As a long time sitter (regularly since 2012 but newer to THS), former HO, this is one of the best replies here.
Sorry about your furball taking off, itâs a bummer when that happens, especially when itâs not under your watch.
At the best of times cats can be escape artists and I donât personally know anyone with indoor cats that hasnât had them escape at least once and it really depends on the age of the cat and/or the breed or personality.
We had a recent repeat sit where they got a new cat who is about a year old when we started sitting. Unlike the other two cats, she would literally lunge at the door the moment it opened and this was communicated by the homeowner so we started entering/exiting from the garage so if she escaped at least it was in a contained area.
She was allowed on the upstairs patio and then figured out a spot she could jump off the roof and escape.
After we that we had to keep her inside all the time and it was a battle any time youâd go in/out, albeit it was often hilarious attempts.
Without seeing the missing window pane and situation, or being there, I donât think anyone here can say definitively either way if it was a lapse in judgment or pure accident except for you, since you can see exactly where and how it happened so if you think it was a lapse in judgment than donât feel bad about sticking with that.
Itâs incredibly unlikely he will make this mistake again but write a clear, factual review and mention that a cat did escape. Thatâs a fact, so it belongs in there. Personally, if I still had a home and wasnât doing this full time, I would be fairly certain this fellow or others in a similar situation would be highly unlikely to have this happen again.
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A difficult one! As a HO when I trust my cats with a sitter I expect 100% compliance with my wishes. Accidents though, do happen! On one side of the coin it would seem the sitter was negligent so shouldnât get a decent rating. Butâ! I have three cats and know they are great escape artists! Fortunately mine come and go through a cat flap so I donât have your problem regarding security. For what itâs worth and being totally objective, the sitter failed in his duty, accident or not. Whilst I wouldnât âcrucifyâ him I would certainly point it out in review.
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I am very experienced with cats, including escape artists, and I usually know the tricks to contain them. However, on one sit, the cat would dart out the tiniest crack in the door. There was no other way to enter the house, so I tried throwing treats in the letterbox before entering, to distract her. That worked once :(. Next time, as soon as I cracked open the door, she ran out. I had thrown treats, made loud noise, etc. It was very worrying but she eventually returned a few hours later.
All that to say that I know cats can be extremely good at escaping, but a sitter should know that. Removing a pane of glass in a door is very strange on its own, but doing it when it leaves an obvious escape route for a cat is negligent. I would mention it in the review because future HOs need to know. maybe say âJames might need reminding that some cats try to run outside, so it is important not to leave any openings (doors, windows, etc) where the cat Can escapeâ Then explain what happened with you.
i donât agree with the poster who said that cats run out when they are unhappy. Some cats are naturally very curious, and want to explore new territory.
I hope you find your cat. These tips are from a local cat expert here in Texas:
FINDING A LOST CAT
Indoor-only cats behave differently when they find themselves outside. They typically hunker down in a good hiding spot within 1-2 houses of home and only come out late at night when itâs very quiet. They often donât even respond when they hear their family calling. However, it is still worth going out to call and look during the day and also between about 11 pm and 3 am. You should look everywhere in your yard: under bushes, decks, porches, and in garages and sheds, to see if you can spot her.
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Place worn linens (t-shirts, blankets, towels) all around your house on all four sides. Please DO NOT put out used litter (everyone suggests this) because it will potentially attract other cats who might run off or frighten your cat, or predators who are drawn to a ânew cat in the neighborhoodâ smell. Only your cat will be attracted to the scent of your family and home. If needed, replace these items every couple of days.
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Post online: do a search on âlost/found pets in Dallasâ to pull up several sites dedicated to help spread the word about your lost pet.
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Make flyers. They should be simple, easy-to-read, and have a large color photo of your cat with your contact information. Putting them on neon paper as a backing will help them stand out.
- Put them at intersections where people stop to read them, as well as all around your block.
- Hand these directly to all of your neighbors (including the street behind you) and talk with them, asking them to be on the lookout. Ask them to look in their yards, garages, sheds, under porches, and bushes, or to let you look. When the weather is nice, it would be easy for a garage or shed to be opened for yard work and your cat could be caught inside.
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Make a large (poster board) sign for your front yard so that everyone who drives/walks by it sees it.
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If you have a screened-in porch/patio, you can leave the door cracked for her to come in. Same for the garage. If you donât have other pets, you can do the same with the back door (or put them in another room for the night) to allow her access to sneak back in.
