Page 13 | Cleaner let cats into living room

slithytoveisascientist · 2023-10-12T10:27:06+00:00

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?

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 12/10/2023 14:30

Barnowlsandbluebells · 12/10/2023 14:09

You won't find a good, reliable cleaner in this area willing to work for less than £20/h - demand is high so why shouldn't they command a fair wage for doing a good job.

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She’s not doing a good job though, she let the cats in because she can’t close doors and the sofas fucked.

Op didn’t ask much. It’s not like she wanted the garden doing as well or the weekly shop. Walk into room with equipment, shut door, clean, exit and close door. I managed it with a Bengal he never got in on my watch.

MisterOnions · 12/10/2023 14:30

If I were your cleaner and you asked me to claim on my own house insurance because your cats scratched your sofa, then I would tell you to shove your job where the sun doesn't shine.

If you are not happy with the service that your cleaner provides - perhaps try cleaning your house yourself? At least you will then know if you have managed to shut your poor cats out.

I don't believe I've ever heard anything so entitled in my life. You seriously need to get over yourself, OP.

DitheringBlidiot · 12/10/2023 14:34

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 11:36

If she let them out the house due to leaving front door open (which she has been asked not to do) would that also be my fault for having house cats?

Yes it would

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:35

TerfTalking · 12/10/2023 14:00

House cats living their entire lives in six rooms when they roam for miles in their natural habitat is not on.

Are you paying your cleaner extra for baby sitting the cats and managing them?

You have to be taking the absolute piss.

AND it was an adoption condition they are indoor cats

Are you saying people in 2-3 bed homes shouldn't have cats?

OP posts:

Crunchymum · 12/10/2023 14:35

AlphaBravoGamma · 12/10/2023 12:41

Our cleaner is on a final warning for, amongst other things, mopping & using the wrong cleaner on a wooden floor when she was told to never mop it, leaving a door open into a room that the cats aren't allowed into unsupervised, leaving windows open, and shutting a cat in a room - the cat was in there for 10 hours.

The cats have managed to claw and ruin a leather sofa and quite a lot of lower level wallpaper despite having at least one scratching post in each room and on the landing & hallway. I thought early on that there's no point fretting about it & to have the place redecorated just before we sell it!

OP, will anyone who comes to your house care that the sofa has scratches on it? You probably will but does it really matter in the long term? If the cleaner is doing things that puts the cats at risk, then give her a warning or just sack her.

Whilst I feel the OP is being a tad over zealous, you seem to be the other extreme.

Why have you not sacked your cleaner already?

Barnowlsandbluebells · 12/10/2023 14:36

Hibiscrubbed · 12/10/2023 14:23

Some really nasty posters on this thread. And some playing fantasy games of Billy not Bollocks with how they wouldn’t dream of paying their cleaner the apparently paltry amount of £17.50ph (that a cleaner charges, they’re not an honesty box on legs), when £20 is better…

Poster: “and what’s your hourly rate?”
Cleaner: “it’s £17.50 per hour.”
Poster: “there simply not enough! I just pay you £20!”
Cleaner: …

Employer pays employee a decent wage. Shocking.

luckylavender · 12/10/2023 14:36

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 11:39

They didn't sneak in

Door was wide open

They aren't around when she is cleaning they hate the noise

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

I agree with you. I would be furious.

BloodyHellKen · 12/10/2023 14:40

oohsharon · 12/10/2023 11:35

Why have cats? They're destructive creepy sneaky things and you're obvs not a cat person. I don't think this is the cleaners fault!

They're destructive creepy sneaky things...

Now steady on!! 😂

SabrinaThwaite · 12/10/2023 14:42

Barnowlsandbluebells · 12/10/2023 14:36

Employer pays employee a decent wage. Shocking.

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OP has already explained that the cleaning company owner charges clients £17.50 per hour and pays her employees around £12 per hour.

I’m not sure why you think OP is stiffing her cleaners?

inquisitiveinga · 12/10/2023 14:43

On your death bed are you going to be het up about the sofa YOUR cats very slightly scratched?

