@AnnetteS you are absolutely right. Some of the asks on these sits are ridiculous and they need to pay someone. I don’t when I had a dog and we even lived in an apartment I never walked my dog four times a day 60 minutes each time. She would have never liked that even though she was an athletic energetic dog. I would love to sometimes give these people a piece of my mind but my dog was an apartment dog for her entire life and she only got two walks a day and she survived to just fine. So four walks a day for 30 minutes or even more 60 minutes each is crazy. And the number of multiple dog requests and how you have to walk the dogs individually or separately is just crazy.
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@Coclico your comment that if someone wants to take a holiday they should rent a hotel room or an Airbnb is a little bit ridiculous.I have done many trips where I have done house and pet sitting on my trip but clearly I would never be house or pet sitting for you. It seems as if you want to paid pet sitter in your home for free. The site was started because people wanted to travel and be able to stay for free and have some pet company. So you’re missing the entire point of trusted house sitters if you think that someone should have to pay if they want to go on holiday. That being said, I have been able to travel and do a house for pet sit and completely still meet the pets needs. It is very possible to do.
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A friend did a sit (I think not through THS) in the UK where the cat’s food had to be brought to it while it was sitting on a pillow in a special room, like a little prince. (It was not elderly.) It also didn’t go out. My friend thought this was ridiculous and started feeding it in the kitchen and then letting it sit outside in the sun in the walled courtyard, which it really enjoyed. She was completely nonplussed when the returning owners got angry when she proudly showed them that she’d been able to change the cat’s finicky habits. Clearly not understanding that it was the owners who had decided how the cat should live its life. 
@lou28 that sounds an awful experience, especially they asked that once the sit was confirmed. I do think that some HOs try to exert an element of control and regime as they would with an employee, which is again the idea of THS. Luckily they are in the minority.
She was brave. I’m sure that was a better life for the cat but I just stick to what the HOs ask, which is why I wouldn’t take sits that I think have too restrictive demands or are just generally demanding in tone. I only raised this question as it seemed a change to me and I recently saw a sit where the cat had its own ipad 
so I think owners must be perceiving their cats in ways that may have been seen as eccentric shall we say in times gone by. I passed.
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And by demanding I mean as others have said, regimented. Quite happy to take on a number of pets.
That’s a funny image — the cat on a pillow, being fed like a prince. All the same, if your friend accepted the sit, I’d say I’d follow what the pet’s humans had originally requested.
There have been instances when I sat pets and didn’t necessarily agree with how their owners care for them, but as long as I’m not being asked to help harm them, it’s not my role as a sitter to counter their preferences or approaches. If I accepted the sit and they were transparent about X, then I’ll do X.
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If I had a cat, it might have its own iPad, because apparently some like to watch cat or bird videos a lot. And I have old iPads that don’t do much, so the cat could have its own, LOL.
I tried showing my dog videos created for dogs, but he has no interest.
The sitter is not living in your house for free, they are doing all of the things listed above PLUS feeding your cats 3-4 times a day so you can go on holiday or do whatever you need to do away from the house. Without them, you will be incurring more costs of using a paid sitter or cattery.
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Yes, i guess if you are wealthy enough to give your cat an ipad 
I think HOs forget that if people weren’t willing to sit without being paid they would have to pay, plus pets get to stay in their own home and routines. ThS is great because it is mutually beneficial. It’s a real shame if HOs start to see sitters as something else.
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Well, I wouldn’t buy a new iPad for a pet, but I’d be willing to give mine a hand-me-down iPad. They’ve been around for years, so some old models are so limited that they can barely function (they’re too outdated to support today’s apps and app makers often stop supporting old versions of apps). Like I have an iPad that can do almost nothing, but you can still play videos on it.
Ahhh, I see👍. I thought they might be of given to a charity or something for kids but I’ve never had an ipad so I have no idea. Maybe they have built in obsolescence.
I did give my first old iPad to a needy family back when iPads were still rare. But they’ve now become commonplace and old ones can end up useless, because they can’t run fast enough to support much beyond say use as a digital photo album or a video viewer. I wouldn’t give a kid a device just to watch videos, but that’s me. I figure if I spoil my pet, he’s not going to grow up and not move out and get a job, LOL.
Hello everyone!
Just popping on to remind everyone about the Community Guidelines around kindness and respect. We know that not everyone’s going to agree all the time, the world would be a boring place if we were all the same!
A few posts have been flagged up so I’ve moderated the thread before it gets off track. I know it’s frustrating when there’s a clash of different personalities, but I think it’s always best to ignore and scroll on instead of replying, and flag anything to the Forum team if you don’t think a post belongs on the Forum.
Thanks everyone 
Jenny
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On a positive note, thanks to THS sits, I’ve had the great pleasure of sitting such lovely cats.
I adore cats more than ever now and wish so much we could have some, except our rescue dog is not right in the head and would make their lives miserable, so no.
I’m excited to already have more sits booked, including cats. And I really miss the cats I’ve sat. If time and money weren’t a consideration, I’d be crazy enough to fly all over and just visit the cats (and dogs) I’ve had the pleasure of sitting, LOL.
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There has been a time when I rented my home while being 2 months away from home. I rented it with my pets, of course not to a normal price.
In my country this is normal and you have a lot of people wanting a flat for example in the city and they are glad to pay and also looking for pets in the same time.
There are so many countries, different mentalities, different ways to handle things.
I’ll try another time:
In my humble opinion a sitter comes to my house and will do the same daily things I (must) do in the house. He just will continue the routines that must be done and in my case this are a few things to do.
In exchange a sitter can live completly free and I will continue to pay for everything.
The rest of the time: Clearly a sitter can make holiday. I just said that I prefer sitters that are working remotely and like to have a calm retreat.
Not more not less.
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If you are not comfortable with the requirements of the sit, don’t apply for it.
Been on a sit where a cat fed three times a day and snacks intbetween but had lovely neighbours who stepped in and had keys so I could go out for the day. Been back a second time and would go back definitely lovely ho and beautiful house with a cleaner who comes in twice a week even changes my towels. Cat is so gorgeous too.
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