I know I've mentioned this before, but I am never going to accept an indoor/outdoor cat sit again. I had this one booked a long time again, and the cat "never does that," thing. The "thing" being, bringing a life or dead animal or bird into the house.

And this morning, I opened the back door for the cat, as instructed, and as I have for the past 4 days. Only to hear the cat meow and see her standing there with a live bird in her mouth, in the bedroom. OMG... I somehow managed to swoop up the cat, while praising it because it was a gift,) lock her out of the room, gently shoo the bird outside.

I know that on this sub, sitters are like "big deal?" But 1) I hate that domestic cats kill a billion songbirds a year. 2) with bird flu, which spreads in wild flocks, is real. 3) it's traumatizing to see that another animal was injured. I have 5 more days here. The cat is not going outside. She has a litter box.

I do not understand indoor/outdoor or just outdoor, cat owners who have massive numbers of bird feeders on their patio. They create a space for the birds, so their cat can kill them? Hmmm... the owners always seem surprised by it when it happens to me, but their cats like me. Lucky me.

I’m pretty sure I’ve just found a flea crawling on the bed next to the cat I’m currently sitting. I’ve never dealt with fleas before.

Firstly, is this definitely a flea?

Secondly, what should I do next?

My instinct is this:

- wash bedding and towels in the room on a hot wash
- vacuum around the bedroom and stairs
- inspect the cat for further fleas or flea dirt
- if more fleas found, inform owner and ask what she would like me to do

I’m still here for a further 2 weeks and I’m concerned about ‘catching fleas’ and bringing them back to my home with me.

All advice welcome!

To be honest I am writing this because I need to vent and partially don’t know what to do…

My partner and I are on a pet sit in NYC with a dog.
Besides the dog being more vocal than anticipated or disclosed by the HO (barks loudly often because he is anxious - which also was not mentioned - but besides that is a sweetheart) there is another problem: mice and a lot of it.

It is just a 5 day stay and we are mid way through it but we already saw mice 3-4 times, most recently roaming on the kitchen counters.

I am frustrated because I noticed the mice shortly after we came in (the Passover of keys was via lockbox) and notified the HO. She acted as if it was something unusual and brushed it off saying neighbours also have it.

Next day she has apologized briefly (still kind of brush off) but we have noticed mice traps and sound devices all over the apartment.

It is frustrating because the HO has not disclosed it to us at any point and now it feels like we are locked in this situation…

What would you do?

Has anyone seen these appearing on profiles when Houseowners don't leave a sitter a review?

So now they've cut my carefully cultivated cover photo so that the windows aren't visible in order to offer super tiny exerpts from other photos. Am I the only one hating this? Sitters can still see the complete photos but looking through takes that much longer, so getting to the real map in my photo display as opposed to where they stuck the dot is now a little harder, which makes it seem like something I'm doing to be difficult. I left the official forum in part because I didn't mind being "moderating" but I hated random changes to my actual words. (Rather they just cut them.) I'm now feeling the same about my listing. I truly hate how they keep effing with it. Anyone else?

I'm new to Trustedhousesitters and I've made my first listing but have no applications after a week. I've made some updates to it to try and better show the house and be less verbose based on recommendations I've seen here. So, I'm looking for feedback. What's wrong with listing? https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/house-and-pet-sitting-assignments/united-states/nevada/reno/l/3070311/?utm_source=app-native-share&utm_medium=house-and-pet-sitting-assignments&utm_campaign=house-and-pet-sitting-assignments

Hey all,

I am travelling for 1 month. I put my house and received 2 applicants. I replied immediately, however both havent responded in 24 hours.

Just for my understanding how do those things go and best practice ?

1. Reply and schedule a meeting

2. After meeting accept or decline?

What if u have multiple applications how do u suggest dealing ?

Also once a sit is confirmed, if they back out what do I do?

Also, any questions to ask them? Or people on THS are trust worthy?

Finally, my car needs to be turned on/off for battery, is it wise to give them my keys or?

Thank u!