You sound absolutely insane. Live a little!!!! I hope you aren't planning on having children

UndercoverCop · 12/10/2023 14:43

@Judashascomeintosomemoney that's interesting, a few years ago I had a tesco value contents insurance policy (blue and white striped policy booklet and everything), my cat deliberately pushed my laptop off a kitchen counter onto a tiled floor smashing it and the insurance replaced it

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:45

VenusClapTrap · 12/10/2023 13:37

On the one hand I sympathise; we waited till the dc were past the primary years and invested in a very expensive pair of sofas. Total splurge. Love them. We have a slightly vomitty old cat though, so I keep blankets over the sofas when not in use, just in case.

When we came back from holiday the house sitter casually mentioned that the cat had done a huge vomit right in the middle of the sofa. She’d wiped it up, but it had left quite a mark. I asked if it had gone through the blanket, she said no, the blanket ‘had been moved’.

At first I was upset, but then realised it really, really doesn’t matter in the scheme of things. It’s just a sofa, and I love my cat and could never ban her from sitting in the lounge with us on an evening. That’s kind of the point of having a cat? On your knee, cosy on an evening?

But back to the op. You have lost your trust in the cleaner so you need to find a new one. That’s the bottom line. In the meantime, you’ve got your temporary solution of keeping the cats in the study with you. You could also put a post-it on the lounge door with KEEP THIS DOOR CLOSED on it. I’m a professional cat sitter, and one house I visit has such a sign on a door - not that I’ve ever opened it!

Finally, I have to say, I’m appalled on behalf of your cats that they’re not allowed in your lounge but a visiting dog is. The ultimate betrayal…

good point 🤣 in fairness it was to keep the dog out of their spaces!

Signs a good idea though feel very passive aggressive. However I was cringing the first time I reminded the cleaner not to leave the door open, so clearly my issue

OP posts:

MrsKeats · 12/10/2023 14:46

You are being ridiculous.
The cleaner is there to clean and not herd your cats.

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:47

Pudmyboy · 12/10/2023 14:06

I really hope your cleaner is on Mumsnet and sees this thread, imo no amount of money justifies putting up with this blame -everyone-else attitude

What blame?

SHE left door open
I didn't lock cats away

I've accepted that. I've acknowledged there is more I can do and will be doing so.
It doesn't change that she didn't do as I asked and it is hardly arduous.

Most of this thread has been me defending unrelated accusation of not enough cat space, not paying enough, daring to have a cleaner in the first place etc

OP posts:

SabrinaThwaite · 12/10/2023 14:47

UndercoverCop · 12/10/2023 14:43

@Judashascomeintosomemoney that's interesting, a few years ago I had a tesco value contents insurance policy (blue and white striped policy booklet and everything), my cat deliberately pushed my laptop off a kitchen counter onto a tiled floor smashing it and the insurance replaced it

I think some insurers may cover accidental damage where pets knocking items over has caused breakage.

Damage from scratching, vomiting, chewing etc is very unlikely to be covered unless you’ve been able to pay for an add on.

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:48

crumblycrust · 12/10/2023 14:07

I'm only pointing out why I think people have (unreasonably) piled on to you.

As I previously stated, I don't think you're BU to have certain less-used rooms off limits to pets, or to annoyed that your cleaner can't follow a simple instruction despite being reminded twice. (Though I wouldn't claim insurance if she was min wage employee, but you've already said she isn't – which again is key context)

Edited

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Yes you are right.
Though tbf I dont know what she pays herself, only what she charges out.

I have my own company and earn much less than minimum wage atm!

OP posts:

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:48

horseyhorsey17 · 12/10/2023 14:07

Not the cleaner's fault, it's not her job to manage your cats for you.

Is it her job to close doors which are kept closed, regardless of reason?
What about locking a cupboard door which is kept locked?

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Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:49

Princessconsuelabananahammock9 · 12/10/2023 14:09

I don't understand though why you bought a sofa you knew they could destroy. There are many cat friendly couches that are far more elegant than a leather couch. It seems like inviting trouble.

