Why do apartments insist on declawed cats?

Its nothing new that declawing is bad, why do apartments still require it? I've had a lot of personal and financial problems lately and I had a pretty good "free ride" by living in my Grandmothers house in exchange for cooking and cleaning for her and covering some of the bills. Unfortunately she has fallen ill and its a possibility she may have to be put in a nursing home. If that happens, the house will be sold to finance that. I understood this would happen eventually and I have money set aside for an apartment and pet deposits. But I've been searching for hours and I cannot find one that does not require declawing.

I'm weighing my chances of getting them to change their policies by pointing out how cruel it is. Doesn't seem likely. I'd think they would know and just simply care more about their carpets/walls. But I'm going to at least try. I'm at a disadvantage because I cannot put SoftPaws on Tara, she won't even allow me to trim her nails, she's too wild. So I cannot use SoftClaws as a big excuse. Tara is the destructive one too! She's got 9 scratching posts and insists on scratching at the baseboards of my closet. I suppose as a last resort I can say they are declawed and hope the landlord doesnt check. Both kitties run and hide from strangers.

Anyone here ever dealt with this? How did you handle it? it just seems like such an unfair policy. An apartment is not the place for declawed cats. If a landlord or maintenance person accidently lets a cat out, its defenseless. I don't agree with declawing in the first place, but especially in situations where a cat is more likely to get out.

Hopefully I'll make some headway and at least be able to find one person who will either allow SoftClaws, change their policy because they didn't know how cruel it was, or i'll find a nice non-declawing apartment.

Have you tried feliway???

landlords want to protect there property/// silly but they think cats cause damage with claws my cats are angels compared to my terrier

Because they insist that furniture/walls etc are more important than the welfare of an animal - and, sadly, because mostly they are uninformed and don't understand what it really entails.

thats awful...I am sorry!

I do hope you can find somewhere that accepts none declawed cats...I think its an awful policy and should not be allowed!

Good luck and sorry to hear about your grandmother *hugs*

Because they don't care about you or your animal. They care about their property. I know that is harsh but it is the truth. Sorry about your grandmother.

Hopefully you can find a place that accepts cats as they are.

I'm so glad declawing is illegal here! I don't really understand what a clawed cat would do to an apartment that is so horrible? None of my four have never done any damage.

You could always risk it and not tell them. Ask around town and find out which apartments are the most lenient. Or instead of a complex, look for something that is personally owned, like a rented out house that's split up. Landlords with split homes are a little more lenient than apartment Landlords. Usually apartments rules come from somplace higher, like a regional or national office, so you'd have to organize a rally to get the business to change their ways.

I know i was frustrated when I moved out of my parents. The places I could afford (and save money) wouldn't accept my guinea pigs. They took dogs and cats, but not guinea pigs. I refused to move there and told them that the dumbest rule I ever heard of!!

But I would either look for something personally owned (like half a house) or just not tell the complex at all.

Originally Posted by Ryn

I'm so glad declawing is illegal here! I don't really understand what a clawed cat would do to an apartment that is so horrible? None of my four have never done any damage.

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Realistically, an intact cat can cause lots of damage. Our tiny cat Pepsi (the one who was feral till three months of age) has, regardless of all our attemps to circumvent her destructive tendencies, shredded the carpet in the house we are renting to the extent that we will have to pay to completely replace it when we move out. That will probably amount to a few thousand dollars at least. I know we all love our pets, but frankly, pets often do cause a lot of damage. They claw carpet, they claw furniture, they (especially dogs) chew on and claw woodwork, they have "accidents" on carpet. It's not fair to the owner of the apartment or house you are living in to expect them to just eat that cost. Yes, we paid a pet deposit, but I guarantee that the amount we paid won't even begin to cover the cost of replacing the carpet in this house.

None of our other cats have caused much damage. However, all it takes is one determined cat. We happen to have one who can ruin a room of carpet in under 20 minutes.

Alternative solutions: you can offer to sign a contract stating that you will pay for any excess damage done by your kitty. Or you can try to rent a house with a more laid-back policy. Or, as others have mentioned, you could lie about having a cat or at least having a non-declawed one. If you decide to go the route of just not telling your landlord that you have an intact cat, are you prepared to a) admit that you lied if necessary and b) arrange to pay for all damages (in your case, probably baseboards) before moving out?

When I was first married we too had a problem finding a place that would rent to a cat owner. When ended up with a pet deposit too. At the time MC was about 3 yrs old. This person had lots of rental properties but I don't think owned any pets. I think rental owners need more education on renting to pet owners.
Good luck.

Originally Posted by td128

But I've been searching for hours and I cannot find one that does not require declawing.

Hopefully I'll make some headway and at least be able to find one person who will either allow SoftClaws, change their policy because they didn't know how cruel it was, or i'll find a nice non-declawing apartment.

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Try a private-owner rather than an apartment complex. It may be easier to convince one person. Many rents are not listed in the paper or rental magazines. Try driving around and looking at "For Rent" properties. Sometimes they are more lenient.

You agree to pay all damages regardless. It's part of every lease I've signed, and when it is above whatever deposit you put down (and it will be, no matter how good you take care of the place - you never get a deposit back, at least not from a corporate owned rental.) they will bill you. (And if you don't hear from your previous landlord in a couple months, don't assume that they aren't charging you. Check back with them. For some companies it's part of a scam, I believe, that they don't actually notify you until it's too late to challenge the charges. It's happened to me, unfortunately.)

That's the bad part about renting from a corporate owned apartment. The good part is that they have so many units that they don't check things like if your cats actually are declawed. Some will require proof from a vet, most don't. The maintenance guys usually don't care either. It's still a chance to lie to them, but you're already liable for any damage that they may do so it isn't really any more of a risk to the landlords.