Bad pet sitter story/Do you ever take your kitty on visits to family?

Margaret Fine wrote:
Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired
basically defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for.
(snip awful mistreatment of your loved ones)
I hired a reputable company and met the sitter beforehand and
checked references.

I sure hope you filed a complaint with that company! Reputable my arse!
That's no way to treat someone's furkids!

Anyway, we are no longer going to be traveling without the dog. I
can't find a good kennel here and at 9 yrs old and with some health
problems I just don't want to stress him out.

Does your vet board dogs? Mine does, as well as cats and birds.

He does like to travel
with us, tho. We did find a nice cat facility for Oliver that we're
going to try it out but we were planning on being gone a long time
over Christmas and New Years and I just don't like to kennel him for
too long. I'm wondering if anyone successfully takes their cats to
"Grandma's house" and how that works out. Steven thinks it would
actually be kinder to leave him at the cat facility and just cut our
trip short by a few days so he doesn't have to be in the car for 7
hours there and back and adjust to a new place with all the Christmas
hustle and bustle. I feel torn between the people I love in my life
(far flung family I only see once a year) and my little Oliver.

Naturally they don't like to be kennel'd (I couldn't figure out the right
word for that!) But if the place is anything like the vet where I board
Persia, they play with her and spoil her rotten.

Dad says to bring Oliver to his house which would be quieter but I'd
be worried that Oliver would escape (My dad has MS and isn't a very
coordinated person anymore. Oliver would take advantage of that).


Whaaaaaaaaaaaa! :-(

I'm sorry to hear about your woes. Purrs for a good solution and happy
holidays for all.

Jill

P.S. One of my best friends has MS and my heart goes out to you and your
dad.

On 2004-12-02, Margaret Fine penned:
Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired basically
defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for.

[snip]

Ugh. What did the sitting company say when you told them about the atrocious
behavior of their employee?

What a nightmare. It's stressful enough leaving pets at home without a
c*ck-up like this.

Oscar is terrified of other people, other cats, and just about anything other
than what she's used to, so we leave her at home when we travel. She
free-feeds, so we just have friends check on her every few days to refresh
food and water and clean up the litter box. Our friends report that their
only sightings of her are typically a pair of reflective eyes and hissing
coming from the basement rafters. *sigh*

--
monique, caretaker of Oscar

This is horrible. And it sounds like the dog was traumatized by more than
just not getting out when needed.

I always leave our dogs at cats at their vet when we are gone. They don't
much like it but they are at least safe and cared for.

Jo
"Margaret Fine" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired basically
defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for. We were lucky we
figured out what was going on because Steve had put in an alarm system
that allows you to see when the system was armed and disarmed via the web.
We got to North Carolina on Thursday afternoon, realized there was a
problem Thursday night and talked to her on the phone. Her attitude was
that her Thanksgiving was more important than my animals and she didn't
feel she should interrupt her holiday to do the job we paid for her to do.
But she said that she was now going to stay at our house like she agreed
to. Right after that she armed the alarm again and didn't disarm it for
almost 11 hours. By that time we were already headed back home. I
highly suspect she wasn't here for the hours we paid her to be here. When
I got home it looked like the bed had not been slept in.

She left the dog to suffer without food and potty breaks for two 10.5/11
hour periods and now he is very sick. Heck, I am sick too because he
ended up pooping in the house (the darling did it near the toilet) and I
just know that having to do it in the house distressed him and I hate that
he felt like that. He also vomited several times and the sitter didn't
clean that up. Luckily for Oliver I had left food out (he self feeds) and
he had a brand new litter box before we left. I hired a reputable company
and met the sitter beforehand and checked references. When we got home
both boys were very clingy and had to be on us or pressed up against us
for the first 24 hours after we got back. Makes me think while she was
here for two brief periods she must of scared them somehow.