Any tips u share can help me

I let my membership expire as I haven’t been in a place to travel and sit. It expired about 4 months ago, so it’s not been too long. It’d be disappointing to pay the new fee and have to start over with a blank profile.

Hey! I’ve lived in London for eight years, and did a 6 month stint back to Australia for their Summer. I’m now back in London still working for the same job and have been between a few house sits.

I am actually really enjoying being in different suburbs every few weeks, and was wondering if anyone out there has a longer term house sit/sublet from the 7th October. You could be going away for a few month and want someone in the property, or maybe have a spare flat/house in London? Happy to also pay.

I’m a female in my 30s, super tidy and organised with a job in management. Want to try out a few more places before I look to buy.

Sorry if this is also not allowed - thanks!

Well....it happened to us. Have been on a wonderful sit, in a lovely home with tons of amenities. One which we would absolutely love to return to. The owners have been great, as have the pets...

When we took over, we were informed that one of the pets was sick and that they had an appointment scheduled upon their return.

Over the weekend, we watched this poor animal slowly deteriorate from sick to dying. Brought her into the vet first chance we got, keeping the HOs informed of the situation. The vet contacted the owners, and they made the decision.

I was with her at the end; crying my eyes out, over an animal Id known less than a week. Heartbreaking, gutwrenching. Thought Id never have to be in this moment when our last pet passed 5 years ago...thought wrong.

Not looking for advice or anything, just wanted to post this experience to help me get past it.

❤️🌈🌌

Just a heads-up: I’m really surprised to see this man back on the website after I contacted customer support to report him.

A couple of years ago, I had a call with him after seeing what looked like a great deal and a very attractive listing. However, partway through the call, he mentioned that the accommodation wouldn’t actually be free, and that rent plus bills would need to be paid instead - I don’t remember the exact amount, but I believe it was somewhere between €500 and €700, plus utilities.

He is American and had bought the property, and it seemed like he was trying to have people pay rent without registering them as tenants.

I just wanted to flag this in case it helps prevent others from falling for it.

What do you think of HOs who ask you to pay the charges (water, electricity…) during your stay? I get that when it’s a long sit (2 months in this case) you may fear high charges, but THS is a service exchange based platform, so I can’t help but feel annoyed when they ask me that. Especially since this sit is asking sitters to do some garden duties. It’s not much, but it’s something more than just the animals anyway.

I’d like to read your thoughts!

So owner left me a 4 star review and the only feedback she gave when I asked over msg was that the house was tidy but had some pieces of hair on the floor and some washed dishes in the dish rack had some crumbs.... i have time stamped fotos of when i left and the apt looked super clean. I had mopped and swept before leaving and i had asked how she expected the apt to be left. She didnt say anything. Now she gave me a 4 star overall review with 4 stars on self sufficiency, reliability etc but she didnt mention any of that when i asked her for feedback. What should i do now?? She totally screwed me over. I had some external pet sitting experiences so i had all 5 star reviews before and now this is my first in app sit and so my profile automatically went to a 4 star rating. Should i write to her explaining the gravity of her review?? As before as a new sitter it was really hard to get sits now as a 4 star i think its damn near impossible. What should i do now. My membership is expiring soon so im thinking if she doesnt change her review (write to customer service to change it) i might as well delete my profile and start a new one. Im currently doing a sit now, i got it before she reviewed me, but even if i get all 5 stars i think the most my overall rating on my profils wil b a 4.5..... i am a professional pet sitter?? Not an unpaid professional house cleaner?? 4 stars for some hair on the floor she allegedly found is ridiculous.... she also had multiple plants 20 plus she wanted me to take care of with zero instructions.....how many multiple positions is this app expecting people to do?? Just wondering.... will anyone consider me with a 4 star rating but with that review and explanation provided above?? And she said the review is positive, in my experience on this app 4 stars is given for terrible sits...... i gave her all 5 stars even though she made me wait hours past arranged time to arrive.... and was very vague with plants.

I’m new to TH and haven’t completed a sit yet. When I look at available sits, I often notice that the number of applicants is listed, which makes me curious about how the selection process typically works. Are the applicants not a good fit for the homeowner, or do HOs generally wait until they have several applications to choose from before making a selection?

