• Melissa of Finicky Felinz has been our go-to cat sitter for the past two and a half years and we can't recommend her highly enough. Not only does she ease all of our anxieties about our cats' well-being and happiness while we're away, but our cats adore her. Sometimes we can't help but feel jealous when she sends her photo and video updates because at times it seems our cats love her more than they love us!

    Melissa has been so reliable and amazingly flexible. When we've had last minute trips come up, she always manages to squeeze in a visit for our cats. Once when we both got really sick on a trip during her busiest holiday season and had to delay our return by a few days, she was totally understanding and made sure our cats were taken care of for the extra time. Sometimes when my husband and I both have busy days at work and know we won't be home until really late at night, we reach out to Melissa to visit our cats so that they aren't alone for so long and we're always glad that we did.

    She has an amazing way with cats and all four of our cats - who have varying levels of friendliness and trust toward people - absolutely adore her. When we're away on long trips and really missing our kitties, Melissa's thorough updates and wonderful photos show us that our cats are doing great and not under any stress while we're gone. 

    I've recommended many friends and coworkers to Melissa - whenever someone I know gets a new cat, the first thing I do is pass on Finicky Felinz's contact info. Everyone I know who has hired her has always been thrilled with her service and many have become loyal customers. 

    We can't imagine our lives or our cats' lives without Melissa - a few months ago, when considering a job offer in a different city, the top item on our list of cons was "Out of Melissa's Visiting Range." We can't recommend her highly enough and we're so happy to have found her.

Paula J, Richmond 3/8/20


Melissa is TERRIFIC. She is reliable, resourceful, punctual, and a great communicator, sending us daily updates and pictures of our dear Tomboy. She is able to anticipate problems in advance and to deal with the unexpected. Once, after we had left on our vacation, we found out that our house keys had been stolen. We didn't know what to do and thought we might have to come home. Melissa took the initiative to contact a locksmith and stayed until he came to change the locks. This seemed above and beyond the call of duty, and is just an example of her resourcefulness. We trust her implicitly and recommend her without reservation. You will be lucky to have her on your team.

Janet K, Berkeley 3/10/20

Melissa has been amazing to work with and takes such phenomenal care of our two cats! We are so pleased and highly recommend her to others. She has been flexible when our plans have unexpectedly changed and is happy to add on days if we need them. Her communication is clear and she sends regular updates of our furry ones while we are away. We are so thankful to have her as our cat sitter!

Martha E, Oakland 3/1/20

We (my cats and I) absolutely adore Melissa and Finicky Felinz! A 10 day long vacation, which would usually cause me intense anxiety about leaving my kitties, was made stress free knowing they were in such great hands. Melissa is so incredibly thoughtful and knowledgeable and professional. She sent photo updates every day so we could see how happy the cats were. She also fed our fish! I can't recommend Melissa and her company enough. Do yourself (and your furry children) a favor and call her.  We will ABSOLUTELY be using Finicky Felinz again

Molly w, Emeryville 3/7/20

I used to worry endlessly about my cat-children when I traveled, but not since I discovered the phenomenal Melissa of Finicky Felinz.   I have had many cat sitters over the years, but none as fabulous as Melissa.

She feeds them (and expertly deals with their individual 'issues' with food preferences), gives medications, provides helpful advice on new symptoms and behaviors, and sends daily detailed emails including adorable pictures and videos!  I always know they're in excellent, compassionate hands with Melissa in my absence. In fact, I'm a little jealous that they don't seem to have missed me much upon my return home.

In addition to wonderful, scheduled care, Melissa is incredible flexible when unexpected issues arise.  When one of my kitties stopped eating just before I left on a trip during the busy holiday season, she immediately offered to make extra daily visits to check on her and coax her to eat (which she did!).  I just returned from a long international trip, as the Covid-19 situation was rapidly escalating.  Melissa repeatedly offered to take care of my girls as long as needed if I was unable to return home.

Melissa is truly one-in-a-million and I cannot recommend her highly enough if you need an expert, compassionate, dedicated cat sitter.

