Pets, rotational play, and leaf piles

Okay, I am unsure if this belongs here so if it should be posted elsewhere I will not take offense if it is moved. I am a rotational player with pets in most of my playable households. Sometimes while trying to move a Sim up the career ladder or while skilling a toddler, I am away from other households for one or two Sim weeks. When I return to households with pets I find them sick, hungry, dirty and sad. My Sims themselves are always fine. Well, except they are usually dressed in their party outfits and wandering around the world. But that's another issue. Why are the pets' needs not being taken care of in my absence? My Sims don't end up sick or dead nor have they run away from home so why is this happening with the pets? And if there is a mod for this I would appreciate knowing who the modder is.


SimGuruRomeo twittered a short note about the leaf piles stating they are trying to get this resolved. Okay, cool, good to know. In the last week, I have read posts from fans who have found mods that help with this but they have not gone so far as to name the person that created them. Any and all info on these mods would be appreciated since we will be waiting at least until the next patch for the leaf pile craziness to be dealt with by the devs. Tuesday's patch has caused so many issues with my game I am scrambling to find solutions right now. So I am taking a break from that to appeal to the fans who are using mods in the fight against the moldering leaf piles. Help!!