Cats Cats Cats?

W

WBG Redcliffe

Hi all,

Got a call from My PM yesterday informing me that one of the tenants wanted a cat. I don't mine small dogs but not sure about cats.

The property is a duplex and I’m in two minds because of how invasive cats can be to the neighbours. Digging up gardens to do their thing etc.

Your thoughts
 
Hi Wayne,

I'm biaised. I HATE CATS!

Apart from being allergic to them, I think they are selfish, sneeky and nasty!

And they stink!

But back to your question. I painted our house in Rock st, and the previous tenants must have had a cat. Apart from the obvious smell, I got quite sick of the tufts of cat hair that kept getting onto the paint brush.
Even though the previous owners assured me the carpet had been cleaned, that damn cat hair was in every corner!

I like you, don't mind dogs. . . . but again . . . . CATS STINK!:eek:

Regards Jo
 
I am not a cat fan myself but appreciate that there are a wide range of breeds and owners and not all cats cause damage.

But if this was my tenant then my major issue would be whether or not I denied another person a companion animal. Is this an older person, a single person etc etc

Personally, I would be looking into the situation further as it could be more than a cats = bad issue.
 
Cats do not smell. They are quite fastiduous. The only time they will crap and pee everywhere is if they are stressed - i.e. no clean litter in the kitty tray.

Cheers,

The Y-man
 
I'll go the other way, and say "what on earth can a cat do to hurt your property".

Okay, maybe they might rip a curtain or something, but ANY cat can dig in a garden to do its business, so every garden is fair game.

I will add that we don't have carpeted IPs, and cat and dog wee would be a bit smelly if it was done on a carpet, but cats are generally pretty clean, and don't generally soil their own territory (my understanding anyway).

Put in a pet clause, covering any damage, and relax.
 
Cats don't do much digging imo. They do a lot of sleeping. Unless they are in constant fights with the neighbouring cats they are a lot quieter than most dogs. They are usually a lot cleaner too.

I had feral cats that woudl walk across the common roof between terrace houses when I lived in Redfern...they were a different story as there were many of them and they would urinate to mark their territory. Still they were fairly quiet. Was tempted to connect the positive and negative ends off jumper leads from a car battery to the corrugated iron roof to get them to move (memories of tying tin foil onto cats feet with rubber bands as a kid) only 10x the effect).
 
Will it be an indoor or outdoor cat? Lots of cats stay indoors most of the time and wouldn't worry a neighbour at all.

My cat doesn't, and has caused some issues for one of our neighbours. But the biggest issue seems to be that they were not allowed to have a pet, and had to get rid of their dog as a result. So, they resent having our cat coming around their property. We gave them a water gun to spray the cat with if it came into their property, and offered to buy a cover for their car. But they didn't want either of these solutions.

Water guns are a very effective deterrent.

I would much prefer a neighbour having a cat than a dog though... all that endless yapping and barking. Our neighbours dog drives us crazy, we can't open any windows on that side of the house.

I agree with Y-man, they are not smelly, and they toilet train very easily, and never cause any problems. We do have hair issues, even with a shorthair cat. But easily swept up! We don't have carpet though.

Pen
 
Cats are only good for target practice!

I got a cat thats claimed my backyard as a nursery, Had 4 kittens that now live under my deck. Cant get the out of there, I was going to block off the whole but then they'll just die and make a horrible smell. RSPCA and council dont want to know about them.


Bloddy cats! where's a dog when you need one.
 
The Y-man said:
Cats do not smell. They are quite fastiduous. The only time they will crap and pee everywhere is if they are stressed - i.e. no clean litter in the kitty tray.

Cheers,

The Y-man
Click to expand...


I can smell a cat as soon as I walk into a house. For that matter though I can also smell dogs if they are inside pets. Hasn't anyone ever smelt that animal smell when a tenant has moved out and there's been an indoor animal kept there?

Even the R/E commented on it. Maybe it has something to do with the cleanliness of the house while the pet is there? But if it were my tenant it would be a flat out no. Just my opinion as usual.:)

JO
 
Hi all,

Having seen lots of rental properties over the years and as an owner of IPs - I would prefer not to have indoor pets. An outdoor pet is okay but as long as the lease has clauses in it to protect the property.

