The House Sitter (2007)

by Linda Kay

Also Starring: Sushi

Directed by: Christopher Leitch

This review contains a severe Kitty Carnage Warning!

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: In this made-for-TV movie, Elise Crawford (Tori Spelling) is a struggling artist who takes a job cat and house sitting for an eccentric loner named Frank (Jonathan Higgins) in his remote country home. After striking up a romance with local plumber Phil (Dean McDermott), connections between the two men rear their ugly heads. But which one of them is crazy?

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): The cat whom Elise is sitting is named Fred even though she is a female. Frank greets Elise outside the house as he holds the lovely Abyssinian kitty.

The House Sitter - Frank Jonathan Higgins holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi
The House Sitter - Frank Jonathan Higgins holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi

He introduces Fred to Elise, explaining that since the cat was fixed she craves female companionship.

The House Sitter - Frank Jonathan Higgins holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi
The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi

Later after Frank leaves and Elise is outside painting, Fred gets up onto the palette and her feet get covered with white paint.

The House Sitter - Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi standing on paint pallette

Fred tracks the paint all over the house (far more than would ever have been able to stick on the cat’s paws!)

The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling chasing after Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi who runs into house tracking white paint from paws animated gif

Elise finally catches Fred in the kitchen and wipes off her paws.

The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi in kitchen
The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling wiping paint off Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi paws
The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi

In a later scene Elise sees Fred by her empty food dish (which for some reason is up on her cat tree!)

The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling looking at Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi on cat tree
The House Sitter - Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi on cat tree

As Elise opens a can for Fred, the cat slips away and runs down into the basement.

The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling opening can of cat food for Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi who runs into basement animated gif

When Elise finds Fred down in the basement, the cat is chewing on some kind of fuzzy thing which could be a mouse or a bird. Elise doesn’t even try to get the cat away from whatever it is, instead checking out a rack of aged wines.

The House Sitter - Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi eating small furry or fuzzy thing

Fred is on hand when Elise receives a phone call from Frank.

The House Sitter - Elise Tori Spelling on phone next to Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi on stand

When Frank returns to the house he is not happy that Elise does not seem to reciprocate his affection and so he sits moodily holding Fred in the dark.

The House Sitter - Frank Jonathan Higgins holding Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi on lap in dark

The last we see of Fred (alive), she is pawing at a closed door as Frank watches, holding a shotgun.

The House Sitter - Abyssinian cat Fred Sushi pawing at door

Severe Kitty Carnage Warning! We hear the sound of a shotgun blast and when Elise tries to flee she finds her car won’t start. Not only that, but she discovers Fred’s bloody and headless body lying in the driveway.

Fred was played by cat actor Sushi. The animal wranglers on the film were Jean Cardinal and Marie-André St-Germain.

Final Mewsings: Fred must have really hated that brand of cat food to go for some unidentifiable deceased vermin instead.

Many thanks to Nicole from 4MileCircus for letting us know about the cat in this film!

Relevant Links:

IMDb logo
Amazon Instant Video logo




To discuss this film and other cats in movies and on television, join us on Facebook and X.