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You can buy very inexpensive cameras from Amazon. I use the Mini Blink cameras with wifi, night vision, infrared, phone alerts. These are great because they allow you to see if she has come to your yard, open door, trap, bowl of food, wherever you set it.
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Borrow or buy a trap. Home Depot, Loweâs and Harbor Freight usually have traps.
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@Lassie Thank you for some excellent advice - both on handling the review and searching for the cat. Iâve already implemented most of your suggestions (and I keep trapping the same two outdoor cats over and over), but I will continue to canvass the neighborhood and distribute flyers.
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I would wait and not review the sitter for now. Thereâs no deadline since we donât have the new review system yet.
Personally, I think it was clever/creative/brave of the sitter to remove a pane of glass to try to air out the house. Maybe not wise, but wisdom comes with experience. It sounds like the sitter will be much more careful on their next sit, so Iâd give them benefit of the doubt. I feel if you mention the cat escaped and didnât come back, it wouldnât matter the circumstances: the sitterâs rep will be torpedoed. If the cat did come back, then I think you could mention the removal of a pane of glass. Logically, whether the cat returns or not shouldnât affect the review and what you write, but emotionally, it just seems to.
Best of luck finding your kitty!!!
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Wow, this is a great resource! Thanks!
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Thanks for letting me know @Colin!
That is so disappointing to hear that THS would edit your review so deeply! I had a very bad experience with a sitter, filed a complaint and they only gave him a slap on the wrist. I still have not posted a review for him but I intend to soon
Oh wow, so sorry about your cat. Thatâs devastating. Just read about the glass pane. I think you may be being overly generous to this person. Why on earth would anyone take out a glass panel. It seems really weird. Plus, as you hint in your post, you donât really believe the cat sprayed. If I was a HO Iâd definitely want to know about this but I think in the end you have to write what feels right to you.
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I am so sorry this happened to you. I hope you find your cat soon. The sitter was incompetent. This wasnât a lapse in judgement. He didnât know what he was doing. He shouldnât get another chance. You need to write a one star review telling what happened. A cat darting out a door is a nightmare scenario that can happen on a sit. This was NOT that. It was negligence.
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Thatâs why itâs better to prioritize the pets, not the cleaningâŚ
If I was the owner in this situation, Iâd either write no review or a 5 star one. I wouldnât mention the cat escaping, because thatâs almost a guarantee that the person will never get a sit again. And it does look like they learned from their mistake.
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@Ellen1 And we hope your review includes the fact that an indoor cat was lost during this sitterâs stay. That is vital information for future HOs to know.
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Iâm a little concerned that a âwindow was tricky to openâ.
This raises many questions - was there no thoughts that the sitter may want to open a window? Did you explain to the sitter how to open the window? Have you since taken steps to ensure the window is less tricky to open?
Opening a window is not a bizarre act, unless the sit was in the depths of a snowy winter.
We had a cat escape as we were getting into the hostâs house with our luggage. She darted off between our legs.
The owners were there, didnât confine the cats to a room while we were unloading the car.
She was found next morning, just before the hosts had to leave for the airport, hiding in the (cold) outdoor pizza oven. Whew!
We did not get marked down in the review, wasnât even mentioned.
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THS has to make improvements to their review system. I also am not reviewing my recent sitter who was horrible. And the reason is because I expect I would get the same âfalsehoods and exaggerationsâ that you described in return. Not worth it.
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@CatStaff Maybe because I never open the windows in that room. And as a sitter, opening windows in a living room is not on my list of items to ask a HO.
Just a thought for sitters and homeownersâŚ.consider putting a tracking device (i.e. Apple AirTag) on the escape artistâs collar.
Because no matter how well intentioned people are, the animal will get out one day.
It would really help in a situation like this. They are reasonable and no subscription necessary.
I hope you find your cat soon!
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Lapse in judgement ⌠my greatest fear when sitting a free roaming cat, a cat that is allowed to be at the balcony of an apartment building or free to be in the back garden that is not secure or cat proof. I will be so anxious. I do not want to keep them totally indoors as that would totally disrupt their routine but I keep thinking what if they do not come home and do not respond to my calls as I am a stranger. I canât bear to imagine how I would feel and how devastated the pet parent would be if this were to happen to me.
Hope for a happy ending for all.
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@Anne.323
I think if cats are used to being outside, they are less likely to run away.
They usually know where their home is and they always come back for food and comfort. But if itâs an indoor cat whoâs never been out, it will not know the area and likely get lost.
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