Challenging sit: missing cat, repeated dog escapes — how would you handle this?

[Anveroggi]

@Garfield

I think an option is to figure out what YOU is comfortable with, and based on that you can, if you want, also suggest some measures that you find reasonable. It could ease the PP that you have suggestions.

Yes, I am worried about the cat, and of course I understand the risk that he may wander off. But the owners told me that nothing like this has ever happened before — he has never been gone for such a long time. Now it’s already the third day since he disappeared.

[Anveroggi]

@anon27729151

When cats are frightened and go missing they are typically hiding very close to the house and are wary of coming out for any number of reasons, give it a little time, they may show up. Or, conversely, they may have fallen victim to any number of jungle predators. I “lost” a cat on a sit 15 years ago, the HO told me he was free to come and go through the cat flap anytime he wanted and he went out at 5 am one morning and never returned, I’m pretty certain he was eaten by a coyote. She BERATED me when she returned, even though it was she who told me that he was free to come and go, and she also berated me for not washing her car even though I barely drove it, if I drove it all. The dog - two weeks ago I finished a sit where the HO’s two dogs took off chasing wildlife and were gone for 90 minutes, she told me they were good off lead and had good recall and URGED me to take them off lead, so I did. They were off and running within 5 or 10 minutes of being let off, thankfully they eventually came back but one got himself very turned around and if people didn’t set off to look for him he may have never come back. The HO of course said “they never do that!” and apologised for the stress blah blah blah, then left me a passive aggressive 5 star review, which she’s done to other sitters as well. The dogs didn’t have trackers but they will now. Sooo, you can only do what you can do and shouldn’t be expected to devote so much time to searching for their pets that keep taking off, they are free range and that’s what happens in that environment.

Yes, we think the fireworks might have scared him. However, the other two cats are still here – they stay close to the property, and there are no issues with them.

[Anveroggi]

Yes, I understand. As for the language barrier, there isn’t one in our case because we are all Europeans. And in Indonesia many people speak good English, especially veterinarians. Of course there is always some risk, but at the moment I’m in Bali and there aren’t many sits available here, so I accepted this one.

[Anveroggi]

Yes, I spoke with the construction workers. There are many building sites around because the area is developing, but none of them saw the cat. We thought he might have gotten stuck somewhere, so I walked through the construction area. Some of the villas already have furniture delivered, so I even opened cabinets, thinking he might have climbed inside.

It’s also possible that he jumped into a truck or car and was taken away unintentionally. But he has a collar with the owners’ phone number on it, plus the GPS tracker attached. So it should be clear that he isn’t a stray cat — unless the collar somehow fell off.

[Anveroggi]

@Shafofo

Maybe the owners have a local friend that could go searching, someone who is more familiar with the area. Did they leave an emergency contac

Yes, they left an emergency contact, and their friends have already come over twice. We searched for the cat together, but so far without results.

[Anveroggi]

@KC1102

You don’t give any more pushback and keep doing what they ask, feeling like it is unreasonable and unfair. But you take ownership of this choice and realize you value something else more than putting your foot down, whether it is avoiding conflict, avoiding a bad review,etc… And with that ownership, even though you are doing something you don’t want to do, it won’t bother you as much.

Yes, when they asked me to ride a scooter into the mountain area at night to search for the dog, I told them I didn’t feel comfortable doing that and I declined. They said they understood. Then they asked their friend, a man who has lived here for 9 years, to go instead. For me this area is completely new and unfamiliar – it’s my first time in this part of Bali. He went to search at night and, of course, couldn’t find the dog.

As for the cat, they thought he might have gotten stuck somewhere inside the furniture that had been delivered to the newly built villas. So I agreed to check one of the buildings around 9–10 p.m. It was already finished, only small work continued. Unfortunately I twisted my ankle during that, so in hindsight it was a mistake. Next time I won’t do something like that, because I didn’t feel safe. But I went because I thought: what if he really was trapped somewhere and couldn’t get out, without food or water. I felt a responsibility to check – just in case.

[Anveroggi]

@ziggy

Long post but I’m trying to help you understand that it isn’t your fault, you have done everything you can by the sounds of it, the cat now has to find it’s way home or the HO has to take responsibility for the loss. Either way, it’s a terrible, horrible and distressing situation and I feel for you x

Yes, it has been a very stressful start to the sit. I’ve been here for 8 days, and every day or two something happens with the animals or their trackers. Fortunately, the owners are not blaming me. They understand the risks and said that similar situations happened to them too — sometimes they couldn’t recharge the trackers in time because the animals simply didn’t come home.

[Anveroggi]

It’s supposed to be 4 weeks almost. Yes, their friends been here twice and we’ve been searching together.

