Excellen point. We just finished a sit at a very large, very old house…3 stories with 16 stairs per floor. Our bedroom was in the top floor and bathrooms on the ground and 2nd floors. We are in our early 70’s and in good shape so it wasn’t a major issue but in the
middle of the night having to use the
bathroom, I was quite cautious, especially as the old, concrete stairs were quite slippery worn down by time.
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@ShulasMom I think you got it right saying the stairs are steep and the depth of the stairs can be short and multi levels. That’s mainly my point. Certainly need to be careful going up and down and more so if bedroom/bathroom are on separate floors. Your sit with the rope sounds horrendous and dangerous!
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If you want to go to Greece you should plan on LOTS of stairs as the norm. I just stayed in a place with 25 steep stone stairs to get to the house and then a spiral staircase between levels. I knew ahead of time so no problem but admit I worked on my stamina before I went.
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We were grateful for the rope! I’ve become friends with the owners as their son, daughter in law and 2 grandchildren live within an hour of me in California. They come to visit them for extended stays a couple of times/year. We laugh about it now and our trip there as 3 mature ladies provided the impetus for them to put the rail in—they had thought about it for years.
I’m going to visit with them next Fall and luckily they’ll give me the guest room on the 2nd floor where the bathroom’s located😅. From there I’ll set up a coupe of European sits.
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I have found the stair issue in most European countries, Greece, Italy, France, UK, Poland etc etc, nearly everywhere I’ve been the stairs have been there lol Houses are so old, as in built so very long ago, I guess it is to be expected. Not like they had modern minded architects back then I guess. Doesn’t make it any easier on the old bod though 
We were grateful for the rope! I’ve become friends with the owners as their son, daughter in law and 2 grandchildren live within an hour of me in California. They come to visit them for extended stays a couple of times/year.
We laugh about it now and our trip there as 3 mature ladies provided the impetus for them to put the rail in—they had thought about it for years
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I took my mom to the UK and Italy on holiday a few years ago and finding a place to stay that didn’t have stairs (which she can’t really do) was a NIGHTMARE.
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cats and feet man…what is the deal there?
I had one who could never just let me go somewhere. She always had to get there first and almost killed me in the process. And was such a goofball about it. Her process was generally:
- oh crap! she’s going somewhere! I must get there first! (gets ahead of me)
- oh, she slowed down, so i’m going to walk right in front of her really slowly and stare back at her to try to figure out what is taking her so long
- oh, I need to suddenly flop over and lick myself
- oh crap! she’s gone around me! I must get there first! (lather, rinse repeat)
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Yep! My last sit in London I had a cat that did exactly this! I had to take the stairs literally one step at a time just to avoid tripping over the little darling 
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@CreatureCuddler I totally understand. So many places don’t even have elevators which makes it so hard in a situation like yours.
Yup. My last sit involved a little dog like that, in the U.S. The staircases were actually pretty roomy, but I held the banisters and went up and down carefully to avoid tripping over the doggo.
She was always excited about the possibility of treats on the two floors I used. She was not at all enthusiastic about going to the lower level beyond, though, because that was where the utility room was. It had the sink where she got her baths. 
I had to carry her down then, because she wouldn’t walk voluntarily.
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honestly just figuring out how to get to restaurants sometimes without having to do too many stairs was a challenge. I was exhausted by the end and on the last day put her on the heathrow express to the airport and went directly to the pub for a pint. lol
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With such cats, make sure they’ve not taken out life insurance on you. Cats are clever!
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@CreatureCuddler we usually do a Christmas sit within an hour of home and ask if my elderly mum can join us for Christmas Day. I carefully examine all interior and exterior photos to check they don’t have steps and look for mentions of downstairs toilets!
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The larger issue is a sitter who has mobility issues. Perhaps sitting is not a good idea if stairs and possibly carrying animals on stairs could be a problem. Pet parents would understandably be concerned about the physical ability of a sitter. I would suggest you look carefully at photos to see if a house has more than one floor and check interior photos for evidence of steepness and width of staircases. You definitely could find sits that worked for you but you should probably ask questions of the homeowners.
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The most challenging stairs we’ve ever encountered on a sit were in a 500-year-old Suffolk longhouse. They were narrow, winding and steep. I personally couldn’t live with such a staircase on a permanent basis.
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@Happypets yes it’s the narrow, winding and steep stairs that is my main issue also. I can deal with stairs anytime but when they are like you say, it’s darn hard for anyone I think. I remember staying in a hotel in Rome whose staircase was actually older than my country!
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I once trod on my cat in exactly these circumstances. I went head over heels down stairs and thankfully landed on my behind (rather than my head) but even so had several days not able to do much, and the cat began to go downhill after that. Not a good experience for either of us.
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That’s terrible. Poor you and your poor cat.
I sit a number of cats and small dogs, so that’s definitely something I watch out for. But accidents can always happen. Pets can trip us up even on floors, especially in kitchens, where they might be nosing around for fallen food.
The dog I last sat was super excitable about any food or treats. She’d scurry about underfoot even while you were carrying her food bowl to its usual spot, creating many opportunities to fall over her unexpectedly. It’s not like she walked in a straight line next to you — she’d jump and run happily in a random path, and sometimes double back under you, without regard for being stepped on or tripping you.