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J_Baloney

I live in a rural area so not only does this happen to me with cats but also chickens, sheep, horses…lol


Old_Bar2825

Horses take so much care, more than a dog!!! Are they freaking serious?!?!?


J_Baloney

I hear ya! Fortunately no issues with the horses ever. Today, though, one of the chickens got out and I had to wrangle it back into the coop. Things like this the owners never anticipate.


DoggieDuty

I did put a coop on the booking once, and they told me that the dogs would occasionally bark if they saw something like a raccoon approaching the coop overnight, instead the dogs howled every hour as if they were newborn babies, to the point that I had to get my partner who's also a sitter to take turns with me, and a couple times we just straight up asked if we could spend the night at our own house so that we could catch up on sleep because we could not get them to stop crying wolf about raccoons.


Robotmuffin666

Honestly, I’ve cared for horses for up to a week, and it was super easy.


SieBanhus

This one really depends - if they’re pastured they can be very low maintenance, but if they’re stabled they’ll be a massive amount of work.


A6M6L6

Same- most recently it was alpacas 🙃


J_Baloney

That’s funny. Honestly, I know I shouldn’t but I just let it go these days.


baldbarretto

I am curious what a drop in visit for alpacas looks like


JustAnAlpacaBot

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baldbarretto

I mean, this would certainly make a drop in more efficient, thank you bot


A6M6L6

It wasn’t a drop in, I almost exclusively do house sitting. But I had to feed them and let them out/get them back in to their stable thing every morning/night, and at one point they escaped through a hole in the fence and were just roaming around the un-fenced part of the farm (which was also upsetting the dogs) and I couldn’t get ahold of the owners for like 8 hours. When they finally replied they were just like “yeah we found a hole in the fence last week so they’ve been getting out” ……. Lmao. Just didn’t care at all that they risked wandering into a busy street (meanwhile I was stressing out to the point of tears over it)


baldbarretto

Oh Jesus…that was a lot less whimsical and lighthearted than i assumed


cribvby

That’s the only animal I would let slide cause I love them


Birony88

I had one hide the fact that he had a pony for two weeks. Two weeks! Thank god I was only doing lunch drop ins for the dog, and not a full on sitting situation.


igotyeenbeans

People are cheap


DoggieDuty

Whenever this pops up, I am reminded of when I sat two dogs for multiple days, and then suddenly heard a cat from the closed room that was the office that I was not supposed to go in. She locked her cat in the office to not pay for her and never mentioned her. She also never requested me again


notagirlnotarobot

That's so sad. I feel so bad for that cat. Some people just shouldn't have cats tbh...


A6M6L6

Any chance you’re in southeastern PA? Because I literally had the same exact thing (2 dogs, cat locked in office, never mentioned her to me) happen a couple years ago and I was SO upset


DoggieDuty

Nope, Midwest/Central West here


A6M6L6

Just dickheads everywhere I guess 😭


Elegant_Chemical2144

OMG! I would have such a serious issue with that. People are cheap and cats are animals too. I haven’t had a cat since high school, I’m in my 50s and I now have two cats and one dog. I didn’t know how much I could love these two cats. They are amazing and they are just as important as my dog. Were you able to get into the room to see if the cat had food and water? Who is cleaning out his litter box?


DoggieDuty

I was able to get in the room, it wasn't locked I was just told not to go in there, so I respected that. I went in when I heard meowing, and she wasn't mad but you could tell over text she was very uncomfortable with getting caught and that she insisted that he didn't need anything, I gave him pets, but then it was awkward because I then had to keep him in the room. I wasn't okay with it, and I'm pretty sure that's why she never messaged me to book again, probably just did the same to the next sitter


Bulky-District-2757

Because they’re sElF sUfFiCeNt It’s funny because I have a cat and a dog, my dog is beyond easy to take care of, my cat tho - she’s a whole ass mess 🤦🏻‍♀️


Birony88

Lol, same. So many people don't seem to understand even their own cats. They are somehow under the misconception that cats don't need attention. I find that's because they don't bother to give them attention. 90% or more of the time, if I offer the "reclusive" cat some one on one time, it eats it up because it's starving for attention. It's so sad and frustrating. I laugh when people tell me cats are easier. Clearly they've never met any of mine! My newest one is more clingy and requires more supervision than any puppy I've ever cared for.


