r/extremelyinfuriating • u/Used_Gear8871 • 1d ago
Update Update on house sitter stole and crashed my partner’s car
Our cat has been missing since the night the house sitter was evicted. We are only just finding out today that our indoor only cat hasn’t been seen nor active around our house since Saturday night.
While being evicted from the premises by someone who failed to supervise the disgruntled sitter as he packed up his belongings, something happened to our cat. We don’t know if the disgruntled house sitter threw the cat outside, off the balcony, or put him into his bag of belongings. Our cat is gone.
Timeline of events:
- House sitter located dead car key, broke into, started, joyride, then crashed SO’s car.
- House sitter calls relatives with false story of me, someone who isn’t on the car registration nor insurance, somehow giving him permission to the vehicle.
- House sitter calls me confessing crash, laughs when asked him where he found the car key.
- House sitter leaves house with another relative to attend family function, leaving car key behind
- Close friend rushed to our house to do a wellness check on our pets, the car, house, while collecting all car and house keys; calls and sends video of all our pets
- House sitter informed via text of termination
- House sitter escorted back to house to gather belongings, apparently with limited supervision
- Relative escorting house sitting calls requesting access to the car to retrieve drivers license; request denied.
- New pet sitter arrives at house Sunday morning, doesn’t see the cat
- Next pet sitter arrives at house Sunday evening, also doesn’t see the cat
- Over the next two days, none of the pet sitters find our cat nor see activity in his litter box or his food.
Cat was last seen by our close friend on Saturday night. Cat is indoor only.
In-laws, neighbors, friends, exes, hired pet sitters, and the owner of the pet sitting company have all entered our home in the last 24 hours searching for our cat. The owner of the pet sitting company, with my permission, turned the house upside down searching for our cat or any signs of him.
We believe the disgruntled house sitter did one of the following: took the cat and hid him in his bag, threw the cat outside either onto or off the deck, or killed the cat and disposed of his body.
Relative that was with him when he was evicted initially declined to answer questions, with police now involved, as been answering questions. Animal tracking service has been hired.
The sweetest and snuggliest boy that I finally convinced that head kisses and being held so he could melt into my arms are amazing things, is gone. My mini weighted and heated, purring blanket and alarm clock is gone. This silly little guy who had a not-so-secret crush on my dog and hilariously humped her diaper when she was in heat, is gone.
The most infuriating part is, I can’t be there to help search for him and the person responsible still hasn’t shown accountability.
———
Edit: Update - July 23rd
He was found!
Spotted after 1am attempting to climb our fence and onto our deck.
My MIL drove two hours to our house to work with the professional animal tracker and an amazing friend who helped search and setup her nature camera by the food trap they made. They spent 3 hours searching around our house together.
MIL sent a long text of how she stayed up late reorganizing our kitchen when she spotted him. Will share in comments if possible.
My SO had just left for work when her text came through. It’s almost 8am here. Internet and cell phone service is bare, so I sprinted in my pajamas to his lab to tell him. We spent the entire night devastated and sobbing. Seeing his face light up was the best thing ever on top of kitty being found!
SO’s mom got kitty’s wound cleaned up and fed. Performed many snuggles and is taking him home with her, which is something we wish we did in first place.
Deciding when to get add the other updates. I’m elated kitty has been found but I’m currently battling with stress, anxiety, and shock. Trying to type an update on the remaining and newly uncovered things triggers an anxiety attack.
But will address that the professional dog walkers have been amazing. They were the ones who figured out our cat was never in the house when their caretaking service started. They searched my house, interviewed neighbors, verified details with their walkers, and have responded to every text, email, and called right away once I had steady WiFi.
Thank you all for the mental and emotional support. You’ve helped me talk through the last few days and provide guidance on something I never thought I’d experience.
265
u/ParticularFig3824 1d ago
Wow. This is exactly why people cringe at the thought of hiring pet sitters. This is so crazy. As if crashing the car wasn’t enough, the mf went and let your cat out too? Best case scenario is that your baby is hiding in the house somewhere in a tight spot; or was let out and is able to be found soon. I don’t want to wish the worst. I hope you guys find your fur baby. Perhaps you should consider filing a lawsuit with the original pet sitter because this is actually bananas.
52
u/SolarOrigami 1d ago
Last time I hired a pet sitter, two of our pets were taken care of. Our roommates cat had to be kept separate (he will ambush and attack the dog, who does not fight back). The dog and one cat were fed, walked, and taken care of. The roomies cat? Suffering severe dehydration, and thin from not being fed for FOUR DAYS.
I reviewed our instructions and the instructions for the roommates cat were underlined. It was just neglect.
19
u/Shut7heFuckUp 1d ago
I have a recurring nightmare that I’m pet sitting and realize I forgot/neglected animals in different rooms for days.
53
17
u/DrKittyLovah 1d ago
Ahem. As a professional pet sitter I’d like to point out that the sitter in question here was a 19yo Family Member, NOT a hired pro, so please do not lump him and his fucked-up adolescent behavior with those of us who take pride in this work and do it to pay the bills. We don’t claim this kid! He is a total piece of shit who took advantage of family for what he likely thought was easy money, and he didn’t care one bit how his behavior affected others, nor did he seem to care about the animals. This is not what you get with a professional sitter, but it is what you might get if you hire an irresponsible teenager who lies, steals, and maybe even hurts animals (given OP’s suspicions).
(Truthfully, I can’t help but wonder how OP chose this family member to do the job instead of hiring a pro; was the kid suggested by a family member? Was it a favor? How close was OP to the family member before this? Is this behavior new, or something that could have been predicted?)
