Why do Denver area landlords seem so cat unfriendly. (apartment complex, renter)

[Tigerlily64]

Currently living in Texas but relocating to Denver area in the not too distant future. Browsing various sites to get an idea of rental availabilities and so forth. Have two absolutely housetrained, well behaved adult cats who do no damage whatsoever and have previous landlords who would verify that, why do I see so many adverts for single family homes that state a dog or two is ok but definitely no cats? I am really puzzled as having had dogs in the past I know how much more destructive, not to mention the housetraining side, that dogs tend to be than cats! I saw one ad today that quotes $200 pet deposit for a dog and $400 for a cat. The house we currently lease had a small, obviously completely incontinent dog in it before we moved in and we had the place steam cleaned a second time before we would move in as the carpets were stained and smelly but we liked the area and the house overall. Our indoor cats never, not even once, have defecated or urinated anywhere except the litter tray, the places we rent are unfurnished so there is no damage through clawing to anything the owner would care about (actually they don't claw furniture either as they have a scratch post they always use) so I really don't understand why so many rentals adamantly and specifically state no cats? Someone please enlighten me!

[parks71]

I dont know, I'm moving there next week and ran into the exact same problem. I had to find a new home for the cat here instead of bringing it and right after doing so, a home for rent popped up in our location that would accept them. Dogs are much worse than cats when it comes to property damage. Tracking dirt inside the house, chewing, potty training and not to mention the liablity factor if the dog were to bite someone.

[Tigerlily64]

Well if I was a landlord my preference for would be tenants would be cat owners over dog owners (and I love dogs) and both of those over families with small children in terms of likely damage to my home! P.S. I am no a child hater, I have two but they are young adults and fully housetrained now ;-)

[cowboyxjon]

The apartment complex that I lived at accepted cats and dogs. There was a "pet rent" (stupid, in my opinion) and a "pet deposit", but they accepted up to 3 pets.

[Tigerlily64]

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

The apartment complex that I lived at accepted cats and dogs. There was a "pet rent" (stupid, in my opinion) and a "pet deposit", but they accepted up to 3 pets.

Yes I noticed that many of the apartment complexes are pet friendly but it is the SF homes I am looking at and am just so surprised at the number that specifically state no cats.

[BennyPhoenix]

Because it is impossible to get the smell of cat urine out of a wood floor without replacing the floor.
Also, I am generalizing here, but cat owners tend to be more difficult to deal with than dog owners. I dont know why that is the case, but it has been my experience. I have had many more problems with cat owners than dog owners and I've had easily 10 times as many dog owners as tenants.

[McGowdog]

Originally Posted by Tigerlily64

Our indoor cats never, not even once, have defecated or urinated anywhere except the litter tray...

Tell it to the judge.

I say there is no way you can know for sure they haven't marked their territory somewhere or smelled an article of dirty laundry somewhere on the floor and been inspired to go a little bit.

Steam cleaning the carpets 50 times will do nothing to remove stains from the porous wood subfloor.

If you're an animal lover, either find a fellow animal lover renter or buy.

[2bindenver]

There are more people allergic to cats than to dogs.

[livecontent]

I like cats but I am allergic to them and they like me--as they constantly approach me in my yard. Many people have that same allergy. So, perhaps the landlord is only looking to prevent problems with future tenants. They are much more suited for apartment living versus big dogs, which I think is cruel and many people seem to want to imprison two or more large dogs in an apartment. Small dogs are more appropriate. However, some cat owners have too many cats in a small apartment.

Livecontent

[Tigerlily64]

@Benny - ok, that's an interesting observation. Would you however completely not consider tenants with cats if they seem sane on meeting them or if they provide good references?

@McGowdog - I know! Steam cleaning the carpets in our current rental did not eradicate completely the smell of the dog urine from the previous tenant's dog, but this doesn't answer the question as to why some owners are ok with dogs and not cats. If an owner says no pets of any sort that is fine, I accept that but to specify dogs but not cats just strikes me as odd knowing the likelihood of each species to damage property in various ways.

P.S. I am not a crazy cat lady just intrigued as to why the discrimination when generally speaking dogs are more prone to being destructive and/or not being housetrained.