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AIBU?

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Original poster

Cat pooped and weed bed while we were away - cat sitter didn’t deal with mess

127 replies

Branches1 · 14/08/2020 23:12

Just like the title suggests, we are currently away and our cat is being looked after by a cat sitter from an agency. Lovely lady with lots of experience of cats. Things seemed to be going well until our cat peed and pooped in a bed. This has never happened before but I understand it can be a stress reaction, or perhaps the litter tray wasn’t clean, or the cat didn’t have access to the litter tray for a period of time if the door was accidentally shut, etc.

My issue is that the cat sitter texted about this after they left the property. They left the mess as it was and they won’t attend until at some point tomorrow. I called back to discuss but it is what it is at this point.

I am now worried sick about the state of the bed - i don’t think the smell will ever come out as it will have been left for 24h or more. I worry that it has soaked through to the mattress and we will have to buy a new bed. I worry about the house, cat urine is awful and there might be damage to the property. I worry about our lovely cat who must be extremely unhappy to have done something like this - and for all I know she might have done it again as her own mess is still on full display and may confuse her.

I’m probably going to leave husband and kids and fly back earlier as I am worried sick!

This is going to be very expensive to fix. Husband was laid off and we have no money, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

Any advice on what to do? Help!

OP posts:
ButtonMoonLoon · 15/08/2020 01:18

One important suggestion....make sure you tell her to close the bedroom doors- once a cat has weed somewhere once they are likely to follow the scent and do it again and again.....

GarlicSoup · 15/08/2020 01:27

@Veterinari

You don't need to replace your bed because your cat peed on it Confused Worst case scenario, you'll need to strip the bed and dry clean the duvet.

Flying back early from your holiday is frankly bonkers. I suspect the cat sitter hasn't responded urgently is precisely because this is a non-urgent issue.

^ Blimey, this with bells on.
1forAll74 · 15/08/2020 01:36

Good grief, what a massive over reaction about a cats toilet mishap. buying a new bed, flying home from somewhere because of the stress !!! Anyone would think an elephant had dropped a load on the bed.

Staffy1 · 15/08/2020 01:37

I'm surprised the cat sitter just left it and at the comments that it's not their job to do laundry, etc. I hate that kind of attitude. Whether it's their job or not, surely it's just common decency to try and clean it up. At the very least to strip the bed and see if a waterproof covering could be put on it in case it happens again, and put the dirty bedding in the bath, or a bag to be dealt with later.

Princessbanana · 15/08/2020 02:00

YANBU and I wouldn’t be paying her full price either! Laziness at it finest!

sergeilavrov · 15/08/2020 02:02

You don’t need to go home unless you think the cat is being neglected hence the behavioral change compared to previous trips (but given lockdown may just be a sudden big change), but you do need to firmly instruct - in writing - the sitter to strip the bed, dispose of the poo, and keep the door closed. You then need to email the company and explain the sitter didn’t deal with this at the first opportunity, so any costs will be sent to them for reimbursement. Order the cleaning supplies from Amazon, so they’re delivered before you get home. Take photos before cleaning, and don’t hesitate to leave a bad review. Clearly, cleaning up cat poo is part of being a cat sitter.

Debinaround · 15/08/2020 02:05

There was a thread the other day where a lovely OP was asking people's opinions on whether she should hoover her neighbours floors while they're away on holiday and she is looking after their cat. Ask her to cat sit next time Grin

I couldn't have left shit on your bed though. I would have cleared up and at least stripped the duvet cover off and washed it. 🤢

nc600 · 15/08/2020 02:07

"I would have arranged for the dry cleaners to come and collect, although I think they don’t accept items with cat urine"

So you wouldn't be able to arrange that then Grin.

Fungster · 15/08/2020 02:09

I would be furious if I paid a pet sitter and they left a poop/pee mess without cleaning it up. Furious! It's outrageous that she saw it and just left it there. What exactly is she being paid for?

Beetle76 · 15/08/2020 02:58

I would have thought basic cleaning it up would be part of the deal for a cat sitter. But it is tricky - I machine wash a lot of things that aren’t machine washable - maybe she was worried she would do more damage. Hot wash or no hot wash, that sort of thing.
Regarding abandoning your holiday - I’d stay where you are. If there is damage, it’s done now anyway.
But when you get home, get yourself some simple solution. Excellent at removing cat pee smells.

eatsleepread · 15/08/2020 04:06

It may not be 'her job', but it comes down to kindness at the end of the day. And I'd be fucked off with someone just leaving this. Ask her to clean up the bed as best she can for now. And to close all the bedroom doors so it can't happen again. It could have been the recent storms that upset your cat (not the fact that you're away), which was hopefully a one-off. Try to relax and enjoy the rest of your holiday.

HoppingPavlova · 15/08/2020 04:20

Not asking for laundry or any massive cleaning efforts, just removing the mess and making sure it doesn’t soak through to the mattress.

