Cat Sitter Doesn’t Know Where the Cat and Dog Are

This is an interesting and strange story about a person who was asked to sit in and look after a cat and a dog while the cat and dog owners were on holiday on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.

It is, actually, a very unfortunate story because the cat sitter had a stroke. At the time the story was written it appears that the owners are still, or were still, on holiday. Therefore, I have to presume, that the cat sitter had a stroke and his son, Sean, found out about it and called an ambulance and from that situation it was discovered that his father was unable to locate the cat and dog. Had they gone outside and not returned? They must’ve gone outside and disappeared which seems rather strange. Apparently, they have been missing for five days and have, as a consequence, been without food and water for that time. It is very strange a cat and a dog to go missing like this simultaneously.

Residents in the area and veterinarians of the Sydney suburb, Summer Hill, where this occurred are desperately searching for the cat and dog. Facebook pages have been opened and they have been door-to-door searches.

The police have been informed and they are appealing for anyone with information to contact the local veterinarian, Summer Hill Village Vets. That’s as much as we know at present.

Can we learn anything from this? Possibly not. However, while showing respect for this cat sitter who is obviously seriously ill, when a cat sitter is employed to look after a cat I suppose the cat’s owner should make sure that the sitter is in a position, with respect to health and any other relevant issues, to look after the cat to a satisfactory standard.

To be honest, sometimes a cat sitter is not up to scratch and I’m not referring to this gentleman who had a stroke. I’m referring to perhaps somebody who just doesn’t understand the consequences of not being vigilant enough in order to ensure the cat stays inside and safe. There have been cases of cat sitters losing their cats because the cat has sneaked outside and not returned. Perhaps the cat was disturbed by the presence of a strange person, the cat sitter. That issue needs to be addressed.

Inherently, there is a weakness in employing a cat sitter if that person is unknown to the cat. You can’t simply introduce a stranger to the household to look after the family cat because cats are sensitive towards strangers. Some cats don’t mind but other cats do mind and they may take action. Such action may include going outside and keeping a distance which may lead to them disappearing.

I wonder also whether, in this very sad and regrettable instance, the fact that this gentleman had a stroke may have been part of the reason why the cat and dog disappeared. If the cat and dog were kept inside at all times then the fact that the cat sitter was seriously ill should not, at least for a short time, affect the animal companions. Something odd happened in this instance because, on the face of it, an illness suffered by a cat sitter should not have any consequences at least in the very short term (i.e. several hours).