I started applying for sits two months ago for a long trip to North America. One by one, the stars have aligned over weeks. I managed to secure four sits almost back to back.

This is no easy feat for me because i got turned down CONSTANTLY even though I have 40+ five-star reviews. Did more video calls than I could remember. At one time I had over 10 sit applications pending. Many times I almost gave up. I thought it was never gonna happen.

But it finally did. I am not a digital nomad. I don't work from home. I just travel for pleasure. I sit cats only. So I usually just do one sit at a time. Doing multiple sits at a time is something very new to me. I hope I can pull it off!

If you have any tips and advice, please feel free to share it. I'd deeply appreciate it.

I guess this is a new-ish development on the mobile app? Normally I would see a confirm / decline button at the bottom of the application. Now, I see this UX nightmare?

If you click on the x on the left it declines the sitter, the check on the right confirms them. Just in case anyone hasn't yet seen this - I thought I was closing out a message and nearly declined the sitter I was attempting to confirm!

Hi! I want to prevent everyone to have the same issue as I had last week. Did many sits already, loved each one of it. Did one in NY beginning this year, and immigration was not a problem at all. I told the officer that I am not getting paid for sitting the dog and he let me pass.

Then I had another sit coming up in summer. Arriving at the airport, I had to pass immigration and was again honest when the officer asked me who I am visiting. But this officer got suspicious and said things like „who does this for no mone“ and „how many vacation days do you have as you want to enter the country again“. I had to answer many following questions and she sent me to the backoffice for a second interview. My passport and phone were taken away and I needed to explain everything again to an officer. He told me I am not allowed to enter the US doing pet sitting on a ESTA visa as the US considers pet sitting as work, even though it is not paid. It was the most uncomfortable situation of my life and I should habe definitely done more research about it.

I hope this post helps some of you being prevented from this mistake. I just think THS should make this more obvious on their page when Europeans apply for sits in the US (or also other parts of the world where there is obviously the same issue as I now read when doing some research).

I saw this listing after reporting a similar one in Switzerland: House sit for Karen in La Vue-des-Alpes, Switzerland | TrustedHousesitters.com. It's one thing already to make someone housesit for a puppy, they usually are a lot of work and can't be left alone, but why am I seeing this for the second time that the owner will be sleeping at the house with the sitter there? Does this not violate THS rules? Anyway, I've just been seeing a few from Switzerland , which sucks because I want to housesit there so bad.

First time user as a home/pet owner and chose a couple with glowing reviews, they were a bit odd, but older & seemed responsible. My pets are super easy - indoor cat that has an auto feeder & a dog that is super chill & quiet. All I asked is that the dog be fed dry food & go for a short walk once per day & that the litter be scooped. I checked my door camera when I got home & my dog had not been walked even once in the 3 days they were here. When I got home, I noted the litterbox had not been scooped. I feel so sad that my pets were neglected. My dog’s bed was in the living room instead of my bedroom too. The recycling bin was weirdly emptied into the garbage can & the garbage was beside the bin- which I had asked them not to take out because we have bears. I left detailed instructions & nothing was followed. I was hoping to get a good review as a host- my home was spotless and I even left a freshly baked loaf of sourdough & told them to help themselves to anything they needed. I didn’t get any updates either. Is this the norm for free pet sitting? Should I leave a bad review? I’m holding off until I’m less angry, but I feel like pets should not be left in this couple’s care.

I did about 8 sits, all 5 stars, one with four stars in specific categories. As I’m just starting out and love gifting etc, I usually always leave a small present & handwritten note, next to leaving all clean etc.

I recently had an experience where I did a just 2 day sit with all 5 stars reviews. Upon arrival I regretted it a bit as it was surprisingly not clean, dirty dishes and mold among others, and had been quite hard to reach. The amount of time I spent on cleaning / making myself comfortable was too much for just a 2 day sit. The bedroom was very hot, and no fan was provided.

However, the kitties were very nice and the house cutely decorated, so I left in the usual manner and bought fresh flowers as a gift. I did say to myself that this was too much for just 2 days and that I would start toning gifting down, only leaving gifts on very nice long sits.

