What to do w/ kitty when people come to look @ my house?

[Minnie]

There's no way I'm getting rid of our pet! ????

seriously?? get rid of the pet? nice

Unless I'm reading the post wrong I really don't think the poster meant for you to totally get rid of the cat... just to remove the cat when you are showing the home

With the current market if you really want to sell I'd make sure to have the cat and litter box out of the house. Definitely don't want to turn away potential buyers that might be concerned about pet issues

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

Ok here is what you do... put a muzzle on the cat so he can't bite and then hog tie all 4 legs together so he can't scratch anyone either...

JUST KIDDING

i agree with putting the cat in a kennel in the basement with a sign saying please don't pet and maybe drape a towel over the front of kennel to hide cat from view, make him feel more secure in hiding.

 

[Sparx]

i would remove the cat and the litter box from the house while its being shown. yes, your litter box may not smell bad, but if the person SEES it and they themselves aren't an animal person they may assume that your cat has flees or has scratched up things, or something else that might deter them from buying the house.

 

[XYSRUS]

Many different people will be looking at your house. I guarantee nobody loves your pet like you do. To sell, you need to crate the cat and take it with you ...and the litter box too. You want perspective buyers to picture themselves in your home as theirs...minus you pet.

 

[momrek06]

We had our house on the market last year for 6 months. My DS had a new kitty. He was the only one living there and he just told my broker to make sure kitty did not get out. Kitty was no problem.

After 6 months on the market, I ended up renting the house instead of selling it. The lady renting is the City Director of the Animal Rescue League in my area. Sooo, you never know who is going to come through your house.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would remove the cat & litter box while the house is being shown. If I were to go see your house and the cat was there DH and I would have to immediately leave as he's allergic (if you haven't vacummed really well and removed all traces of the cat we might have to leave anyway - although he did take allergy medicine when we were looking at houses and was ok, unless the animal was still in the house).

 

[abdmom]

Last year, my house was on the market for 6 months. I took the dogs with me whenever the house was being shown. No offers. The dogs (and I) moved out permanently the end of July. Ten days later, there was an offer. Just saying. Prospective buyers don't like ANY indication that people, never mind their pets, live there. There are plenty of houses to choose from out there. Why would they choose one that comes with a litter box?

 

[fluffycow333]

Just be careful if you put her in the garage, there are plenty of chemicals and such that can be very harmful to her.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

My house is just getting out of attorney review (sold) and I have 2 cats and a dog.

In the beginning, I was crating the cats and taking the dog for a car ride when my house was being shown. After a while it became too stressful with the cats, dog and also taking a 10 month old baby out for the showings...so I talked to my realtor and she said to crate the dog, keep the cats loose and just put signs around that the cats are loose, do not let them out or in closets.

Well, my dog got crated (and he barks a lot when crated) and the cats were loose and my house sold in the matter of 4 months...all of the realtors that called me to schedule showings were OK with the situation being a lot of them had pets and children...if people are interested in your house, a cat loose would be no big deal.

Since your cat is a biter, maybe try to crate or just leave out and have sign that read, please do not pet cat.

 

[SnowWhite607]

well if you guys dont have stinky cat boxes, I MUST know what kind of litter you use!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I wanted to add that if you are someone who does not have cats you are more sensitive to the smell. If I looked at your home - unless you were beyond immaculate (no rugs, litter box cleaned numerous times per day, floors washed every single day etc.) I would probably be able to tell that you have a cat right away. We looked at many houses when buying and 9 out of 10 times as soon as we walked in we knew if they had pets- especially cats.
I would see if the cat could stay with someone while you are trying to sell and really clean all traces of it.
I love animals but an animal house was not something we wanted because of allergies. Good luck and I hope you sell quick!

 

[AristocatFan]

Our house is on the market and during an open house we just put our cat in a carrier and take her with us. She stays in the van while we go eat/shop whatever. If the house is being shown during the work week, then I run home about a half hour before the showing and put her in her carrier and set her in DS's room. The cat box is not visible, nor is there odors. I'm very particular about smells.

Good luck on selling your house. Ours has been on the market since last April with no luck. I'm about to give up!

