What should I do? Pet sitting cats?

[Anonymous]

“Ammonia poisoning”
“Respiratory distress”?

Really, you can’t open windows and doors (if screened) for the 10-20 Min it should be taking you to care for these cats? Turn on the vent hood and bathroom fans.

Cats are jerks but your reaction seems extreme. Are you sure you’ve gone and cleaned every day? Some cats won’t tolerate a dirty box and would Need it cleaned daily. Could be they’re peeling around the box or under it, but honestly, you’re being a bit silly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would not want to be bothered about this while on vacation. I can handle it when I get home. OP, just do what’s necessary and leave. You aren’t obligated to anything else.

As someone who once came home to a child's bedroom that had been destroyed by my cat while I was gone for a week and the pet sitter never noticed or contacted us, I can say from personal experience: PLEASE CALL THE OWNER! This isn't normal behavior and the owner may wish to change the care situation for the week (e.g. try to board the cat). If it truly smells that bad, it's not what usually is happening when the owner is home.

[Anonymous]

It’s fine to text the owner. My pet sitters have texted me with all sorts of things including pooping outside the box and a sudden ant infestation. I didn’t mind and was glad for the heads up. As far as scooping, we have 2 cats and the litter must be scooped thoroughly 2x a day or it can smell. Are you scooping enough?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They are mad at you and showed you who is in charge. Your friend can deal with it when she gets back.

Imagine how stupid a cat must be to destroy its own home to stick it to a complete stranger! Totally makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint! /s

Has it occured to you that perhaps the cat doesn't dislike the smell of it's urine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m currently pet sitting a friend’s sister’s cats. My friend and her sister are currently on a cruise through Saturday night. I’ve been taking care of the cats since Saturday.

The first time I got there I noticed a strong cat pee smell and despite my best efforts, it’s gotten worse. Maybe it’s because the house is closed up with no airflow? Maybe because the cats have peed somewhere I can’t find? I don’t know. I have walked the whole house looking for the cause of the odor but I can’t find anything.

Two days ago I cleaned the litter thoroughly, took out the trash, but the next day, the smell was worse than ever. I got such a headache afterwards that I seriously googled “ammonia poisoning”. The cats seem to be just fine.

I’m supposed to spend time with the cats each day, interacting and playing, but for the past two days I haven’t been able to. I quickly feed them, change the water, scoop the poop, and go. I feel horrible about this. Should I let the owner know I can’t hang out in the house with the cats, but they are watered and fed? I don’t want her to worry on her vacation and there’s nothing she can do from the middle of the Caribbean Sea.

Male cat "spray" most likely. If you have a real UV blacklight, not one of those LED garbage ones, then you are in for a shock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Ammonia poisoning”
“Respiratory distress”?

Really, you can’t open windows and doors (if screened) for the 10-20 Min it should be taking you to care for these cats? Turn on the vent hood and bathroom fans.

Cats are jerks but your reaction seems extreme. Are you sure you’ve gone and cleaned every day? Some cats won’t tolerate a dirty box and would Need it cleaned daily. Could be they’re peeling around the box or under it, but honestly, you’re being a bit silly.

I think it’s a bit silly to go to the trouble of airing out a house just to close it again for another 24 hours. But I agree, OP likely isn’t sure if she’s driven to the smelly cat piss house every day. OP, are you sure you went? Positive?

[Anonymous]

Cats are low maintenance. It’s nice if you to make sure they have fresh water, food and a scooped litter box. Play with them? What for?

They are cats, if you really want to amuse them drop some crickets on the floor the next time you are there they will entertain themselves for days hunting down the little hoppers. Might even stop peeing in their owners shoes.

[Anonymous]

They probably peed somewhere you can't get to, like on the carpet under the sofa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Ammonia poisoning”
“Respiratory distress”?

Really, you can’t open windows and doors (if screened) for the 10-20 Min it should be taking you to care for these cats? Turn on the vent hood and bathroom fans.

Cats are jerks but your reaction seems extreme. Are you sure you’ve gone and cleaned every day? Some cats won’t tolerate a dirty box and would Need it cleaned daily. Could be they’re peeling around the box or under it, but honestly, you’re being a bit silly.

I think it’s a bit silly to go to the trouble of airing out a house just to close it again for another 24 hours. But I agree, OP likely isn’t sure if she’s driven to the smelly cat piss house every day. OP, are you sure you went? Positive?

Well, if the smell is indeed causing “respiratory distress” I can’t imagine that opening the windows for 15 minutes should be such an insurmountable burden.

I also get that most people do not open windows are they like their hermetically sealed houses with heat and AC and never shall outside air and house air mix

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:“Ammonia poisoning”
“Respiratory distress”?

Really, you can’t open windows and doors (if screened) for the 10-20 Min it should be taking you to care for these cats? Turn on the vent hood and bathroom fans.

Cats are jerks but your reaction seems extreme. Are you sure you’ve gone and cleaned every day? Some cats won’t tolerate a dirty box and would Need it cleaned daily. Could be they’re peeling around the box or under it, but honestly, you’re being a bit silly.

I think it’s a bit silly to go to the trouble of airing out a house just to close it again for another 24 hours. But I agree, OP likely isn’t sure if she’s driven to the smelly cat piss house every day. OP, are you sure you went? Positive?

Well, if the smell is indeed causing “respiratory distress” I can’t imagine that opening the windows for 15 minutes should be such an insurmountable burden.

I also get that most people do not open windows are they like their hermetically sealed houses with heat and AC and never shall outside air and house air mix

Well also if it's this bad for OP for 10 minutes imagine how bad it is for the cats in there 24/7.

Anyway this is probably a troll trying to stir up the anti-cat people.

[Anonymous]

I think there is a decent chance the urine smell was there before the cat owner went on vacation. Pet owners become nose-blind very easily. As a cat owner myself, I wouldn't expect a sitter to try to hunt down the source with a blacklight. A quick look around the home for any obvious signs for where the cat may have peed would be sufficient. Airing out the house for 15 minutes while you sit outside might be considerate. And I'd do a short text to the cat mom saying you smell urine but can't find the source.

[Anonymous]

Why not leave a few upper story windows cracked open? Why is that a security risk?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Look in corners or next to the litter box. They are probably pissed their owner left. Cats are the worst.

No pun intended here??! 😻

I wouldn’t say anything for now - let them enjoy their vacation.

As long as the cats have adequate food + water and a clean litter box they should be fine until Saturday.

[Anonymous]

I cat sat once for a couple of weeks Md the cats were definitely pissed that their owner was gone. They pissed and pooped all over the place. It was absolutely disgusting and the smell was unconquerable. I was really pissed at the owner because she put me in a terrible position, and she was pissed at me afterwards for what her cats did.

So OP, you have my sympathy. Just do what you can to keep them fed and the litter box clean. Text the owner to let her know there’s a bad situation, but she’ll have to figure something out when she gets home. How many more days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:“Ammonia poisoning”
“Respiratory distress”?

Really, you can’t open windows and doors (if screened) for the 10-20 Min it should be taking you to care for these cats? Turn on the vent hood and bathroom fans.

Cats are jerks but your reaction seems extreme. Are you sure you’ve gone and cleaned every day? Some cats won’t tolerate a dirty box and would Need it cleaned daily. Could be they’re peeling around the box or under it, but honestly, you’re being a bit silly.

Why would you say that?