SquishyCatChronicles

If I am doing mixed family bookings, I charge for each of the drop ins for the dogs, 3 or 4 per day, but I modify the booking and only charge cats, guinea pigs, etc once per day. I mean I'll probably still be doing things for them, but the dogs are the ones I'm there for on the 2nd and 3rd trip of the day.. I had a fellow Rover sitter reach out to me and asked if I would care for her pets! Absolutely! She requested 2 dogs and lived about 40 mins from me... I wasn't thrilled about it but we had a mutual client and I figured it was for a short period so I'd deal.. I get there for the meet and greet.. Those two dogs were actually 3 dogs, 5 cats, two rabbits, and a pig. ALLLLL in the house. I shouldn't have to explain to a sitter how to properly book.. I charged $15 per drop in and $5 for additional pets. I modified the booking by just doing a price adjustment since the pets weren't in the profile. I added $45 per drop in for a total of $65 per visit 3 times per day (I wasn't going to do my normal cat/small animal discount because she was trying to be shitty). She sadly said she'd find someone else.


kittara1228

I can't believe a fellow Rover sitter tried to pull that nonsense! You probably dodged a bullet.


SquishyCatChronicles

Right?? My favorite part is that she charged way more than I did for a single drop in price and additional pets.. Like if she would've done her own rates she would've been paying double what I was asking.. How can she think so highly of herself and not someone she's hiring for the exact same job??


sorryaboutthatbro

This for real. My dog would be annoying but fine if you only fed him and let him out in the yard. My cat requires litter scooping, feeding wet food that needs divided, and subcutaneous fluids 3 days a week.


Robotmuffin666

Not through Rover, but one time I was dogsitting at a friend of a friend’s hobby farm. They had 3 dogs, and also some alpacas, pigs, and mini horses. Well, they didn’t mention they were BREEDING THE PIGS! I went from watching 4 pigs to 27 overnight. Lol. Luckily you don’t have to do much for newborn pigs and it worked out.


A6M6L6

Oh god I would have lost my mind 😭


mad0666

Jeez, I even have a profile for my guinea pig 😂 I have never seen a profile yet thankfully that didn’t include all pets in the home.


A6M6L6

One of my biggest gripes with the Rover app is that they don’t have at least an “other” profile option for misc small pets (like guinea pigs, bunnies, fish, etc), because it enables people to get away with this kind of thing. My first ever Rover job ended up involving me taking care of a rabbit (that required a lot of work) for a week on top of the 2 dogs/2 cats and I did it for free because I didn’t know how to handle it 🫠


mad0666

Oh wait, wait, your comment just made me remember someone I blocked on there not too long ago…Wanted me to house sit for three weeks, and right by my own house so not bad, right? Well I go to meet and they add that they also have several lizards and snakes and birds…That they were “willing” to pay extra for care lol. I said thanks but no thanks. If you can’t be upfront about the animals that live with you, you shouldn’t be allowed to use the app at all imo,


A6M6L6

That has happened to me multiple times. Zero mention of the multiple reptiles/turtles/birds/etc until I WASTED GAS driving up to an hour to their house for the meet n greet (I have to pass on snakes if I’d be required to feed them live mice)


ezermuse

Cleaning cats litter box alone is reason enough for a sitter’s rate. 🤢


A6M6L6

I had someone tell me I “didn’t have to do anything” for their cats for an *8 day job.* So I’m going to, what, just pretend there’s not a litter box piling up for 8 days? Be forreal lol


ezermuse

What litter box can even go 8 days without cleaning?!? Omg that would be so foul. I had owners with the most fancy of litter boxes and the most they could go without was 1 maybe 2 days.