It's one of three sofas, its in a room they aren't allowed in and have really never been in - it wasn't an issue until today.

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Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:50

Barnowlsandbluebells · 12/10/2023 14:09

You won't find a good, reliable cleaner in this area willing to work for less than £20/h - demand is high so why shouldn't they command a fair wage for doing a good job.

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Presumably in my area the business owner has set a rate she deems fair?>

OP posts:

Frabbits · 12/10/2023 14:50

YABU.

If you have cats, you have to accept that they will scratch things, especially if they aren't allowed out. If it hadn't been the cleaner, they would have got in somehow eventually.

FrustatedAgain · 12/10/2023 14:51

Cats are quick very quick. You’re completely unreasonable in expecting her to keep them out of rooms. If you can’t trust your own pets you should put them in a dog crate when she is working in your home. She’s a cleaner not a cat herder. Good cleaners are hard to come by, if you value her you should bite your lip. She’ll get other work more easily than you’ll find a decent cleaner willing to put up with this nonsense.

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:51

horseyhorsey17 · 12/10/2023 14:13

Cats are savages. My one elderly cat wreaks far more havoc than both my boisterous dogs. She loves nothing more than using sofas, carpets or even the wall as scratching posts, and has destroyed a sofa, several carpets and a whole load of wallpaper, as well as weeing on the doormat so it has to be permanently covered up to deter her.

I think if you're not prepared to put up with this, then don't get a cat. I won't be getting another one - I love mine but she's an absolute pain in the butt and I've considered rehoming her several times (but just couldn't do it to her in the end).

I won't be getting another one. at least not with our current situation. But these (adopted) cats predate my marriage, my home, my children. I wasn't going to get rid of them when I can just... close a door.

OP posts:

PercytheParkKeepershedgehog · 12/10/2023 14:52

I don’t think insurance would pay out.
If she accidentally used the wrong cleaning product and ruined the floor or accidentally knocked over your TV then I think they would, because her actions whilst running her business accidentally caused damage to a client’s possessions. But I don’t think leaving an interior door open would count. She didn’t damage the sofa, your cats did. The damage didn’t even occur when she was in your house working. It happened afterwards and you were home. I’m not suggesting you’re wrong at all about her leaving the door open, but the insurance company would need some kind of proof that she was responsible/the damage was a direct result of the actions of the cleaning company. And there isn’t any. How do they know your kids didn’t leave the door open? Or you?

Original poster

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:52

Zoreos · 12/10/2023 14:16

Irrespective of how many rooms, my point still remains. You have to accept this is because of your normal cat’s behaviour and not your cleaner’s responsibility. Cats can’t tell what rooms they are or are not allowed in. But please, do feel free to skirt over the many other valid points I have made to suit your skewed agenda. If she doesn’t agree to claim on her insurance, under normal circumstances the next logical step would be small claims and what wouldn’t be enforceable there wouldn’t be accepted by insurance either. I didn’t really think I’d have to explain that as thats pretty straightforward logic but my mistake. Yes, I am aware of how insurance works but there will be limitations as to situations insurance will accept. Insurance companies will try their hardest to avoid a pay out and this situation is largely your own fault for not securing your cats when you have outsiders in your house with the intention of them moving through it. Negligence would be included but this would not be one of those cases. It’s not as though she damaged your sofa directly herself by scuffing it or spilling bleach on it - your cats did.

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It wasn't about her agreeing though

It was about should I ask

Which the consensus is no I shouldn't and I won't be.

So suggesting small claims feels super dramatic.

I've also accepted I can and should lock the cats away.

OP posts:

horseyhorsey17 · 12/10/2023 14:53

slithytoveisascientist · 12/10/2023 14:48

Is it her job to close doors which are kept closed, regardless of reason?
What about locking a cupboard door which is kept locked?

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It's different - your cleaner is there to clean, not to manage your pets. I have two dogs and a cat and have no rules about the cat, but always put my dogs into their crates when the cleaner was there because I didn't expect her to know or follow the rules I do have for them.