If your tenant wants to keep the cat inside - it is your call - but make sure there are clauses that cover all damage that may result from keeping the cat at the property. This includes damages to flyscreens, curtains and other hard surfaces. With respect to all cat owners in this forum but you can smell when pets are kept inside the house. Over time, the smell of food scraps that animals inadvertently spread around by brushing up against walls and and curtains etc - these do smell. The pet owners themselves don't notice these smells because they are used to it, but anyone who does not own pets will pick it up straight away.

Even if cats do not pee inside, in the instance that they do - and if on carpets, and the carpets are not cleaned straight away with professional chemicals like URine Off - you have not only smell issues but also pathogen issues when the carpets are wet - this is at the end of the tenancy, and this process will reignite the smells - the smell by this stage has been infused into the underlay - and no matter how hard you try - it will never get rid of the smell. It won't smell when it's dry - it will smell when it's wet. And if you have only tiled areas - grout is porous and again has the same issues as above.

This may cause problems with future tenants if the cat is kept indoors - pathogenic residues may cause allergic reactions that future tenants cannot pinpoint and cause more $$ spent on pest sprays that would be ineffective.

I do allow pets on my properties - only one, outside only and clauses for ALL damages caused by keeping pets at the property be the sole responsibility of the tenant.
 
I think that if you do not allow it.. you will find that a cat will suddenly appear in the house. And perhaps they always had a cat?!

I have never heard of a cat peeing on carpet. Unless they are stressed (cat box travelling back from the vet) and even with no clean kitty litter.. they have to be very very hard pressed to do their business everywhere.
My cats don't scratch the floorboards or curtains. And one of them is a kitten.

I'm not sure about what smell you're talking about.
But i can guarantee a dog will smell much worse.
 
Thank you all for your replies. Up to now I have had a rule that outdoor pets are fine and I don't think that there is any chance that a cat will not go inside so I am leaning towards a no. The tenant has only been there 2 months and went in knowing that the lease was outdoor pets only.

So I guess its a big noooooooo for the pussy.
 
I will only have cats myself because they are clean and don't leave turds all over the yard.

If you have some dirt in your yard they'll always dig a small hole, do their business and then cover it over. They generally don't cause any damage to plants.

If there is no kitty litter inside, they'll scratch and meow to get out, and if very desperate will almost always do it in the wet areas.

Every cat I've had will pee over a drain if they can't get out.

Apart from keeping a kitty litter box in the first few weeks, little in the way of training is required.

Imo, it would be difficult to have a badly trained cat. It's the strays and undesexed that are usually the problem.

Slightly off subject, but my neighbours let our cat inside their house also, and suspect they are feeding her also. She has become quite rotund recently that I'm thinking of have a little chat with them :(.
 
Lamingtons said:
I'm not sure about what smell you're talking about.
But i can guarantee a dog will smell much worse.
Click to expand...

One of the reasons we chose a toy poodle was because they don't smell "doggy" at all and they don't shed.

Our poodle is rather shaggy looking, (no "prissy" poodle haircuts for our boy) and he is allowed anywhere in the house. Of course, he always chooses the softest places to sit.

I take him to my mothers to be babysat if I will be out for any length of time. My husband tells me that having a watchdog only works if he is home to "watch". He did chase a robber from my parents bedroom one night when they were babysitting him :D .

He is the most loyal, gorgeous (did I mention loyal) member of the family, never answers back, always welcomes us. Couldn't imagine having to give him away if we were renting :eek: .
 
Hi Lamingtons. No offence taken at all. I was just wanting to let people know that some dogs don't have a "doggy" smell.

I wasn't offended, truly, and absolutely no need to apologise.
 
The Y-man said:
Cats do not smell. They are quite fastiduous. The only time they will crap and pee everywhere is if they are stressed - i.e. no clean litter in the kitty tray.

Cheers,

The Y-man
Click to expand...

Exactly, cats are very clean creatures. Ours stay inside permenantly, and never cause a mess, only doing their business in the litter trays. You do get hair in the house, but this can be minimized with certain breeds, and regular cleaning of the house (we don't have carpets) - and this is coming from a person who is allergic to cats.

I never had cats at my old house (outside), yet my landscaping had constant kitty crap in it - so you're neighbours can get it regardless of whether your tenant has a cat or not.
 
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