Cat-sitting drama!

[tabbycatcuddles]

Long story short - we have a usual cat sitter who had to cancel at a short notice this year due to unforeseen circumstances. We were going away for 16 days, and I got into a bit of a panic - so when I casually mentioned being desperate for a catsitter at a work meeting, I was happy when a colleague mentioned her daughter could maybe help.

We live quite centrally in London, and the daughter had been coming to London for job interviews, staying in hotels. She had found a job but was finding it hard to find a flat share without being in the city, so she was keen to come down earlier to get herself settled before her new job started.

I met her on zoom, she seemed fine so we agreed she'd stay here and look after our cat. She would be welcome to use the house as her own for the 16 days. Few days before we travelled, she asked how much I would pay her. I was a bit taken aback as we hadn't discussed money, and she suggested £50 a day! I said that wasn't doable, and I could really only do it for room and board, but I'd be sure to leave lots of food, few bottles of wine, some treats etc. She agreed. Cat is an outdoor cat so very little work overall.

holiday was great, cat seemed happy over whatsapp, but when we got home, the house was a mess. We'd left it spotless. There were sticky,set stains on tables and counters, toothpaste and soap globs in the sink, dirty dishes, ALL our towels used up and shoved in, damp, to the laundry basket, stinking. I wasn't expecting her to clean but I did expect her to tidy up after herself.

But she had also taken (or drunk!) a box of 6 bottles of wine. I had left her 3 in the fridge, and the 6 were for a dinner party later this month. They were boxed up and put in in the coat closet.

DH thinks just leave it, as the cat was happy and looked after, but I want my wine back! Forget about it or message her?

...cat seemed happy over whatsapp...

Your cat has WhatsApp?

I am shocked that you didn’t pay her. But then I live rurally and it is pretty standard to pay for housesitters with or without animal care. They are more inclined to keep it tidy rather than use it like a hotel.

He'd be on amazon prime all day ordering Dreamies!

Well, I definitely wouldn't want or need a housesitter if I didn't have a cat. London is expensive for accommodation, so I think it's not that weird. I would certainly catsit in another city against a free accommodation.

I’m shocked that people think 9 bottles of wine over 16 days “isn’t a lot”…… it’s 3 glasses per night, EVERY night for 2 weeks solid……. to me that’s bordering on a drinking problem

I think she was incredibly rude and entitled to leave the place in a state and drink 9 (!) bottles of wine in 16 days. It must have been horrible coming back from holiday to a mess. 16 days accommodation in London is worth a fortune! I’d be having a word with your colleague. Her daughter needs to learn some manners.

I think she has behaved very badly the free board was an amazing gift to fall into her lap. I think she took huge liberties in taking wine clearly not meant for her and the least she could have done was to leave the place clean and tidy. I think I would tell whoever suggested her that I wasn't pleased but I don't think there is anything else you can do regarding the extra wine

16 days in my cattery would have £212 - and I'm not London prices by a long shot!

My cats wouldn’t get off the bed for two pouches of Whiskas a day! Gourmet yes, or at a push Sheba. Dreamies are non negotiable, as are tuna and freshly cooked chicken. You pay Twenty quid for a bottle of wine and feed them Whiskas?? Mine would be on the phone to the RSPCA, never mind Amazon!

Seriously OP, let it go. Life’s too short.

Sure, but 16 nights in a basic hotel in London would have been £1, 168. The whole point was that it was meant to be mutually beneficial

My first thought is that she's had friends round.

He gets Thrive, with costs and arm and a leg. "Opening a pouch of whiskas" sounded nice and I didn't think non-cat people would know Thrive. Anyhow, I am inclined to just let it go.

I've figured that what made me most uncomfortable about this isn't that the wine was gone - is that it was gone from a fairly unmarked box at the back of the coat closet with the hoover blocking it. She must've had a bit of a rummage to even see it.

You aren't aware of the pet sitting world. There are loads of people out there on websites doing deals where they pet so in exchange for free accommodation. It's normal.

I paid £500 for a 17 day cat sitter - cheaper than the going rate - so you’ve done quite well. Re the mess - she’s young and a bit rude.

Next time just register with a pet-sitting agency like Trusted Housesitters. You pay for the membership - as do potential sitters - but the sit itself is then free of charge because the sitters are getting free accommodation. Sitters provide references of previous sits (and show the agency their ID for security purposes) and both sides get to write reviews, so the kind of people who leave a mess are much less likely to be involved because they would get terrible reviews.
I actually catsat for one of my ex-sitters this summer - we had a lovely holiday in a great location that would otherwise have cost us at least 1000 quid for a hotel or holiday let, and had lovely cats to cuddle up to too. Keeping the house tidy was no problem - no different to a holiday let. Of course the cat owner shouldn’t pay me anything on top of that. You only pay sitters when they’re doing it professionally and coming round specially several times a day.
The downside of the Trusted Housesitters model is that people who live in boring, unattractive or dodgy towns are less likely to get sitters applying to sit for them - but in London you would get loads of interest. I‘d be happy to sit for you, tabbycatcuddles!
[edited because I called the OP tabbycattroubles, probably because of the nature of the thread!]

Me too. I don't get through that much in a year! And £20 a bottle!? No wonder people have no money left if they spend that much on alcohol.

Mention it to her mother.

she either drank 9 bottles by herself or had friends over

She was very cheeky, OP - she got a very good deal getting London accommodation when she needed it in exchange for feeding a cat, and of course she shouldn’t have been paid anything extra (!) The early 20s are a very self-involved age, and most of us probably have episodes we’d look back on with shame now. I would let it go, in your position, but I’d be very miffed. And I agree it was particularly rude to dig out boxed-up wine from the depths of your cupboard. How embarrassed her parents would be!

I think you’re insane for having someone you don’t know staying in your house while you’re away. I’d hate the idea of someone potentially going through my stuff.

I live in the north and a cat sitter coming in twice a day would be at least £25 per day, so at least £400 for 16 days. It would likely be much more in London.

She may have been happy to use your house as a cheap hotel instead of receiving payment - but then she’s going to treat it like a hotel (as in you do the cleaning and laundry).

I would treat it as a lesson learned and avoid this kind of arrangement in future.

I understand completely, she was out of order rummaging around, I’d hate that too. She crossed a line, agreed.

You’re not out of touch at all, MN just likes to give people a hard time for absolutely no reason.

You saved her a lot of money and stress for barely having to look after a cat. I would have been very grateful, in her place.

I wouldn’t say anything though, why make it awkward for a few bottles? Chalk it up to experience.

I think she’s taken the wine because she feels resentful for not having been paid, but probably didn’t want to say, especially if you know her mum.

I get what you’re saying about providing accommodation instead of payment, but staying in someone’s house isn’t really the equivalent of staying in a hotel, and you are effectively charging her to stay in your house, by withholding payment for looking after the cat. However, you don’t want her to treat your house as a hotel - you are still expecting her to clean up and do things that you wouldn’t necessarily do in a hotel. I think you can’t have things all ways.

There’s clearly a mismatch in expectations here, and you are both being a little bit unreasonable.

Just be grateful the cat was fed and watered and ok . I’d let this one go

A quick google suggests that you would normally be charged around £46 per night for someone to stay overnight with your cat in London, so she’s not miles off the mark asking for £50 per day. She’s probably looked up what professional cat sitters charge.

https://londoncatsittingcompany.com/