Young kitty, after I shut the door on his pursuing and possibly further provoking iffy kitty:
Ten minutes later, he’s fallen asleep on my bed.
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Wrapped up this sit without injury, happily.
The last night, younger kitty was in “hunting” mode and kept trying to bite my toes, especially if I covered them in bed. He repeatedly tried to get under the covers.
Bummer. I eventually had to lock him out of the room so I could sleep, which I normally never do. I usually leave doors open and enjoy pets wanting to sleep with me. And he in particular was a sweet, snuggly boy.
Both cats were lovable in their own ways. I wish iffy kitty could be retrained to not randomly bite or scratch. I think he could use diagnosing by someone like Jackson Galaxy.
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@Maggie8K Thank you for the update. Phew, it sounds like it was an enjoyable sit but not without its challenges. I loved following along with the pictures and updates. Glad to hear you remained scratch-free!
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Thank you, Carla!
Shared details on this thread especially for folks who haven’t been lifelong cat people. Cat sits can be rewarding and fun, even when there are hiccups.
I left this pair when they were still sluggish earlier in the day. They also love to play, though, including pushing toys off the upstairs walkway. So I laid out some fun for them before our goodbye pets, LOL.
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The toy selection looks fun! They have so many toys lucky cats and what a fun game for you to then go and pick them all up, so they can push them off again!
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@carla does 5.2.11. of the T&Cs apply to owners of cats or are they exempt ?
… we have sat for cats that hunt and bring in rodents regularly ( natural behaviour) and also a sit where the cat caught a rabbit and gave it to the spaniel puppy who would not let it go !
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Hello @Silversitters Happy to help where I can 
Cats are included in the T&C and any attacks on pets or people should be raised with Membership Services:
5.2.11. not have any inherently dangerous pets (such as venomous snakes or constrictors, primates, wolves or wolf hybrids, non-domesticated cats, alligators), banned dog breeds, or any animal with a history of attacks on pets or people;
I am not sure if hunting mice and birds counts as attacks on pets or people, as these are wild animals rather than pets and as you say natural behaviours for cats.
If you have any concerns please reach out to Membership Services as they can clarify things for you and assist you further.
Reviewed my just-completed cat sit and knocked down one star each for communications, pet behavior and accuracy of listing, given what I described in above. I also offered specifics in my written review, so prospective sitters can make informed choices.
I enjoyed my sit overall. The hosts gave me a rave five-star review and invited me back, though they might not be keen on me once they’ve read my review.
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Good news in response to my having knocked off stars and specified how the hosts hadn’t communicated transparently enough about their cats’ behavior: The hosts replied to my review constructively and said they’d be more transparent in their listing and beyond.
Don’t know whether they’d have me back given my review, but I’m perfectly fine either way. The more important thing by far: Personally, I wouldn’t feel good about other sitters potentially being hurt because they took a sit without knowing the risks. I wouldn’t want to be complicit. (And three previous sitters hadn’t mentioned anything in their reviews — just offered glowing comments.)
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I also recently had this experience with a cat sitter, where I felt like she didn’t bond well with my cat, and wish I had noted more of the signs that she was maybe nervous around them. She had come with a lot of experience though, but on meeting she said she would let my cat go up to her, absolutely fine and correct to do. He ended up approaching her immediately in a friendly way with his tail up and rubbing her legs, at this point she did not reach out and touch him which made me think she had read his body language wrong. I told her it was ok to offer her hand to let him smell her, but she said ‘in time’. Over the sit I feel like this resulted in him not getting much interaction at all, and I felt so bad for him, being told on day 3 he hadn’t approached her for strokes much at all. I feel she missed some real que’s and took this advice never to approach a cat literally, and this resulted in him feeling unsure and not confident around her. He started to hide under the bed, not play and started to go off his food until I came home, which is not the usual behaviour he has with other cat sitters. I feel the advise of waiting for a cat to approach you was taken too literally here, and mine particularly responds well to a bit of friendly confidence when being approached or if he approaches (obviously he wouldn’t like someone erratically charging at him and smothering him) . Every cat being different I guess. He loves attention being spoken too in a soft voice and tickles given to him. This particular sitter made me question this wasn’t the right method for him at all, and she needed to show a bit more confidence or at least an interest in bonding in the first place. Also not sure what to review this lady to be honest, but definitely only real cat lovers as sitters for me after this.
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Poor kitty @Pip2 . We would certainly have interpreted his frienfly approach as an invitation to offer a hand to sniff and maybe rub against. It sounds as if he became withdrawn and unhappy due to lack of attention and affection.
Of course all cats are diffetent, and thrre are others where one of us has just sat on the floor in the same room at a distance so they felt comfortable and chatted to them and slow blinked if they were looking at us. So rewarding to win the trust of a nervous or shy kitty, but if they are friendly and confident from the start, it’s important to respond in a friendly way too.
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Exactly! you clearly understand cats its so lovely :), and it is so lovely when you build the trust of a shy one indeed! thought my recent experience might be useful to add on this thread for people learning how to bond with cats and see where it can go wrong as well. I actually really liked the lady, it was just a shame her and my cat were so misaligned in communication!
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