 

[minkydog]

I wanted to add that if you are someone who does not have cats you are more sensitive to the smell. If I looked at your home - unless you were beyond immaculate (no rugs, litter box cleaned numerous times per day, floors washed every single day etc.) I would probably be able to tell that you have a cat right away. We looked at many houses when buying and 9 out of 10 times as soon as we walked in we knew if they had pets- especially cats.
I would see if the cat could stay with someone while you are trying to sell and really clean all traces of it.
I love animals but an animal house was not something we wanted because of allergies. Good luck and I hope you sell quick!

so true. I am allergic to cats and I have a very sensitive nose. I have never been in anyone's house who had a cat and did NOT smell the litter box. When we were looking for homes way back when, I turned down a number of homes with cat box smells. One whiff and I was done. Why buy a house that smell like cat when I can buy another house that doesn't?

 

[AKL_Megs]

Ideally, you need the cat AND the litter box gone when your house is being shown.

I agree.

Where will YOU be going while the house is being shown? Can you take kitty in the car with you?

When we were house hunting, my DH was very particular about "cat smells". He knew right away if there was a cat living there, even when we (the realtor and I) were like Sure enough, he would find the litter box itself, or left over bits of litter (in empty houses) on the floor where the box had been. We were amazed.

You might not notice it, but the ammonia smell of a litter box is really noticable.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

I can honestly say, that I keep our cat box clean (we have a roll N clean box) box and you cannot tell we have a cat in the house...the cats and the dog are also hypoallergenic. My brother is severely allergic to cats and never had a problem here.

 

[Bluestars]

Although we have family members with allergies, seeing a clean litter box would not bother me. As long as the pets didn't urinate on the carpet, then the carpeting could always be steam cleaned before moving in to remove the pet hair.

I would not move into a house where the pets urinated on the carpeting though. No matter how well you may think you cleaned it, the odor does not go away. We once looked at a house where they had large dogs. The entire house stunk. I would not even consider purchasing that house. It was clean, but the smell was gross.

The homeowners really should have replaced the carpeting before putting their house up for sale. It was a very nice house.

 

[minkydog]

Although we have family members with allergies, seeing a clean litter box would not bother me. As long as the pets didn't urinate on the carpet, then the carpeting could always be steam cleaned before moving in to remove the pet hair.

I would not move into a house where the pets urinated on the carpeting though. No matter how well you may think you cleaned it, the odor does not go away. We once looked at a house where they had large dogs. The entire house stunk. I would not even consider purchasing that house. It was clean, but the smell was gross.

The homeowners really should have replaced the carpeting before putting their house up for sale. It was a very nice house.

And in this market that matters a LOT.

 

[aprilgail2]

Ideally, you need the cat AND the litter box gone when your house is being shown.

I agree! I personally would not buy a house that I knew a cat lived in just because I don't care for them and who knows if they urinated anywhere etc. As far as a litter box- people kid themselves if they don't think it smells. My friend has 2 cats and tells me how people always come in and are amazed that she even has cats....well I walk in and know in an instant she has cats- between the litter box and plain old cat smell it is very evident who has cats in their homes.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

We required a phone call before people came to see our house. If we were home when the call came, we caught the 3 cats and put them in their carriers before we cleaned the litter box and straightened the house.

Then we left the house.

When we weren't home, we had a nicely done up flyer by the front door where the agents would leave their cards that mentioned we had cats and to please be careful about them. We put it on the kitchen table too since that was near the door to the back of the house.

It worked very well but it was many years ago and the market was much tighter and it was in a very desirable area. We sold the house in 3 days back then. Nowadays I don't know if it would work.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

I can honestly say, that I keep our cat box clean (we have a roll N clean box) box and you cannot tell we have a cat in the house...the cats and the dog are also hypoallergenic. My brother is severely allergic to cats and never had a problem here.

I hate to tell you this but the only way they are hypoallergenic is if they are wrapped in plastic with holes for them to breathe. Your brother is probably used to them which is why he doesn't react. As for the cat box, I am sorry but all litter boxes smell. Cat pee and poop is a distinct smell and if you are used to it you won't smell it. Also, nobody is going to tell you that your house stinks like animal. I am not saying you are dirty, I am just saying that non cat people will know the smell.