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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Jaxhog · 15/08/2020 11:42

Heck. We often 'cat sit' for our neighbours, but we wouldn't dream of going upstairs in their house

But if the cats had pooped on the bed, you must have gone up previously and left the door open!!!

Musmerian · 15/08/2020 11:49

Our kitten, unbeknownst to me, had been using my daughters room ( loft conversion up tricky steps) as a loo for a good two weeks, I didn’t realise until she was due back from holiday and I went to tidy up. Loads of dry cat poo and wee smell. Stuck whole load in machine and only realised when I took it out that hidden dried cat poo had been rehydrated. During wash! Rewashed and cleaned room thoroughly and it was fine.

Ineedflour · 15/08/2020 12:20

If the sitter is via an agency, she will be insured. Take up any damages with the agency?

Bargebill19 · 15/08/2020 12:27

You may be able to get the duvet etc into a washing machine at a Landry mat or if you have a Morrison’s - they often have extra large washing machines on site.
I doubt it will have spoilt the mattress, so the smell/damage should be limited to the duvet and sheets and possibly the mattress topper.

Given another thread on here where a poster was told to leave the cat mess alone - I’m not surprised the cat sitter left it if she was on mumsnet. Shame and not something I would do.

melj1213 · 15/08/2020 13:44

Given another thread on here where a poster was told to leave the cat mess alone - I’m not surprised the cat sitter left it if she was on mumsnet. Shame and not something I would do.

Totally different scenario. The other thread OP is a neighbour and asked if it would be appropriate to bring her Hoover to clean up the mess made by the cat (general cat hair, scattered litter, Mark's in worktops etc) because the owners dont have a hoover currently and so if she brings hers it will be obvious she has "cleaned" and not just maintained things.

This thread is about a paid catsitter, employed by an agency, who has seen a cat has peed/pooped on their customers bed and chosen to do nothing despite knowing they wont be back for an entire week.

Jeremyironsnothing · 15/08/2020 13:46

Whenever I've cat sat I've been very careful not to visit other areas of the house to respect privacy. I wouldn't have even known it had happened.

melj1213 · 15/08/2020 13:56

I wouldn't have even known it had happened.

Cat poo and pee left to marinate for days is not easy to ignore

Bargebill19 · 15/08/2020 14:23

@melj1213

No it’s not that different. You’ve been asked to do a job, paid or unpaid, which is to look after the cat. Cat mess is cat mess wether it’s moult hair, vomit, urine etc or muddy paw prints.
The op wasn’t going in to do a spring clean, just asking if she should clean up after the cat - the same as is being expected here. The difference is in being paid and expected to put bedding in the bath to soak.

Vehivle · 15/08/2020 14:28

@hoxtonbabe www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005GO2VX4/ref=cm_sw_r_wa_apa_i_hh-nFbM4AQ82V?tag=mumsnetforu03-21

This is the stuff. Plus we left our large sofa cushions to dry in the sunshine to try and further kill of odours. Plus the coverings we did the same AND washed twice in bio wash (non bio wont cut it). The important thing is the sniff test- smell once dry. We thought we were done first time round - but once dried, we noticed some bits we missed! Hence why it took 1 week. 2 rounds were needed. But it was the accumulation of about a week of them pissing and pooing on it. And it is a giant family sized sofa.

Vehivle · 15/08/2020 14:32

I agree with PP - its very hard to ignore. In our case we could smell it as we walked in the front door, and genuinely when we entered the living room where our drenched sofa was - I felt my eyes stinging! It was so so bad! Cat urine smells so strong! I am sitting on the same sofa right now. You would never know. Doesnt smell at all.

Bargebill19 · 15/08/2020 14:54

@Vehi

I have the smaller spray version. I use it for small accidents (kittens). It does work extremely well.

hoxtonbabe · 15/08/2020 14:57

@Vehivle

Thanks for that. My cat literally only peed on my sofa once and I can still smell it a good year on, in fact it seems worse and wondering if it’s the heat. I would dread to smell what a weeks worth of both poo and wee is like 🤢

Anordinarymum · 15/08/2020 15:05

@Branches1

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!

