A cat owner has gained viral attention after sharing that they rushed home early from a trip when their pet camera captured an unexpected scene: two unfamiliar cats inside their house, eating food meant for their own pets.
The owner had taken to Reddit under u/lost_nature_6720 on August 13, to detail how a hired sitter from the app Rover had allegedly brought unknown cats into the owner’s home without permission during a drop-in visit.
In a statement to Newsweek, a spokesperson for Rover said: “Our team is committed to supporting this pet parent and we encourage them to reach out to our 24/7 Trust & Safety team for assistance.”
“I couldn’t believe my eyes when my Ring camera went off and there were two orange cats eating my cats’ food (I have a black cat and a tuxedo),” the owner said in the post. “I immediately asked [the sitter] why there were other cats in my home, and she got defensive?”
The sitter, according to the post, told the owner that none of her other clients on Rover had been bothered about her bringing other cats over.
The pet owner explained that the sitter had been chosen in a rush because of an out-of-state funeral, and that their two cats—described as low-maintenance—had different comfort levels around strangers. One “loves people,” the post said, while the other “is not a fan and will hide every minute of social interaction with strangers.”
The owner said they had disclosed the presence of a pet camera in the living room and told the sitter she could turn it around during visits, as long as she turned it back before leaving.
“She never did that though and I’m glad she didn’t,” the owner added.
After confronting the sitter, the owner said they asked her to leave with the other cats, citing concerns about feline stress.
“I felt so stuck because I was halfway to another state when this all happened,” they said. “I asked her to please leave with the other cats as I’m sure my cats were stressed out to the max with other cats in their space and eating all their food.”
They returned home early the next day and found that their tuxedo cat was still hiding.
“I feel awful,” the owner said. “I also feel a little crazy because she told me none of her other clients mind this and she has near perfect reviews.
“My tuxedo cat has such a tough time with people already as he was found by a dumpster hungry and cold and no one really knows what he has been through.”
Despite the owner’s doubts, viewers shared in the comments that they would have reacted similarly if this had happened to them.
Rover had added in their statement: “Rover is committed to creating a safe and trustworthy experience for pet parents, pets, and sitters alike and we take reports of this nature seriously. Any pet sitter who violates our policies or community standards faces swift action up to permanent removal from the platform.”
Newsweek reached out to u/lost_nature_6720 for more information via Reddit.
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