My cat Smokey is like one of my kids. We were going camping. I paid my neighbor $50 to let him in at night and out in the morning. She is the only person besides my husband and myself he will not run away from.
We left on Monday. On Tuesday morning I texted "did Smokey come in last night?" She said yes.
The weather sucked it was about to rain. I was depressed as this means no swimming, no sunbathing, nothing but sitting in the car or tent and reading a book. So I decided to go home as we brought both cars. My husband can still fish no matter the weather.
I texted her I was coming home. I then received a text meant for her boyfriend that said "Anna is coming home early. Please go over there and make sure everything is as it should be. I partially lied to her. I told her Smokey came in but I didn't tell her he went right back out."
I was mad. I trusted her to take let him in and out. I wanted her to do it as he won't run away from her.
When I came home she wasn't home and she has my key! Her bf came out after I texted her and said "what you only have one key?" I said "Ted (my DH) has one but I didn't think to take his.
I took my key. After I realized he was the one who tried to get Smokey in (it took me while I had to read the text a few times and I was already tired from my ordeal).
The clincher is that they both weekends at a support house and are gone all weekend. I have been watching their pets for months out of the goodness of my heart.
I am now mad and I don't feel I can trust her.
Am I overreacting?

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NO! I tried posting just the "NO" but it was too short. She said she would do something and she didn't. I would be very mad about that. And I certainly would not agree to keep her pets again. Then again, I might agree simply for the pet's sake. She sounds like the kind of person who if she can't find an easy solution, might, just might, go off and leave them untended.

You didn't ask but I think it's time to turn Smokey into a house cat.

I would love it if he would be a house cat. I kept him in for the first eight months of his life and once he got out that was it. We live in a small rural community so the only worry for me is if something were to happen to him at night when we're not home he could slowly die. I'm going to put a cat door in and next time we go anywhere he can come and go as he pleases. He's never brought mice in as gifts when the door is open 24/7 so I don't think he will bring them through the pet door.
I don't know what else to do. Since we live about 20 minutes out of town I can't afford to pay someone enough to make it worth their time to drive out here twice a day and even if I could, he probably wouldn't come in for strangers.
I'm also upset because this is supposed to be my one week a year to go on vacation and since the weather is bad I don't get another chance until next summer. I feel like I got cheated out of my once a year camping/swimming/sunbathing a simple trip I don't ask for much and on top of that I feel totally betrayed now.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

In the grand scheme of things--was anyone or anything harmed?
a month from now, is this incident going to matter or seem important?

Yeah, I'd be a little tinkled off, and I'd probably discuss w/ woman. But, this is not a battle I would choose to fight. I certainly wouldn't continue to be angry.

Life is just too damned short.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

It's still fresh it just happened. I won't continue to be angry however I will not trust her anymore.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I know cats are weird, we have one, but would it be possible to take him with you next time? Perhaps you could buy a large wire dog crate and let him be outside somewhat. It's not ideal like he's used to, but he'd be with you, he'd be outside and safe, and you would know he's ok...

We used to have a camper and camp a lot and occassionally we'd see people who travel with their cats.

Lisa

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It's wanting what you've got"

We've brought him in the past but we had to sell our trailer and are now tent camping again so it's harder but it's better than worrying about him that's for sure Lisa.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I'd be irate. I've had similar problems with acquaintances pet sitting, so I only hire professional pet sitters now. It's expensive ($40/day), but worth it for the peace of mind. I realize you're out where pet sitters don't come. Do you have a veterinarian nearby? Sometimes vet techs supplement their income by house/pet sitting.

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If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition, and then admit that we just don't want to do it.

- Stephen Colbert.

No all we have is a Post Office, a convenience store, and a combination bar/gas station/ restaurant. And that would be too expensive for me at this time. But I hadn't thought of it and I will keep it in mind for next time.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

Did the neighbor return the $50?

Personally, I'd be a little miffed, but wouldn't decide whether to be angry or not until I'd talked to her.

Do you ever, say... on the weekends when you are home... let him stay out during the day, and not just at night? If you do and she knows that, she might've seen that kitty really was interested in staying out longer, and figured that since you do it sometimes it's probably not a big deal.

And I also understand that from your perspective, she is the only other person the kitty will go to, but it's possible that the boyfriend had been there with her when she was letting that cat in and out earlier, and the cat seemed to warm to him.

If the first possibility (about her thinking it probably wouldn't be a huge deal to let the cat stay out during the day if you sometimes do it, too) turned out to be accurate, given that your early return was entirely unexpected, I wouldn't be in a tizzy about the key situation. People usually give us their spare keys when we look after a pet, take in the mail, etc., so while I do see why it was an inconvenience to you for her to not be there with the key when you arrived, if you hadn't said, "And don't lose the key - it's our ONLY one!"... I wouldn't have thought I needed to meet you at the house when you pulled in. Was your arrival during her work day?

The "please go over and make sure things are as they should be' part of the text wouldn't have bothered me. Kind of like when you're a babysitting teenager... if you know the parents will get home at 11:00, I don't think it's bad or wrong to start scrambling to put the house back together at 10:30 so when the parents walk in the door, it's as though they never left. Maybe for some reason she left the lid off the dog food and had just intended to get to it that night, but your early arrival didn't give her that chance, etc. Maybe she just put your mail right inside the door and not on the table where you said you wanted it, and had planned to put everything like you wanted it the morning you were due to arrive home. (just assuming she might have also done another chore or two).

If she was at work when you send the surprise information that you were coming home early, and the boyfriend wasn't doing anything right then, I can certainly see why she'd ask him to go tie up loose ends.

I don't think I'd have paid her to watch my pet if I had watched hers for free in the past. It was certainly generous of you, so I don't think it was wrong - just that for me, it would feel more 'even' if we just did a quid pro quo.

She was not at work she either had plans before she told me she'd watch him or she made them after she promised me. Either way--irresponsible. I've talked to her since then and she was unapologetic so I don't need to be friends with her. I've known her less than a year and it's no skin off my back.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.