I paid her to cat-sit and came home to a disaster

DEAR ABBY:

I recently went out of town for a few days and asked a trusted friend to house-sit for me. In the past, when I only had one cat, I would take him to my mother’s. But now that I have two, I thought it would be easier to leave them at home with someone checking in.

I asked my friend, who knows both of my cats well, and I offered to pay for her help. When I returned, I found the cats’ water bowls empty, their litter boxes overflowing, and garbage piled up. They had clearly had to take care of business elsewhere in my home.

If I had known my friend wouldn’t properly care for my cats, I would have left them on their own rather than paying someone to do nothing. How can I address this with my friend without causing a major rift?

— The House Sitter

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