Messages, bugs and pets not allowed in the house

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

This is a sitting for which I applied a couple of months ago. In the sit essentials, the estimated time of arrival was listed as some time in the late afternoon, while when I had the online chat with the HOs I was asked if I could arrive at 6:30 in the morning. When they saw my speechless reaction, they said that I could choose between arriving at that time or the day before at some time in the late afternoon.

I had posted about the above in here, I went back to them saying that the afternoon before would suit better.

Now I am doing the sitting.

The evening before they left for their holidays, I was asked to message them everyday and in the morning.

I have done approx 25 sittings so far. I must say almost no one has ever explicitly asked me to message them with the exception of one, but it is something that I always do anyway. Needless to say nobody asked to text every day and at a specific time of the day.

I am aware that I feel under pressure easily for more or less serious reasons, but I do for this. In the morning beside feeding the cats, I either go shopping, cleaning, cooking etc… It is at lunch time that I start spending more time with the pets, catching moments, taking photographs etc…

Everyday I get a message asking how things are, they are obviously expecting this message. I must say that I get a sense of anxiety everytime I read from them. Besides, I feel lack of trust.

Another matter. The house is extremely clean and tidy, it would be very unfair saying that it is not. However, during this time of the year there are many stink bugs that try to enter into houses to find a shelter.

Because of the climate change and being in the countryside, there is a high concentration of these.

I am kind of used to these because I don’t live far from here, but I have never seen in such a high concentration. Despite each window has an insect screen, they manage to get in anyway. I spend a lot of time in letting them out. I wonder if this is something that I should just mention in the review, in case some people come travelling from abroad and they are not aware of these insects?

Last thing, I only learned upon arrival that the cats stay outside all the time (except during the winter). They’re not allowed to get in. I respect the hosts’ decision, but I must say that I miss that intimate relationship with cats when they stay home, spending lap time in the evening, etc… I wonder if this is another point worth mentioning in the review?

All the previous reviews which are many are fully positive without a tiny complaint.

2

Although some people here would disagree, why don’t you take some pics the day before and send them the next morning, presumably they do want pics? If not then just a quick message each morning saying everything is fine, shouldn’t be too difficult.

I don’t know what stink bugs are, I’m in the UK and have never heard of them, but it sounds like the host has done everything possible to prevent them coming in.

As for the cats not being allowed in, that is bizarre as it’s usually the opposite! I can imagine you would be upset about that. Wasn’t it mentioned in the Welcome Guide or in your video chat, if you had one, before accepting this sit?

I think these issues you highlight are quite minor. At least the home is clean and tidy! Just say it as it is in the review.

3

I would agree with just take a photo the prior afternoon and send it in the morning. I understand people have different reactions to required tasks but this is minor and frankly not atypical for a HO to want to quickly check in once a day.

Did you ask the HO what they do about the stink bugs? We have them but they don’t get inside. We do have other smaller bugs that get inside, especially in summer, but they are usually just one or two. I would mention it in the review but otherwise just go on with your day.

And if you like spending time with indoor cats - next time make sure your clear whether the cats are allowed indoors. So take that as a lesson learned for next time.

4

Stink bugs: When we see the occasional one, we vacuum them up. That way, there’s no stink from squishing them. Depending on time of year and location, there might be more or less. We currently live next to woods, so aren’t surprised to see a few now and then.

IMG_2183
IMG_21831524Ă—1062 211 KB

5

That you’re sitting for them says they trust you but trusting does not eliminate anxiety. I think you’re right about their anxiety but you’re reading distrust into the situation.

6

Definitely mention in the review that the cats are outdoor only, if that is not mentioned in their profile or the welcome guide. That would make me sad, but it’s not a dealbreaker. And some people would prefer that.

Like others have mentioned, I sometimes send pictures that I have taken on a previous day. I try to take pictures of the animals being cute, so some days I take many and other days none.

7

Outdoor cats - I would help the hosts by saying for them to mention in their profile about the cats staying outside, because they can word it as a positive by them saying they are very easy to care for. They may not have realised that they hadn’t put it in.

Bugs - I personally think it’s up to the sitter to research the area they want to sit in with regard to anything like this.

We haven’t had any sits in stink bug locations, but we have sat in other locations that are prone to bugs/beasties/pests, and I never put it in our reviews because to some it would sound like unclean homes, when in reality, it is the opposite, they are clean homes, it’s simply the nature of the locations they are in. So I never mention it, and I never will.

8

Thank you for your messages.

I thought that these were not major issues, but I wasn’t sure so I decided to double check with you.

There are many bugs that get inside continuously. The house is very big and on three floors, they manage to hide themselves in many different spots.

Just yesterday I checked one of the many window curtains in the house, at the very top in between the pleats there were 20 or 30 bugs hiding, on both sides. I managed to get them all out, but it wasn’t pleasant when they flew all around and some of them landed on my head :grinning_face:

Anyway, if you say that sitters wouldn’t mind, fair enough - I won’t mention it.

There wasn’t any note of the cats being full time outdoors in the ad or in the Welcome guide. When we chatted online, I was told that the cats were sleeping outdoors because of the warm weather and that they didn’t know how this was going to change or not in October (time of the sitting).
Besides enjoying their company, in the last couple of weeks the weather has started cooling down at night. I can see that they suffer from cold and often attempt to get inside, but unfortunately I cannot allow them.

I’ve been told that they must be screened first and then they can come inside the house and stay for the winter season.