Anyway, we are no longer going to be traveling without the dog. I can't
find a good kennel here and at 9 yrs old and with some health problems I
just don't want to stress him out. He does like to travel with us, tho.
We did find a nice cat facility for Oliver that we're going to try it out
but we were planning on being gone a long time over Christmas and New
Years and I just don't like to kennel him for too long. I'm wondering if
anyone successfully takes their cats to "Grandma's house" and how that
works out. Steven thinks it would actually be kinder to leave him at the
cat facility and just cut our trip short by a few days so he doesn't have
to be in the car for 7 hours there and back and adjust to a new place with
all the Christmas hustle and bustle. I feel torn between the people I
love in my life (far flung family I only see once a year) and my little
Oliver. My Dad says to bring Oliver to his house which would be quieter
but I'd be worried that Oliver would escape (My dad has MS and isn't a
very coordinated person anymore. Oliver would take advantage of that).


Whaaaaaaaaaaaa! :-(
--
Margaret Fine

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2004-12-02, Margaret Fine penned:

Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired basically
defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for.


[snip]

Ugh. What did the sitting company say when you told them about the atrocious
behavior of their employee?

They said that this isn't the policy of their company and they have
"suspended" the employee and they won't be doing any sitting for the
company "for a while."

What a nightmare. It's stressful enough leaving pets at home without a
c*ck-up like this.

Oscar is terrified of other people, other cats, and just about anything other
than what she's used to, so we leave her at home when we travel. She
free-feeds, so we just have friends check on her every few days to refresh
food and water and clean up the litter box. Our friends report that their
only sightings of her are typically a pair of reflective eyes and hissing
coming from the basement rafters. *sigh*


With Oliver it is just the opposite. He is so social he gets depressed
if he gets left by himself for any length of time. I don't work outside
the home and even if we're not here Boone the dog is her to play with.

--
Margaret Fine

jmcquown wrote:

Margaret Fine wrote:

Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired
basically defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for.

(snip awful mistreatment of your loved ones)

I hired a reputable company and met the sitter beforehand and
checked references.


I sure hope you filed a complaint with that company! Reputable my arse!
That's no way to treat someone's furkids!


Anyway, we are no longer going to be traveling without the dog. I
can't find a good kennel here and at 9 yrs old and with some health
problems I just don't want to stress him out.


Does your vet board dogs? Mine does, as well as cats and birds.

He does like to travel

with us, tho. We did find a nice cat facility for Oliver that we're
going to try it out but we were planning on being gone a long time
over Christmas and New Years and I just don't like to kennel him for
too long. I'm wondering if anyone successfully takes their cats to
"Grandma's house" and how that works out. Steven thinks it would
actually be kinder to leave him at the cat facility and just cut our
trip short by a few days so he doesn't have to be in the car for 7
hours there and back and adjust to a new place with all the Christmas
hustle and bustle. I feel torn between the people I love in my life
(far flung family I only see once a year) and my little Oliver.


Naturally they don't like to be kennel'd (I couldn't figure out the right
word for that!) But if the place is anything like the vet where I board
Persia, they play with her and spoil her rotten.


This place has nice "cat condos" with multiple levels and he can have 3
play sessions of 15 minutes a day. We walked in unannounced for a tour
and they actually had someone there playing with a cat. Since they
didn't know we were coming it couldn't have been for show.

Our vet doesn't kennel dogs and Boone doesn't do well in kennels anyway.
He has noise sensitivity and all the barking drives him nuts. I don't
mind just going to places where he can come along. At 9 he is getting
older anyway and I don't like to stress him out.

Dad says to bring Oliver to his house which would be quieter but I'd
be worried that Oliver would escape (My dad has MS and isn't a very
coordinated person anymore. Oliver would take advantage of that).


Whaaaaaaaaaaaa! :-(


I'm sorry to hear about your woes. Purrs for a good solution and happy
holidays for all.

Jill

P.S. One of my best friends has MS and my heart goes out to you and your
dad.



Thanks Jill. My Dad is actually pretty lucky. He got the disease later
in life (40s) and so the progression of the disease has been slower so
he can still get around without any mobility aids. He is just a little
unsteady at times. He is 62.

