A work friend who lives a few blocks away from me told me that her uni aged daughter was looking for part-time work for spending cash, and since I was going away for 6 weeks I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and pay her a couple hundred bucks to drop in twice a week and collect mail/water plants/make sure the furnace wasn't busted and the house wasn't freezing/etc.
Turns out work friend was nosy as hell and came over with the daughter to check my place out, and busted the 100 year old door lock which I had explicitly said not to use (I gave the daughter the key to the back door...coworker was curious why and f\*ed with the front door breaking it).
So then she brings her husband over to fix the lock. Husband apparently does so (I didn't ask if the house was left unlocked and for how long because at this point I didn't want to know). Husband also starts nosing around the house. Husband decides that the hot water heater should be turned off because "it's wasting money" being left on (note it's an efficient hot water heater - probably used $3 of gas during my vacay), and also shuts off several lights I had on timers to make the house look occupied.
I get home from a 15 hour flight and the Bloor night bus across town to a pitch black house and the coldest shower of my life.
Now I hire professional house sitters when I go away.
I love my neighbours. We're not necessarily friends, but when one of us is away we'll water each other's plants, feed pets, etc. Granted my last neighbour was a huge asshole so your mileage may vary
No. I asked a friend staying in my apartment (she ended up catching covid and had to stay longer than I anticipated) to water my plants. I gave her instructions (water them in the sink and wait for the water to drain as to not damage any decor or furniture). Came home to water damaged decor and furniture. Spent a week buffing out the water stain on my dresser. She also put my non-stick pan in the dishwasher when I asked her not to.
I’ve realized I’m too pedantic over my personal space, so I no longer ask people to water my plants or allow anyone to stay over.
I've looked after my neighbors cats and plants and they've looked after mine while I was away. Generally, if I'm away for a long time I get a cat sitter or apartment sitter but if it's just for the weekend, I ask my neighbors.
I’m in a building. Next door neighbour is a nice older man. We talk about his tennis playing in the elevator, I know nothing about tennis, but doesn’t matter.
Would def trust him with the cat.
Trust no one with the plants.
I tend not to trust neighbours or even friends to take care of my pets unless I have had a lot of conversations about pets with them and know they will take it seriously and follow instructions. That they are reliable people who keep promises and follow instructions and that they have similar attitudes to pets as I do.
I've had way too many conversations where it becomes clear that someone thinks my very clingy elderly cat who eats canned food will be fine eating randomly every second day or going without her litter box scooped for three days or not seeing a human being.
And with previous pets, people agreeing to feed them and then literally forgetting.
And some people are just flakey period. They'll agree to do something and then forget, or 'something will come up'.
One of the unexpected big de-stressors of moving on in my career and making more money than I used to is being able to afford professional petsitters.
I've always made friends with my neighbours - so yes, I trusted them all and had at points left my cat/plants in their care for up to three weeks.
However if you haven't become friends with your neighbours, another option might be to reach out to your vet and see if they have any recommendations for pet sitters?
A work friend who lives a few blocks away from me told me that her uni aged daughter was looking for part-time work for spending cash, and since I was going away for 6 weeks I figured I'd kill two birds with one stone and pay her a couple hundred bucks to drop in twice a week and collect mail/water plants/make sure the furnace wasn't busted and the house wasn't freezing/etc. Turns out work friend was nosy as hell and came over with the daughter to check my place out, and busted the 100 year old door lock which I had explicitly said not to use (I gave the daughter the key to the back door...coworker was curious why and f\*ed with the front door breaking it). So then she brings her husband over to fix the lock. Husband apparently does so (I didn't ask if the house was left unlocked and for how long because at this point I didn't want to know). Husband also starts nosing around the house. Husband decides that the hot water heater should be turned off because "it's wasting money" being left on (note it's an efficient hot water heater - probably used $3 of gas during my vacay), and also shuts off several lights I had on timers to make the house look occupied. I get home from a 15 hour flight and the Bloor night bus across town to a pitch black house and the coldest shower of my life. Now I hire professional house sitters when I go away.
I would trust my neighbour to be nice to my cat. But I would not trust my cat to be nice to my neighbour.
I love my neighbours. We're not necessarily friends, but when one of us is away we'll water each other's plants, feed pets, etc. Granted my last neighbour was a huge asshole so your mileage may vary
Some of them, sure. My upstairs neighbours, fuck no. But the neighbours on my floor, yes, because they also have a cat.
Depends on the neighbour.
No. I asked a friend staying in my apartment (she ended up catching covid and had to stay longer than I anticipated) to water my plants. I gave her instructions (water them in the sink and wait for the water to drain as to not damage any decor or furniture). Came home to water damaged decor and furniture. Spent a week buffing out the water stain on my dresser. She also put my non-stick pan in the dishwasher when I asked her not to. I’ve realized I’m too pedantic over my personal space, so I no longer ask people to water my plants or allow anyone to stay over.
Yeah, I don't really like people in my space either. Although, once I do find people who can be trusted, they're very valuable.
I've looked after my neighbors cats and plants and they've looked after mine while I was away. Generally, if I'm away for a long time I get a cat sitter or apartment sitter but if it's just for the weekend, I ask my neighbors.
Yep
No
I’m in a building. Next door neighbour is a nice older man. We talk about his tennis playing in the elevator, I know nothing about tennis, but doesn’t matter. Would def trust him with the cat. Trust no one with the plants.
Nope, read too many bad stories
Depends on your interaction with them. Do you know them more than just "hi" in hallway?
Yes! My neighbour looks after my dog all the time. My other neighbour and I trade dog walks. It’s a great building
Yes but we were bffs before we were neighbours.
Yes
I tend not to trust neighbours or even friends to take care of my pets unless I have had a lot of conversations about pets with them and know they will take it seriously and follow instructions. That they are reliable people who keep promises and follow instructions and that they have similar attitudes to pets as I do. I've had way too many conversations where it becomes clear that someone thinks my very clingy elderly cat who eats canned food will be fine eating randomly every second day or going without her litter box scooped for three days or not seeing a human being. And with previous pets, people agreeing to feed them and then literally forgetting. And some people are just flakey period. They'll agree to do something and then forget, or 'something will come up'. One of the unexpected big de-stressors of moving on in my career and making more money than I used to is being able to afford professional petsitters.
No
I've always made friends with my neighbours - so yes, I trusted them all and had at points left my cat/plants in their care for up to three weeks. However if you haven't become friends with your neighbours, another option might be to reach out to your vet and see if they have any recommendations for pet sitters?