Mortified

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Mother Hubbard

Mother Hubbard

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So today is Saturday...but on Thursday we left the house for a few days away in Devon visiting family. First thing I do is check on the piggy cages, everyone was hiding away and my 3 sows food bowls were empty and hay all eaten, but Imagine my horror when I check the fridge and see that not one of the prepped food was used.

I left one large single bowl and two large double bowls brimming and they haven't been fed. I should explain that my neighbour is usually very good, and whilst the cages have been touched, I can tell, no food has been given :(. I mortified.

Luckily I gave them a huge feast before I left on Thursday afternoon.

They are now stuffing their faces with a mass feed, but boy I feel bad. So what do I do in future? Ask the same person? Say anything? Remind them daily? Maybe I should ask my other neighbour instead whose done it once. Luckily I shan't be away for ages now, unless the hubbie is at home.

I feel so bad though, they will have very full bellies so I shan't do any cuddles tonight, they might be uncomfortable otherwise. mallethead

Bad mommy :laluot_32:
 
I'd definitely say something to your neighbour & give them a chance to explain. They could have had a family emergency or something, but I'd be mortified too. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault. :rose

BTW I wouldn't go over board on the feeding tonight. As long as they've had something they should be fine. You don't want bloated piggies :D
 
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Oh dear that's really bad :( I wouldn't ask them to do it again. I'd casually ask them 'did you feed them? as there wasn't any food in their cage'
Next time maybe use a proper pet sitter who visits, or someone you can trust more.
 
This is true, they seem to have had enough fresh food and are munching on dry food and hay....I must have sensible piggies.

I've sent my neighbour a txt, light hearted of course,either way, no harm done but they aren't happy with me. Only buttercup was prepared for some nose tickle, looks like there will be loads of playtime tomorrow.
 
PopcornPigs said:
Oh dear that's really bad :( I wouldn't ask them to do it again. I'd casually ask them 'did you feed them? as there wasn't any food in their cage'
Next time maybe use a proper pet sitter who visits, or someone you can trust more.
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Thanks, I think people don't realise how important they are to me, asides my family of course. Like everyone here, I love my piggies.
 
you must have been devastated to come back and find them without food. i'm sure the piggies will soon forgive you (even though it was not your fault) and give you lots of cuddles again:)
i had a similar thing happen about 8 years ago with my cat. i only had the one at the time and we were living in an area that wasn't very nice so my friend offered for her daughter to house and cat sit while we were away for the week. when i got back charlotte (my cat) came running upto me and was shockingly thin. on inspecting the food cupboard i noticed that not 1 single tin had been used. my neighbours informed me that the house sitter had put charlotte out as soon as we left and didn't let her back in again. i was gutted to think i had left my cat in the care of a complete idiot (to put it politely). i thought she would have been ok with this person as i was friends with her mom. just goes to show that you never know who you can trust
 
Thanks Sally.

It's never been a problem before, I think if we go away again, I shall have to rethink it completely. There's been no harm really but I do worry.

That's really bad about your cat, what a callous person,a whole week! Poor thing.
 
lil said:
Thanks Sally.

It's never been a problem before, I think if we go away again, I shall have to rethink it completely. There's been no harm really but I do worry.

That's really bad about your cat, what a callous person,a whole week! Poor thing.
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wouldn't claire be able to board them for you? may be worth asking
 
I'm curious, did you get a reply to your text?
Don't feel bad yourself, it wasnt your fault, and if it was a genuine mistake your neighbour will feel equally mortified!

I'm going away next week for a few days and leaving my 17 year old in charge of cat, dog, 2 buns, 5 piggies and 2 gerbils! She will be getting regular reminder texts!
 
Please don't blame yourself. You put your trust in someone you clearly thought was trustworthy and it's a real shame that they couldn't have given you the decency to at least let you know if they were otherwise engaged so you could have planned someone else to do it. Hopefully there is a good reason for why they couldn't do it and your neighbours will apologise.

I remember when I was a teenager, I used to look after a families cat in the village, I had to go up to the hospital to see my Grandfather who had been admitted. We were there for over three hours and I missed one of the cats feed by two hours and I was beside myself with worry! It was only hours but I was scared as it was getting dark and the cats tended to like to be fed before dusk. I understood the importance of pets and how much they were loved, and was asked to do it for five years until I left home at 19!
 
I had a friend who went away for the weekend and arranged for the very reliable neighbour to feed her cat, do the litter tray, etc. When she came back after the 2 days, nothing had been done - tray overflowing and very hungry cat.

Turned out the neighbour had been rushed to hospital not long after my friend left, and wasn't in any fit state to tell anyone else - nobody's fault, but perhaps a Plan B could be set in place in case something like this were to happen.

I'm sure your piggies will be fine - but I'll be interested to know what your neighbour replies.
 
I put one of my old piggies into a pet shop near me, I had used it for boarding before. This time the piggie came out really thin. I shouted at them, have you fed him? It turned out they had been feeding him the wrong type of dry food,even though it was in his notes, they said he had had veggies, but I would imagine that was just a carrot and I dont know about the hay. My sister had him from then on!
 
bsjlmb said:
wouldn't claire be able to board them for you? may be worth asking
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Well now I feel bad. Claire has been very unwell otherwise I would have asked her, but my neighbours mum has been in hospital, I knew the date was ringing alarm bells for some reason. Anyway, with the added stress of spending day after day there(I know that feeling), it wasn't high on priorities so completely understand. So I feel utterly guilty on both sides.

Next time we go to Devon, we'll take the big car, I'll take the cages,use fleece and furries with me. Although I will need another carry case as I only have one. That will be interesting,although the MIL loves them too.
they are all doing fine now.
Phew...
 
Oh my goodness I would be fuming! Why would you say you would look after someones animal then not feed them?!?!

If it had been me, I would have been round there & said is there any reaosn you didn't feed my animals?!

I wouldn't ask again either.....!
 
I've just read your other post about their mum being ill.

I may sound horribly harsh, but my dad was horribly ill with cancer for 12 months, and then we lost him. Had someone asked me to feed their pet at any point in that time I still would have spared 5 minutes to pop in with some food.

Sorry - maybe its just me...!
 
I was thinking the same thing and it sounds like she knew her mother was going to be in hospital (you say the dates rang a bell) and so she should not have agreed if it was going to be difficult. They could have gone into stasis and died. I know I sound harsh.
 
It's not harsh I feel the same, I lost my dad & very almost my brother last year but I still had those moments to go home get changed Etc, if I had someone else's pet to look after I would have ran in even if it was at night. No way would it be left! I think it's awful, esp if dates had been known in advance.

I don't think you should feel bad!
 
Wow, I think it would have scared me to see the pets hadn't been fed.
We spent Christmas in Birmingham (we live in Bremen, Germany) and were gone for ten days. Like last year, we asked two friends to take care of them and they exchanged phone numbers as well. Turned out one friend was gone the whole time, but the other one did a wonderful job. The flat smelled of clean hay when we came back and the piggies looked happy and well-fed and clean. We're extremely grateful because I do tend to get a little worried when we are gone for so long.
 
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