Family not doing small favours

[dietcoke2020]

I honestly don't know if I am being unreasonable or not! We are going on holiday for a week in the summer and have asked our neighbour if they would feed our cat and change the litter tray which I know isn't a very nice job. To take the pressure off we have asked a family member who lives around the cornee to also do a couple of days but they have refused as they "can't deal with the shit!" I think this is very mean spirited and it would really help us and our neighbour out. What do you think?

YABU- hire a pet sitter. That is a ridiculous favour to ask of a neighbour that isn’t a close friend.

That's not a small favour

Oh I was coming into say.. I do feel family should help out with favours.. However.. Cat shite 🤮🤮.. Not sure I'd do that myself

Why is it mean not to want to handle cat shit?
I sure as hell wouldn't!

Yes, it is a bit mean. However as with any favour, you have a right to ask and they have a right to say no. You have to respect that.

Don't family help each other out though? We look after their cat when they go away (No litter tray however!) Neighbour is a friend too by the way!

I wouldn't do that for anyone unless I was already a cat owner. Yuck!!!

It sounds as if you feel they have an obligation to look after your cat?

YABU

You can either drop the cats off at a cattery or get a cat sitter ( mine is a nurse at the local vets).

It would be a fantastic favour if someone offers to do this however it’s sounds a bit entitled to get annoyed at someone when they say no.

That's a pretty big favour. Cats are grim and their shit is worse. Pay for a pet sitter.

I think it’s a bit much to expect; it’s one thing asking someone to come in once over a weekend but if we’ve been gone longer than 2 nights I get a pet sitter

I’d never expect family to deal with my pet whilst I was on holiday. The cat would go to the cattery.

Animals are not something you can force on others family or not. A sibling of mine tries each time they go away to get me to sort out their cat. I refuse. It's too far to travel each day, I don't like litter trays etc and I don't like cats. They are about to add a dog to the mix and cannot understand why my mother who is within walking distance wont sort the dog for them whilst they are (frequently) away. She's scared of dogs, has already said she wont visit very often now they have the dog. Sibling turned to me infront of family group today and said - mum cant have dog next weekend so we'll bring him up to you. Not a chance I said. I think they were genuinely surprised despite knowing my dd is terrified of dogs and my dh is allergic to alot of furry animals so why would I have it in the house! Utterly selfish.

No no no it’s not a small favour to everyone. We have cats, I love cats, and I absolutely hate it when I am asked to go in and feed / litter tray my work-colleague-friend’s cat. Even though it’s always less than a week, and only once a year.
Get a cat sitter. It’s part of the cost of your holiday.

Ok missed the 2nd post.

How do their cats not have a litter tray ?????

Can see if you’ve done it for them, you might expect them to return the favour...... unless there’s other details (I.e. they don’t live nearby, have a new born etc)

As with all of these AIBU more details can change the view.

YABU. YOU chose to have a cat. They didn't.

There are wonderful catteries and pet sitters available.

Gross, I wouldn't agree to that either. YABU.

Agree, get a cat-sitter.

My neighbour looks after my two house cats when I go away, but then I do pay her well. I wouldn't expect anyone to do it for free

I wouldn’t mind feeding it .... litter tray - sorry I’m out ! Gross

Why not use the cattery?

Put your cat in a cattery, and don't look after family's cat next time they ask.

Stop looking after their cats when they go away! They're selfish CFs!

Could you offer neighbour/friend some money? Get them a present as a thank you.

@heathrobinson I put mine in catteries but it's better to get a cat sitter as cats are territorial and as such moving them elsewhere causes them additional stress.

Some of you are so mean it baffles me.

I'd do almost anything for my family (including tipping cat shit in the bin) and they would do the same for me.

I feel very lucky to have my family when I read some of the threads on here about not helping out.