--
Margaret Fine

Jo Firey wrote:

This is horrible. And it sounds like the dog was traumatized by more than
just not getting out when needed.

I always leave our dogs at cats at their vet when we are gone. They don't
much like it but they are at least safe and cared for.

Jo

It turns out that he might have developed an ulcer from the lack of
food, vomiting, and stress. We're going to keep him on a bland diet for
a few days and then see if he can go back to tolerating his usual food.

"Margaret Fine" wrote in message
ink.net...

Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired basically
defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for. We were lucky we
figured out what was going on because Steve had put in an alarm system
that allows you to see when the system was armed and disarmed via the web.
We got to North Carolina on Thursday afternoon, realized there was a
problem Thursday night and talked to her on the phone. Her attitude was
that her Thanksgiving was more important than my animals and she didn't
feel she should interrupt her holiday to do the job we paid for her to do.
But she said that she was now going to stay at our house like she agreed
to. Right after that she armed the alarm again and didn't disarm it for
almost 11 hours. By that time we were already headed back home. I
highly suspect she wasn't here for the hours we paid her to be here. When
I got home it looked like the bed had not been slept in.

She left the dog to suffer without food and potty breaks for two 10.5/11
hour periods and now he is very sick. Heck, I am sick too because he
ended up pooping in the house (the darling did it near the toilet) and I
just know that having to do it in the house distressed him and I hate that
he felt like that. He also vomited several times and the sitter didn't
clean that up. Luckily for Oliver I had left food out (he self feeds) and
he had a brand new litter box before we left. I hired a reputable company
and met the sitter beforehand and checked references. When we got home
both boys were very clingy and had to be on us or pressed up against us
for the first 24 hours after we got back. Makes me think while she was
here for two brief periods she must of scared them somehow.

Anyway, we are no longer going to be traveling without the dog. I can't
find a good kennel here and at 9 yrs old and with some health problems I
just don't want to stress him out. He does like to travel with us, tho.
We did find a nice cat facility for Oliver that we're going to try it out
but we were planning on being gone a long time over Christmas and New
Years and I just don't like to kennel him for too long. I'm wondering if
anyone successfully takes their cats to "Grandma's house" and how that
works out. Steven thinks it would actually be kinder to leave him at the
cat facility and just cut our trip short by a few days so he doesn't have
to be in the car for 7 hours there and back and adjust to a new place with
all the Christmas hustle and bustle. I feel torn between the people I
love in my life (far flung family I only see once a year) and my little
Oliver. My Dad says to bring Oliver to his house which would be quieter
but I'd be worried that Oliver would escape (My dad has MS and isn't a
very coordinated person anymore. Oliver would take advantage of that).


Whaaaaaaaaaaaa! :-(
--
Margaret Fine






--
Margaret Fine

On 2004-12-03, Margaret Fine penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:


Ugh. What did the sitting company say when you told them about the
atrocious behavior of their employee?

They said that this isn't the policy of their company and they have
"suspended" the employee and they won't be doing any sitting for the
company "for a while."

Bleh. Then again, from their point of view, I suppose they could imagine you
were lying or something. But still ...

With Oliver it is just the opposite. He is so social he gets
depressed if he gets left by himself for any length of time. I don't
work outside the home and even if we're not here Boone the dog is her
to play with.

Sounds like a fun cat to have around, though it must be tough when you need to
be out of the house for a while. I got Oscar to keep my old dog company, but
I am striving not to fall for puppy fever, as I am pretty sure I don't have
the time resources to properly care for a dog. It kills me, though.

--
monique, caretaker of Oscar

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

"suspended" the employee and they won't be doing any sitting for the
company "for a while."

Bleh. Then again, from their point of view, I suppose they could
imagine you were lying or something. But still ...

Well, in fairness to the employee, it wouldn't be right to simply can
her based on the word of one client - you only have their side of the
story, and it's their word against hers (unless they have evidence of
wrongdoing). If, however, they get any other complaints about her, then
she should be booted out.

