I didn’t realize how toxic a house can be, but the people I’m petsitting for have poisonous products everywhere, and even when I keep the windows open it is a toxic ASSAULT. There is no escape from the smells; they permeate the house. Artificial fragrances in the cat litter, cleaning products in every room, febrize, laundry detergent, scented garbage bags, something that smells like mothballs in closets. I’ve mentioned twice that the artificial fragrances aren’t good for me or their cats, and that I’d bought unscented cat litter (I bought 2 40 lb. bags of unscented with my own money - $50) because the chemical scented litter was wafting up the stairs and filling the whole house.
They ignore me on this subject. They will not respond or address the issue. Obviously they haven’t offered to reimburse me. How do you educate them, let them know that you shouldn’t have to breathe these toxins and that these products will probably wreak havoc on their 4 cats and them? The frustrating aspect of this is I’m the one getting headaches, trying to stay outside as much as possible, spending $50+ on litter so I don’t have to breathe the scented litter - and they ignore me.
Any suggestions? It’s not just hurting me, it’s harming their cats! Someone posted this article link on TH a few months ago. Are Fragrance Oils Safe For Dogs? - Dogs Naturally
IF YOU HAVE ANY STRATEGIES OR SOLUTIONS, PLEASE SHARE. I’ve added to my profile that I need to avoid artificial fragrances, but most people don’t even know that their grocery store cleaning products are artificial, toxic to inhale and should be banned.
@LFM
How old are the cats and do they appear healthy?
@LFM allergies are serious so I empathise, however none of us can change other people’s choices , habits or preferences .
As this is a deal breaker for you , you can protect yourself from having to live in that kind of environment by having these discussions upfront before committing to a sit .
I suggest that you mention it in your application ( not everyone reads the profile ) and discuss it in your conversations before accepting a sit You can ask specific questions about what cat litter , cleaning products etc that they use.
Then if you are offered the sit you know whether it’s suitable environment for you and can accept or decline accordingly.
This advice goes for all allergies. There are THS sitters who are allergic to cats and so avoid sits with cats and only accept dog sits . .
Unless this was discussed in detail with owners before you committed to the sit and they promised you a fragrance free environment, then I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect them to replace all their usual household products for your stay .
If you’re highly sensitive to such products, then you would surely have to realise that it’s not necessarily going to be the ‘norm’ for most other people/households and you would need to have a clear discussion about this with a HO in a video call before accepting a sit. If HO’s aren’t aware, how could you possibly expect them to not have such products in their home? These seem like fairly common, everyday household products to me. I understand the not liking the scented sprays or incense sticks - if there are too many of these in a home, they will give me a headache too and I usually just unplug them/remove them from the room and put them back before the HO returns. It’s really no big deal.
If this is a big issue for you, then communication really needs to be key here before you ever accept a sit. As a sitter I would also never expect reimbursement for something I bought to replace something the HO already has, just because I didn’t like it or have a sensitivity to it. If I want to use something different, then that’s my own choice that comes from my pocket, nobody else’s. A HO’s responsibility is to provide enough pet supplies for the duration of the sit, not to adapt pet supplies in accordance to the sitter’s preferences. Personally I would also never change something that a pet normally has unless given consent by the HO, because you never know how a pet may react. Some cats don’t like some types of litter and may refuse to use it if it’s not what their used to, for example.
I would expect all the off the shelf products that you have an intolerance too have been tested by manufacturers for toxicity, and should be well within guidelines.
The vast majority of homes have some sort of fragrance addition sometimes, whether it be air freshener, laundry detergent.
Unfortunately, you seem to want to avoid it but that will be hard.
Sorry, I don’t have any advice for you except contact THS and try to explain the house is unliveable for you.
Good luck
This is a more challenging one because it’s their home and scents or strong cleaning products are not an issue for them. Is the home clean otherwise? Many people like them and think they are a positive. Unless you have a vet telling you it’s putting the animals at risk, I think you’ll find pushback.
For me, I can’t have fragrance of any kind near me or I get a terrible migraine right away. I have to wear natural deodorant, I never wear fragrance, and I walk completely around a fragrance counter when I go into a store that sells them.
I’ve seen listings from hosts which state that a sitter must agree not to use any fragrance or artificial cleaners in their homes.
For those of us who have a higher sensitivity to it, we need to be clear before accepting that what you have encountered is a deal breaker. For this sit, if you can open the windows and turn on fans or a/c, that will help. It may help to put all of the products in a closet and shut the door. I’ve gone into hotel rooms where the cleaning staff has sprayed fragrance before leaving. I travel with cleaning wipes and will wipe everything down, put the a/c on high and leave for a few hours. It’s helped a bit.
Yikes. The only thing I can think of is to get a carbon/charcoal filter to put on the furnace or on a box fan. Carbon reduces scents significantly.
I’m not as sensitive to most scents, but I still don’t like all the extra artificial scents that people seem to like. Unfortunately there’s a good portion of homes who are probably just like your current sit.
I bring my own unscented laundry detergent to do my laundry, but that’s not going to help you right now.
I hope the scent gets better after having the windows open.
This may sound insensitive but sitting exposes you to a raft of situations that may differ to your normal environment. If you are so sensitive to these fragrances you need to do your pre sit due diligence more fully so the sit fits with your sensibilities.
