Cleaner let cats into living room

[slithytoveisascientist]

Last week she let them into bedroom and luckily I caught it before anything happened. I reminded her and she was very apologetic and promised to be more careful.

This week she has left the living room door open and the cats have gone in and scratched my leather sofa. It’s never had any damage before and I’m gutted.

AIBU to ask to claim on her insurance for a repair, and will I even have any success?

Does no one think she should have kept the door shut when asked?

No. She’s there to clean not cat watch.

This. It ridiculous keeping cats in, especially if they can’t go where they want.

What do the cats say about it?

What the fuck? Get a grip. I’m in the south east and my cleaner only charges £14 ph.

You're clearly enjoying being a twat to the OP for literally anything your little mind can think of. Perhaps take some time to examine what is missing from your life that you feel the need to attempt to bully people online.

I will ask!

Your cats are VU for not training their slaves better!!

On a more serious note @slithytoveisascientist some plants are very poisonous (fatal) to cats so I hope they are OK
(That would bother me more than the sofa)

It doesn't really register because I'm always so careful but it's a good point

YABU. YOU haven’t trained your cats not to scratch, so it’s your issue

I don't know why you're getting such a pile on op.
You asked your cleaner to shut a door and she didn't.
I'd be cross too. My ddog will scratch our leather sofa if we're out for a few hours.
We have to cover it with obstacles to stop her jumping up.
Amusingly the same pp's on here advocating cat freedom would be going mad if your cats pooped on their grass.
I would definitely tell the cleaner that if it happens again you'll be claiming on her insurance.

I think the context is v important OP.

It sounds from your later posts that she runs the entire company? If so, then no I don't think you'd be BU to try and claim on the business insurance she showed you beforehand. It may only be a small company but essentially as a business owner you accept liabilities (higher premium) to some extent.

If she's only an hourly paid employee, then I'd probably try not to get her in hot water. I would be annoyed too as you've reminded her twice now, but I'd probably just leave it and not use her services again. Be prepared for that mistake to happen again though with other cleaners.

Nothing to add OP except I'm sorry your thread became victim to that certain breed of Mumsnetters that make it their full time occupation to jump to the worst possible conclusions about a poster based on limited information. They're unfortunately quite common on AIBU.

If nothing else, you have to admire their imagination...

Never have super-expensive furniture with cats. Also, expect them to cause damage to things. They are purry destruction units without meaning to be! In the first 24 hours of having a new sofa in our home, one of our kits chucked up all over it.

I'd definitely say that as you are the one who is fussy about where the cats can/cannot be, you need to ensure that they're 'contained' while the cleaner is doing their job in your home. Your furry friends can be released as soon as she's left (and you've ensured the correct doors are closed). You seriously cannot expect the cleaner to remember such a foible. I really wouldn't say it's in her job description. Unless she's also being paid as the cat-minder, surely the cats are no more her responsibility than your DC would be while she's in your home?

I would love to succeed at this but they (one anyway) love leather

I have indoor cats. They’re rescues who wouldn’t fair well going outdoors now. Please don’t make sweeping statements like that. It would he cruel to let older cars who have lived their lives indoors suddenly outside where they’d end up under the wheels of a car within days at best. Not all cats can manage outdoors. As long as they have enriched lives with plenty to stimulate and entertain them, they’re fine.

It's not a perfectly good cleaner if they can't be trusted with the security of your home and safety of your pets.

But I have never let a cleaner go and never had one quit except to retire.

Cats are curious creatures , they like to explore , so the lounge was new to them . I've always had cats and two sets of leather sofas but they never tried to touch them apart from when they were kittens . We used to just say No really loudly and they left them alone . Cats don't like being told off !!

Those poor cats not allowed in the living room with their family 😟

Wow genuinely? How do you pay higher than the going rate in London? I definitely believe in paying a fair rate but I'm pretty surprised.

Her company
She cleans and has a team of cleaners
She brings someone each time I've met about 4 different ones

I signed terms, receive invoices and she showed me various insurances and registrations when we started

I doubt they clean the garage & you have said they don’t clean your study - so the answer is put the cats in the rooms they don’t clean & it won’t happen again. If you had done that in the first place it wouldn’t have happened so you do share some responsibility here

I guess I see it as if I need a door keeping closed for any reason she should,

Eg flowers and someone is allergic
Window open
Dehumidifier on

The reason I'm asking shouldn't matter

I think you should've made this clear from the first post. I think people are piling on vindictively/bitchily because they think you're bullying a minimum wage worker.

No. I just don't believe in exploiting people. Stop being so ridiculous.

This has got to be a joke.

Family aren't in there it's not the main room really