3 Cats and not "boots on the ground" having serious relocation issues. (Portland: apartment complex, rentals)

[snuggles11]

My husband and I, like so many others, are relocating to Portland. His job will transfer, he works remotely, and I will leave mine to search for greener pastures once we get settled up there.

The big hitches we are running into are:

1. We have three, adult cats.
2. We are not physically, boots on the ground, in Portland

For nearly three weeks now this has been an issue. It's easy to relocate into an apartment complex where you can research the area and more or less trust the photos you see online. However, they ALL have 2 pet max. Doesn't work for our three cats.

Same has been true for the property management companies, even those listed as pet friendly aren't taking our three cats if they have other interested parties.

Because we don't have boots on the ground, we can't see the "for rent" signs and obviously can't check out the apartment/condo/townhome in person.

We need a 2 bedroom preferably in a walkable location in town (looking at Irvington, Hawthore area primarily). Any assistance you guys can provide? I read the post about the "pet resume" but we still can't get anyone to okay the pets unless they meet us in person which we just can't accommodate since we're not there.

We have no family up there so going first and then finding a place isn't an option. Help!

(P.S. we have also looked in Beaverton, which is not our first choice, and while the apartments are very supportive with the relocation idea, they hear three cats and they're done).

[Steve Pickering]

You need to decide if your housing needs are more important than having three cats.

Don't expect greener pastures just because you move to Oregon.

[snuggles11]

I'm not sure what that means. When we decided to be pet owners, we took on the responsibility of having them. Their care, well being comes hand and hand in that commitment. It is irresponsible and out of the question to get rid of the cats just because housing is causing complications; not an option. We take responsibility for the ownership of the cats. I know it's not impossible, I was just asking for assistance.

[Steve Pickering]

And I was offering .....

I didn't say cats .......

You seem to have one cat to many. As I said you need to decide which is a priority, the extra cat, or a roof over your head.

We are talking about a cat here, not a kid.

[Twilighter]

Originally Posted by snuggles11

I'm not sure what that means. When we decided to be pet owners, we took on the responsibility of having them. Their care, well being comes hand and hand in that commitment. It is irresponsible and out of the question to get rid of the cats just because housing is causing complications; not an option. We take responsibility for the ownership of the cats. I know it's not impossible, I was just asking for assistance.

Good for you. You have chosen to honor the lifetime commitment you made to a vulnerable being. I don't have help for you at the moment, but I hope that you won't have to wait long for a landlord to see that someone who is determined to honor a commitment they have made is someone they want to rent to, as you are likely to honor other commitments you make as well. Maybe you can play that up - people like you are becoming more and more rare, in my experience.

If you rent now, perhaps your landlord will give you a letter of recommendation in regard to the cats, etc.

[Twilighter]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

We are talking about a cat here, not a kid.

I know that as a politician it may be difficult for you to understand this, but the importance of standing by one's commitments is worth extra work and creative solutions. It may be "just a cat" to you, but it is a vulnerable being who relies entirely upon OP for his/her well being. Since there's no magical farm where unwanted cats can romp out the rest of their lives, and it's kitten season across the country (and therefore intakes of adult cats is greatly reduced at shelters), if OP considered getting rid of one of their cats as an option, they would have to rely upon the kindness of a relative (if they were very lucky) or resort to euthanasia. Now that OP has stated that's not an option, perhaps we can keep our eyes and ears out for a real solution.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

At least they are not three pitbull type breeds..

I would think that it would be easier to rent with cats than dogs anyways, but I don't know, I haven't rented in years.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

You might possibly have better luck renting a house than an apartment. The problem with pets and apartments, is that if the rules aren't vigorously enforced, there are plenty of tenants living there that will quickly take advantage.

If the rule is 2 pets, and management makes an exception for you, there will be plenty of tenants there that take that as permission to get 3 pets themselves. Some tenants can't tell the difference between a cat and a pit-bull, so 3 new pit-bulls in their apartment and then sue because management has allowed Snuggles to have 3 pets, and thus established a new pet policy.

With a house, if an exception is made, there are not other tenants that are going to take advantage. So management of a free standing house can afford to be more flexible.

I take 3 pets (not in Portland), but I don't particularly like cats in my rentals and I really dislike accepting tenants who are moving into the area and willing to take anything because they have every intention of moving out as soon as they look around and decide where they want to live. I don't want to take a new tenant and 4 months later have to clean up the unit all over again and go through interviewing applicants all over again. Make that triple if I have to clean up cat smell and have scratch damage to my carpets and woodwork.

Just saying, you've got a lot more problems than just 3 cats, including very difficult to verify income.

[skiffrace]

How similar do the cats look to each other? Counting cats can be like counting sheep, you know...

[Sondeera]

Originally Posted by skiffrace

How similar do the cats look to each other? Counting cats can be like counting sheep, you know...

That's what I was going to say. We rented with three cats for 10 years, but because two looked so similar we fibbed and said we had just two. I always felt guilty, but we had committed to taking care of the cats. I had two cats and my husband had one when we got together. We're down to two again (RIP Dresch).

Best of luck!