I have a dilemma.......cat-sitting job gone wrong.

deesierra

deesierra

Member
Location
No.NV
Several days ago I accepted a cat-sitting job from an ad posted on Craigslist. After meeting the woman I had some reservations, as her life seemed to be surrounded with drama and chaos. But I took the job anyway. It involved 2 visits per day to feed and water the cats, clean the litter box, and do a general home check. We agreed on a payment amount, and I started the next morning. She asked that I call her after each visit just to let her know all was well.

The first evening, I fed the cats and sat quietly nearby as they ate, on one of the rather flimsy looking dining chairs. As I went to get up, the front legs of the chair broke away and I crashed onto the floor. I wasn't hurt, just surprised. When I got home I made my call to her, and told her that I had a rather embarrassing thing to tell her and explained about the chair. I also offered to pay to have it repaired as I thought it was the right thing to do. She sounded kind of confused/surprised and just said she'd deal with it when she got home, as long as I or the cats weren't hurt and I assured her we weren't......and also told me not to worry about the chair.

She called a few days later to let me know she was on her way home, and would pay me the next day as she had to go to the bank and get cash. The next day came and went without a word from her, and I at least wanted to know that she made it home safely, or if she was delayed and I needed to go take care of the cats again. I tried calling but her voice mail was full. She finally called the second day after that and brought up the broken chair, saying "I've never had anything like that happen before". Geez, it wasn't like I broke it on purpose. Now it seems she doesn't want to pay me, after telling me not to worry about the chair. I am okay with that since I did offer to pay for the repair, but I don't appreciate the passive-aggressive way she is handling it.

When she first hired me she asked if I would also be available on the 15th for a few days and I said yes. I also still have her house key. I don't want anything more to do with this woman, I don't need that drama in my life. I want to get her key back to her ASAP and tell her I won't be available after all for the 15th, but I want to do it in a nice way, because I'm a nice person :).

This is obviously an awkward situation for me. Thoughts, anyone?
 

I'd get out of that situation, the chair shouldn't have broken just from sitting on it, she's lucky you didn't get hurt and sue. I would just tell her that you're giving notice because something personal has come up and you won't be able to watch the cats anymore. She doesn't need details, if it's personal you don't need to explain. Good luck. :)
 
From Craigslist..... Get in your car, and drive over to her home and give her that key, NOW. Tell you are informing her well in advance that you will not be available to sit for her cat. And as you are leaving, I would tell her about the horrible back pain you've been feeling since that chair broke.
Come on, she's a grade A, certified flake. The longer you keep that key the more you could be blamed for.
 

I would mail the key with a note that mentions the enclosed key, the chair in lieu of payment and the fact that you will not be available in the future as planned. Send it certified or return receipt so you have some proof that the key was returned.

I want to thank you for your post. I had thought about answering an add to pet sit, they appear quite often in Nextdoor. I have always been reluctant about it because I was concerned about the pet getting away from me or getting ill while in my care. Your post has opened a whole new view of things that might happen, it just isn't worth it for the small sums involved, thanks again.
 
Sue her. Absolutely no question. You were using the chair for the purpose it was intended and it failed. Her fault. If she had advised you in advance that it was for decoration only then the situation might be a little more difficult unless she had given you a direct 'do not sit on it' but from what you write she did not.

It's small claims court time. I would without the slightest hesitation.
 
You didn't say, so is it fair to guess this woman was going to be away from her home for several days?

Then upon just meeting her you determined there was drama and chaos in her life?

Was there a written contact specifying compensation for time spent & travel?

Only verbal about the flimsy looking dining chairs that broke, no email to document what took place? If there wasn't an injury to you then a law suit after the fact would probably go no where. Wages or promised compensation worth pursuing if the amount you agreed on is substancial. Other wise if it were me I'd mail the key back to that woman in certified mail with a return receipt, and chalk the experience up to a hard lesson learned.
 
aeron said:
Sue her. Absolutely no question. You were using the chair for the purpose it was intended and it failed. Her fault. If she had advised you in advance that it was for decoration only then the situation might be a little more difficult unless she had given you a direct 'do not sit on it' but from what you write she did not.