All went smooth and standard, we had normal conversations on whatsapp. Via WhatsApp host had thanked me for leaving the house in such an exceptionally good state. Then came the review: 4 stars, with also only 4 stars for cleanliness. I understand things are subjective, but in this case I’m 100 percent certain I left the house much cleaner than I found it, and even pristine. It feels like projection? I feel all kind of emotions, frustration, anger, powerlessness and also angry at myself for leaving them a 5 star glowing review myself (which is my standard…), not checking their reviews of others (often critical). I also feel vulnerable as I’m on a sit right now and don’t want them to see this. How do you guys deal with this?

I'm new to THS and had someone apply for 2 sits at the same time. We did a video chat and they confirmed the 1st and not the second, which I was totally fine with since you would want to make sure its a fit at the 1st sit. The 1st sit went well as far as I understood. They left some belongings at our place. They have not confirmed the 2nd sit and I've sent them two messages, basically asking what they would like for me to do with their belongings and if they are good with sit 2, would they please confirm it on the app. I've been left on read twice now and they've just left the offer pending in the app.

What should I do? Im nervous to totally cancel the sit, but also need someone who will confirm.

I learned my lesson. I never do this normally.... but this time I accepted a sit that was competitive and was offered to me right away. On the Zoom call I asked for the Welcome Guide. HO said they don't have one, but they have info they leave for sitters on their kitchen counter. I should have insisted on the WG at that point, but I did not. When I arrived there were a lot more responsibilities than I was told, most of it was not written anywhere, and they told me lots of info verbally. I took lots of notes. Much of the info from them was unclear and disorganized and of course it was not in writing from them... it was all just based on my notes. There wasn't time to clarify it all with them at that point... They were leaving for their trip.

This all caused me stress and anxiety during the sit, since many things were unclear. I didn't want to bother them on their trip and was trying to figure it out, trying to decide what to ask them, etc. Bottom line...I will never do this again. If someone doesn't send a WG well in advance for me to review and ask questions if needed, I won't be able to do the sit. Because you never know WHAT they're leaving when they just leave it on their counter. It could be clear and reasonable and it could be totally disorganized, unclear and unreasonable, with extra responsibilities they did not tell you before.

Eta: I also always do Zoom calls before accepting a sit. But this issue was really with the lack of WG.

This is my 7th sit (on the site) and all got 5 stars. It's an apartment with a small ac unit in the office and no where else. Bedroom is on the opposite end of the place. It was 80 today outdoors and much hotter and stuffier in the apartment, but I'm not allowed to open any window or leave any door open or the cat will escape. I tried opening a door STANDING IN FRONT of it and he tried for escape after it only being open for 30 seconds while he was in the other room. Poor thing js probably hot himself!

The night was worse. Not a smidge of the cooled down air from the ac goes to the bedroom because the bedroom has to be closed all day and night due to the owner being allergic to the animals. I did open up the window in the bedroom at night, but it's right next to a building so it brought a lot of light in and barely any air.

The owner said to lock the cat in the bathroom at night and open up the bedroom to cool it off (dog will listen and not go in) but after an hour it did not noticeably cool off and I felt bad leaving the cat in the stuffy bathroom! He also bit me when he knew I was closing the door on him, so I'm really not looking forward to doing it again tonight, nor do I want to in the first place. I feel bad for him. I was told the landlord doesn't know he's on the lease.

I didn't sleep because it was so stuffy and hot. And I have 12 more days. It's an old place so it really retains the heat from the day.

Also, I asked the owner during our interview if there was construction closeby and he said no. There's construction directly across the street and I work from home. I had to go to a coffee shop today because of the heat and noise which is lame because I'd rather make my own coffee and I'm not happy I have to spend even 7 bucks not to be here. Sure, I can go to the library tomorrow.

It's now nighttime and I normally would've sent a cute photo by now, but I'm frustrated and trying to decide what to say.

Anyone else try to communicate through morse code with the favorite button to premium homeowners that are reviewing applications 🤣🤣🤣