I would want to know if the pet is a hunter that brings animals home. My choice to take the sit or not may be different than someone else. But I would defiantly want to know this fact first, before committing to the sit. Personally I wouldn’t take the sit either. It is your choice not others to decide for you!
It’s not mean, it’s a fact of life. Cats hunt. Cats kill. It’s in their DNA. And I’m sure any homeowner would expect a sitter to have basic knowledge of the animals they are looking after.
Sorry, if I have caused any offence.
As the owner of 2 hunters (one of whom brought in 6 mice last night and the other one caught a bird!!!) I would 100% let any sitter know in advance, otherwise the sit has the potential to go really pear shaped.
Cats are cats, yes, and i don’t think fair to mark down on their behaviour. But its the not informing you of the situation thats the problem. In my opinion, it’s a really big omission. I’d maybe knock a star off communication if I felt strongly about it.
Unfortunately, I think it’s a given if you watch cats that are in/outdoors. I’ve had a wide array of “gifts” including moles, headless mice, several snakes, and sadly a few birds. One of my regular kitties that I watch loves to deposit my gifts underneath my bed, which is especially fun. I am an animal lover, and it always is a bit sad, but I recognize that’s what I am signing up for if I agreed to watch cats that are allowed to go outside. I wouldn’t expect a homeowner to warn me about this, as I think it’s kind of a given if the cat is allowed outdoors.
defiantly? lol
Typo!!! That happens to me too often. 
I need to spell check better when writing. I tried to correct it after sending the message but couldn’t figure out how to do it. “Definitely” Sorry about that.
I’m just thinking that that may have been the best day of your cats’ lives (subjectively from their point of view.) 
For sure it was!!!
Yes, cats hunt. Yes, it would have been good for the hosts to mention it. No, you are not overreacting. Your feelings are your feelings and you’re entitled to them. I’d be upset too. I’ve looked after lots of outdoor cats and one brought a dead bird into the kitchen. The cat and I had a special bond and I’m sure he wanted to be nice! Only did it the once fortunately. And took the bird back outside so I only had to clean up a few feathers. Still tough on me though as I love birds!
Well, I had a sit this past year which was pretty near perfect… except for the cat bringing me dead birds regularly. My bad, tho. The cats name was “Hunter.” Duh!
Every single cat I have sat for – unless they are indoor only – brings in prey. Sometimes every day. I have over 30 completed pet sits, about half of them were cats.
In future, maybe ask where the cat(s) came from. Barn cats or cats raised by a mom free to roam outdoors tend to teach kittens hunting skills. Cats raised indoors or by humans tend to have high ambitions but fall well short of achieving them.
This did not sound mean at all. It is a fact that was stated simply. If you are taking a sit for a cat, you should not be surprised by this behavior. It’s a common occurrence for cats. That is their way of showing appreciation. We cannot control what they do outside, and they love the outdoors!
If someone or several people perceive a comment as mean, there is a reason for that
The thing is cats can be very unpredictable. There really was no way for the HO to know they would bring you so many gifts.
Last year we looked after 2 cats, 1 kept bringing us things (mostly rabbits).
Around 3 months later we sat for them again and the cats did not bring us a single thing.
Im not sure what else you expected the HO to do
It’s kind of a compliment as it means the cat is bringing you a ‘gift’. I haven’t met an outdoor cat that doesn’t do this, unless they’re elderly or immobile.
The HO not mentioning it in their listing is the same as you not saying in your HS profile or during the vetting period that you dislike it. It sounds like an oversight on both sides. It’s all a learning curve and now that you know you don’t like it, it will be best to stick to sits for indoor cats and mention it in your profile that’s your preference. Also worth asking whether the cat goes outdoors when vetting future hosts .
In this scenario, it’s possible that the HO thought you were okay with it when you accepted the sit for an outdoor cat, and was trying to give you a heads up before you left, so it doesn’t catch you off guard. I think its ok if you want to mention to them that it might be helpful if they add it to their listing for future sitters’ consideration.
We moved back from sandy Saudi to grassy Dorset with our half feral Persian. Within probably an hour of being out in the garden and fields, we had the cat plus a small rabbit under the bed firmly in her paws. Never seen that creature in her life before but the hunting instinct was there. It’s just what they do. We did give her a small bell so the songbirds could avoid her though! #inthegenes
The worst I have had is a squirrel dragged through the cat-flap, luckily dead by the time I found it. The cat looked like butter wouldn’t melt, but spent most of her time lurking beneath the bird table picking off baby birds, mice, and voles, despite my efforts to build obstacle courses out of chunks of wood to make it a bit more tricky for her!
Initially, I deliberately made no reaction when she delivered her gifts, but when she brought in a live mouse, she got a slipper thrown in her direction and a telling off, which definitely seemed to get the message across. Deliveries reduced, although I’m sure she was still hunting, and I also made sure she was indoors at dawn and dusk, when there seemed to be most activity around the bird table.
The sit was fairly remote, and I think if I’d lived there myself I would probably have set up a bird feeder further from the house, as it felt like the wildlife was being lured in to meet a grisly fate.
It’s true that hunting is a cat’s natural instinct, but in the same way, it is a dog’s natural instinct to chase yet we often intervene to prevent that from happening, either through training or by ensuring that the instinct is met through play. Cats aren’t so easy to train, but perhaps by actively engaging in the type of play that satisfies their urge to hunt, a few deaths can be avoided?
Cats that go out hunt and bring back ‘gifts’
If you was an experienced cat sitter surely you’d know this? Probably best to update your profile to state that you won’t accept site where cats go out if you find this difficult
I really would stick to indoor cats is I were you. Most cats are instinctive hunters and a ‘gift’ every day is pretty normal. I once did a sit where I regularly had to deal with at least one a day with five one night. Just their nature!