About Us

Hey, Vancouver!

I'm Mari, Your Friendly Neighborhood Cat-Sitter🌻

I'm a fun, caring, always-caffeinated cat lover with years of experience providing cozy cuddles, playtime, and personalized care to all kinds of pets!

I've lived in Vancouver since 2011, when I moved from Brazil to study Psychology at UBC. Though my focus in school was childhood psychology, animals have always been a part of my life. I grew up with dogs from an early age, but also spent plenty of time around rabbits, horses, and cats.

I love making sure everyone around me, pets included, feels safe and comfortable. This is a core value for everything I do in life, so when I set out to start my own pet-sitting business I wanted comfort and care to be the foundation of the business model. I believe we all deserve more cozy moments in our life, and that includes our pets.

I'm definitely a little bit of a bookworm, and someone who enjoys the little things in life. You might often see me at a local park or coffee shop with a book in hand, or working on my iPad, but one of my biggest hobbies is cozying up to play some videogames while my cats keep me company. It might not come as a surprise by now that cozy games are my favorites, so if you guessed Stardew Valley, you got it!

I have lived in Mount Pleasant for years, and I can confidently say the neighborhood is a 10/10 for people who like to go on cat walks and say hi to the neighborhood strays and outdoor kitties (hi, it's me, I'm people).

Before I adopted Benny, I fostered cats with VOKRA for around six years.

It was an incredible way to help cats who needed to learn how to trust humans before they found their forever homes. A lot of these were feral rescues who had never experienced a calm moment in a loving home before VOKRA took them in.

Fostering was also an amazing way to gain lots of valuable experience on the care of young, senior, and feral/skittish cats, some of which required special care and medications.

I used to sit in the same room as my shy fosters and read aloud to them or play them calming music, and I still do this when sitting for particularly shy kitties! I know that while some pets love active playtime and pets, others prefer to have their space, but will still enjoy something as simple as having a calming presence nearby.

Whether you have a cat who loves cuddles and playtime, or one that prefers to keep their distance, I guarantee they will be cared for as if they were my own, and all visits be extra cozy.

At this point in time, Cozy Critters focuses on providing cat and small animal care only due to my health. If you have a dog and would like to inquire about dog sitting or dog-walking, you can send me a message and we can discuss details on a case-by-case basis. Dog sitting and dog walking are more likely to be services available in the Summer only, when I tend to have the best and most stable mobilty.

Hey, Zebras!

I have Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), and this is a large part of why I focus on working with only cats and small animals.

hEDS often results in frequent joint pain from subluxations and joint hypermobility, along with a few other comorbidities that sometimes get in the way (like my migraines). Although my health has been much better throughout 2024, there are days where my mobility is not the best.

At this point in time, I don't feel I could provide the quality of care I would like for larger pets, or pets that require frequent walks (Sorry, doggos!).

During winters in particular, there are days when I might change the rhythm of visits to ones with only low-impact playtime, or rely more on toys such as laser pointers for enrichment activities :)

Do You Have Any Pets at Home?

I do! I have three, in fact :)

Chai

Chai is my oldest pet here in Vancouver. He is a beige chinchilla who just turned 11 this year! He's a bouncy little fellow who loves running on his wheel at 3am. He's a tiny grumpy senior who likes to toss both food and poop pellets out of his cage, the little menace. His ears have also become more and more freckled as he has aged :)

Benny

Benny is my beautiful black cat, and the last cat I fostered with VOKRA. In fact, he is what we would call my foster-fail. Within a few days of looking after him here at home, I knew this was a kitty I couldn't let go. He is a sweetheart who loves napping and trying to steal food (especially pizza, bread, or anything with cheese!)

We're pretty sure he must have lived behind a pizza shop when he was still a stray cat.

He loves a cozy nap, and because of his beautiful big eyes, 90% of the time he might look like a confused owl.

Gremishka

Last, but most certainly not least, Gremishka is the little lightning ball of chaos of the house.

We adopted her in 2023, at the Catcouver event, from the LAPS rescue. She's a tabby with infinite amounts of energy, who loves to play fetch with her bouncy springs, curl up on her favorite blanket to make biscuits before bedtime, and has has perfected the role of annoying younger sibling by occasionally bugging Benny when she wants to play.

She was named after a chaotic little monster from Dungeons and Dragons, and she really does live up to the name! Although I often affectionally call her Mimi.

Ready to Book?

Questions? Contact Me!

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