It’s not just about the cat throwing up now and again though is it? Hairballs are one thing, cancer is quite another. What else can the sitters expect?
I stand by what I wrote @Happypets , until the extra questions have been answered, I don’t feel this is worth cancelling a sit on.
Agree. A hairball or grass gag once in a while is normal. It is not really about the vomit for me. It is a possible serious illness. The challenging part for me is that the HO says it could be cancer. Why - have they been to the vet? (Or why not?). No treatment - if not, why? Lots of unanswered serious questions.
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yes, unanswered questions, to go through at the meet up. Hopefully we all get the answers to it too. 
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Fair point @Gabba, but with the sit starting in 3 days now, and with the OP already being in the area in readiness for this sit, surely it’s wise to also be checking out other sits in the vicinity with these dates and thinking about how quickly this sit can be unconfirmed so that other applications can be made? Attending a meeting with the pet parents is going to take yet more time and energy, I’d be picking up the phone and asking for clarification straight away, not waiting for a meeting which might prove fruitless.
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yeah, that’s probably a better idea. 
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I’ve sat cats who would throw up a hairball ( = vomit) every other day or so. That wasn’t necessarily disclosed to me in advance, but I never made a point of it. All part of the deal in my view.
So if’ it’s just the vomit, I would go ahead. if there’s a risk of additional complications because of the cancer, I’d be more careful. Still, if it would be a short sit (1-2 wks) I probably wouldn’t leave the HO without a sitter last minute and just deal with it, since cleaning up vomit is literally no more than 2 minutes a day
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Just be aware @themobileretiree, that if you wait until the day before the sit for the meeting - 2 more days - you’ll find it very challenging to have the sit unconfirmed in time to find alternatives.
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I am surprised somebody would have to disclose that cats throw up balls from time to time. I’d have expected a person with “cat experience” listed to know that this is normal and to be expected.
I’ll have to disclose that cats have claws, I suppose…
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and teeth @elmi4711 
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I dont judge the homeowner. We don’t know the full situation. Maybe the HO needs to travel for a family funeral or major work trip. Maybe the cat has years to live. My cat lived for years with chronic kidney disease and I kept travelling after the diagnosis.
I’m in the US and the vet tests for cancer can be prohibitively expensive and maybe there would be no treatment anyway, so the HO might have decided not to test
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While the host faces various challenges with a sick pet, it’s never OK to foist them on unsuspecting sitters. And while it might be personally expedient or convenient for any individual sitter to make do with ugly surprises and lying or misleading hosts, it’s worth considering that we all exist in the same ecosystem. That means for every exception we make, for every lying host we enable, it leaves more room for them to continue with such behaviors and to potentially think they can get away with more. That hurts other sitters and can contribute to biting you individually as well as a sitter, because you might well be caught up in a mess that some other sitter enabled.
Of course, each person makes their own choices. But let’s be honest about how and what we contribute.
THS is not meant to serve all needs or all people. It’s meant to be a reasonable exchange, which is thwarted when either party lies or cheats. The more we tolerate, the more collectively we essentially pee in the same pool we all swim in.
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I agree, but in this case it is possible for the sitter to continue with the sits AND prevent the HO from misleading future sitters by being honest in their review. I’m all for teaching the HO that this is unacceptable by cancelling the sit, but not if this would greatly inconvenience the sitter also. Even if everyone “should” have a Plan B, realistically not every sitter has the luxury of being able to afford alternative accommodation.
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A lot of cats vomit occassionally. The HO should’ve informed you if the cat vomits regularly. A lot of cats have mysterious health issues that vets can’t quite figure out. If the cat vomits from time to time, the best thing you can do is follow the food/feeding guidelines as much as possible because likely the owner has been working on foods and feeding schedules geared toward making the vomitting less frequent. But definitely pay attention to the feeding guides.
Yes, the HO should’ve mentioned it. But IMO you don’t need to cancel the sit that is starting in 4 days!
Next time, ask more questions and/or specifically ask about conditions like vomitting, spitting up, litterbox issues, etc.
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It is something I created myself.
Thank you all for the suggestions and feedback. Clarifying questions have been asked of the HO.
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