One extra cat?

I am moving to a new place and have permission to keep a specified number of cats. The problem is I have a couple more than I'm allowed. (If I'd asked to bring them all I'm sure I'd still be looking for housing.) I think I have a good home for one of my "extraneous" felines, so she won't need to come along, but I'm contemplating smuggling the other one into my new place. That way I'd have one more cat than I'm supposed to. Is this a terrible terrible idea? I'm supposed to be given notice before entry so I shouldn't have anyone showing up unannounced, and could take the extra one on a little day trip when needed. Also, one of my cats hides whenever strangers come into the house, so they'd probably never see him. (He's totally awesome and loving with me, but absolutely terrified of anyone else.)

Should I smuggle in one extra fur baby? Would it be hard to pull off? Do I want to endure the stress? Would it be better to find her a more secure home than jeopardize myself and my other cats?

I'm in touch with a great rescue that is strictly no-kill, houses its residents in large cages with loads of cat furniture and beds, and has space for her. Would it be better to take her there? She is a lovely, confident, sociable and chatty cat, greets and beguiles almost everyone who comes through the door. I think she has a great shot at finding another home.

This is a super-tough decision so any thoughts are welcome...

NibblerAndCo said:

 
 I think I have a good home for one of my "extraneous" felines, so she won't need to come along, but I'm contemplating smuggling the other one into my new place. That way I'd have one more cat than I'm supposed to. Is this a terrible terrible idea?

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Yes. It's a very bad idea.

Pet owners have a bad rep with landlords because of incidences like this. Many landlords are inflexible when it comes to pets because of irresponsible owners. You are a responsible owner, but the landlord doesn't know that, and I'm guessing they've dealt with enough cases in the past that the easiest way for them is just to either outright say no, or say only X allowed.

You have to decide whether you are willing to give up two cats. Personally, I would find another place that would allow all my cats, but I recognize that's not always feasible. Regardless, never try to sneak around the rules -- if you get caught, which is highly likely, it makes landlords distrust pet owners even more.

Talk to the landlord and see if they're willing to make an exception. Come up with proof of how responsible you are -- I like to have vet recommendation letter, up-to-date medical history, and a letter from your current/previous landlord vouching for you, at the very minimum. Explain how you are going to address the common fear that most landlords have -- litterboxes, scratching posts, playtime. Convince them that allowing you one (or two) more cats than the limit is not going to be a financial burden to them when you move out.

 Cory has made some excellent points for you. It's never a good idea to try to sneak in another cat. If you get caught, then you're up the creek.

FhiCat said:

 
Yes. It's a very bad idea.

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Ok, thank you, I needed to hear that.  This is the most horrible decision I've had to make in a long while, so it's tough not to look for outs.

I'm moving overseas, so the move is major, and transporting the animals there is rather irreversible, not to mention extremely expensive.  I had a really hard time getting anyone to accept even as many cats as I asked for, there were time pressures involved, and the place in question has already been rented on a long-term lease, so I guess I'm giving up two cats.

I think at this point I just need to fill out the surrender forms for the two cats I'm bringing in, put together their toy bags, and get it over with. At least I know they're going to a very good rescue with excellent clean facilities and lots of enthusiastic volunteers. (I visited to see the place first and then took the weekend to think it over.) They can also stay there for as long as it takes to find them homes, and will never be put down to make space. And if their new humans can't keep them at any point, they will go back to the rescue.

P.S. the home I may have found is through the rescue; I didn't find it myself. They already have pics of the cat in question, which they are forwarding to the interested person.

It depends.  I have done this in apartments where I felt is was unenforced.  A big clue is if they don't allow dogs but you see there are a lot of residents with dogs openly taking them on walks in the complex.  I've also "begged" landlords to allow one extra animal (saying the cat was an adult, clean, well-vetted etc) and have had them make allowances usually for a little extra "pet rent".

The last apartment I lived in had a two cat limit and I payed attention to that rule because they were picky about everything and they had the most ridiculous pet policy I've ever heard of.   Also they were frequently hassling residents over other non-pet issues that other complexes would ignore.  Still, I probably could've gotten away with it because we usually just put the cat in the bathroom when maintenance came.  When we didn't lock the cat up we found out that our maintenance men were big fans of cats anyway.

