Cats and apartments

[jaydeandbozoon]

When I lived in a rental house we hid our cat for a good year and a half and know one noticed. He even came over one time to clean out our filter.

 

[happybird]

I am guilty of lying about the number of cats I have. Most cat friendly rentals are ok with one or two cats, but when I say I have 5, they look at me like I am crazy. Usually, I say we have 2 or sometimes 3 cats. 3 of my girls are old and mostly sleep and cause no damage anywhere. We always inform prospective landlords of the younger two, who are the ones most likely to get in trouble. I could have one cat or 20, and the litter boxes would still be spotless, everyone would be on flea preventative, the house vacuumed daily and any scratching damage fixed before moving.

As for pet rent, I think it is just trying to squeeze more money out of a tenant. I understand wanting a deposit for whatever carpet cleaning or fumigation the property owner decides to do, but to charge a fee for each pet monthly is just greedy.

In my case, claiming three cats at $10 apiece each month is an extra $360 a year, on top of a $400 pet deposit. There is no way my cats are capable of doing $760 worth of damage. And this is not even taking into account the one month's security deposit. I am certainly not throwing away another $240 by claiming the other 2. Besides, responsible pet owners fix any damage (such as ruined blinds) out of their own pocket. Unless they are annoyed about paying pet rent, that is.

 

[maggieq87]

I've always had cats in apartments and I've never told my landlords.  My cats are well behaved.  I always make sure they're allowed in the building and I live in a complex that owns 120 buildings.  No one in the office ever comes in and the maintanence guys have no clue who's supposed to have cats.  My current apartment asks a $300 NON REFUNDABLE deposit, a $300 refundable deposit and $30 per month per cat.  NOPE.

Even if I could afford it, I wouldn't on principal alone, haha.  It's absurd.

 

[karkel59]

I think the cost is crazy, BUT I'd be afraid if something happened like a LEAK and they came in during day while you were out and didn't know about cat and let her/him out. My house is FOR SALE now and I wouldn't let them put a LOCKBOX on cause I'm afraid they would let "64" out.

 

[catsallaround]

For anyone who is in a rental where blinds were provided ask first when you move as the place I was in and 2 others we looked at REPLACED them after EVERY apartment moved out.  The one I was in repainted, replaced the blinds, filters for the heat and the wall AC filters and toilet seat. 

 

[jill-e]

I just reread my post and want to apologize for not catching my typos before I posted.

 

[jill-e]

I am guilty of lying about the number of cats I have. Most cat friendly rentals are ok with one or two cats, but when I say I have 5, they look at me like I am crazy. Usually, I say we have 2 or sometimes 3 cats. 3 of my girls are old and mostly sleep and cause no damage anywhere. We always inform prospective landlords of the younger two, who are the ones most likely to get in trouble. I could have one cat or 20, and the litter boxes would still be spotless, everyone would be on flea preventative, the house vacuumed daily and any scratching damage fixed before moving.

As for pet rent, I think it is just trying to squeeze more money out of a tenant. I understand wanting a deposit for whatever carpet cleaning or fumigation the property owner decides to do, but to charge a fee for each pet monthly is just greedy.

In my case, claiming three cats at $10 apiece each month is an extra $360 a year, on top of a $400 pet deposit. There is no way my cats are capable of doing $760 worth of damage. And this is not even taking into account the one month's security deposit. I am certainly not throwing away another $240 by claiming the other 2. Besides, responsible pet owners fix any damage (such as ruined blinds) out of their own pocket. Unless they are annoyed about paying pet rent, that is.

Happy Bird, and others, you are very, very wrong about how much it costs to repair or replace damage done by pets. Just because your cats might be angels doesn't mean they all are. And, I'll bet you have had to do more than you claim here. If you have the money to support (food, litter, toys, and vet bills) all those cats, then you shouldn't be complaining.