Eva T, Oakland 4/14/20

Melissa at Finicky Felines is the best! For over two and half years, she's taken the utmost care of our two very shy tuxedo siblings whenever my husband and I are out of town. Our cats, who typically hide under the bed anytime a visitor comes to the house, LOVE Melissa. She knows how to approach them with care and gentleness, making them feel comfortable in her presence and even frisky enough to play. Whatever length of time she's watching our fur balls - it's varied over the years from two week vacations to overnight getaways - we always know that Luna and Pyra are in the very best of care. With each visit, Melissa sends an update and photos, which gives my husband and me peace of mind that the kitties are doing just fine. And whenever we return home, the cats are in the best moods! I can't recommend Melissa enough and fully trust our precious fur balls in her care.

Jo Jo B, Oakland 3/15/20

Melissa is a fantastic cat sitter!  She is thorough, responsible, and reliable.  She is excellent at communicating to set up the cat-sit and keeping us updated about how it's going.  My cat adores her. I'm pretty sure she actually likes Melissa more than us.  Melissa is an essential part of having peace of mind on vacation.

Callie W, Richmond 6/22/20

I have been using Melissa's services for the last two or so years. As a frequent business travel, I appreciate her flexibility and ability to work in visits with my two kitties. From the videos and photos she sends me, they clearly love her visits and she brings them special treats from time to time! I am so happy they are in good hands when I'm gone.

Amy P. Oakland 3/12/20

 We are so grateful for Melissa and Finicky Felinz!! We have been lucky to be working with Melissa for several years now. We have an older cat who exceeds all expectations in the shy, introverted, wary-of-strangers, doesn't-like-change categories. Before Melissa, we had quite a few sad vacations where the cat care person reported the cat was hiding, wouldn't come out, couldn't be found, wasn't eating, etc. But somehow Melissa worked her CAT MAGIC in our home! While our cat will never be the social belle of any kitty ball, she DOES come out for Melissa and get some petting time in, and I always get to know that the cat is being seen and very well cared for. She brought our kitty some special little cat toys and treats when we were away once at holiday time (how sweet is that, right?!)--and these are STILL the cat's favored toys over 6 months later.
Melissa is very professional, responsible, thorough, responsive, and a warm and fun person. You will enjoy having her support for your time away from your cats!

Jennifer M-Oakland 8/8/19

My BF and I can't recommend Finicky Felinz enough! We are so thankful that we found Melissa! For the past two years she has taken excellent care of our two cats whenever we went out of town, even on last minute work trips! Our cats absolutely love her which is a huge relief knowing that they are in good hands when we can't be there for them.
We especially appreciate that she not only takes care of their food/waste needs, but that she plays with them, pets them, and sends us pictures of every visit. We can tell how much Melissa cares for our animals, and all the animals she takes care of...which means the world to us! So sad to be leaving the bay area and loosing her as our petsitter. If you are looking for a cat sitter, Finicky Felinz is the best!

Kendra J-Oakland 9/3/19

Melissa is absolutely amazing. I can't believe I've waited this long to review her on here - she has been taking care of our cats for years. She has been there literally last minute - like same day - when I forget to line up cat sitting, and has gone so far above and beyond. She visits the cats twice a day when it's too hot out, figures out our stupid auto-feeders when I forget to set them, puts our meal kits in the fridge, gave us a free night of cat sitting for our wedding, handles our cats complicated meds, and takes THE best pictures of our kitties. She is fabulous and you should hire her.

Ariel S -Oakland 10/29/2019

We've had Melissa cat sit our two cats for several years now, and we love her! She's super reliable, fast at responding, flexible, and best of all, she understands everything about cats! She has also helped me with their behavioral issues when they were going through rough patches and not getting along, or were stressed out. She would go the extra mile to ensure they were okay, and it was a huge relief to have them in her care. I often consult her when I have concerns, and she's always been really helpful! Her daily reports are great and make us smile and laugh while away. We highly recommend her!

Lynne B, Oakland 3/11/20