David came highly recommended by a good friend and cat-lover. I found him to be a cat-lover himself and when he first met my 20lb ball of kitty love, they seemed to get along just fine. Now, my cat is old and persnickety and generally crabby especially around strange males but on our first trip David sent me photos and videos of him playing with Java with a long back-scratcher I had because my cat was hissing at him, oy. I felt bad for David but was very impressed that he had a good attitude about it and was making jokes and seemed to be very experienced. When we got home from the trip that was at least a week I think, Java was happier than he'd ever been before when we'd gone away! I was ecstatic.
The next time we went away I was so happy I had David and happily booked him to watch our cat again. This time, I got texts but there weren't any videos, just photos, and pretty much the same photo every time - of our cat on the bed. Also, there was no humor-filled chatting - just something like "sorry each picture is the same but your cat doesn't do much else". I was surprised, but it was Christmas time and I figured he was busy.
When we got home, the place was a mess. Weird lights I never use were turned on even though I left particular lights on just like I did the last time which were never changed then. My litter genie was all used up and empty of a bag or anything though I'd left a brand new bag in there when we left for about 10 days. I thought that was really strange since David said he liked to use the little garbage bags and take the waste out every day - so I left the little garbage bags for him - a full box - and they were all gone too. The litter box was full. The bathtub where my cat gets his favorite water from was dirty and bone dry, like the water hadn't been turned on for at least a couple of days (we always leave it dripping for him since he's on urinary health food that makes him thirsty).
Beyond that, my Britta water pitcher was also bone dry which I thought was so odd! It just seemed like no care was taken at all. And of course, my cat was in a terrible mood, crying and crying, beside himself. I was really surprised and didn't know what to do!
My friend encouraged me to tell David about it since she knew him to be very conscientious so I did and found out that he wasn't even at my house but had one of his assistants who didn't know my cat, come to sit with him. He also told me that people rave about this assistant. He was very apologetic, though, and offered me a partial refund and said he would personally take care of the cat sitting for me from now on. I thought fine, I'll give him another chance, especially if it's going to be David doing the sitting.
The weird thing is, months later I asked if I could get my key back since I had a friend coming to stay and only one spare key. I gave David an update on Java that he was getting old and a little arthritic but still loved to play and was his same feisty self and looking forward to having him sit again and I got the strangest response from a man I thought I had a personable relationship with:
"Based on your comments below and prior conversations, this will conclude our
business relationship. I don't believe that I or my assistants are qualified
to care for Java since he should be under medical supervision while you are
away."
When I asked for clarification on what he meant he simply repeated this and gave me quotes from his website that mentioned aggressive or infirm or destructive animals, which is not what I would say about my cat.
I don't care if a cat sitter would rather not deal with my old crabby cat who sometimes pees outside the box. But I felt like David was somehow angry with me and I couldn't understand why. I swear I was not tripping when I say that the time his assistant watched my cat it was horrible and nothing like the first time when David was there.
I still think David is great with cats and a really fun sitter. I am writing this because I think some people may want to check if David is using a substitute to sit for you and might want to be sure you and your pet have met that person first. read more