How would you interpret this?

[User884721]

Newish neighbours asked ds17 to feed their cat while they're away. He looks after a few pets on the street. Fine, no problem with them asking him, all fine.

They left this morning and sent him many WhatsApp messages with instructions about the cat and the burglar alarm. Also fine.

Final message said-

FYI- Many of our home appliances, including all tvs and fridges, are WiFi controlled and we can see if they have been operated in our absence.

All of their messages have been quite business-like, but this one is something else?

Are they assuming ds will raid their fridge and watch their tv? Is it reasonable to assume a teenager might do this and warn them they will get caught? Are they trying to be jokey about it?

Or are they assuming the worst about ds and he should never help them again?

Ds feels like they don't trust him and they will be watching him through the camera the whole time.

I've said I'll go with him this evening and we'll decide what to do after that.

Dh thinks he'll go round and feed the cat and Sellotape a photocopy of his bum over their fridge-cam.

We know all about their super-fancy fridge too, they told us in great detail about it at a neighbour's barbecue recently.

I'm leaning towards this message-

Hi neighbours, X's mum here. After your last message he feels a bit uncomfortable being in your home alone. I will feed the cat myself today and tomorrow but you will need to arrange someone else after that.

And I really want to add "ds would never dream of opening your fridge or watching your tv and he's hurt that you might think that about him" but maybe that's too much. If they're being light-hearted about it.

Doesn't sound very light-hearted though?

Is it reasonable to worry that a teenager might invite all his pals round to your empty house to drink your beer and watch the football and warn him off in advance?

He just does it to help the neighbours out. They usually give him a bit more than that. Or another teenager will feed our cat in exchange.
I don't think these people have got the measure of how the informal cat sitting among neighbours really works. I wish he hadn't said yes. I can't imagine them ever offering in return.

I so want him to send a message saying "just been in to feed the cat. She's fine. I've reminded her not to use the fridge or the tv while she's home alone (smiley face)"

But I don't know if he'd be brave enough. Or if it's cheeky.

Wiw, cheap rate is £10 a visit - they are under-paying, he should raise his rates to minimum £10 per day (it sounds like they can afford it!).

I'd be annoyed at that message, it does insinuate they are warning him off using anything. And stingy. I used to tell our cat sitter to make themselves comfortable, have a cuppa. Afterall, it's company for the cat!

He's home already. Quickest cat feed ever. He said he didn't want to be there an extra minute and he felt like they were probably watching him the whole time.

Said he nearly wet himself when he walked past the fridge and it lit up until he remembered that's another amazing smart feature.

Poor lad. Luckily it's only until Sunday morning.

Also, that is scandalously early, no way I'd agree to that. They sound like proper cheeky buggers. I bet they don't tip/buy a thank you gift.

This would be amusing. But in future I’d decline the job. You either trust someone or you don’t. Does he have any kind of pet sitting insurance?

I'd got over myself a bit but now I'm outraged again.

They didn't actually tell him when he agreed what time he would need to be there. He went round to be shown what to do and they said the days they wanted him. Then when they were on the way to the airport all the detailed messages arrived, including this one with the times. They'll see him come and go on their doorbell camera too. I'll suggest he goes at 8.29am tomorrow.

No. He's just a kid helping out a neighbour. I will be so relieved when this is over and he never has to do it again.

We've shared pet feeding between neighbours for years. The £5 a day thing started when the kids were old enough to go by themselves and we liked the idea that they were earning a bit of money. Even though effectively I pay neighbours B's kid and they pay ours exactly the same. So it's basically free. The couples who don't have teenagers to exchange almost always pay him more.

@DogInATent You may love this short 10 minute film......

"Ice Age". Episode 16. Love, Death & Robots (Netflix)

A couple, Gail and Rob, find an antique refrigerator after they move into their new apartment. Opening it to get ice, they discover a tiny preserved mammoth, and returning to the freezer, they realize that a fast-moving time-dilated civilization is developing. Within ten minutes, the civilization goes from Medieval era to Industrial Revolution then modern-day, but some minutes later they see the civilization use a nuclear bomb, which burns Rob's face. Finding the fridge civilization escalating their warfare, they close the freezer and order pizza. After an hour, and afraid they did not make it, they open the freezer and find the civilization has rebuilt and has moved further into its future with technology evolving at an unprecedented level. They ultimately evolve into a race of energy beings, return to a singularity, and vanish from the freezer. Believing the mini-people are gone, Rob unplugs the refrigerator to clean it in the morning. As they have breakfast, they find the freezer now has a prehistoric world, with primitive sapiens under attack by dinosaurs.

I'm not normally a fan of mummy swooping in to solve a child's problems, but I thought the messages you composed in your OP were brilliant, and I'm sorry you didn't send them, @User884721 .

Aaaand I bet the CFs underpay

i just worry that that Mr and ms fancy pants want the service of a professional pet sitter for peanuts but could get arsey if everything is not done to their bidding. They sound like they could be the type. Completely agree about informal pet sitting. I had a teen on the next street that would feed my cats for me and it was so helpful and worthwhile and she was pleased with the £50 I gave her for the week. I didn’t tell her not to use the fridge or TV though! If she had wanted to watch a film with a cat on her lap then more power to her!

Your DS sounds great.

Once he has completed this job he should decline all future work and send an amended version of your message to the neighbours myself.
Essentially, please dont embarass yourself or me by asking for my help again.

He should also up his rates.

Once this holiday is over, if I were him, I wouldn't tell them straight away, I'd leave it until they ask him again (probably a week before they go away), then politely decline the offer and leave them to find a cat sitter at late notice.

He doesn’t need to go at those times. He doesn’t need to pander to rude neighbours. I would encourage him to reply

too busy shagging on your bed to bother the fridge mate

They should overpay given his diligence. I wouldnt get snarky with them given you go to BBQs etc and want to keep up neighbourly relations.

£5 a day, should definitely charge more but I'm a bit meh about the message. If he feels weird he doesn't have to do it again but I'd always want to know if I might be being observed, or potential to be observed.

That's really rude. I would have said help yourself to a snack and watch a bit of TV to keep the cats company, if you feel like it.

Really cheeky of them to specify 7.30 am after he'd agreed and they'd actually left. They sound awful. Hope he let's his friends know so they don't sucker some other l9cal teen in.

I think that’s awful, OP. My 17 year old cat feeder is encouraged to help himself to anything from our fridge and most definitely take an ice cream from the freezer.

It's a horrible message.
They don't trust him. They can pay professionals

Not in this household!

Bloody cheek.

Hopefully it’s the last time he’ll be feeding the cat?

I really hate that some older people automatically assume that young people are up to no good. We asked our son in law’s younger brother and girlfriend to stay for a week and look after our pets. We’d met them once or twice. They were between houses, staying with parents and we thought each party would enjoy the space 😁

They were fantastic. We came back to a house cleaner than we’d left and very contented pets.

This! With bells on!

Time for a rave and invite all the mates !

They asked for it

I wouldn't reply.
Do the job, take the money but never again.