I came to my cat sit as planned. The day before the cat owner expressed her concern over our different communication styles and different personalities.
And when I arrived everything slowly turned into a nightmare. I though the cat sit should be from the 20 December as it said in the application. But no, I would have to stay with her two nights until 22 December when she leaves.
And so far, she keeps complaining. Including telling her cat things like ’I know you don’t want to be with her either’ when the cat for once isn’t close to me.
I honestly just want to leave, because this is kind of mental bullying, which I hadn’t signed up for at all!
Today at a restaurant, I almost began to cry, because I didn’t wanted to go back and stay another night in that place.
And honestly why would I even stay and cat sit for 2,5 weeks when I am very sure about getting a bad review?
Sorry you are going through this. You do not have to accept it. You can tell her that you will leave if she continues to speak with you like that. It is not a prison.
There are some rules about how much notice you need to give (which I am sure others will post about), but your mental health is more important than pleasing this nasty sounding cat owner. If she is still there tonight, how about spending the night somewhere else? The cat won’t be alone anyway!
What a way to start a sit! May I ask whether you had had a video call with her before? And how was she?
Listen, if you feel uncomfortable, leave. Why would you voluntarily put yourself in that position?
PS: I have to admit that I was attracted to your post due to the title; what does it refer to?
Next time you’re talking to the cat, tell him/her that he the owner is the most rude person you have ever met and you really sympathise with it having to stay with her. Make sure the owner hears, then sit back and watch the fireworks which will end up with the owner asking you to leave ……. problem solved.
That’s totally unacceptable. The problem with that type of situations is that often advice comes in hindsight. Sometimes we’re too shocked to react immediately.
I guess you’re on your own now and I hope you’re feeling much better. I also hope that you get some sort of solution from THS.
In case this communication style goes on and should you decide to complete the sit, I would document all the conversations, capture screenshots of the listing, welcome guide and everything in case she decides to change or delete anything. You may need that information if you decide to raise a member dispute.
It sounds as though that would be the case but remember that you also get to write your own review and have the chance to contest hers so don’t worry about that now. But if you do need to leave, don’t feel guilty. Just try to follow THS advice if it’s doable.
We would really appreciate some feedback especially regarding THS advice.
Hi Thank you for all your support ! I can’t tell how much that meant for (to?) me !
I am still trying to decide what I should do.
I want to leave, it doesn’t feel safe anymore, I hope she have left when I am back in the evening.
On the other way, to pay a flight/stay in this time of year feels almost impossible.
And then, why should I stay, when I am pretty sure to get a bad review or/and how should I care for the update when she obviously doesn’t want anything with me to do ?
I did something similar yesterday, I sat down in front of the cat. And I said: ’Yes, I know you don’t want it like this either’.
The cat owner reacted of course and began talking again about the negative situation with the cat.
I hope she will tell her story/truth to THS, so that we hopefully can land in the middle about what this is really about.
And my hope is that she ventilates this with her near and dears so that she find peace within.
I am more that kind of person who avoid writing bad reviews, if it isn’t very obvious issues.
And this issue is more about that our personalities clashes.
But I will write that she is a cat owner who prefers British English speaking sitters.
Because that is a truth.
And I will mention that she spoke very negatively (Example: ‘I know, you don’t like her either’) about me to her cat. Which also is a truth.
Hopefully she will be gone now, and you will be on your own. As you say, flights, accommodation etc will cost a fortune over the Christmas period, I would stay, and write an honest and factual review, saying that you weren’t made to feel welcome.
I hope things go well during the sit, but if at the end you aren’t sure how to rate in categories or phrase your review, I hope you’ll come back to the forum for help and support.
The title of your discussion post is “Europe, Nordic and so on” and I think @botvot was just curious about how it related to your issue - reading your post I’m wondering if the title is unrelated and maybe a typo?