A6M6L6

Especially when there are multiple cats using the same box!


SnowWhiteCampCat

My box can go 3 days, with 3 cats. But it's a robot that I paid an arm and a leg for lol.


A6M6L6

Yeah I’m talking run of the mill plastic bin litter boxes 😂


SnowWhiteCampCat

Yeah, while saving up, we were scooping 3 times a day each. That's too much scooping! But, 3 indoor cats in a small house, there's really no choice.


mad0666

My cousin has one of those and it’s a dream


spindriftgreen

Me too. Many times. I can’t believe how many people who do not clean the litter box daily. I


Ok_Abies_379

Man I had someone who I already booked with to hoisin their dog and did a meet and greet with … the night before the booking tells me the details I need for the cat. Which I never saw or met. It included daily litter box cleaning. Fed wet food twice a day with cbd oil. And treats. I said “I’m sorry I’ll need you to create them a profile before I can care for them” and he simply ignored me. I legit wasn’t sure what to even do at that point so I still showed up and did the damn visit but I’ll never do that again.


SnowWhiteCampCat

"Unfortunately, my insurance won't cover me if there are extra pets. You'll need to create a profile for all animals by X date, or I'll have to cancel this booking. Thank you." "As we've now passed X date, I'm going to go ahead and cancel this booking due to insurance liability. Wishing you the best with your next sitter."


A6M6L6

I had a few experiences like that my first year or so on Rover and as a chronic people pleaser I had absolutely no idea what to do with myself. I am now much better with boundaries, but pet owners absolutely took advantage of me (and would definitely continue to do so if I didn’t start putting my foot down). It’s so shitty


lilpumpgroupie

They’re just assuming you’re gonna tolerate it and not stand up for yourself. And especially if you need the money, most people don’t.


Ok_Abies_379

I agree. I think I was just taken aback a little. That human beings actually act like that and lack basic respect. Moving forward I always ask if there will be any other animals in the home and an definitely not desperate enough that I’ll watch more for free. 🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠🫠 LOL fml


lilpumpgroupie

You never know, sometimes the people who need pet sitting are broke, too, and have to do this because they wouldn’t be able to afford it otherwise. I always try to think about that when I’m mad at somebody for doing broke behavior like this.


SnowWhiteCampCat

Then they should call in a favour with a friend, not rip off a worker.


lilpumpgroupie

Yeah, or not go on a trip. But the reality is, there are a lot of struggling people out there, and I do still have sympathy. Or, put another way, it makes it slightly easier for me to cope with people’s shitty behavior.


SquishyCatChronicles

It's not my fault that you plan a trip and don't have a budget for your pets care. I have multiple pets myself and if I can't afford their care, I'm not going on a trip. I Gurantee you if the roles were reversed, they'd feel differently.


No-Escape5520

It's not just dog people. I had a repeat cat client that booked as usual, but when I showed up, there was an extra cat. A BIG extra cat with no note, info, name etc. Just an extra food bowl. The original cat was terrified of this new cat and was hiding and stopped using the litter box because she was so sketched. I walked into a mountain lion that I've never seen before and several piles of cat poop in the bathtub. When I contacted the client, she just said, "oh he's my boyfriends cat. He's friendly, his name is..." I explained the mess and the state of her cat, and she was just like, "Really? That's weird. But you pick up poop for a living so I don't understand the issue." I'll let you imagine how the rest of that convo went down.


specialkk77

Dog owners, especially high maintenance dog owners seem to forget how much work cats can be for an unknown person. I did drop ins for 2 cats this week, and while compared to my dogs they’re very low maintenance, it’s still a lot of work! That or they just don’t want to pay for cat care.


A6M6L6

It’s likely the latter 🫠


Hes9023

Anytime I’ve had someone say “you don’t have to do anything” I no-shit reply with “ok so if they’re throwing up or having a seizure just leave them there then. No vet, go it.” With a complete straight face. Every single time they’re like oh shit, what if something happens to the cat


Background_Hat8725

I’ve been on rover since 2017 as well and I never have this problem. Just got a new request from a new rover client with 7 cats and she has profiles for all of them and her dog.