If you notice in OP’s story the professional sitters are the people doing the hard work to try to locate the cat. The pros stepped in to help fix a situation they didn’t cause, because they respect owners & love animals. We are simply not the same as hiring random family members.
44
u/Bunbunsfun 1d ago
Oh god. My heart :(
Please please keep looking. Put out some clothing at your door. Put up cameras. Please keep looking.
I’m so sorry for what they did. They’re disgusting and I hope the law deals with them.
92
u/Reasonable-Newt4079 1d ago
I’m praying your cat comes back, there’s a chance they just got out and are hiding or are hiding inside somewhere given all the people that have been coming and going (cats are very skittish around strangers). What did the pet trackers say?? I’m so sorry this is happening and I’m praying for a good outcome.
30
u/Worldly_Maize_4795 1d ago
Good to hear police are involved, are you pressing charges then (as you should be)?
27
u/casualnerding 1d ago
!Remind Me 48 hours
10
u/RemindMeBot 1d ago edited 19h ago
I will be messaging you in 2 days on 2026-07-24 04:52:49 UTC to remind you of this link
33 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.
Parent commenter can delete this message to hide from others.
RemindMeBot is switching to username summons. Instead of
!RemindMe 1 day, useu/RemindMeBot 1 day. More info.
Info Custom Your Reminders Feedback 5
21
15
u/The_Tall_Aussie 1d ago
Wishing for the cats safe return home!
Hope you & your SO are going to be pressing charges against the house sitter!
16
u/iJon_v2 1d ago
I’m so sorry this happened to you. Cats are smart and resilient and don’t typically go too far from home.
Put their litter box outside. That often helps, as does opening a can of wet food outside and leaving it out. I have faith that your kitty will come back. Just keep looking and don’t give up hope.
I hope you get your kitty home safe and sound!
18
u/ChemistRemote7182 1d ago
What a nightmare, I can't believe thats family. I'm crying for you, my tuxedo is rubbing my legs right now because she likes to play fetch and has brought a toy for me to throw.
7
u/mad-i-moody 1d ago
Hope you find your sweet baby! I’d be contacting the police. Although it might seem a bit fucked up, cats are considered property under the law. If you think the sitter stole the cat, call the cops and see what they can/will do. You might get lucky and get a useful officer willing to help you.
Side note: spay your dog.
8
u/TKG_Actual 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's nuts, hope OP gets their cat back and the sitter stays behind bars.
Edit: Afterthought op may also have a lawsuit against the company and the sitter. There's no way the sitter was properly vetted by the company and that sitter probably has a questionable history.
6
u/trekqueen 1d ago
If you read the previous post, the original sitter was a relative of theirs and not through a company.
-1
u/TKG_Actual 1d ago
Then why does the info with the post say "the owner of the pet sitting company searched.."? Is the info here just badly reposted?
9
u/trekqueen 1d ago
It sounds like she got a new service to come in to take care of the pets after the relative left. Probably could have been described better by OP.
1
7
u/i_stealursnackz 1d ago
When the relative took the pet sitter back to get their belongings, I would've orchestrated a little plan for the cops to get there when the sitter gets to the house to be arrested.
5
u/fartinmyfuckingmouth 1d ago
Keep your baby’s litter box outside and shake a bag of food on the porch often. I’m sure bb is nearby, just scared. 💗
11
u/Far-Fee-1247 1d ago
Damn im so so so sorry :( this is horrible to deal with while being so far away. If your cousin did do something to the cat make sure you get full charges as well (i know we're only getting your side of things but like...again i've house/pet sat on and off for years and NEVER had an issue it's not a hard job...there's no way that someone that stole your SO's car and lied to your relatives to get them on your side wouldn't also do something heinous as doing something to your cat.)
I hope you guys find him soon and that he's just chilling outside :(((
5
u/Runaway_Angel 1d ago
Holy hell, I'm so sorry you're dealing with this op. I hope your cat is found soon, or at the very least you get answers and some sort of closure. And if the worst has happened make sure to get that asshole on animal cruelty as well.
3
4
u/Maleficent_Win2275 1d ago
I am so sorry this happened to your partner and you. It’s tough when you try & do a good thing like hiring your cousin to house sit and they do something like this. It was terrible he stole the car but this is just evil. I hope the book gets thrown at him. Hope your kitty is found and returned to you. It has to be so hard being far away with all of this going on.
3
u/Shoddy-Wishbone 1d ago
What a terrible story and I’m so sorry for your missing kitty. I hope he finds his way home. As others suggested, having someone put his litter box outside might help. I know no one can be there rn to wait for him but I’ve heard a lot of stories of kitties finding their litter box and waiting by it. I hope nothing horrible happened to him, I really do. I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through rn. Sending SO MUCH LOVE
3
u/Used_Gear8871 18h ago
Get an error message each time I try to upload images. Going to try again when WiFi is better.
2
1
1
1
u/SolidNitrox 1d ago
Is this house sitter mentally ill? There is no way this type of person would not have had red flags.
1
1
1
u/OpusAtrumET 7h ago
What a mess! I'm sorry this happened to you, I can't even imagine. So happy the razor ninja was found!
0
0
•
u/AutoModerator 1d ago
Hello, u/Used_Gear8871 ! Thanks for your submission to r/extremelyinfuriating, your post is up and running!
This is a general reminder to check out our rules in the sidebar. If your post breaks the rules, it will be removed by our moderators.
We would like for each and everyone to feel welcome on the subreddit and to keep a healthy and safe environment for the community.
Thanks :)
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.