It's a stress thing brought about by your absence and then a stranger coming in to feed him. My cat did this twice I bought the wrong food which he would not eat and then he came on my bed and weed on top of the covers. I was woken up by wee trickling on my legs. I had to wash the bed covers, get the quilt cleaned and then wash the mattress. Luckily most of the wee was soaked in the bed covers and hit the mattress cover only and not the quilt. I washed the mattress anyway in case it smelled with a solution of washing liquid and water and let it dry and then turned the mattress. The second time I actually caught him in the act and could deal with it quicker than the first.

Short of getting a new mattress is all you can do.

VeryQuaintIrene · 15/08/2020 15:28

I'd be a bit annoyed If a cat-sitter didn't make some attempt to clean up the mess, too. But it certainly wouldn't even occur to me to fly home to deal with it.

MeredithJim · 15/08/2020 15:53

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

WiddlinDiddlin · 15/08/2020 16:02

Wow, you lot have some seriously low expectations of pet sitters!

I offer this though we do it rarely.

We would have, called you immediately to let you know.

Stripped the bed, disposed of poo, put the washable items into your washer, put the not washable items into a bin bag to be dealt with as per your instructions, and shut the door to the room the mess occurred in.

If you had simple instructions on how to deal with the non-washable items like things that won't fit in your washer, mattress, for example, bag up for cleaner to collect, squirt bare mattress with X product that is already in your home, we would do that.

That IS what you are paying for, it is part of the service, otherwise you'd just ask a neighbour to throw food at it twice a day and empty the litter tray occasionally!

melj1213 · 15/08/2020 16:50

But it certainly wouldn't even occur to me to fly home to deal with it.

It might not be my first thought but the OP has said they were due to be away at least another week, there are cheap (sub £20) flights home, the cat sitter seemingly had no intention of doing anything to clean up beyond informing the OP. Add in the fact the weather is so stifling at the moment and therefore will make any smell 100 times worse after a week marinating which in turn might distress the cat more and make them pee in more places over the next week I think I might consider coming home too.

JoleneExotic · 15/08/2020 17:23

UrineOff is amazing stuff. It's a pain the arse but not the end of the world. Cat piss is grim but not insurmountable. Vanish upholstery cleaner is good too, spray, run in with a brush leave to dry and hoover out. I got blood out of my mattress with it :)

Whitepriv · 15/08/2020 18:52

@Branches1 I would really recommend catinaflat (just google it) but they are cat sitters and could probably come over and sort things for you and your cat. We have used the local well reviewed cat sitter many times and have been very happy, about £10-15 a day

Darkdecent · 15/08/2020 19:07

Why the hell hasn't she cleaned it up? I've dog/cat sat over the years and wouldn't dream of just leaving it. I'd clear up and wash the bedding.
Even if it wasn't agreed, surely it's just a nice thing to do?!

Original poster
Branches1 · 15/08/2020 19:17

@Whitepriv thank you for the recommendation, will look into it for our next holiday (whenever that will be, Covid etc...)

OP posts:
Erictheavocado · 15/08/2020 21:46

I often look after my neighbour's elderly cat when they go away. I pop in several times a day to feed him, sort out his litter tray and just to spend time with him. I also pop upstairs every day as the old boy has a water bowl on the landing. On one occasion he bad vomited on my neighbours' bed. It took about five minutes to rake the bedding off and pop it into the washing machine. I took the duvet to the laundrette where it had a service wash and the next day i was able to put the whole lot back on the bed. The whole thing probably took me about an hour in total and the cost of the laundrette was minimal. Couldn't close the bedroom door as there wasn't one, just beaded hanging things. Fortunately it was a one off and my neighbour was more than happy to cover the cost of the laundering.
I would have thought that someone specifically employed to look after the cat would have at least removed the covers. I would also wonder why the cat had felt compelled to do what he did - ime, indoor cats, even older ones, are animals who tend to be clean unless they are unwell.

livefornaps · 16/08/2020 09:03

Why did you even leave the door to your bedroom open???? Asking for trouble. The cat and cat sitter should only be in the utility room in your absence

DrManhattan · 16/08/2020 13:36

Ewwwww cats

SaturdaySue · 16/08/2020 20:10

I would be gutted too, but if you are paying a cat sitter to just come once/twice a day then I think it's reasonable that they wouldn't be clearing up.
If it was a cat/hour sitter who is there full time I would expect them to clear it up.

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