I just wanted to say THANK YOU, TrustedHousesitters. I completed my first housesit, and I never want to go back. I hope to care for this lovely dog Lili again when the opportunity arises (they confirmed that they want to have me as their sitter again).
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I just wanted to say THANK YOU, TrustedHousesitters. I completed my first housesit, and I never want to go back. I hope to care for this lovely dog Lili again when the opportunity arises (they confirmed that they want to have me as their sitter again).
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Our first sit in 2016 was enjoyable on so many levels. It was the HO’s first time too. It was the perfect fit for everyone. We cared for 2 well trained charismatic dogs, a comfortable period cottage in a beautiful rural area, and a well-equipped kitchen with permission to help ourselves to supplies. The HO happily agreed our much loved Mini Schnauzer would join us and our family could visit for a day. The wild, large garden visited by a huge variety of birdlife, was perfect for us all. The weather was fantastic and the sweeping views across the open fields looking towards the Malvern Hills were a joy
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I actually laughed Caroline because silly stuff happens to me like that all the time. I’ve learned to laugh at it and press on. I’m turning 55 and was wondering if I was still agile enough to climb…hahaha Not! Poor little Yorkie was shivering so bad but luckily the neighbor was good with the situation. Have a great New Year!
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Brilliant attitude. Happy New Year to you 
My first sit was Christmas back in 2017. Had been with TH a couple of months and not really having any luck until a sit came up in London, someone had cancelled right on Xmas and as the owner was going away she was desperate to find a sitter for her kitty.
Little One and he was literally the tiniest pusscat i’d ever come across was 19 and had chronic health problems and needing daily meds. Having had my own chronically sick cat it was no bother at all. HE was THE sweetest kitty I have had up till today on all my sits. He was a cuddlebug pure sang as we say (in the Netherlands).
Eileen his owner was also the sweetest person and was going away as a signer for deaf people on a holiday in the south of Devon. A lovely cosy little house in Northeast london was the perfect little nest for xmas especially with Little One to keep me company.
Eileen told me later that Little One passed peacefully in august the following year.
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What a lovely story @Maggie, it brought a smile to my face with a tinge of sadness for Little One’s passing but his last Christmas sounds like a perfect one.
Thank you so much for sharing …
Our first housesit was in Perth (Western Aus)for a month over Christmas caring for 2 cats. Our hosts were first timers too and we arranged the sit by phone from Bali. We did not meet the hosts at all- a very young couple who’d already flown to India to get married- but we did overnight with the mother, who lived with them, and met several other family members before they all also flew to India- all very nice. The two cats were both sweet & affectionate but had a tendancy to leave offerings- of poo and vomit on the floor, carpet, even on the sofa!! Sometimes spread around a bit too! Yuck!!! I counted 10 episodes during our month, and having no real experience of cats, had no idea if this was normal behaviour or a nervous reaction to us perhaps! Later I found out its absolutely not normal and in all our 18 Sits since we’ve never had even one episode with any cat we’ve met!
Anyway we never mentioned anything during the sit to the owners as we did not want anything to negatively affect our 1st 5* review!
We left the house perfect & hoped the cats would behave! The mother arrived a few hours after we left & we texted to check in. She said she’d arrived to a pile of vomit on her bed and poo smeared all over the floor!! We were shocked & upset for her but she just said ‘oh no problem - we’re used to it but we love them anyway!’ The daughter, in her review, complimented us on being so wonderful with her ‘extremely high maintenance cats’!!
So it was clear they knew in advance this could happen and just didn’t tell us. At the time we felt this was pretty unfair and disrespectful- we would really have appreciated an advance warning!! But looking back I can see we were a little naive on both sides. Now, I would not hesitate to speak up if such a thing occured again but you live and learn!!
yes he really was the sweetest little cat i’ve encountered up to now and sooo tiny. He really stole my heart
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@Lokstar , that was really lousy that the HO concealed this from you. They should have mentioned something in their listing, even if it was a whitewashed version. And such a shame no one said anything about it either beforehand, during or in their reviews. I guess future sitters also had no warning and walked into the same mess. Another instance of the faulty review system.
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Both parties were first timers.
@mars I know where you are coming from, and appreciate your supportive comment!, but in this case I think it was just lack of experience on both sides. The hosts were a very young sweet couple (19 & 23) and the mother (who we met) was a bit if a mental case, but sweet too! I actually don’t think it was really intentional hiding- just something they were so used to they didn’t think how strangers might see it! And from our side we didn’t have the heart to say anything in public feedback after they gave us such a fantastic review (and were so appreciative) and after not having said anything during the Sit. I thought to write privately but even then I just decided to let it go and leave them with a good feeling. It was also a one off Sit and they have been inactive since.
Nevertheless I would handle such a situation differently next time! 
My first sit was a positive experience, it was strickly a house sit, yet the owner adopted a neighbors cat who would come around to visit. For years I was an unpaid member yet officially joined in September as I was leaving a seasonal job and wanted to do more pet sitting.
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I joined Trusted Housesitters on a whim earlier in January and I was so grateful to confirm my first sit just a couple of days later. I am currently 16 days into taking care of the sweetest 13 year old sister cats in a cabin in a mountain town I know well and my experience has been really great. I applied for the sit thinking it was a long shot because several others had applied, but I received a message from the HO letting me know they were interviewing people and thought they had a sitter, but asking if they could contact me the next day if it didn’t work out. The next day they called and chatted about both of our expectations, it felt like a great fit for me and we confirmed the sit. Our communication has been great, the only thing I would change is that next time I will ask the HO in advance how much contact they would prefer because I did have a little anxiety the first week about how much I should be contacting them with updates. One thing they asked of me was to get their mail from the Post Office every couple of days and to send them pictures of the mail, so I find that is a great excuse to keep in contact at least every other day and I sneak pictures of the kitties in with the mail. I will be here through the last week of February and I’m trying not to think about how much I will miss these girls after I finish this sit. They are both on me anytime I sit down and one of them sleeps in my neck like a scarf. I’ve never met more affectionate cats in my life and cuddling with them has brought me so much joy and I’m so thankful to be here.
This is how I was greeted the minute I arrived.
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Hi @BJR what a lovely introduction to you, your first TrustedHousesitters experience and that adorable kitty … does she have a name?
Welcome to the forum and to TrustedHousesitters … obviously this sit was meant to be, everything fell into place for everyone involved and that’s what sit success is, great communication and the right sit for the right sitter and right sitter for the right sit.
A little bit of a mouthful, but the shortened version is … success!!
You will miss the kitties when you leave, we always do one of the occupational hazards of what we do but we then look forward to the next pets we meet and often being asked back to the ones we miss.
Thank you again for joining and we look forward to sharing in more of your THS adventures.
Angela and the Team
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Very well done! Congratulations on your first wonderful experience @BJR!
This is what it’s all about, making these incredible connections that bring so much joy to all.
Welcome.
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