I had an interesting morning…I am sitting a grown cat and a kitten. They wake up early, I was only warned of it after I arrived. They have been waking me up at 4:30. I consider myself an early riser, but not at the crack of dawn! I was told they can go into backyard, so after they are fed at 4:30 I let them out. Left the door crack open. Older one came in but the kitten got herself on the neighbors roof and couldn’t come down. Spent all morning, jumping roofs, rescuing the kitten. Communicated to the owner, she says to feed them when they meow in the middle of the night, 4;30 am…nine times a day!! Is it fair to expect so much from a sitter. Other little things that I can get past…but I feel it’s a tall order to ask to feed whenever the cats meow. I thought I read it wrong but it is…at 1/3 can at a time, 3 cans in a day!! That’s nine times a day and night! I don’t have an objection on the quantity but I feel I am at their beck and call the whole time! Is this ok?
That seems way over the top for THS, especially as none of it was declared in the pre sit chats or WG. You have a few choices. Tell the hosts that you’re leaving with 24 hours notice to find another sitter as it’s nothing like they described and not a fair exchange. Try and negotiate with the host that this is unreasonable for an unpaid sit that is supposed to be a mutual exchange and was never mentioned in the WG and can they come up with a solution/compromise - but unsure how they can fix/change this with a kitten TBH. Stick it out and review them accordingly on pet behaviour and accuracy of listing. How long is the sit and can you sleep during the daytime? #soundstough
I don’t look after kittens after a similar experience with early mornings and escaping. The feeding schedule does seem very odd.
That’s far too much to expect from a free sitter.
I checked in with her on WhatsApp, she says food at 4:30 am because the older cat gets hungry!! In her notes she wrote ‘8am, when I wake up’. Feed them three times a day and in between! And then treats for this and that!! Feed all day long and when they get hungry in the middle of the night, 4:30 is not middle of the night!! You’d think that the cats would be fat eating 2/3 cans of junk food, but they are not. They are so cute! These are sweet cats. I don’t think it’s their fault. But she should have put all these little details in the introduction. She wrote they could be out during the day, in for the night…and now she has sent me times to keep them in/out. I can’t just leave unfortunately, because I flew from California to Mexico and I have signed up for workshops. I guess I will have to post review after. I feel it is very deceiving and makes one jaded.
You can’t just leave dry food out before going to bed?
Seems like this person needs a timed wetfood feeder. I’ve used them and they work really well. If you have a cat, you could go out and buy one, use it, and then take it home.
We sat for two kittens who got wet food twice a day and dry food was always available to them. Cats are often grazers. Can you just leave some dry food out?
And review honestly.
No dry food!!! They only eat Fancy Feast 2-3 cans a day. Churus two tubes and dry treats twice a day!! I have never had a cat that doesn’t have dry kibble to graze on. I should review honestly. Her past reviews are great, no indication of such behavior.
How long is the sit ?
San Miguel de Allende?
There was another thread a month ago maybe about a sit where the cats were needing to be fed 9 times a day….very similar sounding?
Nope. Not even close. Expectations are nonsense for a volunteer housesitter. Non disclosure of atypical pet care responsibilities in listing and welcome guide are against THS Terms of Service.
What is your desired outcome? Make that determination then contact THS on support@trustedhousesitters.com.
Extracts from THS Terms of Service:
"5.2. The following applies only to Pet Parents. You will:
"5.2.5. notify a Sitter of any special requirements or behaviours relating to your pet(s) in your Home Listing and when you communicate with any Sitter and during the Handover;
"5.2.7. ensure that the details of your Home Listing are accurate and up to date;
“5.2.8. ensure that the details in your Welcome Guide are accurate and up to date in advance of the start of the Sit;”
We have a timed wet food feeder for our cat and it works wonderfully. She was waking us up at 5 or 6 am because she was hungry. Now she knows when her feeder will rotate to the next section and as soon as she hears it beep she goes to eat. Once fed she comes back to bed and falls asleep with us again. It’s made life much easier for us. I would highly recommend this style of wet food feeder.
I state in my profile and application that we dont take petsits that require us waking up for any responsibilities until 6am. That helps to self weed out some applications to pet parents. I did accept one about a month and a half ago where the cat likes to eat wet food early at 5am. I would put the wet food in an auto dispenser that had a timer. There’s an ice block that the dish sat on. At 5am, the lid popped open
I am here until Sept 18th. It will be hard to do that if I can’t get proper sleep for next three weeks! This is only my second one with THS, I want to know how are we supported through this. I will have to take an early flight back home, i guess!
Thanks for the suggestion. I wouldn’t take the liberty to volunteer any advice or shopping with this parent. Not sure if it would be appreciated.
I appreciate your advise. I am looking at the Terms & conditions. Thanks
September 18th is a long time to be sleep deprived 
You have every right to cancel this sit since these are important things that weren’t disclosed prior to confirming the sit .
There is an Urgent Support 24/7 phone number you can contact if you need help with the situation.
Just bear in mind that THS is essentially a matching platform. While the feeding arrangements should have been disclosed, THS can’t require a host to change how they want their cats to be fed or make alternative arrangements for you. At best they can remind the host that they are required to disclose these things in the listing and before the sit is confirmed . From my experience they will suggest that you work out a solution with your host .
If you decide to leave the sit early , FIRST let the host (and THS) know, ( in writing) explain the reasons why, ( undisclosed feeding regime that you would not have agreed to if this had been disclosed previously) and give them at least 24 hours’ notice so the host has time to return or arrange alternative care for the pets. (Do this in writing so that you can prove that you didn’t “abandon the pets “. )
If this is what you decide to do call the Urgent Support Line, explain what has happened and what you’re planning to do. You can also ask if they can amend the end date of the sit, which may allow you to apply for other sits in Mexico .
Also take screenshots of the listing including the responsibilities section - so you have evidence of the discrepancies - you may need this later and the host can amend the listing at anytime so you need proof of how it looks now .
Wishing you all the best and please update the forum on how it works out .
I sat for two cats recently and they were only fed on raw mince and nothing else.
I’m being a bit provocative here – does the HO really need to know that you’re buying an automatic feeder? Three weeks is a long time – I’d make this small investment; you can always sell it again later.
This is about the differences between ‘what’ and ‘how’. What – feed the cat at 4.30 – how – that’s up to you.
That’s our general approach, as long as nothing else is requested before confirming the sit.