As a landlord, I'll address now the costs of the damage done in my rental home by the one cat owned by the tenant I ended up evicting. Not only did the carpet and pad need to be ripped out of the bedroom and replaced, but because the floor beneath the carpet was concrete (it's a ground floor apartment), that had to be treated several times to eliminate the stench of the cat pee, and then a seal coat put on to (hopefully) prevent the smell from coming back out if the concrete should ever get wet from future carpet cleaning. Pee goes down beyond the carpet and into the padding, and often into the subfloor as well. It takes much longer to dry padding than it does carpet and often padding (which is mostly now made from either old carpet and/or rubber pieces glued together) will begin to mold if it isn't dried thoroughly. The cost to replace, just in the 12'x13' bedroom and closet, the damaged carpet and pad was $813.50 (carpet, pad, dumpster fee, fuel surcharge, and labor), and that didn't include replacing and painting the new baseboard trim (another $464), nor the chemicals I had to buy to treat the concrete floor below (~$300), and the cost of my time to do the treatments and sealing (several hours over several days would add up to ~$200). The window blind (not a mini blind, btw) in bedroom was spared, fortunately. That alone would have cost around $300 to replace, as it's an ultra energy efficient, top down, bottom up Hunter Douglas shade over a large, egress basement window.

The chemical I now use(d) to treat pet urine and stains is called PureAyre. This is an all natural, great smelling product that I can tolerate. It leaves a minty/parsley like smell as it eats away at the urine. I've tried just about everything on the market, including some homemade preparations and this is the only thing I will use now. The seal coat for the concrete was $40 and I had to hire someone to do it as I couldn't tolerate the smell of it, even though it's a non-toxic product that penetrates the concrete and then seals it against moisture. Once the sealer dried, it doesn't outgas any fumes that can make anyone sick.

I had to leave the apartment empty for a total of 3 weeks to do all the repairs, which meant I also had no rent coming in for that time period, a loss of $750 on the rent alone.

 

[catsallaround]

Think Happybird was saying HER cats doing that much damage.  But then again deposit is 1 1/2-2 months.  PLUS pet deposit and possibly pet rent. 

I know I am not the only one that looked for wood floor or tile in the entire place.  I have allergies and carpet is terrible.  Add in a puppy in training or kids and carpet gets stained.  Not everyone can clean the stain as it happens.

 

[happybird]

I guess it is like most things: irresponsible people have ruined it for the rest of us by letting their cats trash rentals. I cannot imagine having enough cat pee on the floor that it soaks through to the floorboards. That must smell absolutely horrid. I have had cats pee on the carpet, but I cleaned it very thoroughly. I am really, really OCD about cleaning.

We ask for and have gotten references from former landlords specifically about the care we take of our cats. It is a good thing to have and many property owners are more than happy to write one. I think the references have swayed prospective landlords to our side in the past. It is just so hard to rent with cats nowadays, I feel like some sort of second class citizen.

We are actually right in the middle of moving (taking the babies over tomorrow) and it was so frustrating trying to find a place. I had been looking for months before finding this place.The good news is that the new landlord is a super animal lover and knows about all my cats. And there is a hot tub on the porch!

 

[pinkman]

Kinda? Sorta? Possibly, yes.

At my previous apartment complex, there was a family with a dog. So when I moved in with my partner we asked our property management about a dog (I was a dog kinda person back then). Property management said no, but a cat would be fine. Partner and I went to the ASPCA, showed our documents, got ourselves Lox.

Now, while doing our apartment hunting we made sure that they know we had a cat. A lot of places asked for four months rent, and a 500 dollar deposit. And a lot of times we got denied because I was a student at the time, and my partner was the one making the mullah. As much as it blows, I understand where they come from. To a certain degree. My pops used to rent out homes, and I was part of the "clean up crew" when tenants moved out.

I got allergies, asthma, a bunch of other issues wrong. I also make sure ANY messes are cleaned up ASAP. But unfortunately, the fact is, not everyone is a responsible pet owner. You hear all different sorts of horror stories. Cat pee staining and eating through floor boards, dogs yowling because of being left alone for 10+ hours daily, whatever animal - if you are renting, you're risking damage and well, money.

It took us a couple months but when we finally found the current place we live now, we made a "pet profile" for Lox. Photos, a quick description, and also referral numbers (vet, friends, etc). Our landlord didn't require us a pet deposit or a monthly fee. Awesome! Now, we did get a new kitten in - Bagel - and we haven't told the landlord about that. However, I am very diligent about cleaning because of my own health concerns. I don't think it will be a problem. We're also lucky that our windows face away from the road, apartments across, etc. Lox is very quiet, and Bagel gets a bunch of play time during the day and evening. No issues with urinating, and when accidents happen I clean that up pronto! 

