‘I asked Ava point blank if she let Daisy out by herself and she finally admitted yes’: A cat sitter’s irresponsible decision to let a cat out unsupervised leads to a vet bill, a family confrontation, and a final resolution that exposes her negligence

Author image for Laurent Shinar
Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor
Sep 24, 2025 1:00 PM EDT

Cat sitting is no easy task, sure it might seem like there is much less to do and much less responsibility than perhaps taking care of a doggo, but that could not be further from the truth. You need to make sure that their toilet is clean, their food is delivered on time and that they are sufficiently entertained. But more so than that, you need to make sure that they are well and truly contained in their home in the way that their pawrents intended them to be.

Which of course varies from home to home and cat to cat, but that is the burden of the cat sitter and one which they should wear with pride. But when this woman made a nepotistic hire for her cat sitter, she quickly found out why she should have gone with a professional who knows the work well instead of her distant family member looking to make a few extra bucks.
 

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  • 01
    I (29F) have an eleven year old calico named Daisy. A year ago, I moved a few hours further from home for work, which came with the issue of needing to find a new sitter. My fiance (34M) and I were lucky to find somebody pretty
    via catmom51525.
  • 02
    quickly through a pet sitting app, but she ended up being unavailable during the week of our trip. This came up over dinner at my sister's house, and her daughter/my niece suggested her cousin (BIL's family)
    via catmom51525.
  • 03
    Ava (18F), saying she's been looking for some side jobs to make money before she goes off to college this fall. I contacted Ava and she accepted the job.
    via catmom51525.

  • Nepotism, it has become a thing for a reason. And while in larger companies where the person who hires the family member the impact might not be felt directly, in this kind of situation there is a very good chance that the consequences of hiring an unskilled, inept moron will come back to bite you hard.

  • 04
    I invited Ava over a couple days early so she could meet Daisy and get acquainted with the space. The most important detail here is that I emphasized our main rule to not let Daisy out unleashed and unsupervised. I
    via catmom51525.
  • 05
    showed Ava the harness and leash I use to take Daisy on walks, explained the risks of letting her out unsupervised, and she seemed to understand. Fiance and I left on our trip a couple days later thinking all was well.
    via catmom51525.
  • 06
    We finally got back yesterday, after a genuinely lovely week, and met Ava as she was finishing up with her last drop-in. During our reunion, I found scratches on Daisy. I asked Ava if she had any idea what
    via catmom51525.
  • 07
    Lovely woman playing with Siamese cats at home. Friendship between humans and animals
    via arthurhidden via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 08
    happened. At first Ava's story was that she didn't know, and then she admitted it might have happened when they went on a walk. I went to find the harness to see if there was any damage to it, but it was in the exact spot
    via catmom51525.
  • 09
    I left it in, along with the leash. I asked Ava point blank if she let Daisy out by herself and she finally admitted yes, that Daisy wouldn't stop hounding her for food and treats and that she was yowling so much during a drop-in
    via catmom51525.
  • 10
    when she was having a headache that she put her out for "a little while" while she set up the food and cleaned the litter. She then FORGOT DAISY OUTSIDE ALL NIGHT. She said she realized when she dropped back in the next
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  • 11
    morning for a feeding and a walk and Daisy wasn't waiting just inside the door that she remembered she'd put her out so she tried shaking a bag of Daisy's favorite cat treats (which worked, she's a greedy little cat).
    via catmom51525.

  • What in the actual heck. You have one job, to make sure the cat is being taken care off and pampered while her parents are away. Could imagine if this had been a hooman child? Child protective services would have been called alongside the police who would have taken this Ava away. Tis a shame the pawlice didn’t show up…

  • 12
    I was furious at the point and asked Ava to leave. She asked what about the money, and I told her she wouldn't be getting paid. She got upset and said it wasn't fair to not pay her for an entire week over one mistake, but
    via catmom51525.
  • 13
    eventually left. She has texted me an apology since, but I've also received some texts from my BIL, who is mostly taking her side in the issue and saying I should absolutely pay her, but that he would understand if I docked a day off. I
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  • 14
    told him I'll be putting my money towards a vet visit, which I have an appointment for tomorrow.
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  • 15
    Update Post: later I have been 8 days incredibly busy with handling my job (apparently three people were fired in my absence) and caring for Daisy since making my
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  • 16
    Red cat sitting on a tree branch in autumn
    via AlienCat via Adobe Stock

    Disclaimer: This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    original post, but I've read many of the comments and understand that many people have questions and want an update, so I'm taking my first real free moment since coming back from my vacation to fill
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  • 18
    you all in on what's been happening. I took Daisy to the vet the day after making my original post due to the scratches I found on her. Like I mentioned in comments, they were 2-3 inches in
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  • 19
    length and had dried b' d on them. The vet's opinion was that they were decently deep and likely infected, which was later confirmed and Daisy was prescribed meds to deal with that. She's much better now and
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  • 20
    seems to be back to near-perfect health, but there will be subsequent visits to determine if she has any other issues (such as FIV, which can't be accurately tested for so soon).
    via catmom51525.
  • 21
    My vet was kind enough to give me quote for the future visits I have scheduled, which I presented along with the bill from this visit to Ava and her parents (who ended up getting involved as well, but were much less
    via catmom51525.
  • 22
    aggressive than Ava or BIL). The current bill by itself exceeds what we had agreed to pay Ava. Ava tried to push back more, which I ignored, and then her parents reached out to me. The four of us (me, Ava, her mom and her dad) met up,
    via catmom51525.
  • 23
    and Ava's parents immediately brought up small claims court and asked that I please not drag them and their daughter through the system I over a vet bill. Just to be clear, I never threatened to do so. The only
    via catmom51525.
  • 24
    time court came up was when BIL brought it up to me (and I'm assuming Ava as well) and I insisted that I didn't want to make this a legal matter. I told Ava's parents the same, that I was not seeking legal action, and was happy to
    via catmom51525.
  • 25
    consider us square. The only other thing I wanted was for Ava to apologize for endangering Daisy. She didn't seem happy, but she said sorry, and that was that.
    via catmom51525.
  • 26
    I'm glad my cat is safe and healthy and I'm glad the drama is over. Safe to say I wont be planning any more trips away until my regular sitter is available again.
    via catmom51525.

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responsibility cat decisions reddit story pet sitter cat story bills resolution supervisor neglect family vet admit it
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