A6M6L6

Sincerely love that for you, that has been SO rare in my experience


Background_Hat8725

I’m doing house sitting right now for a client who was confused by rover and put both their dogs in one profile but I’m charging them extra anyway and I have my own insurance so I don’t really care. Gotta make it work! Got bills to pay. Not really, but I guess that’s the expression. Cellphone is my only bill.


[deleted]

That’s so weird! I have regular cat-only clients who I do drop-ins for. I also have two cats and a dog of my own at home, and I would never expect a dog sitter to also take care of my cats for free!


YoureThatCourier

The only time I've ever watched a cat for free was because the cat had an automatic feeder and one of those automatic litter boxes which I never had to clean. Only charged for the dog.


A6M6L6

My issue is that even if the owner can argue that the cat is “self sufficient” (which at the end of the day will never be 100% the case, especially for long stays), that cat cannot drive itself to the vet should there be a medical emergency. It’s still an animal I am ultimately responsible for as it is a part of the household


Nice_Flounder_1986

That is exactly what I tell owners - it’s not just about the day-to-day care, it’s that I’m responsible for all the animals in the home during the stay, no matter how self-sufficient or introverted they are. I’m sure their “you don’t have to do anything for them” attitude would go out the window real fast if the cat got sick or injured🙄


MarcusMongeau

I don’t think that cats don’t count, I just think that cats are a lot less work than dogs, but everyone had they’re own preference


A6M6L6

Most of the time they are! That’s why my cat rate is significantly less than my dog rate. But they’re still an animal that is under my care and I think that should be reflected in the cost of the sitting


MrPlushT

Are you housesitting? If it has an automatic feeder and they aren’t requiring you to do litter boxes, you really aren’t doing anything. My only exception is if you were staying at their house in which the potential cat puke/pee (or a lot depending on the cat) wouldn’t be something I would just accept/except to live with and ignore taking care of…and I ain’t doing that for free.


A6M6L6

Said this in response to another comment: “My issue is that even if the owner can argue that the cat is “self sufficient” (which at the end of the day will never be 100% the case, especially for long stays), that cat cannot drive itself to the vet should there be a medical emergency. It’s still an animal I am ultimately responsible for as it is a part of the household” But yes- I almost exclusively do housesitting


MrPlushT

I get it, I guess I wouldn’t expect to charge the full per day rate for a cat if said cat is self-sufficient care wise. I’d probably just make a small adjustment to the dog price to account for the odds of cleaning up a cat accident or in the very rare case it need medical attention. Charging like $20 a day for something you are honestly doing nothing for would be a bit excessive. BUT I nearly do this as a little side gig and maybe do a client or two a month…for someone that does this seriously and it is their main job, I could see where one might be a little more picky and not want to bend the rules so to speak.


A6M6L6

My cat rates are actually really low compared to the average rate in my area (especially as “add-ons”), which is why this irks me even more 😂


SubprimeOptimus

Cats are living furniture


iamthesoviet

It’s a case by case basis but as long as I don’t have to do anything with them I don’t charge for them. It would be different if I was spending any amount of time with them bc then it becomes a safety issue but for drop ins it’s usually just a walk and then feeding the dog and I’m barely spending time in the home for that. I hate when people try to pull one over on me with their fish or gerbils or whatever though. Like, no, I’m not going to clean your fish tank while you’re gone unless you want to pay for the full hour and then some. 🙄 someone asked me to feed their chickens once… and didn’t even give me any eggs!


A6M6L6

No eggs? In this economy? 😂😭


PetSitterJapan

Contact Rover ASAP and request an adjusted rate.


A6M6L6

I tried this the first couple times it happened and they told me I needed to sort it out with the owner lmfao


DelMarDogLife

My last cat visit sent me to urgent care for tetanus shot from bites and scratches.