Not every pet sit involves pets that get along happily. Some pets have to be fed separately, or simultaneously but in different areas. Some can’t ever meet! Ha ha!
Anyone got stories to share where animosity among the pets was the name of the game?
On one sit, Ted, on old Lab, would not tolerate passing an Akita called Catchena. We never took the two out together on planned walks.
Sometimes 8 dogs would be fed simultaneously so some had to eat in secluded spots for no rows to break out. It was distressing to see dog fights and hard to intervene and break them up. ( I’m taking Dashund size dogs but you can get caught in the crossfire!)
Some pets were confined to different areas, no go ones to other pets who shared the home. Cats were upstairs; dogs downstairs.
The Akita was a loner. It guarded the place but lived outside on the street to the estate. Its dog house was also outside the garage so it had shelter when needed but roamed free. It could chase cars so was a worry to owners and sitters but that was the life it preferred to being locked up.
Fascinating to watch the mixes and see how Alpha dogs sorted the pecking order!
My own cat and dog don’t mix and mingle. We got the then puppy when the cat was 8 yrs old and he never liked her. The dog seems curious to meet, but cat won’t let her approach.
So the dog lives in the daytime area and the cat has the run of the 3 bedrooms and the hallway, all separated by a baby gate. Hopefully the dog will never figure out that she can actually jump over it…
I got a three week sit for friends teaching in Singapore. They had cats and fish so needed a minder! They were all living on the 13 th floor but it was lucky for us! We had air conditioning so didn’t need to open any windows fortunately.
Another place we housesat they had beautiful ponds on the estate with koi carp and gold fish and water lilies.. I’ve always wanted a pond of my own. Unfortunately they were plagued by visiting heron.
I got up early and checked at dusk to protect the outdoor fish. The pond water was soupy pea coloured which help to protect them a little but the heron were experts at fishing them out and it was a waiting game.
Koi when big are very expensive but heron are protected.
The heron were discouraged by a hunter’s rifle shots…
I hated finding skewered fish that weren’t even eaten but left to die.
This is Dylan a Cavapoo. He reluctantly shares a house with a cat. He takes his job of making the world cat free very seriously!
Yikes. I did a sit with outdoor fish in a pond, which happily had netting over the fish, presumably to protect them from birds or cats.
Two cats in a very small apartment. He was friendly and sociable; she had a major accomplishment simply by not hiding the whole time. She hated him. Every time he walked by she would give him stink-eye or hiss. Stress might have been the cause of her digestive troubles. I felt so sorry for her. He was in her space and making her miserable. The space was too small for them. Really one of them should have gone to a new home, but of course the owners wouldn’t have wanted to do that. I kind of doubt those two ever would end up becoming friends though.
Herons can be deterred by a decoy heron. Herons are territorial so will (usually) avoid areas where there is already a heron present.
We used to have a fishpond but lost nearly all our fish to a greedy and persistent heron. When we got new fish, our son brought us a heron decoy and - hey presto! - no more heron raids.
They used the direct method .. heron shot and disposed of.. this was deep in the country! Netting and random noise making machines and maybe sprays are also possible deterrents.
With the price of Koi I would be trying everything!
Just did a sit with 2 similar aged non sister cats that would be sat together happily one moment grooming each other but the next minute fighting with hissing and claws. In fact during the sit one cat had a slight bleeding nose from a fight. Healed quickly. I would obviously separate the cats if I heard them full on fighting.
So I was hoping the dog wouldn’t notice the cat.. luckily the cat stood its ground. Happy my charge only has short legs!
my first ever sit was a Springer Spaniel who was jealous of any time I spent with the cat. I shut her out in back garden to get 10 minutes ME TIME with cat, and she appeared head and shoulders though the cat flap! I had to quickly coax her backwards to garden then open door to let her in, as it was xmas and I wasn’t having her stuck and having to phone vet/fire brigade/joiner!.
Birds are also on the hit list of this dog! He chases sparrows and pigeons and doves.. this sitting duck looks like a challenge!
And a huge temptation, clearly! 
And behind bars!
Love it! Ha ha! Sums it up well!
Cat one step ahead!
This discussion has unearthed a very early childhood memory of visiting one of my Mum’s friends!
This friend had a cat and a dog, who had a friendly rivalry. The cat was a very intelligent and chatty Siamese, and the dog was a Scotty, and they used to tear around the house chasing after each other. I remember a couple of occasions where the cat allowed the dog to gently drag her around by the head I’m 99% sure it was definitely just playing and that the cat wasn’t being hurt!
I did a catsit in a 3 bedrooom condo - 1 floor – in a large city. The host was a young woman who’d gotten a shelter kitten, but then her mom passed away and for reasons she wound up taking in her mom’s elderly cat. The cat was spending its golden years in her bedroom. The kitten - around a year when we took the sit – really wanted to meet the senior – but had been way too rambuctious on attempts. The tricky part was keeping him out when entering the room. The room also had to be kept locked as junior was quite capable of opening the closed unlocked door. I really admire the host for taking this on. I’m glad my spouse was able to join me for part of the sit as it made it easier to keep them apart and spend time just sitting in the bedroom with the senior. He wasn’t cuddly but he did enjoy the quiet company.