# Should I worry about renting to someone with a cat?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 30, 2011, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833 "2011-07-30T15:28:15Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/21 "2011-07-30T21:15:05Z")
> [@lazybratsche](#):
>
> Ask for references from the previous landlord(s). If the cat has been well behaved for years, it probably won’t start scratching or peeing on things now. Usually those behaviors develop young, particularly with un-neutered males as they start marking once they’ve reached sexual maturity. So if the cat has been well behaved for the last few years, you’re probably safe. Probably – a few very old cats develop incontinence problems.
And a few cats get upset regarding change and show displeasure via peeing on your stuff. Moves and babies are two changes that are known to result in “well, fuck you, I’ll just pee in your shoes.”
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/22 "2011-07-30T21:45:20Z")
One cat, only.
One cat.
Only!
Think: crazy cat lady, 10 or 20 or 30 cats, inch-deep cat turds on the floor,
\>1,000,000 fleas, etc.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/23 "2011-07-30T22:00:46Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#):
>
> And a few cats get upset regarding change and show displeasure via peeing on your stuff. Moves and babies are two changes that are known to result in “well, fuck you, I’ll just pee in your shoes.”
I’m pretty sure cats are the reason we have the phrase “pissed off”. They take it very literally. 😉
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/24 "2011-07-30T22:03:02Z")
I knew this one cat who thought he was a good handyman. Ended up with some poorly painted cabinets and a bathroom tile job that had to be redone.
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/25 "2011-07-30T22:25:49Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#):
>
> One cat, only.
>
> One cat.
>
> Only!
>
> Think: crazy cat lady, 10 or 20 or 30 cats, inch-deep cat turds on the floor,
> \>1,000,000 fleas, etc.
OK anecdote time…a very good friend is a crazy cat lady, she has lived in the same 600 sf one-bedroom apartment\* for 11 years, and is heavily involved in cat rescue - she usually has between 20 and 30 cats/kittens at any time. Often feral.
And she is hysterically responsible and anal-retentive about keeping everything clean and sanitary. With that many cats, it’s practically a full-time job, but she does it. I know, because I have a key to her apartment for any time she has to be gone for a day or two.
\*The complex she rents in has a one-pet policy. They have let her slide all these years because she keeps it so clean.
I agree that responsible pet owners can be the best renters you’ve ever had…I rented for quite a few years with cats, and Rottweilers…and I’m pretty sure any of my previous landlords and landladies would vouch for me to this day.
I’ve been a homeowner since 1995, and have rented out two houses…I also agree that getting a vet reference is a great idea. In my experience, cat pee soaking into floors can be a horrible thing, but any responsible owners are going to be right on top of an inappropriate peeing situation.
I admit to being biased in favor of (responsible) pet-owning renters. I remember how difficult it was to try to find a rental when I had a Rottweiler and two cats. I was pretty much limited to about 5% of the entire rental market, and it sucked.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/26 "2011-07-30T22:32:09Z")
I’d make it clear in the rental agreement that you will only accept cats who are trained to use the litter box ALL THE TIME. I know a few people whose cats do not, and there is no way to get the smell out of the carpet except to remove it. Sometimes you even have to remove the subfloor.
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### Author:  [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/27 "2011-07-30T22:56:40Z")
are the hardwoods protected? if they are polyed or sealed all should be okay. do you have tile in the wet areas? are those sealed? then all should be okay.
if you have unsealed concrete, tile, or hardwood that can soak up moisture, it can soak up pee. that is problematic.
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### Author:  [@chiroptera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chiroptera)
#### Post date: [July 30, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/28 "2011-07-30T23:10:00Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#):
>
> I’d make it clear in the rental agreement that you will only accept cats who are trained to use the litter box ALL THE TIME. I know a few people whose cats do not, and there is no way to get the smell out of the carpet except to remove it. Sometimes you even have to remove the subfloor.
Yah but the problem may be…that a stressed cat, or a cat who develops a urinary tract infection, may start going outside of the box even if it’s impeccably “trained”- that’s common, as other posters pointed out.
For that matter, of course, a stressed or sick dog, a stressed or sick child, or a stressed or sick (or messed-up) adult renter, can also do the same thing. Or worse. Much worse.
Landlords have to be prepared for this stuff…it’s part of being a landlord. You can’t get all bent out of shape about what might OMG happen to your house if you rent it out…shit may, and most likely will, happen.
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### Author:  [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/29 "2011-07-31T11:05:55Z")
> [@chiroptera](#):
>
> Landlords have to be prepared for this stuff…it’s part of being a landlord. You can’t get all bent out of shape about what might OMG happen to your house if you rent it out…shit may, and most likely will, happen.
Agreed. But IMO part of being prepared is to spell it out in the contract that only cats who use the litter box are allowed in the rental unit. If they piss anywhere else, they’re out. That way there is no ambiguity.
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### Author:  [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/30 "2011-07-31T14:06:21Z")
> [@appleciders](#):
>
> Old cats and kittens are the most likely to have peeing-all-over-the-place problems. Cats between 2 and 10 would be safest.
Actually urinary problems are most likely to be an issue anytime after age 4. According to my vet - I just got back from my appointment, with my 4-year-old cat who just got his first UTI.
I know from having many that kittens and young cats that they don’t go through a ‘potty-training’ phase like puppies.
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### Author:  [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)
#### Post date: [July 31, 2011, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-i-worry-about-renting-to-someone-with-a-cat/590833/31 "2011-07-31T14:15:13Z")
Cat urine (if spraying out of the litter box) is extraordinarily pungent and seeps into everything. It can make a place almost unleaseable without very expensive cleanup. Tread carefully.
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