There is a dog on the first floor, but what I have heard is that the tenant had to put a lot of effort convincing the landlord. Maybe our landlord is a cat person!

 

[trevandbur]

I'm hoping that the lady I rent this apartment from will be able to help convince a future landlord that I am a responsible cat owner. My boys are mature, adult cats who NEVER go outside the litter box. The only way I can imagine one of them ever peeing on the floor is if they were sick, but I watch that stuff so it wouldn't get far before it was noticed. Trevor only uses his scratching post, Burlington was declawed before I got him. The chances of carpet or doors being scratched are ZERO because Trevor doesn't claw, he just sticks his paws under the door to get my attention. He knows he can't open it. 

This place is decent, but it's not where I want to live permanently, since it's in the basement of this lady's house. I want my own private place. I can't have company here, and I already feel like I am intruding even though she says I'm fine.

 

[pinkman]

I know that feeling. For a couple years I was renting a room from my friend's sister. It was really cheap so I can't complain. They actually offered to have a cat around, but it would've been the landlady's cat and me taking care of it. Plus I was planning to move to NY in the next couple of years - NY is a pain in the butt to move with pets (I think it is everywhere, but finding rentals in NYC is another whole story). Hope you can get a nice recommendation. Maybe writing a short paragraph about your boys with a reference to your vet maybe can help? That is what my broker told me to do - and talk up the kitties a lot! And add photos (cute, attractive ones)!

 

[laralove]

When I was a kid, my mom's friend moved in our apartment with us for a few months with her un-neutered male cat. He peed under her bed. They steam cleaned the carpets, used all sorts of cleaners, nothing worked. When she moved out, my mom had to pay to have the carpet in that bedroom ripped up and the subflooring treated. Perhaps it depends on the cat as to how destructive even a little urine can be to flooring.

 

[denice]

A whole tom cat has very strong smelling urine.  It's part of the whole physical thing to mate that testosterone triggers.  The strong smell carries further to mark territory and stake out claims on a female in heat.  That scent is very difficult to remove.  If it's soaked in it could well mean replacing the sub-flooring.

 

[catsallaround]

Also thinking he did it more then once.  I had a kitten who just started to get the boy cat smell who had urinary issues and only thing that worked when he peed on carpet was bleach water.  I mixed it light enough and it did not ruin carpet.

 

[tessuh]

And then you inform them that you, too, will be declawed by cutting off all your fingertips to the first knuckle.

 

[Winchester]

 
And then you inform them that you, too, will be declawed by cutting off all your fingertips to the first knuckle.

Hey there! Welcome to TCS!

 Please note that this thread is now about three years old. The OP has not been around for quite a while, so she probably won't see your post to her. But welcome anyway and we hope you'll post in New Cats on the Block and tell us about your cats. 

 

[crystalnicole]

I just moved into an apartment in July and my complex had OUTRAGEOUS fees, similar to yours, totally unnecessary and completely DISGUSTING, in my opinion. They have a $300 deposit, and then a $250 non-refundable "pet fee" ...(what?!)??? And a $25 a month fee for having a CAT. I totally lied and I'm proud of it!! These fees are ridiculous and unnecessary and make absolutely NO sense whatsoever and I'm not sure where the money goes or how it's remotely justifiable. Worst case scenario with a cat, they could potentially scratch up your (note: YOUR property) furniture, but I cannot imagine a well-adjusted cat doing any sort of damage to an apartment itself, especially enough to justify such an exorbitant fee. This is what security deposits should be for. And NO pet fee should be considered "non-refundable" if your pet does not cause any damage. DO NOT feel bad for hiding your cat! Just because a policy exists does not make it ethical! #rantover

 

[canadiancowbell]

I don't agree with non refundable pet fees but I personally don't agree with hiding the pets either. If the landlord finds out it can ruin your relationship with them and make living there horrible. It also ruins things for the rest of the pet owners out there in the eyes of that landlord.

I don't believe in bad animals though, only bad owners and sadly we have all heard of or encountered these owners who shouldn't have pets. These are the owners who don't clean the messes, deal with the health/behavior issues or don't do the work to repair any damage that can happen.