Kitty ... and Landlord

[Jessica]

My boyfriend & I moved into a house, which we're renting, last November. He met the landlord (a very nice older lady) first & told her that he has a dog. She said that was fine (with a $200 pet deposit, of course), but that she didn't really like cats - because of previous tenants who, I believe, had four of them. So, my boyfriend told her that I had a cat, but would give her away if we found a house & couldn't keep her. :cry:

Of course, I kept Allie. Our landlord lives in another state, but her sister lives across the street. This past weekend, she called & said she was coming to stay with her sister & needed to come to our house to fix something. We were going away for the weekend to his dad's house, so I took Allie with us - and the poor little thing was very upset with me.

My question (and I'm sorry about the length of this) is: Do you think I should -

A) Semi-truth ... Tell my landlord, "I tried to find a home for my cat with someone I knew, but no one could take her. I apologize for still having her at the house & I would be willing to pay another pet deposit to keep her."

B) Another lie ... Tell my landlord, "I did give my cat to a friend, who is now moving into a new place and is unable to keep her. I'd like to take her back & would pay a pet deposit."

C) Continue the original lie ... Keep her & don't say a word.

Thanks a lot for bothering to read this. I've been kind of stressed out about it because I HATE lying, but I love my kitty. Any advice is greatly appreciated. :)

[Suziq]

1. Jessica

I would definitely continue with the original lie. Your kitty is your baby and well worth it!

I do not understand how a dog is OK - they can cause a hell of a lot more damage then a cat.



:hippie:

[demnan]

2. Keep to the lie

as long as your cat is quiet. I have a Siamese who is so beautiful, and noisy, he always attracts attention. My other cat is beautiful as well but is very quiet and expert at hiding.

Unreasonable requests must be dealt with in unreasonable ways.

[Jessica]

3. She isn't noisy ... but she does sit in the windows a lot.

I think you're both right ... if I talk with my landlord, then I'm giving her the opportunity to say no. And I can't bear the thought of giving kitty away.

Thanks for your advice ... :hi:

[Warpy]

4. That would be my choice

However, if she inadvertently finds out about the kitty, revert to A or B, giving the kitty a track record in the house with no damage done.

[newsguyatl]

5. stick to the lie

because you'll need a and/or b when/if she finds out...

most likely, she won't tho.

good luck!

either way, DON'T GET RID OF THE CAT!

[Gelliebeans]

6. stick to the lie

when I lived back east 10 years ago I had my eight year old tabby with me and I never mentioned her to the landlords as she never did a bit of damage although she was a window dweller also.

The landlords showed up one day and asked me about my cat and informed me that we had to get rid of her. I knew full well that I wasn't the only one in the complex so I told them they would have to knock on all the other tenents doors also and inform them that they would have to get rid of their cats too.

Since managment didn't want to cause a stir my little girl got to stay.

BTW if it came down to my apartment or my cat I would have found another place to live.

She came back to california with me and lived to the ripe old age of 16.
rip
Zildjian :loveya:

[Eurobabe]

7. Just don't get the logic of yes to dog, no to cat

I know you probably don't like the idea of keeping the cat a secret, if it ever came out, I think I would threaten to move unless they took a security deposit to let you keep Allie, only one indoor cat -- you've been good tenants (right?) they won't want to lose you -- it would cost more money to get the place in move in order for someone else. It's not like you are bringing four into the house like previous folks?

Good luck...hope things get straightened out.

[Kashka-Kat]

8. have a talk w/ her

find out what her experiences were-- she had allowed cats at one time but got screwed by irresponsible tenant. find out if they were peeing around the apartment? if so describe exactly how you deal w/ this, i.e. keep liter box scruplously clean, use good absorbent liter that doesn't stink, etc. so cat doesn't have accidents. It really does help to put her mind at ease to say specifically what you do that makes you a good owner, instead of just giving her vague b.s. about what a perfect cat you have.

tell her you were planning to give to your friend, but that fell thru. offer to pay extra deposit on cat to cover any possibility of damage or having to replace carpet or whatever. (find out what it would cost to replace carpet to give some idea of what to offer--or maybe only $200 or $300 would be enough to convince her of your sincerity.) offer references from past landlord testifying to cats good behavior and from veterinarian stating animal appears to be well cared for and healthy (ie no conditions that would make her pee around the house). offer to write addendum to lease covering terms of agreement (such as no more than one cat) tell her youre sorry that you're in this bind, you REALLY don't want to move but you don't want to give up your cat either...

if youve established a good history with her ( regular payments, no noise complaints, etc.) she may be willing to negotiate now, not wanting to lose you as a tenant.

i write this as a landlord -- and former tenant who was able to convince several balking landlords to give my kitty a chance. what I always pointed out was the fact that I couldn't just give away my pet was actually a sign of MATURITY and RESPONSIBILITY-- I'd made a commitment to care for this animal all its life and I wasn't just going to dump her at the pound and let her be possibly euthanized. Funny, they never had a good answer to that!

but on the other hand... if you never see your landlord but once or twice a year, then maybe you want to keep up with the charade, i dunno....

I do know that most people give up too easy when looking for a place to live. You have only to visit an animal shelter to see what a large percent are given up because landlord in new house wouldnt allow. Its very sad Sure it takes longer to find a place but it can be done... many of us are negotiable and look at the overall pattern of how responsible (or not) the tenant is rather than give blanket yes or no.....

[Jessica]

10. Thanks for the advice ...

She told my boyfriend that the previous tenants had one cat - but our neighbor said they actually had four. Her problem was all of the hair and I am constantly de-hairing the house - furniture, floors ... And I do keep the litter clean & it's in the basement, so not much harm there. We have been good tenants - we pay rent on time, keep the house clean, are very quiet. We also are taking care of the yard - something none of her previous tenants have ever done. So, we're saving her money.

Like I said, she lives a few hours away, so I think I'm going to keep with the lie for now. If she starts frequenting our street, I'll definitely take your advice.

Thanks, again. :hi:

[American Tragedy]

9. In the future, do not rent from places that prohibit your pets!

I know that advice isn't much use to you now, but it's the simplest way to avoid getting into this type of predicament in the first place.

For me, it's always been very, very simple. Giving up my dog is never an option. She's family to me - and I wouldn't stand a chance in hell of concealing her from renters anyway. If a landlord will not permit animals, I will just go live somewhere else.

There are always plenty of local places for rent that do allow animals. While they are somewhat less common, my current list of pet-friendly rentals that I've been reviewing this month is several pages long and growing, and this town is not particularly known for its hospitality to domestic animals.

So, I don't get it, did your boyfriend just automatically assume that you were willing to give away your cat? No offense, but that seems pretty presumptuous to tell someone that without even checking with you first.

[Jessica]

11. Well ...

When we were looking for a house, it was turning out to be so difficult to find a nice place where we could have pets - and I mentioned once that I might consider letting Allie live with my parents. It has been kind of frustrating that his dog is free & clear and my kitty isn't. But, he really didn't want to lose the house. That's why he said it.

:)

[American Tragedy]

12. I'm still shocked that the woman objected to the CAT, & not the DOG.

I have never encountered any renter who permitted the latter yet specifically prohibited the former.

I'm kind of a classic "dog person". Nothing against kitties, of course, I've just never had one, and consequently I find the feline temperament fairly... perplexing. :dunce: But even I can realistically see the far greater destructive potential of the average dog versus a cat.

I guess it's the landlord's prerogative to be as arbitrary as they like. :eyes: What kind of dog does your boyfriend have, anyway?