It's small claims court time. I would without the slightest hesitation.
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What is she going to sue for? She said she wasn't hurt.
 
Knight said:
You didn't say, so is it fair to guess this woman was going to be away from her home for several days?

Then upon just meeting her you determined there was drama and chaos in her life?

Was there a written contact specifying compensation for time spent & travel?

Only verbal about the flimsy looking dining chairs that broke, no email to document what took place? If there wasn't an injury to you then a law suit after the fact would probably go no where. Wages or promised compensation worth pursuing if the amount you agreed on is substancial. Other wise if it were me I'd mail the key back to that woman in certified mail with a return receipt, and chalk the experience up to a hard lesson learned.
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Absolutely agree! The courts need proof so make as much proof as you can. I wouldn't put it past her her sue you for some imagined expensive chair or something else.
 
You can use for the work you didn't get paid for. She tried to make it so you'd quit and now trying to not pay you. This sounds like her way of getting free service by counting on the fact most people won't go to the trouble to use. She needs to be exposed.
 
Oh, well, not being paid has nothing to do with the chair being faulty and breaking. You were talking about the chair.

Un paid wages- that's a different matter, she can sue for that. But if the breaking chair caused no damages, there are no damages to sue for on that score; no doctor report, no proof of injury or bruising.

Deesierra, you can sue her for unpaid wages and I hope you won't go back to that whacko's place.
 
Follow your instincts as you need to and if you need to drop this, cut loss of any pay, I'd do it.

Please also be careful with advice here from some. Because apparently when you are the one being jerked around by game playing and lying people, you could be told you are the one with the problem. I guess as they say in the FLDS: Be sweet.
 
I missed the part in the OP where she said she wasn't going to pay for the cat sitting, that's just crazy. But, unless there was a written signed agreement of what the pay would be, there's probably no way to settle that. Using the chair as an excuse for that cat owner is very low for sure. Maybe I would tell her when you give me the money you owe me, you'll get your house key back, and not before the money is in my hand. Meet her in a neutral place, and maybe go with a friend. I wouldn't trust going to her house anymore.

I would definitely babysit a neighbor or friends pets for money, as long as I already knew them and everything was on the up and up. Nice way to make a few extra bucks if you're an animal lover like me.
 
I'd certified mail that key back with a note, as others have suggested. If you keep it, who knows what she might blame you for next time she goes out of town -- her TV goes missing, you still have her key, and therefore you must have taken it? Keep the green return receipt you get back in the mail, AND your receipt for postage, which will indicate the weight of the letter, which would indicate that the mail item contained more than just a one page letter. You'd be surprised what people will lie about never receiving.

I wouldn't bother about the suing thing -- no injuries, no damages; and the wage thing (what she owes you isn't "wages," it's payment for services rendered and is a whole different kettle of fish than wages), and it would probably cost you more to file suit than you would get out of it. Litigation is no picnic, even small stuff isn't. Unless it's a whole buncha money, I'd just chalk it up to experience and not do any more jobs off of Craigslist.
 
You're right Butterfly...it's not "wages" it is payment for services rendered.

Even if there was no written contract or agreement a judge may determine after questioning, by the answers given by the litigants that there was indeed an oral contract but again you're right....it's not worth the aggravation.
 
Thank you all for your input and support. The woman finally called me yesterday to ask if I would stop by so she could pay me. I told her I had planned on doing that anyway to give her the key back.

It would have been a good idea to take a friend along, but it didn't work out that way. After assessing her attitude quickly and trusting my instincts, I chose to be pleasant rather than confrontational. We chatted lightheartedly for a little while, then I handed her the house key and she paid me the agreed upon amount. As I took my leave, she said she would call me regarding her needs for the 15th. I just smiled and waved goodbye. I'm going to call her in a couple of days and let her know that she will need to find someone else.

Aunt Bea, I'm glad that my experience was able to help your thought process about accepting pet sitting jobs. If none of this comes back to haunt me, I can't regret the experience. I'd been thinking of starting a true business for pet and home care, complete with contracts and liability insurance, following the business model of a friend of mine in another area. But now I know that it's not something I want to pursue, except for people that I know well. Even then, stuff can happen. It's not worth risking friendships over.
 

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