Pet Owners, Tell Us The Most Unhinged Instruction You’ve Ever Left For A Pet Sitter

For all the pet owners out there, you know, our babies have…quirks. And sometimes, when you let someone else watch over them, there is a lot of explaining to do. For example, my husband and I always put the toilet lid down. Not just the seat, but also the lid. Because of this, our two cats blindly jump on the toilet lid, always assuming that it will be closed. So when people watch our kitties, or even just come over for dinner, we awkwardly have to tell them to put down the lid, because there was the “incident of 2022” where one of our cats leaped onto the toilet, assuming it was closed — like it always is — and got a little (a lot) damp on the paws (and tail, and more places than I want to talk about). It was not fun…for absolutely everyone involved.

Then, I went to cat sit for a friend, and they had to make a literal instruction video on how to administer an inhaler to their cat. There was a burrito blanket wrapping technique and everything. And it got me thinking — what other unhinged or random things do people have to write in instructions to their pet sitter?

Maybe you have to tell them not to use a certain word, or else your dog will start doing laps around your house. Or maybe you need to tell people to check the bathtub before you go to the washroom, because your cat often waits in the tub…and uses your vulnerable state as their opportunity to enact “play time” — which is essentially them attacking you from behind a curtain.

Maybe your dog knows how to open doors, and you need to warn people so they don’t assume they are a part of the next Paranormal Activity. Or maybe your cat cries at the walls, then zips around the apartment once the sun goes down, because that is their “loud zoomie” time. Whatever it is, we want to hear about it.