I've done a lot of pet sitting, for two days up to a year, for professors on sabbatical when I was in grad school. I would never have asked for a cable channel, especially a pay channel, and certainly not for a single week. Same for the landline--both are a lot of work for you to set up for a week, and cost money. So I think her request for this has colored my thinking about your pet sitter. However, the cost for the cable channel and landline could be considered her fee for pet sitting. Certainly, if she were asking to be paid, I'd deduct the cost of those two things from her final payment. In general, when I've moved into a house to care for the animals, I've brought my own toiletries. I would use the sheets and towels belonging to the home owners, and wash them on my last day. Food--usually the homeowners would tell me to help myself to what's in the house. Otherwise, perishable food would go bad before they got back and just need to be thrown out. If there's something that you would prefer she didn't eat/drink, point that out. If you don't want your liquor cabinet raided, either lock it or hide the booze, or point out exactly what she can and can't have--beer's fine, but the 20 year old single malt scotch is not. It is nice if there's enough in the house for the first meal or two. Nothing fancy, but some bread, peanut butter, cold cuts and cheese, milk and cereal--just enough to tide her over until she can get out to go shopping. I always made sure to replace that sort of thing, as well. I figured people coming home from vacation and possibly getting in late would not want to have to rush right out and food shop, so I made sure that there were sandwich fixings and cereal and milk in the house before I left. Same for anything else in the house. I've been asked not to use a given room (usually because of some fragile, easily damaged furnishings in the room, or because it is a private study and outsiders are simply not allowed), not to use the good china and crystal, not to use the swimming pool because of insurance/liability issues, that sort of thing. You are allowed to set boundaries. The house was always clean when I left. There might have been a light coating of dust, if I'd had to dust and vacuum a few days before the owners got home, but it was clean--bathrooms and kitchen scrubbed, floors vacuumed and swept, trash taken out, any obvious signs of my stay removed completely. As much as possible, the house was the way the owners left it. Although once, a hurricane came through three days before the owners got back and it took the power out, and with no power, there was no water, either. The power came back on three hours before they arrived home and I've never cleaned an house so fast in my entire life. The owners came home to a dishwasher that was still running and a damp kitchen floor and no fresh food in the house, but I had done the best I could do.

weed - I DID READ THE OP, I READ ALL OPS VERY CAREFULLY. I also know that issues with pets are not always straight forward. Which is why I usually ask questions when I suspect there might be something else a foot. This may be a UTI, but it may be behavioral and not just because the dogs were left for an extended amount of time. The dogs have reached maturity and if one or both are not fixed this can start issues, on top of being in a stressful situation, such as being left. My questions are important to determine the cause and not just make stabs in the dark about what is wrong.

Im thinking I underpay my sitter. She is an adult who is still working so is gone all day. She sleeps at my house and comes to stay after work. She usually cooks and although there is plenty of food in the house she tends to shop for herself. She is free to have friends (I am also friends with them) whenever she wants. So, she feeds and medicates the cat in the am (a pill in her food ) and again in the evening. She scoops the litter box. I usually pay her 20.00 per day plus I leave a gift card for either dining out or maybe a grocery gift card. Initially she refused to accept payment but I told her I would't ask her again. She went through some bad times when her husband died and she realized how much debt he (they) were in. She ended up moving in with a friend but lives in a less than comfortable home so she likes having her own "home" at my house. I had been thinking that for some upcoming trips I would pay 25.00 a day. Is that enough?

Did you know Starkist sells a ready to eat tuna salad kit, and it comes with crackers? Ixnay to crackers though, bread is better. lol Michele, as bad as it must be for the daughter, there has to be more to the story IMO, which is why I can't come down too hard on the mom. It's a known fact that both men and women who seem to appear to be perfect people, are not so perfect behind closed doors. Not all abuse is physical, the worst is emotional. I read that many couples wait until the kids are in college to divorce, which DH's parents did. Such a pity the girl has to pick up the slack though and have her life put on hold.