rover.
Poor communication

Es wurde für Sitter umgestellt auf Rover. ACHTUNG: vorher brauchte man kein Kleingewerbe oder eine Zulassung. Bei Rover benötigt man eine ZULASSUNG (Sachkundenachweis und Kleingewerbe) und muss sich bei den örtlichen Behörden erkundigen.
Wer das nicht weiß, auf den kann ein saftiges Bußgeld zukommen!!
Das ist eine Frechheit und darauf wurde bei der Umstellung NICHT hingewiesen. Damit hat sich der Sitterjob erledigt!!

I have been using Cat in a flat for a year and find it very helpful as a cat owner, and it was very easy to use. But today when I was trying to register as a cat sitter my own, it suddenly asks for a £24 one-time profile review fee and for ID verification and quality assurance - this is such ridiculous service fee! Especially on the front page of the site there's a big banner saying "joining the cat sitting community for FREE" and it was free when I first find the app and it seems start charging since Rover.com take over it... gonna drop the app, it's a shame!

Have used Cat in a Flat for years and it used to be great but their merger with Rover has been appalling in every way. Website is now terrible, very hard to use since the Rover update. Prices have gone through the roof, plus Rover also now add a huge 15% to every booking. AND the charges for a booking that I'd made for 6 months in the future has just been taken out of my account! What the heck!!