9

I find it very odd that someone who keeps thir cats outside and exposed to the many dangers of being outside, would be anxious about their cats.

As for bugs, if you’re going to do sits in a rural/country side location, you need to expect insects, spiders, snakes, small mammals… will be around and possibly inside.

As for the daily notes, just take a pic of the cats and write a short comment about what they’re doing. That shouldn’t take much time or effort.

Sad that you don’t have a lap companion in the evening.

Hope you have a good sit.

10

Hi @Mokina :slightly_smiling_face:

I think there are three quite separate things here, and I’d treat them differently in the review.

The daily message wouldn’t bother us much. If a host specifically asks for one, we’d just send a quick “all good” and a photo. I wouldn’t necessarily read that as a lack of trust.

The stink bugs are a different matter. If the house is clean and they’re simply a seasonal/local thing, I wouldn’t put that in a review as a criticism of the host. Anyone sitting in the countryside needs to expect some wildlife making an appearance!

The outdoor-only cats are the one thing I’d probably mention, particularly as you weren’t expecting that to be the arrangement for the whole sit. Not as a criticism, but simply as useful information for future sitters. Someone might specifically choose a cat sit because they’re looking forward to having cats around the house, while someone else might actually prefer outdoor cats.

For me, that’s what reviews are most useful for: not listing everything that wasn’t quite to our personal preference, but flagging things about the actual sit that another sitter might reasonably want to know before accepting it.

:paw_prints::heart:

11

Well I might like to know about a lot of bugs if it’s continuous during your stay. It might be the time of year. Some friends of mine rented a, Air BnB house that had giant cockroaches (compared to little ones rarely seen in the northeast of U.S.; the rental was on the southeast coast.) Apparently this was normal for this time of year in that area for houses (neighbors confirmed). I would like to know about something like that.:grin: (I wouldn’t mark the owners down in the rating, but a good to know for sitters).

12

You mention the house is large and on three floors @Mokina. Were you asked as part of the responsibilities to check every room during the sit? If not, I would be closing the doors to rooms you have no need to access and saying you have done that. You should not be responsible for cleaning the whole house if only using a couple of rooms. The hosts are aware that stink bugs are an issue so must be used to them coming inside, despite having insect screens on windows.

A morning daily message takes just a couple of minutes plus a photo of the cats which could be taken the day before. You then have the rest of the day to do whatever you want to.

As to the cats being outside at this time of year, I can understand you would have liked them inside for lap time and cuddles but you’ve learnt that this isn’t what they are used to. Can you not spend time outside with them?

I think these issues are very minor compared to some you have faced on previous sits. If you want to mention any in your review, make it factual like “At this time of year, stink bugs are looking for shelter so can enter inside despite insect screens being on windows.”

Hopefully, you also will relax and just enjoy your time there.

13

I’d find it very hard to refuse entry to a cat that wanted to get indoors. I would feel cruel, and I wouldn’t be comfortable doing that to a cat

14

I know @outdoorsy especially last night when we had a very bad storm :slightly_frowning_face:

15

Thank you so much for your message @temba

I wasn’t specifically asked to check every room, but I’ve been using many areas of the house since the rooms are spread out (the shower is on the basement, kitchen and huge livingroom on the ground floor, bathroom - without the shower - and bedroom on the first floor). Besides I have to water many plants, some of which are in other rooms. and ther is a long hallway with many windows.

I was asked when I see the bugs to either flush them down the toilet (I don’t do that) or let them out.

As for messages, I know, it shouldn’t be too complicated. It is me getting slowly into everything I do and I do enjoy sending messages with little stories and photographs. I usually dedicate some special time to that in the evening, when I’m done with all the tasks of the day and I can finally relax.

Anyway, no matter how long is the story that I write, I always get one short line as a reply. I don’t think that it is much appreciated, so I’m just keeping it short and simple now :slightly_smiling_face:

16

As a sitter, I always find it helpful to read previous sitters’ facts in their reviews. So I would encourage you to just state some facts, such as “Upon arriving, I was informed that the cats don’t come inside during the warmer months” and “There were a fair number of bugs, including stink bugs, that came inside. Just a heads-up for anyone who is not used to seeing insects inside. Don’t worry, the house was left immaculate for me - it’s just that time of year when bugs find their way into houses.” As you’ve noted, none of these issues are greatly impacting your stay for the worse, though like you I would feel gypped not having the cats inside to snuggle with.

17

I totally agree on all Fronts! Recently I’ve been chafing because I just left an otherwise glowing review, but mentioned the cat waking me up before 6 for breakfast. Btw, as it was a country sit during which flying termites flew smack Dab into my eye, but didn’t occur to mention this​:grimacing:. Anyways, when the HO complained In a text to me that I ruined her chances of finding future sitters, I told her it was only for future sitters’ info, and it wasn’t meant as a Deal Breaker. So it can be a drag to write honest and useful reviews after all. My hope was the HO would help by reordering the cats feeding times or whatever. Just sayin! Frustrating!

18

Reviews are for other sitters. Please write what you would have liked to have known before you took this sit.

I think good reviews not only comment on the quality of a sit but also add important info about the sit so potential sitters can make informed choices.

19

This is exactly why you should share things like a 6am cat wake up call. It’s absolutely for the future sitters and not the home owner’s benefit, and it’s also a fact. Silly host as that’s just deceptive. #goodonyou