Critter Pet Care offers boarding and day care for cats and dogs, with reviewers frequently praising the facility's cat-specific amenities, such as elevated beds and window views. Customers highlight the owner's attentiveness, noting that she provides regular photo updates and maintains flexible communication during stays. While most feedback is positive, low-star reviews indicate issues with initial responsiveness for new clients and concerns regarding the handling of medium or high-energy dogs.
Google rating: 4.7 out of 5 from 28 reviews (93% five-star).
Reviews on this page: 28 Google reviews (25 with written comments, 3 with photos).
Owner responses: the business replied to 68% of reviews.
Most recent review: June 2, 2026.
Service: House Sitting serving Berkeley, California.
Data from Google, last updated October 25, 2026.
Photos
Customer reviews
4.7
★★★★★
28 reviews on Google
5★26
4★0
3★0
2★0
1★2
Reviews from Google, shown as published (original wording, unedited).
KI
Kathy I7 reviews
★★★★★
We highly recommend Critter Pet Care & Pam. Our cat, Jade, loves staying there since she gets to roam around and hang out on the various soft beds at different heights in the area. Pam treats Jade like one of her own. She sends us pictures and videos while we are away. And generally Pam goes out of her way to show her love and attention to our cat (and others, of course). Critter Pet Care is by far the best place we have ever boarded Jade. We go on vacation without worrying about her at all. It's the best possible setup for Jade. In fact I think she often doesn't want to leave! Thank you so much for your kindness and care.
Pam has taken excellent care of our two kittens/cats over the past two years. Pam and her team are very personable and attentive, and they clearly love their visitors. The accomodations are clean and comfortable, well-lit, and the windows have great views of trees, bird feeders, and more. Pam sends regular updates and pictures, and is happy to answer any question. Our cats have always come home comfortable and relaxed; obviously well taken care of. We highly recommend Pam and Critter Pet Care for all boarding needs!
If you're new, don't expect a call back.
I was told to text all vaccination records then, I'd get a call back and we would discuss further about joining Critters. But, I never got a call back.
Response from the owner · 3 years ago
I did not receive the vaccine records or would have had your number to call or txt you back.
We had been planning a trip of a lifetime - 7 weeks abroad - and one of the most important things was also one of the hardest things to do and that was to ensure our 1-year old sibling cats, Daisy & Spunky, would be in a secure and caring environment while we were away from home.
We found there are many places that board cats in “2’Wx2D’x2H’” stainless steel kennels with 1 or possibly 2 hours of daily “out of the kennel” play time. Although they may be clean and secure, that type of a “confined” environment would have been difficult for our cats to endure even if just for a weekend (especially for Spunky who is very sociable and inquisitive); 7 weeks would have been grueling for them. They would probably be wondering, “what did we do to be abandoned like this?”.
Thank goodness we found Pam & Critter Pet Care! The design of the cat house is wonderful and the size and multi-level layout of the kennels, some of which could also be expanded to double wide for bonded pairs like ours, allows cats to “hunker in” and feel secluded, or to peek out through their window for watching birds at the bird feeders outdoors. Cats also get to explore and commingle or just chill in the common areas, or they can trek/jump up to the many perches mounted high along the walls of the cat house.
We missed our cats to pieces but really appreciated how Pam automatically kept us updated with photos and info about what they were doing throughout our 7-week trip. It gave us great peace of mind and our reunion confirmed how well they were cared for during their stay. We will not hesitate to leave our beloved Daisy and Spunky in Pam’s care the next time we plan a vacation or require boarding services. Thank you very much, Pam, for providing such an important service, a cozy and engaging boarding environment, and for truly caring about the well-being of our pets. . . you’re the best!
Pam was rude, unprofessional, and unreliable. We had to have a friend go get our dog from her halfway through our vacation. She caused a ton of stress for us. If your dog is medium-or-larger and/or high energy then she probably can’t handle it.
Response from the owner · 3 years ago
Wes and Brenna,
Thank you for providing feedback about Nala’s boarding. We’re sorry that you weren’t happy with the experience, especially since this is the core of what we stand for. We’d like to provide some context and perspective and to point out a few things mentioned that are not accurate.
Our main goal is to ensure that all the dogs in our care are safe, comfortable, and having a good time. This is why we ask for a practice day. Once in a while, for whatever reason, a dog may not be a good fit. This is not connected to the dog’s breed, but rather to the behavior they exhibit. Based on my observations of Nala during our initial meet and greet, I shared concerns that she was super high energy and had the potential to play roughly, and she also barked. For these reasons, I suggested we try a practice overnight to give Nala a chance to adjust and settle in. This is a common practice in the industry to give a new dog a chance to settle in and get used to the environment. You declined the suggestion, but assured me that if there were any issues, we could call your sister to come and get Nala. This is the only reason I agreed to take her without requiring a trial run. After several days it seemed Nala wasn’t settling in as dogs typically do, as she was barking, digging holes and playing too rough with some of the other dogs. This was having a negative impact on the dynamic of the other dogs staying. So, I decided it would be best for her and the other dog visitors to follow up on the suggestion to have your sister come pick her up.
As the yard and dog house are connected, the dogs can roam and choose where to hang out, play, and sleep. So having Nala indoors was not a bad thing, she was with the other dogs, and this was just temporary to prevent her from barking when I wasn’t present in the yard. The dogs are monitored for safe and gentle play and on rare occasions when they are alone it’s brief, and even then are monitored by our indoor and outdoor 2-way audio remote cameras.
Part of the service that we provide is sending updates and letting clients know how their pet is doing. This has been very much appreciated by other clients and is one of the biggest reasons they keep coming back year over year. The updates did include notes about Nala’s behavior, as we weren’t sure from the first day whether she was going to settle in. It is our goal to provide every boarding dog a safe and happy environment while they are here, which includes much hands-on yard play and attention, running around and engaging with the other pets (if they desire) and one-on-one attention in a personalized caring setting.
The pricing structure hasn’t changed in over a year and is based on dog size and weight. Nala is over 40 lbs. which runs $75 per night.
Critter Pet Care takes excellent care to set an environment that allows the cats to feel at home and loved and for cat parents to feel completely at ease for their care.
Pam and her staff are absolutely intuitive in their care for pets. She's personally taught me so much about cat behavior and how to be a better cat companion as a newer pet parent.
Thank you for always offering a wonderful home away from home for my cats!
She spoiled my 2 cats! They begrudgingly decided to come back home. FuzzyBrats!
Pam runs a great service and if it wasn't for her level of service - I could never travel.
I cannot recommend Pam highly enough for anyone with a pet. I hated to leave my old dog, recovering from an illness, with anyone, but she had come recommended for her transparency. Pam went above and beyond making my dog comfortable and cared for when I had to leave town. When i found I couldn’t get home when I had hoped, she made it work to keep watching him even though his care needs were more than we expected. She let me know how he was doing every day, and was incredibly kind. Pam will always be my first choice for someone to care for my pet.