How often does the cat sitter come - more than once per day? If not I don’t see how they could have avoided this anyway. If they left at 3pm and your cat did it at 3.15pm, and then they came at 3pm the next day it would have soaked through the duvet anyway. No idea how it would soak through the mattress, surely you have a waterproof mattress protector? What if a visitor came and unexpectedly commenced their period in their sleep? Nowadays you get waterproof and breathable so no sweatiness etc, I would think everyone has these?

I would think the pet sitter should have removed the solids and then chucked the duvet into the bathtub or shower for you to deal with when you got home though, and obviously shut the doors to any other bedrooms.

hoistbymyownzombiepetard · 15/08/2020 09:11

I wouldn't have thought a cat would produce so much urine in one accident that it would soak through a duvet cover, duvet, sheet and mattress protector, would it? You'll obviously have to get all those things cleaned but I would have thought the mattress would be okay?

Unless the OP's cat is an actual lion Grin

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/08/2020 09:16

@Branches1 I’d expect it to be cleaned as well. It’s minging to leave cat poo on a bed Confused

Find a nice cattery, they do exist and it saves all this bother.

LittleMissRedHat · 15/08/2020 09:27

Another perspective to all those up in arms and berating the cat sitter... Although I do think the cat sitter could have removed the solid poo, had they stripped the bed there would have then been a bare mattress. And then the cat might have come back and peed on the unprotected mattress, whose fault would that have been? Would you have been shouting that she shouldn't have stripped the bed? And surely it would be a much worse, expensive mess?!

pollyhty · 15/08/2020 09:28

Op if you have a good mattress protector the mattress will be okay (speaking from experience). I stripped the bed, put it in two separate loads to make sure it washed effectively with bio detergent. Then put them in for a second wash.
I put a different bedding on and left the 'dirty' one off for a bit just to make sure the cat didn't go back to it.

I think the pet sitter should have called at the time and asked what you wanted her to do. Did she close the door at least? Otherwise the cat might go back to the same spot.

Muppetry76 · 15/08/2020 09:32

This is going to be very expensive to fix. Husband was laid off and we have no money, this couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

And yet, you're on holiday in a location which has necessitated a flight, and you're paying a cat-sitter to look after your cat.

A holiday (with all its associated additional costs - clothes, eating out, airport parking, cat sitter etc) would be the first thing on my list to be cancelled if my dh lost his job.

You really, really don't have to replace the entire bed for one cat wee/poo

StatementKnickers · 15/08/2020 09:36

Really slack of the sitter, I hope you'll have the opportunity to complain/leave a bad review. Have you contacted the agency directly to see if they can replace her?

The bed will be fine, I can't imagine that one incident will destroy it.

ittooshallpass · 15/08/2020 09:38

OP - my Nextdoor neighbours cat got locked in my house while I was on holiday (sneaked in while I was packing the car). It used my bed as a toilet for the 2 days it was stuck in there before it could be released.

I claimed for everything on my house insurance. The person who came around to inspect the damage was more than happy to include bed linen, quilt and mattress, which all stank to high heaven.

See if your insurance will cover it. I was able to claim under accidental damage.

Lockdownseperation · 15/08/2020 09:39

Surely new flights will cost more than a new mattress, duvet and sheets.

hoxtonbabe · 15/08/2020 09:42

@Vehivle what is the blue stuff you purchased. I think I need some of it, if it actually gets the smell out

RiteAid · 15/08/2020 09:46

YANBU OP, I’ve been a cat sitter for people before and I wouldn’t have dreamed of leaving a mess like that on the bed.

There is hope for cleaning though - my cat has peed on my bed and it soaked through to the mattress and we managed to salvage it. You want an enzyme based cat urine cleaner - I used this one: www.chewy.com/rocco-roxie-supply-co-professional/dp/116994?utm_source=partnerize&utm_medium=affiliates&utm_campaign=1101l37824&utm_content=0&clickref=1011lafJYrq5&utm_term=1011lafJYrq5

Once you’ve used that as per the instructions, you want to get some bicarbonate of soda (the cheap cleaning kind in a box, not the eating kind from the bakery aisle!) and some essential oil. I like a mix of lavender and lemon, because it smells lovely and citrus deters cats. Mix a few drops of each oil with a few tablespoons of the bicarbonate in a tub and shake well, then sprinkle over the stained area. Leave it for a few hours then hoover off. It will really freshen up the mattress and remove any lingering odour.

zingally · 15/08/2020 09:46

Chill out love! It's a bit of cat mess. You might want to buy some new sheets, but so what? Not worth the cost and aggro of flying home early...

MadCatLady71 · 15/08/2020 09:52

Oh this happened to us - we were in Australia for a couple of weeks and got home to find that my best boy had used our bed as his litter tray the entire time we were away. I don’t really like to travel so do it as rarely as possible, so I think he was shocked and put out. Cat sitter had either not noticed or had chosen to ignore it. We had to write off the bedding but I think the mattress was ok after a good scrub and airing.

Subsequently got a much better cat-sitter. And we always shut the bedroom doors if we go away!

It’ll be a bit gross to come back to, but hardly the end of the world. Just ask the cat sitter to make sure your cat can’t get back into the bedroom.