The other thing about living in apartments is that you usually don't stay in them for 20 years.  We tended to move every 2 years.  So trying to find places that allowed multiple pets would've been a recurring issue.  Our area has a lot of places that don't allow pets at all and those that do tend to be more expensive and to have a limit of 2.

I would have never attempted to sneak in an extra cat in a place where the apartment was owned by a single landlord who also did maintenance or who seemed to be a stickler with other tenants.  Sadly I do see people desperately trying to rehome their cats after having their landlord find out about the pet and demanding they get rid of it or be evicted.  Landlords usually only give people 24 or 48 hours to get rid of an animal.  That's a horrible situation to be in.  

So while I've gotten away with it I've seen it backfire for others and I wouldn't feel good about encouraging someone to try it and your comment about how you'd still be looking for housing if you mentioned bringing all the pets concerns me a lot.  I've asked landlords about making exceptions a few times with success.  You won't even ask which implies to me that this is the kind of place that would think nothing of threatening you with eviction unless you got your population down to two.

Marmoset, I've already bargained for an extra over their original limit, so yeah, I wouldn't even ask for more... They've essentially already agreed to an extra one, so I think there's a good chance I'd really be crossing the line if I brought yet another in. I just don't want to do that, and I think the two cats I'm leaving have very good chances for new homes -- that's a major part of why I chose them.

I was so slow writing my post that I didn't see all the prior posts after yours.  If they are very adoptable then I agree that the best thing to do might be to have them rehomed now while the no-kill has space and interest.  It breaks my heart to see people relinquish pets to kill-shelters because they have no where to turn.

Ok thanks Marmoset, it's illuminating to think of it that way. The current situation is bad but it could be far far worse, and I don't want to put myself & my cats at risk of that happening.

Not long ago I was in the same situation(not oversees).  I am well over what I told the LL.  It feels awful to lie but sometimes you do not have a choice.  I had parted with many cats due to life soon after the move.

Being the cats are friendly and you found a shelter that is so willing I really would surrender them.  The drive there will be horrible but walking out knowing you are on better terms with the LL and the fact the cats will find a home and be loved will really help.

Hugs to you and PM me if you want.

I woke this morning to the best possible news and wanted to share it. The three cats I left behind (an adult and her 2 kittens) were adopted from the rescue yesterday, all 3 to one family!!  Only in my wildest dreams did I hope for that. They spent less than 2 weeks in the shelter, and Mom got a home because the family decided to take her along with the kittens so she wouldn't be lonely. I sure will miss them...

Oh that is great news.  You must feel so relieved to know they're going to be safe and happy.  

I should feel relieved and happy...but I felt like a robot after the move (which was horrendously stressful) and it took a month to realize what had happened and to really start feeling anything about it. Now I'm grieving and it's worse than anything I've ever experienced in the realm of grief. Their 6 month birthday (August 25) was really hard. I spent the day crying. I feel no sense of closure.

I think it's difficult to process the loss because I really did NOT want to give them up. Also, it's an invisible grief. Who is still crying 4 months later about the kittens they gave up? Me, apparently.

When they were two weeks old I made a promise at their nest side that I would find a way to bring them, and I could not keep that promise, and it's not ok, and I don't think it ever will be.

Maybe the promise you really made was to yourself that they would have a good home, and you thought that home would be with you. Please give yourself a break - as much as we want to, we can't always keep our promises, sometimes life has its own ideas. 

Thanks. Partially I think that's it, but partially it's simply that I've lost family members. I invest a lot in my cats and the bond is somehow purer, more intimate, and immediate than the bond with humans. It's a different kind of relationship and they are not substitutes for each other. The bond with those kittens was especially intimate because I was there when they drew their first breaths. One thing is for sure: I should never become a breeder because I'd keep them all...

On the chance it might help, check out "complicated grief."   It can be brought on by too many losses in a short time. 

Thanks, that's it -- too many losses in a short time. I've been somewhat bemused by my own reaction ("just kittens", right?), and trying (unsuccessfully) to ignore it, but when I look at it in context it makes a lot more sense. There have been a number of other major losses in the last year and it's all jumbled up together at this point. I think on further reflection I should take your original advice and cut myself some slack...   

I think it might be getting better...or maybe I'm just getting better at ignoring it. If I poke around too much I still feel like part of my liver is missing. Best not to poke around I guess.    "Just kittens" are not my words, by the way -- they were uttered by an evidently puzzled other person. Oh the confusion.