[Anveroggi]

@MerryPuppins

It won’t help in this case, but a suggestion for future: I’ve started carrying Airtags with me on my sits, which get clipped on pet collars the minute they’re on my watch. They’re not faultless but they work pretty darn well, and the battery doesn’t wear out for months, & doesn’t require recharging. I bought a pack of 4 from Apple, and then leather holders & nice solid keychain clips on Amazon…very economical. I also attach an extra one to the PO’s keys (and have had cause to be glad of it!)

AirTags aren’t foolproof either. The dog who got lost besides tracker was wearing an AirTag in one of those special silicone holders attached to the collar, and it still came out somehow. So even an AirTag isn’t a guaranteed solution.

[Anveroggi]

Thank you all for your comments — that’s exactly why I decided to post here, to get some outside perspective. The cat still hasn’t been found.

Here’s what we’re planning to do next. For the dog’s peace of mind, with the owners’ permission I put some of their clothing in his bed so he has their scent. He will now go outside only when supervised. When the larger fireworks start closer to Christmas and New Year, I’ll keep him strictly on-leash. For now he is still walking with me off-leash, and he usually follows me well and comes back reliably. I don’t think he was intentionally trying to run away — more likely he got scared by something, possibly fireworks, or chased the monkeys that live nearby and after got lost – don’t know why it’s problematic for him to find his way back.

The first time he went missing I was actually at home. I was taking a nap, and when I woke up — surprise — the dog was already a few hundred meters up in the mountains. So I rushed out, climbed up the mountain, and found him. For the second time I was outside of home for 5 hours. When I returned, it turned out the dog was already gone, and had already been in the mountains for two hours and was far away and it was too late to go there as it was wet and muddy after all day rain and 5.30 pm, getting dark. Altogether he spent about 18 hours up there before we found him the next morning, 11 km away from house. He must have slept under a tree or in some cave.

So yes, it’s a crazy situation. Next I’ll be putting up “lost cat” flyers in the area. Unfortunately this is where things stand.

[ziggy]

@Anveroggi so the owners know full well that the pets do this, often. If they are telling you any different, they are not being honest with you. They knew and just didn’t tell you the full story before they left, knowing the chances of this happening was high. You’ve done your best, try to take it easy, seems there’s little more you can do. It’s not your fault. And people wonder why sitters are outraged at the booking fee when this type of thing happens. Sitters needing to go over and above. Not always or often but it DOES happen and probably more than we get to hear about.

[Highfive]

This saga would put me off pet sitting paid or otherwise! I so admire your perseverance.
I would be interested to know how your review turns out!
You have gone above and beyond! It is easy to attempt to be Superman, but your health and safety are vital. You can’t help the rest of the animals otherwise and protect the Home. I take it you are not a solo sitter?
Talk about out on a limb! Be safe. Be reassured you are doing brilliantly! There are so many here rooting for you. Excuse the plant imagery!

[Ckone2541]

Please leave an honest review about this entire washup of a sit! That sit is a danger for pets and sitters. It seems that the owners are negligent considering they could’ve taught their animals to be indoor/leashed etc (I said what I said, if a pet doesn’t have good recall and they’re “allowed” but more like unable to be kept properly, it’s a safety risk) it puts pets and sitters at risk.

[KChev]

You’ve had lots of excellent advice but I would like to add that when a HO asks a sitter to do something like go off on a scooter in the mountains after dark to look for a dog, the sitter should point out that they are alone whereas the HO couple have each other if anything goes wrong. If you have an accident, who is going to help you?

[ABGM]

@KChev

… when a HO asks a sitter to do something like go off on a scooter in the mountains after dark to look for a dog…

This belongs in the “ridiculous requests that made you laugh out loud” thread. It’s understandable that they are worried about their pet and want to know it’s safe “NOW”… but honestly – this request is nutz. It sounds like you have really gone above and beyond, @Anveroggi … I really feel for you and hope you are out of this miserable sit soon without further catastrophes. But don’t compromise your safety.
If they are going to keep asking you to roam around hazardous places in the dark, perhaps it’s time to suggest they have someone local come in and take over the pet care.
Stay safe and do keep us updated how it goes.

[Anveroggi]

@ABGM

Stay safe and do keep us updated how it goes.

They are really kind and lovely people, and I think they asked me that under stress, without really thinking it through. But of course, it wasn’t the most appropriate request, and I won’t put myself at such a risk. Unfortunately, the cat still hasn’t been found — it’s been four days already.

[anon27729151]

Aggghhh that’s so stressful. I hope the other kit turns up but if they don’t, try not to stress too much about it. I went hard with trying to find my missing guy, posted up flyers everywhere, searched and called for him for two weeks, until I saw a coyote cross the road in the middle of the day near to her house, then I felt pretty confident he was gone. It’s stressful and upsetting to the hilt but you have no control over any of it as the HO’s have chosen to free-range their pets so they “should” know this would be a possibility.