My own cat acts as though I am trying to murder her whenever I trim her nails. I got a pair of gloves from Amazon that are designed for gardening and cannot be punctured by thorns. They work perfectly against cat claw punctures as well!
For my sits, I make it a point to ask HOs to trim their cat’s claws before my arrival.
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We have a damaged rescue dog who’s easily stressed and reactive, so we don’t ever leave him with strangers. If we can’t travel with him or one of us can’t stay with him, we’ve paid for him to stay with his trainer or with an employee from the shelter where he sat for months after he was returned by a family that had adopted him after he’d been found as an unsocialized stray. We’d never use THS sitters for him, simply because it wouldn’t set him or them up for success.
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Howdy! If you wouldn’t mind…I’ll take that link for gloves.
My rose bushes find it a game to puncture through gloves.
They see my new gloves and clippers, and they’re like : bring it on!
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@HelloOutThere
I will DM you
My upcoming sit is with two cats, one of whom has been having health issues. The hosts candidly raised that and the fact that it was an unfolding diagnosis when we originally spoke, meaning the cat might’ve ended up needing medication.
If needed, I know how to say wrap a cat in a towel to get them to take meds (which is only one of various approaches, of course), but I didn’t want to end up stressing about doing that daily, so I asked about the cat’s previous behavior when say taking medications. To me, this is very important. I’ve given cats and dogs medication before, but I wouldn’t assume that I could do that successfully with all sit pets. That’s something that’s definitely good to ask about and to decline sits over if it makes sense. And there’s always the chance that even if a pet takes medicine well with their humans, they could still resist or otherwise act differently with a stranger.
Personally, sitting is entirely optional for me. If I really wanted to visit a certain place and sightsee a bunch, I wouldn’t pick a cat sit. I’d stay at a hotel.
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Agree 100%. It really bothers me when I see posts suggesting cats just need food and water. How sad for those cats! My title now reads “Must love cats” in hopes of discouraging those sitters. I’m sure my sweet, social boys would survive with no one here all day, but it would break my heart to think of them alone more often than not.
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I met two of my favorite cats ever on a recent sit. They were brothers and super sweet. Also crafty — they tried relentlessly to steal food, hilariously sometimes.
They slept with me, except for one night — when they boycotted me, because I hid their food canisters to thwart a break-in, LOL.
One loved to sleep directly on my torso, which I learned from their humans was a favorite spot. So snuggly.
I relished petting them and playing. (If there were a job that just involved petting cats or dogs, I’d sign up!) The only problem was, I also was sitting the new rescue dog, who was a year old and intensely jealous of the cats. She’d chase and tackle them, so I had to separate them, which their humans had been doing with a gate. I was able to spend only limited time with the cats, because the pup was Velcro’d to me, except when she slept in her crate at night.
That made me sad and I suggested to the humans that they get a couple or family for future sits, so the boys would get more loving and playing. Of course, if the pup outgrows her jealousy, I’d be happy to accept the hosts’ invitation to return.
Absolutely agree that in separation situations it’s great to have another person there – even if it’s an otherwise delightful fun sit.
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@Maggie8K Right on!
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Agreed, even with just two cats I’m now seeking couples since one is indoors and one is out and both are really social. Well, I also have sheep and ducks, but one person can handle them easily.
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Catsits are supereasy for me but here are a few times I was glad my spouse came with:
– That time spouse was in the house working and I went for a walk. I came back and found out that cat had brought in a live bird, and spouse freed it and watched it fly away. I’m so glad I wasn’t alone and didn’t come back to a dead bird.
– That time a really heavy package arrived and spouse carried it.
– That time with the two cats – one of whom was very old and inherited after a relative passed and the other young and spry. They had to be separated, and when I was visiting with the oldster, spouse kept the young one distracted.
I’m OK with clearing up “gifts” from cats, whether feathered or rodent.
My husband doesn’t like to travel much, so I sit solo and he stays home with our damaged rescue dog, which works out well. Otherwise, our pooch would need professional care, which would quickly add up.
I actually love sitting on my own, because I enjoy independence, solitude and quiet. As I get older, I especially relish that, because I know it can’t last forever. Such is life.
