Hi,
I’ve been a member of THS for a long time. I have been on both sides of the website but for the past year I’ve been sitting. The sits seem to have gotten progressively worse. I feel like I’ve been getting catfished with home and apartment photos. They look good but when I arrive the place is gross/ dirty.
Back to my question. What would other sitters do if you arrived at a sit, it was much dirtier than the photos looked, ants all around even on the sofa, and you learned the way these indoor/outdoor cats go in and out is through open windows? Picture the place is a corner of a business intersection with 4 filthy ground-level windows open, no screen, and they have to remain open. I already felt uncomfortable due to the lack of cleanliness, but feel that open windows at night in a busy metro area is a safety issue.
What would other sitters do? Do you feel you have to stay? I would love thoughts and opinions.
Did you meet the owners before the sit?
Or asked them about your concerns when you noticed the unsafety and dirt/ ants?
What did the homeowners tell you about the safety when you brought it up?
And about the ants and dirt? They surely would know the problem and how to deal with it?
Are the HO be cooperative in finding a solution? Depending from this, I would go on with the sit or say that the HO have to find somebody else.
For sure: I would definitely immediately close the windows, till I got answers from the HO. Sorry for the cats not be able to get out untill then.
And clean some places I have to stay till I worked it out with the HO. So it is kind of liveable for me.
Welcome @LaraKenzIf it’s a safety issue for you or the home is “unliveable” You can call the THS Urgent Support Line 24/7 phone number for advice. The number is on your
on your dashboard.
You could decide to stay - take photos of the issues - clean up the areas that you will be using for your own comfort. Shut the windows at night . Informing the owner that you are doing so for your safety .
Ants are quite common in hot weather and can be dealt with - has the owner got traps around ? Ask owner for a solution for this ( ant traps/ ? ) ask by WhatsApp or another written method of communication so that you have a record of the conversation. Take photos of the extent of the ant infestation.
You may decide that you need to raise a member dispute so that THS investigate and could remove owner from the platform if they agree that the conditions are unsafe and unliveable for sitters . You will need to follow a formal process and provide evidence the form of photos and screenshots of messages between you and the owner.
If you decide that conditions are too bad and you cannot stay you must not abandon the pets . You must give the owner sufficient time and notice that you are leaving so they can to come back or find alternative care ( 24 hours) or hand over to their emergency contact . If conditions are unliveable , You could stay near by and drop in to feed the cats during this 24 hour period.
Are you a Premium member ? If so you have cover for needing to abandon the sit where the conditions are unliveable- you would need proof of this and to communicate with THS member support to ensure that you are covered .
As others have asked how long is the sit? Neither of these issue would bother us overly on a short sit but if you feel unsafe I would reach out to the HO and say you are going to close the windows and or discuss alternate solutions.
@Oztravels@1MA Thanks for your replies. The sit is 7 days, the HO is completely off the grid - backpacking, I did not meet the HO beforehand, and shutting all the windows in not an option. I was told the living room windows are optional but the bathroom window must remain open. The bathroom window has no working blinds or curtain so there is no privacy from the neighbors window about 8 ft away.
As far as the ants, I totally understand I’ve done a number of sits with ants. The HO called me the night before the sit and said she JUST starting noticing some ants hopefully they won’t be too bad, but she doesn’t have spray or traps because they aren’t good for the cats.
The HO did leave a friends phone number to contact if I need anything. I would never leave the cats without care but was curious what others would do in a similar situation. Thanks for your input.
White vinegar should sort the ants out if the HO has said no to any sprays @LaraKenz We’re on a 5 cat house sit at the moment & had loads a couple of weeks ago. Hope it gets better as sounds a bit rubbish but at least it’s only 7 days. #noantsinyourpants
I’ve been in this situation, where the house was filthy, and the fish tank in the front room made the whole house stink. Grime all over the glass doors of the oven and microwave, dog kibble bags squashed between the toilets, and washing machines, expected to sleep on a pull out bed in the spare room for three weeks, crumb-filled toaster, dishwasher full of dishes, outside swing seat full of spider webs, thrown on kitchen table, the list goes on, but the doozy is the ring camera, used to spy on our every move, enabling a friend to stand by the inside kitchen door, because we were a little late coming back to the house for the dogs.
That was the last straw, so four days into a three-week sit we left. We were not prepared to not only put up with a dirty house, with all the health and safety risks attached, but also the invasion of privacy with the ring door bell. No one should ever have to put up with such appalling conditions, and even though I informed THS about this HO, with videos and pictures of the filth, she’s still on their website, advertising their home for sitters. Just appalling. This HO should be kicked off, because she is not providing the clean and tidy, safe house that they state in their policy. Just shameful on both sides!
Have you raised an official member dispute ? I know you said you informed THS but unless you use the words member dispute they don’t seem to investigate ( based on others experiences as reported on this forum)