I went out of town for about 3 weeks because my dad was killed in Afghanistan. Before leaving, a friend of mine asked if there were anything she could do. I asked her if she would be willing to stop by my apartment once a day to check on my two cats, feed them, make sure they have water, clean the litter box, etc., and of course I offered to financially compensate her for her time. She refused to take money, but agreed to let me pay for dinner a few times, and I sent her a couple of gift baskets from bath and body works while I was gone. I spoke to her via texting while I was gone, asking how things were going, checking to see if she needed anything, etc. She said everything was fine and that the cats were doing well. I come home, and immediately smell urine and feces. I look into the walk-in (tile) closet where the litter box is kept, and the ENTIRE floor is covered with excrement. The litter box wasn't particularly unkept. I'm only led to assume that at one point, she must have neglected the litter box so badly that the cats went outside of it...? Additionally, one of them apparently dropped a toy with a bell attachment into the fountain, which she never bothered to take out. There was rust in their drinking water. I'm not sure if that would have negative consequences. I'm extremely upset that I wasn't even alerted to the fact that I'd be coming home to what could probably be considered a health hazard. I have not said anything, and probably won't, but I am angry that I wasn't AT LEAST given a heads up about what I was coming home to. I am grateful for her generosity, but is that NORMAL to just ignore all of those things and tell me everything is fabulous?
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I'm very sorry to hear about your dad. You've got enough going on in your life to spend too much time fretting about this incident. I don't think I would say it is "normal" to tell you everything is fine when everything isn't fine. I wonder if your friend doesn't exactly have the same "standards" as you when it comes to pet care? That would definitely be a stretch, but not everyone understands what is "normal". The other thing might be that she knew she was doing a sub-par job, but was too embarrassed to tell you. I'm not making excuses for her, but just trying to think what might be driving her behavior. In any case, you've definitely learned that you can't leave your cats in her care in the future. I agree with not saying anything to her. After all, she was doing you a "favor". But, if she should bring up the subject, I think it would be appropriate to (nicely) point out that there were some thing that weren't up to your expectations. Or, you might just say something like "Gosh, the cats had never eliminated out of their box before. I can't believe how much poo was on the floor. They must have been really upset that I left them. I don't know how you were able to tolerate the smell.". That way, you give her the benefit of the doubt and give her the opportunity to provide an explanation, if there is one. I hope this helps, and again, sorry about your dad.
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