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Thanks Maggie8K and everyone else for posting about this topic. I have always had cats, have fostered cats and kittens, and own 2 at the moment. You guys have great tips to interact harmoniously with cats!
I think it’s very easy for cats to be misunderstood as they are so different psychologically from humans and other animals. It has been my experience that cats are actually very emotionally sensitive, just in a way that is less easy to understand compared to most animals. Because they are often not well understood they tend to get emotionally neglected. Remember that a cat just choosing to share space with you in the same room is a sign of affection, and depending on the individual cat, might be a really BIG sign of affection. I try to remember that cats are in essence, control freaks according to many cat psychologists. They like everything in their lives to be routine and ordered. That said, I think as a sitter keeping things as consistent as possible for them (mealtimes, for instance) can reduce their stress and increase their overall contentment. Thanks for all the tips!
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Something I remember reading in this forum: Some cats get overstimulated if their whiskers come in contact a lot with their feeding bowls or interaction, so maybe be careful of that.
Each cat can be different, of course. I sat one who — once he got over his initial skittishness — LOVED to have his face and whiskers brushed extensively. He would approach me frequently for that and for petting. But I had let him come to me on his own time, and his human was amazed that he’d jumped into my lap and let me brush him even starting on our first night together. But I’d spent all morning and afternoon talking to him soothingly, without forcing him out of hiding. (I telecommute, so spend a lot of time with sit pets.)
His human said he often spent many hours hiding in a closet. She even had a little door cut out for him there. But as we spent more days together, he spent more time sleeping in the open, on his human’s bed, which I was using. And he’d sleep with me at night.
During the daytime, I’d roll up a blanket into a half circle, so he could snuggle on the bed. I figured he might feel safer and then stay out in the open more comfortably. That seemed to work.
Pets also can behave differently with sitters vs. their regular humans. Like I caught him on a kitchen counter, which his human said she’d not seen in their years together. And I took a photo of him when he followed me around, and his human said she’d never seen that expression on him before. So sweet. Even though I don’t necessarily want to sit in their city again soon, I’d love to see him again.
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Arrived yesterday in gorgeous Bainbridge Island — about 1.5 hours from Seattle, either by ferry or driving.
The two beautiful cats are very social. The younger — seven months old — is especially playful.
I’ve learned that the elder — four years old — has previously bitten, before their humans added the second cat for company. Wary about that, because part of the sit includes picking up the cats to take them to a glassed studio in the yard, where they love to watch birds, squirrels and such daily. The cats signal when they want to go there, though, so it’s voluntary. And both cats warmed as soon as I arrived.
If you have suggestions about the above, I’d appreciate them.
@Maggie8K needless to ask but should that have been mentioned in a review, so you had the chance to discuss with the host at initial contact?
Were you told after you arrived? If so, a bit of a 
Are there glove type oven mits to wear?
I think its ok to let the host know that as you will take great care of home and cats, you will not risk a bite.
If that’s how you feel, I hope you will advocate for yourself.
Just recently, we read such a thread in which the sitter truly suffered.
Keep us posted…
Do you know anything about the circumstances when the cat bit?
Both cats warmed right off, so I don’t think I’ll get bitten randomly — seems more likely when picking up the elder. I’ll proceed with caution, but wonder if there are other ideas.
The elder cat was apparently lonely, so they got the younger for company. That’s helped the elder overcome his occasional aggression, I was told after arriving. Of course, I’m a stranger, and animals can be unpredictable.
They’ve not bitten their previous few sitters, AFAIK. No mention in reviews. Those were all raves.
@Maggie8K You’re close to where we hope to be sitting this coming September… aiming for Port Angeles or Sequim.
Back to the cats on your sit. Yeah, if the HOs have work gloves available, maybe wear them when carrying the kitties, and wear long sleeves?
We know that you are good with cats, so I’m sure you’ll win them over. 
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Thanks, @Crosswords_and_puzzles! I’ll check. Your comment reminds me that I have a puffy coat as well.
I miss Paige and Loki lots. Someone posted a thread yesterday about a dog helping with yoga and it made me think of Loki climbing on me when we were in bed together during my sit. Super sweet memories!
I hope you get your ideal sits in this part of the world. I lived in Seattle decades ago and haven’t been back to Bainbridge since. It’s developed a lot, but is still gorgeous.