That’s quite a long stretch ahead. I’m sure you’ll be more than ok if you play it carefully. Having more experience under your belt now puts you in a far better position to cope with this, I agree.
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@Sunshine_G I’m staying well away from her and as long as her basic needs are met, then I only have 3 days. It’s interested you say that owners don’t always know how their pets behave, because I feel that with dogs, they will push their luck and take their chances to do things they’re never allowed to do, and they can be a bit bratty and naughty with a new sitter.
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@Chatsetchiens Thank you as well for sharing. It’s sobering to realise that cats can be killing machines. I didn’t sleep well last night because the cat freaked me out but at least it hasn’t physically gone for me.
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I’m not surprised you didn’t sleep well. At least you don’t have too much longer to go on this sit thank goodness. Keep doing what you’re already doing and I’m sure you’ll be ok. 
Tbf, if its hissing & being hostile the cats likely scared of you. Youve very likely not done anything wrong but with any rehomed pet, you never know what’s happened before so it could be something very simple that just brought up a threat for the cat. Even just a different routine or person in the home.
I would carry on as you are , but dont worry about sleeping. I think its extremely unlikely the cat would do anything, infact it may feel more comfortable then.
We did a 2 cat sit once and were warned that one cat was completly tempremental. She could swing from ultra sweet to killer & getting up & down the stairs took some skill. When i meditated, though, she’d come & sniff around me. I was quite aware that she could attack if she wanted too but she never did.
Agree @Gina in that cats not socialised right or treated badly in the past can be skittish although most of the time that means the cat will just avoid new people and hide rather than be aggressive unless approached.
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Wow, very sorry you had to go through that. So terrible to get attacked out of the blue.
I haven’t had any cat experiences like that, but I’ll keep the possibility in mind.
I do this thing — I don’t know whether it helps — if I’m new to a sit and the cat is hiding, I sporadically say its name and soothing things till it shows up. I do that to make known that I’m now there (and they hear no one else) and so they can theoretically get comfortable with me in their territory. At night, if I get up to go to the toilet, I say aloud that I’m getting up. That’s because I don’t want to accidentally stumble onto a cat in the dark. If they hear me and are skittish, it gives them time to run away.
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I think this can be very tough when those of us who “get cats” and understand them are facing hostility from a cat. You are doing absulately the right thing by giving her time and space. She’s approaching you with the same warriness as she might approach another cat. If there is nothing she reads as “aggression” on your part, she might begin to explore and calm down, but the tough truth is that she might not “love” you before your sit is over. As someone who views waking up with the cats on the bed next to me as “winning” on a sit, I know that’s hard!
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5pm here in the UK and they all had their dinner. She seems a bit more ‘normal’ but I’m keeping away from her! I don’t want to get attacked. The weather is horrendous and a storm is raging outside, so we all have to be housemates. I can shut the cats in the downstairs part of the house so they won’t bother me during the night.
FWIW this HO is violating the TH terms and conditions.
5.2.11. not have … any animal with a history of attacks on pets or people;
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The squishy part is what constitutes an attack. Like a HO at a previous sit had been scratched and bitten by the cat before (told me after I arrived). Didn’t do that to the other HO, though.
I wasn’t alarmed. Was just standard wary, as with cats in general, because I don’t want to get scratched or bitten. The cat ended up loving in his way and even let me cuddle him like a baby.
Animals can be unpredictable, especially under stress and breaks in routine, though. Also with strangers. And sometimes randomly.
My last dog sit for example was with the sweetest, most sociable dog — good with people, kids and other animals, even in crowds. Never showed any type of aggression or reaction, even when other dogs barked or lunged at him in public. But one day we were walking and were at least half a block from a dog that wasn’t doing anything at all and something set my sit dog off. He barked and lunged like someone was trying to kill him. When I later told his humans, they said they’d never seen him do that before. And I never saw him do anything similar the whole rest of the sit.
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Yes I have had similar experience one cat I was warned about another was so couchie no problem on my lap curled round my neck until he bit me to the bone on my arm blood shooting up in the air.just waved him way from my food.and he turned on me.still let him on my lap after but not near my neck.
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@EmDeeScotty Please include the facts about this in your review.
Hi @EmDeeScotty. Sorry to hear about these issues with kittie.
IMO Possible causes:
- intense separation anxiety/fear. Especially as it began after two hrs HO absence.
2)it’s injured or in acute pain
Possible ways forward:
-
do not ignore or avoid kittie.
Instead, speak frequently to kittie - at a safe distance of a few feet. Make sure you yourself are feeling relaxed and calm. Speak in a soothing, gentle and reassuring tone with a smile. Saying it’s name and other reassuring things. Blink your eyes slowly and frequently while speaking. -
Stay close by kittie when kittie is eating. Preferably behind or to one side. Not in front.
-
If there are treats available, give a few every now and then during day while talking in a very soothing and caring tone.
-
observe closely for odd movements, stiffness or avoiding certain movements etc in case of an injury or acute pain. Escalate if anything worrying observed.
Really hope things improve.
Update us and do reach out if you need any further support. I think things will get better for you.
Best wishes. Sending hugs.
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@Purdie all good advice, thank you. We are now co-existing, she is curled up and asleep in the living room and seems less stressed. I still won’t approach her. I don’t think she’s in pain. I watch them both while they are eating, this is good practice and cats like it when you do this. She used the litter tray while I was watching which is a good sign. I called her name a lot and gave her treats, and she came running. They love their meal times. I do the slow blinking thing a lot with cats but I don’t want to get too close to this one! Strong stormy weather in the UK right now means I can’t leave the house so we all have to get on.
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Yes I think my cat had intense separation anxiety ho had been away for medical reasons for months.
Yes - always worth a try!
Thanks for sharing everyone! I learned a lot from this thread! I recently sat for a very territorial, aggressive kitty. He didn’t let me do anything, go anywhere in the house, and I had a hard time even feeding him. The owner had warned me he was “anxious” but his wife said he had never attacked anyone, which was not the case with me, he even attacked me the one time I was sitting on the sofa, or even while trying to feed him. I stayed away but didn’t really get my half of the deal because I basically only slept in the house, couldn’t even make myself anything to eat, let alone watch Netflix, etc… Very jarring to get attacked, honestly. I almost quit THS altogether! I wish I knew about talking to him softly and the blinking slowly - why the blinking? I read a lot about how to deal with him, but never read anywhere about the blinking. I also had no idea it was against THS terms.
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See here:
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So an update on kitty: the housesit ended a couple of days ago. She never got too close to me but she was obsessed with sitting on my stuff. My bag, coat, scarf, book. Even had a fight with the other cat if it wanted to sit on something at the same time as her. The owner came home, and the cat became all affectionate and rubbed against me like we were best friends, and hissed and growled at the owner!! I left them to work things out together.
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