What is with cat deposits? (lease agreement, rentals, ARM, fee)
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This tends to only be true for intact male cats. The smell is linked to a sexual hormone that stops getting produced once fixed.
No, not true. We had 2 male cats that were fixed. They freaked out when our daughter was born and began urinating outside their box. I can guarantee that cat urine will smell bad, fixed or not.
We had friends who rented their house for two years to people with cats. After they moved out when you walked in the house the urine was so bad it stung your eyes. The flooring, subfloors, drywall, insulation, and even some of the beams had to be replaced. It ended up costing over $14,000. They won a court judgement but ten years later they still haven't recovered all of it. Too many renters are judgement proof so I would never voluntarily rent to someone with cats.
I seriously question the IQ, sanity, hygienic tolerance level, etc., of any cat owner who can and would voluntarily put up with those living conditions without doing something about it. There are tons of reference sources, articles, etc. out there about how to deal when a cat stops using their litter box. Why these people just let it go is beyond me.
It is really unfortunate, because there are a lot of really responsible pet owners out there. I myself have 2 cats, female, spayed, who still have their claws. I've had them for 13 years and other than when they were new kittens and scratched one area of my carpet, they have never damaged anything in my house. My mom and sister each have a cat as well, and if you didn't see the cat, you wouldn't know they had one.
I seriously question the IQ, sanity, hygienic tolerance level, etc., of any cat owner who can and would voluntarily put up with those living conditions without doing something about it. There are tons of reference sources, articles, etc. out there about how to deal when a cat stops using their litter box. Why these people just let it go is beyond me.
My fiance is a far neater person than I am. My desk and my office gives her anxiety to look at. I work at keeping the house clean for her, because Its important to her.
But I don't understand how she can leave the sink bowl looking like it does.
Some people don't care, are too busy, and I know that most cat owners go noseblind in a hurry.
Similarly, there are as many different neatness, smell, and sanitation standards for personal dwellings as there are people.
Some people don't care, are too busy, and I know that most cat owners go noseblind in a hurry.
Having animals is no different from having kids. They have needs that the humans who have chosen to take on the role as caretakers to them must be mindful to provide, above and beyond whatever else is on their plate. When I was a kid I wanted to work with horses, for example, and I read every single horse book at the local libraries, and the consequences for shirking on their care are dire (and we're not even talking about the legal penalties for neglect). Cats and dogs are no different and, bottom line, a diligent owner can make the difference between an animal that is a welcome presence and one that is not.
When I got the OK from my first landlord to get my cat, since I had never had one before, I made the decision NOT to go into it blind and doing things on the fly and being caught unawares of what to do when issues came up that needed to be dealt with. Like I said, 4 months of reading, joining cat forums like the one here on C-D (I actually lurked here for years before finally joining a few weeks ago). I knew that, as a renter, my first priority was to make sure my cat would always be welcome, and I hit the jackpot when I adopted her. Whoever had her first did a wonderful job in socializing her (she was never a stray, because I even have her exact birth date, 6/3/10), and everyone who's interacted with her has loved her demeanor.
I can definitely vouch for the cat smells. The house we live in was rented out to less-than-model renters for a few years before we bought it. They apparently let their cats use one corner of the concrete basement floor as the "litter box" because it was just filthy and had to be cleaned and bleached multiple times. One year later and it still smells like cat pee down there. Thankfully we haven't found cat pee anywhere else in the house.
If I knew how to do so, I would post photos of both my apartments so you can see their pristine condition in spite of having had an adult cat living in them. ........
And so, you are a good responsible pet owner with a well trained cat. That does not mean that every tenant with a cat is a good responsible pet owner with a well trained cat who takes excellent care of the place that they rent and who pays for any damage with an apology instead of a complaint and a threat of a lawsuit.
Nor does it mean that I am going to start believing every applicant who tells me that they are an excellent care-giver with a well trained pet that never does any damage.
I have never had any applicant tell me that they don't clean the litter box, that their cat screams all night, that they have kittens every year underneath the floor, or that their cat ripped up every window screen at their last house. No, every applicant assurs me that they are an excellent pet owner and their pet never does nay damage.
I am simply not going to make any attempt to sort them out. So, too bad for the good pet owner that there are so many irresponsible pet owners out there, and it is not a small percentage of irresponsible pet owners, either.
Incidentally, I just received possession of a house back and the tenant cut a hole in my door to install a cat flap. Now I have to hold the house off the market for additional time while I pay someone to remove the damaged door and replace it. I won't be surprised if the tenant screams bloody murder about how much that costs. Lucky for the tenant, I can't charge him for lost rent for the time it takes to replace the door.
