Extensive research, data, education. The research is all there. Many reject research and data in favor of their own comfort levels. I would delete this whole post, but don’t think I can. So I’m going to state it again.
Because I hadn’t been confronted by overwhelming chemicals and fragrances on other sits, it did not occur to me to mention artificial fragrances to pet owners.
From now on I will.
The pet parents are not bad people; I simply can’t tolerate the onslaught of chemicals.
if I can point out to anyone ever that something they’re eating, breathing or doing is harmful, I will. How often have we wished someone had said something to us that would’ve given us the option to make a better choice?
Please, no more chiding, chastising and commenting. I was looking for solutions, not scorn. I have a solution now. And thank you to all the good people who wanted to help and offer solutions : )
Was your sensitivity to scents discussed before the sit? If not I don’t think it is fair to hold the homeowners accountable for you deciding to replace products because of that sensitivity. They left you the items you needed for the sit. You chose to buy the cat litter. Now you want them to pay for doing something to accommodate your needs that they were not aware of and that they didn’t ask you to do. That isn’t exactly reasonable.
Additionally, as sitters we enter into different homes where the people likely make all sorts of of choices we wouldn’t make ourselves. Whenever I decide to settle down and get another cat of my own I will be getting 2 cats both fed a twice a day raw diet with twice a day high quality dry cat food. They will have a running water fountain nothing stagnant. Do I sit for cats that are fed canned food all the time? Yep. Dry food filled with corn? Yep. Water sitting in bowls? Yep. I have my own opinions but the cats I sit are not my cats and it isn’t our job to lecture the homeowners or educate them unless they ask. Unless there is animal abuse at play DO NOT mess with a pets normal routine or environment. We are the journalists of the services world. Take care of the pet. Do not interfere.
I’m a new HO on this site, and I have the same but opposite issue: I am chemical/fragrance sensitive and need to make sure a sitter doesn’t bring something into my home that will linger and make my house difficult to be in when I get home. So, two things specifically to @LFM (the OP) and two for the rest of the list:
Specifically to @LFM, how do we find each other on the business side to see if you’d want to cat sit for me? I have one specific trip, but also looking for repeats that can be scheduled to some extent at your convenience.
I’m wondering how long you’ve been chemically sensitive. I’ve been dealing with it since 1996. From your posts, it seems that you have a lot of information to share, and it’s confusing why people aren’t more interested. I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate about it, from multiple perspectives: disability justice, health advocate and asking for personal accommodations so I can live my life as best I can. People don’t take well to being informed that they are hurting themselves and others with what they see as a personal choice, or being told that they’re ignorant and you’re not. People need to see themselves as good. So, I’ve learned to frame the conversations very carefully, and be strategic in what I share with who. If you’d be interested in sharing notes, let me know. I’m sure you’ve learned a lot too.
For everyone: I’m curious if there are other sensitives out there who have had good experiences.
5.For everyone: I see this issue one example of a more general access issue with this and similar services. Every single person has access needs - things that need to be in place to participate. The ones that are common are considered “normal.” The ones that are not are considered disabilities. Finding an appropriate sit or sitter when either party has uncommon access needs is a needle in a haystack experience. With easy access to powerful search engines, it shouldn’t have to be. If we can search on location, type of house, type of environment, amenities, why shouldn’t we be able to search for wheelchair accessibility, indoor air quality, or, I don’t know lighting? Do you have grab bars in the bathroom? Do you have a dehumidifier? Do you have an air purifier? Do smokers live there? There is already a very vague question about access for folks with mobility disabilities. This could be made more specific. Or, there could be a key word search option.
All these issues can be discussed once contact has been made between sitter and pet parent. Or, include in your profile or in your listings. We state in our profile that we will only sit in non-smoking homes.
I agree. I good filter would help everyone to make better choices and save people’s time with unnecessary applications and video chats.
Unfortunately, I don’t think THS is really interested in improving the app or even publishing basic information they have, like the time a dog should be walked.
I also think they don’t put much effort into implementing their policies. Today I have seen a listing with no “amenities” section. The least I had seen was just Wi-Fi, but I thought all sections were compulsory. It seems they aren’t.
Just a note from me as I’ve had to do a tiny bit of moderation here and I wanted to explain why.
We understand that this is an important topic for members who are affected by fragrance sensitivities and we understand how debilitating they can be, and it’s great to discuss how pet parents and pet sitters can work with each other to minimise risks to someone’s sensitivity.
Most of our members come to this forum with experience in pet sitting or as a pet owner, not necessarily in subjects such as medical conditions or environmental allergies. In-depth discussions about fragrance sensitivity need more specialised knowledge, which we feel might be better suited to forums or communities that are designed for people managing chemical or fragrance sensitivities.
We encourage you to continue to share conversations focused on practical tips related to pet sitting, such as how to communicate effectively with pet owners regarding fragrance sensitivity, which is exactly what the majority of your replies have covered.
Companies typically balance between user needs and preferences vs. what’s often called “friction.” So for instance, the longer you make the onboarding process for users, the more they’ll drop out of the process and not finish.
For a business like THS, that would mean fewer users and less revenue. That’s why they tend to focus on amenities that most users would care about. That can evolve over time. Like high-speed internet wasn’t as much an expectation years ago among the public. Now, many people look for that.
For needs or preferences that are less common, such choices might never be highlighted. It’s not about the tech in such cases. It’s about human behavior.
Maybe it was a longtime member. From what others have said, there wasn’t an amenities section previously, so if you joined way back you wouldn’t have been asked to answer such Qs at all.
At the risk of massively derailing this thread I would really welcome being able to be matched with covid-conscious home owners. We have done our very best to not get or pass on Covid (or other illnesses) on our sits, not least because of the disruption being poorly can cause to someone’s holiday.
I really don’t think that adding a “fragrant free”/“chemical free” option for home owners is the right solution. This is something that needs to be discussed as expectations can be wildly diverse.
Even though I don’t have any fragrance in the house, I would not tick that box. I was turned down by a sitter because she said the chemicals from using fabric softener have seeped into my mattress and that would make her sick…
I think it was always put down as hay fever, nothing else.
Massive derail here. I used to be one of these people who didn’t believe in “faddish” allergies until about three years ago. I was diagnosed with gluten. I laughed and explained I’d eaten bread all my life so it couldn’t possibly be that. But it was explained to me how the body changes throughout your life etc. etc. So now I’m a “Karen” asking about gluten content in bakeries, restaurants, shops, reading labels in supermarkets. It was strange at first but now it’s a way of life. I’m assuming scent allergies can sneak upon you too.
We’re exposed to more chemicals than at any other time in humankind, so it’s not surprising that allergies crop up more. Some chemicals add up over repeated exposure or in random combos. Of course, humans are varied and adaptive evolutionarily, too. Not everyone will be affected the same. All health care pros know about such variability.
I had a terrible reaction to a vaccination once — itched madly from scalp to toes for months and had to take repeated daily medication to counteract that. No clear explanation for why that happened, even though plenty of folks got the same shots.
Once, I had a meal at an Indian restaurant I’d been to many times before. Ended up itching so badly that Benadryl didn’t work. I had to go to the emergency room and get a shot. It didn’t work and I had to go back and get a second one. I eventually ate there again and had no problems even though I ordered the same dishes.
Once, I had a Vietnamese meal and my face swelled up immediately after, hilariously so — I looked like an overinflated doll. And I’m sure I’ve consumed MSG or such many times over my lifetime without any allergic reaction.
When restaurants ask if I have allergies, I say no, because I don’t even know what set off my previous allergic reactions.