Joyce

wrote:

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

"suspended" the employee and they won't be doing any sitting for the
company "for a while."

Bleh. Then again, from their point of view, I suppose they could
imagine you were lying or something. But still ...

Well, in fairness to the employee, it wouldn't be right to simply can
her based on the word of one client - you only have their side of the
story, and it's their word against hers (unless they have evidence of
wrongdoing). If, however, they get any other complaints about her, then
she should be booted out.

Joyce

I actually have evidence. I can get a print out from the alarm company
that shows the actual time the alarm was armed and disarmed and what
code was used. Now granted she could have actually been in the apartment
overnight but the fact that she never let the dog out in almost 11 hours
cannot be disputed unless she lowered him on a rope from our 4th floor
balcony... :-)

--
Margaret Fine

On Thu, 02 Dec 2004 22:25:31 GMT, Margaret Fine
wrote:

Hi All,

We had a HORRIBLE thanksgiving weekend. The pet sitter we hired
basically defrauded us and didn't do the job that we paid her for. We
were lucky we figured out what was going on because Steve had put in an
alarm system that allows you to see when the system was armed and
disarmed via the web. We got to North Carolina on Thursday afternoon,
realized there was a problem Thursday night and talked to her on the
phone. Her attitude was that her Thanksgiving was more important than
my animals and she didn't feel she should interrupt her holiday to do
the job we paid for her to do. But she said that she was now going to
stay at our house like she agreed to. Right after that she armed the
alarm again and didn't disarm it for almost 11 hours. By that time we
were already headed back home. I highly suspect she wasn't here for
the hours we paid her to be here. When I got home it looked like the
bed had not been slept in.

She left the dog to suffer without food and potty breaks for two 10.5/11
hour periods and now he is very sick. Heck, I am sick too because he
ended up pooping in the house (the darling did it near the toilet) and I
just know that having to do it in the house distressed him and I hate
that he felt like that. He also vomited several times and the sitter
didn't clean that up. Luckily for Oliver I had left food out (he self
feeds) and he had a brand new litter box before we left. I hired a
reputable company and met the sitter beforehand and checked references.
When we got home both boys were very clingy and had to be on us or
pressed up against us for the first 24 hours after we got back. Makes
me think while she was here for two brief periods she must of scared
them somehow.

Anyway, we are no longer going to be traveling without the dog. I can't
find a good kennel here and at 9 yrs old and with some health problems I
just don't want to stress him out. He does like to travel with us, tho.
We did find a nice cat facility for Oliver that we're going to try it
out but we were planning on being gone a long time over Christmas and
New Years and I just don't like to kennel him for too long. I'm
wondering if anyone successfully takes their cats to "Grandma's house"
and how that works out. Steven thinks it would actually be kinder to
leave him at the cat facility and just cut our trip short by a few days
so he doesn't have to be in the car for 7 hours there and back and
adjust to a new place with all the Christmas hustle and bustle. I feel
torn between the people I love in my life (far flung family I only see
once a year) and my little Oliver. My Dad says to bring Oliver to his
house which would be quieter but I'd be worried that Oliver would escape
(My dad has MS and isn't a very coordinated person anymore. Oliver
would take advantage of that).


Whaaaaaaaaaaaa! :-(
--
Margaret Fine


Margaret, I am so sorry you and your furkids had to go through this.
I would definitely complain about the sitter, and loudly!

With eight cats, there is no way we could go anywhere with them all.
So I am resigned to never having a vacation again -- lol! I have done
overnight trips a couple of times, and had a neighbor/friend feed the
cats. You know, even *then* she didn't follow all my directions, and
she's a trusted person and a vet assistant! I've called professionals
and still have not gotten around to interviewing them. If I ever do
go on another overnight trip, I'd like to know I have someone I can
trust. I'm going to have them come over here, see how the cats react
to them, get a "feel" for them, etc. Even then, I guess, you never
know.

Anyway, best of luck that things work much better for you on the next
trip!

Ginger-lyn