The tenant didn't even leave the cat flap, just a big hole in my door with the cold outdoor air rushing in. Or maybe they never installed the cat flap and just cut the hole for the cat.
Those were people who assured me that they were good pet owners.
And so, you are a good responsible pet owner with a well trained cat. That does not mean that every tenant with a cat is a good responsible pet owner with a well trained cat who takes excellent care of the place that they rent and who pays for any damage with an apology instead of a complaint and a threat of a lawsuit.
Nor does it mean that I am going to start believing every applicant who tells me that they are an excellent care-giver with a well trained pet that never does any damage.
I have never had any applicant tell me that they don't clean the litter box, that their cat screams all night, that they have kittens every year underneath the floor, or that their cat ripped up every window screen at their last house. No, every applicant assurs me that they are an excellent pet owner and their pet never does nay damage.
I am simply not going to make any attempt to sort them out. So, too bad for the good pet owner that there are so many irresponsible pet owners out there, and it is not a small percentage of irresponsible pet owners, either.
Not sure what your point is because dog owners can be just as irresponsible, if not more, and you allow dogs so your reasoning and logic make no sense at all.
And I don't understand half of the posts in this thread regarding cats because we never see anything remotely close to the overwhelming damage caused by "most' cats that many of you claim there always is and has been. I have had cats most of my life and very rarely, if ever, have I ever had cats do the damage that some of you are talking about. And no, I do not just turn a cheek to it because I am a cat lover. I have never had one LL that has ever had a problem with any of my cats nor have there ever been any smells or structural damage done or left behind. I have had one screen damaged by a cat which I gladly replaced but that was it.
And we currently have 16+ units out of the properties that I manage that have cats and many of those tenants have 2 cats which is our unit limit. I can think of 1 to 2 cases over the past 10+ years that was charged for any kind of serious cat damage. And when we re-rent these same units there has not been one person who has ever stated or complained about cat smells whether they are a cat owner or not. And we do not hesitate to inform potential renters that our buildings are cat buildings in case of allergies, etc.
Bottom line is that it is the pet owners, not the cats themselves. Just like many dog owners can be just as irresponsible in their pet care, training, etc. Proper screening and regular inspections can alleviate most or many of these pet issues. So, if your noses are so sensitive and you are doing regular inspections then you should be able to nip most of these issues in the bud before they get as bad as some of you are claiming they are AND so unusually frequent.
But I am just not buying what some of you are stating because as far as I know cats are not bred or raised differently in different regions of the country so why aren't we seeing and witnessing the extremes that many of you are? Makes zero sense.
And just for the record, I love ALL animals. Cats just happen to work out better for me and my lifestyle but I would never point the finger at the animal(s) themselves. It is the pet 'owners' that are the problem. If any animal gets sick or does damage then the pet owner is the one that needs to take immediate action or responsibility to deal with those issues accordingly or pay the price.
Hey, I understand that some of you just don't like cats but I think it is completely unfair to make such blanket statements about cats like they are the worst pet ever or that they should never even be allowed in homes as pets because of this extreme damage they 'always' cause. That is so far off the mark that it is laughable.
Having animals is no different from having kids. They have needs that the humans who have chosen to take on the role as caretakers to them must be mindful to provide, above and beyond whatever else is on their plate. When I was a kid I wanted to work with horses, for example, and I read every single horse book at the local libraries, and the consequences for shirking on their care are dire (and we're not even talking about the legal penalties for neglect). Cats and dogs are no different and, bottom line, a diligent owner can make the difference between an animal that is a welcome presence and one that is not.
When I got the OK from my first landlord to get my cat, since I had never had one before, I made the decision NOT to go into it blind and doing things on the fly and being caught unawares of what to do when issues came up that needed to be dealt with. Like I said, 4 months of reading, joining cat forums like the one here on C-D (I actually lurked here for years before finally joining a few weeks ago). I knew that, as a renter, my first priority was to make sure my cat would always be welcome, and I hit the jackpot when I adopted her. Whoever had her first did a wonderful job in socializing her (she was never a stray, because I even have her exact birth date, 6/3/10), and everyone who's interacted with her has loved her demeanor.
I'm sure you are an extremely diligent cat owner, and a naturally clean and neat person.
But you must consider the possibility that you got lucky with the Cat you adopted.
I've known other clean, neat people that have adopted cats, provided multiple nice litter boxes, and calm, stable environments that can't stop them from crapping on the comforter, or peeing where they shouldn't. Or, they decide to start a family, and the cat starts peeing everywhere. Or a roommate brings in another cat and they don't mesh. Or they simply move apartments and the cat doesn't adjust well. They are held hostage trying to appease their feline Czar's.
And I agree that too many people don't learn enough before committing to (especially indoor) animal ownership.
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