You really actually don’t need to educate them. Non of these perfumes are actually toxic. Sure cats can benefit from less scents in the house (From a behavioral perspective) but these are unlikely to be toxic to cats, and for sure is safe to humans. Assuming these cats have been living there for a while and don’t have respiratory problems, the only issue would be for them to consume cleaning products (As in lick surfaces with cleaning products) and that probably isn’t happening.
I dislike these things myself but they aren’t actually poisonous or toxic.
It’s not your place to educate anyone about perfectly normal products in their home.
If you are really sensitive to them, unplug/don’t use what you can avoid. They have provided cat litter so don’t need to reimburse you because you don’t like the brand.
You should flag this requirement in your sitter profile and also ask during any pre-confirmation calls.
You seem to be making the owners responsible for your allergies! Sorry but the owners aren’t at fault here. You are probably seeing it as their fault because of how drained or ill you’re feeling right now.
I have allergies too and so sometimes I need to put certain air fresheners etc into unused rooms or turn them off if it’s the elec socket kind, so I empathise, but it’s certainly NEVER the fault of the owners, and you can’t say it’s affecting the cats unless you are a vet. You can’t expect them to reimburse you for the cat litter either when it was due to your health, unless they agreed to it before you purchased it.
I’m glad you’ve added about your sensitivity to your profile now. Try to stay out of their home as much as you are able, while still caring for them. You have nothing to educate them about, it’s their home, not yours, and they can use whatever air fresheners and cat litter they like.
I don’t know what your messages to them entailed for them to ignore you, but I am going to blunt here, get some fresh air and then re-read what you have sent them again! Maybe your tone within those messages sounded condescending, or patronising, or perhaps you came across as trying to ‘educate’ them, or making them responsible for your health, or raising the health of their cats without having vet knowledge behind you.
So please re-read the messages you sent them again when your bad head has cleared, I think it is adversely affecting the way you are seeing things, which is totally normal.
It is not our job, as sitters, to educate our hosts. If you have allergies it is up to you to discuss these or even bring the subject up on any application you make.
Over the years there are many things I have disliked about some of the sits we have done. Things I have disagreed with about how they handle their pets or home. However, I am in no position to “educate” them about these things. It is there personal choice. I am looking after their pets and property in a way they have asked me to. If I had very strong preferences I would talk about these things in my application and make sure I had not to deal with them if I got the sit.
You are a guest (of sort). Would you bring your sister in law to task for using room fragrances you didn’t like?
Hi @LFM
As someone that can suffer bad asthma attacks and has eczema for decades I sympathise. What I do is talk to the HO but most unfortunately are not going to change everything for my short stay in their property and I accept such. So I travel with gloves and a face mask. I try and ventilate the property as much as possible. I always travel with my own washing capsules as using bio products can irritate my skin immensely.
So I think you need to take measures yourself if you want to continue to do sits.
Sorry to hear that you’ve been inconvenienced by this situation. As pet owners there are things we can do to accommodate sitters so that they have the best sit experience possible but we cannot change everything that is the usual environment in our house to do so. Communication is always key and this should have been discussed clearly with the owner making sure that they acknowledge the situation and state what they are willing to do about it. For instance as owners we would have suggested you seek another sit opportunity as we do have scented litter and our cats are used to that specific brand and scent.
It’s also very important to note for anyone not aware of this that litter type and scent cannot be changed lightly as some cats will react badly to the change and may start refusing to use the litter. Cats are very sensitive to changes in their surroundings.
And finally because we clean our apartment thoroughly before the arrival of sitters there are lingering fragrances everywhere.
I think the term “poisonous” here is a bit of an exaggeration.
I am sorry if you are allergic and are suffering from headaches. Headaches make me feel bad and vulnerable, so I understand your situation but the fact that one reacts badly to a product doesn’t make it poisonous and saying
Is going a bit far IMHO.
I’m sorry but if your sensitive to smell. You should have discussed it before starting the sit. Why would they reimburse you when your the one that wanted to change it? I’ve done many different sits some house had only natural products, others had fragrance. Doesn’t really matter to me
I appreciate your thoughtful response, and here’s the deal, out of 24 sits there have only been 2 that had an overload of toxic products. Most people know by now that everything from scented candles and cat litter to cleaning products gravely impact health. The bottom line is these products are not safe for animals, including the human animal. So why wouldn’t someone hearing about the toxicity of scented litter and cleaning products not want to buy safer products? There are so many natural, health friendly products available. Whenever someone has informed me that a product is toxic, I’ve discontinued use and found safer choices.
Why they might not: Because they might not think as you do.
Elsie, I hear you but this goes beyond preferences. It is our duty to say something if we see something. I don’t have allergies, I’m just aware of the toxic substances that factually do wreak havoc on our nervous and endocrine systems, our livers, etc. I have actually pointed out to my sister in law that artificial fragrances are dangerous.
Obviously the homeowners don’t feel that this is an issue for them or their cats. Clearly, it’s a health issue for you, and you might on future sits let homeowners know about your sensitivity and figure out what accomodations they’ll need to make for you or what will be acceptable to you.
Meantime, if you can’t continue the sit, you’ll need to let the homeowners know so they can get someone else in. If you think you’ll be able to continue the sit if you can change out the litter or make other small adjustments let the homeowners know. If they see this as a choice between your leaving and your staying, they may choose to allow you to change out the litter box, garbage bags etc and you can probably negotiate for them to pay for that.