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

[mhsjax]

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.

I have a friend that HATES cats. She came over one day after I had the cat for about a month and said Hey, I thought you guys got a cat. I said we did. She couldn't believe that she couldn't smell anything. So I disagree with you.

 

[Planogirl]

Cat boxes can be kept from smelling if they are cleaned regularly and with the right product. I recommend ammonia. I also don't use the clumping stuff but the regular clay stuff that can be tossed.

I'm sorry that some of you have never been in a house where the people there kept the litter box from smelling. I'm familiar with that odor and it's pretty awful.

 

[FormrCastMbr]

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.

You are entitled to your opinion...

We have Russian Siberians so, therefore, they are as hypoallergenic as they get. My brother was not used to them as I talk about one the little times he has been in their presence (he passed away last year). Here is a link if you are interested in learning about them: http://www.siberian-cat-breeder.com/

As far as the cat box...I have very honest friends that are animal haters...and they have never smelled my box.

Sorry to go off topic OP...I hope you sell your house as fast as I did mine...

 

[tink_n_pooh]

I would also suggest removing both the cat and the litter box from the house.

 

[minniecarousel]

wow....so people really think you need to have no traces of cats in the house when the house is for sale? It's been 10 years, but we just posted a note about not letting the cat out when they're viewing the house.

 

[zumbergc]

Just a couple comments.

When I was a kid and we were selling the house. On numerous occasions we would have people looking thru the house, who knows where I was. But, I heard my siamese cat meowing at the top of his lungs his warning howl. Went into the laundry room, this cat is being cornered, parents letting this child approach an obviously angry cat. So, since not everyone understands cat behavior, if your cat may bite.

Probably need to cage it, put a sign not to disturb, or maybe a neighbor will harbor your cat in their bathroom, garage, extra room.

When we were looking for houses as an adult. One house, had the litter box in the basement. No note or anything on the basement door, we didn't intentially close the door or notice the cat box in the basement. Well, the basement door got closed, we went back in or something. The cat had pooped on the Dining room rug. So, if the box is in the basement, put a sign, hanging pillow, just something so people don't lock the cat from his box.

 

[arminnie]

Agreed...Not a good idea to have pets around during the showing.

I was out looking at a condo when I got a call that someone wanted to look at my house. I ran home, grabbed the dogs, and left as I only had about 15 minutes notice.

When I got back home I discovered that the dogs had peed in the empty back bedroom. So the prospective buyer walked into a house with a puddle of dog pee!

The house has been on the market for 6 months without a nibble. Wonder why? Actually the main reason is that it is way overpriced. My brother owns it (our father died last year). He is from California and has no concept of what houses sell for in Arkansas.

 

[dawson5]

when we were moving back in the area, one of the houses we looked at had a cat. A mean cat. They shut the door to the utility room and posted pictures of every angle of that room, top to bottom. Put a nice note on the door with a picture of the mean cat that said something along the lines, Cat is not nice, enter at own risk, etc. We did not buy that house, it smelled like cat. Everywhere, up and down, two-story with a finished basement. No hardwoods, tile in the kitchen, laundry room and baths. It would have cost a fortune to re-carpet or put hardwoods down. More than what we wanted to do or spend.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

wow....so people really think you need to have no traces of cats in the house when the house is for sale? It's been 10 years, but we just posted a note about not letting the cat out when they're viewing the house.

Yes- cat litter boxes smell horribly. If you do not have a cat it is even worse. Certain dogs smell awful too especially on a rainy day. We looked at one house that we still call the "pet house" because even though it was clean it reeked of animals. The people who moved in there gutted it because I bet even the sheetrock stunk. If I saw that you had a cat I would cross your house off my list right away because I wouldn't know if the cat peed anywhere and I would not want to replace tons of stuff to make it livable for us. (allergies)

 

[puffkin]

We might be putting our house on the market this weekend. If we do we plan on taking the animals with us for any showings and removing all traces of them from the house (litter boxes, food dishes, etc). Our last house we did the same thing and it sold in 5 days. That was 5 years ago when the market was better, but I still think it helped a lot to have the animals gone (we have a beagle and 2 cats).

When we put our house on the market last time we gave specific hours that the house was available to show and that we needed 24 hours notice. We did get a call in the morning for a showing that night which we were ok with, but the buyer had been warned they might have to wait. We plan on doing the same thing this time. With animals and a 3 year old we need a bit of a buffer to get the house ready. It just isn't realistic to be able to show our house in an hour when we are still living there and we keep our house pretty clean/picked up to begin with.

 

[lillygator]

I would get the cat and all traces of it out of the house for showings.

Also, you may not think it smells as you and your family are used to it. But I guarantee to someone who isn't a frequent visitor, they can tell there is a litterbox/cat smell.

 

[mhsjax]

Wow, I guess if people were to listen to these replies then one would believe that selling a house that a cat lived in would be impossible. And to think I know a lot of people that have multiple cats and yet somehow manage to sell their houses. And no their houses didn't smell like cat. If you keep your litter box cleaned and out of the way it won't smell. I cleaned mine at least 3 times a day and you couldn't tell I had one. People would come in and after a while of them being there she would come out of hiding and fly past them, and they all had the same reaction. "I didn't know you had a cat".

Let's just make it easy on ourselves, get rid of all animals so as not to offend anyone just in case you may try and sell your house one day. (note sarcasm)

 

[VillageMama]

When we put our house on the market last time we gave specific hours that the house was available to show and that we needed 24 hours notice.

Oooh... I wouldn't try that in this market. If a buyer sees your MLS listing and would like to add it to their list of houses to look at this morning and you say "24 hours notice", they will simply skip your house entirely. There are just too many other houses for sale.

It just isn't realistic to be able to show our house in an hour when we are still living there and we keep our house pretty clean/picked up to begin with.

Oh, but it is possible. It will royally suck but you can do it. I kept my house "15 minutes to show worthy clean" for a year... and I had a dog and four young children.

I nearly lost my mind, but it can be done. The trick is to get rid of almost everything in your house. Pack up or throw away almost all of your child's toys. If you get rid of 80% of your belongings, it is sooo much easier to keep the house clean.

Good luck!!

 

[puffkin]

Oooh... I wouldn't try that in this market. If a buyer sees your MLS listing and would like to add it to their list of houses to look at this morning and you say "24 hours notice", they will simply skip your house entirely. There are just too many other houses for sale.



Oh, but it is possible. It will royally suck but you can do it. I kept my house "15 minutes to show worthy clean" for a year... and I had a dog and four young children.

I nearly lost my mind, but it can be done. The trick is to get rid of almost everything in your house. Pack up or throw away almost all of your child's toys. If you get rid of 80% of your belongings, it is sooo much easier to keep the house clean.

Good luck!!

It just depends on your market. We are looking at one particular house...called last week to see it and couldn't get in til Saturday. Then got a call Friday that they got unexpected house guests and wouldn't be having showings til this coming weekend. AND the seller is a realtor! We are trying to see 2 other houses in the same neighborhood. Can't get into either of them during this week, only weekends. So, it isn't that unusual around here...

We both work FT so we need some notice to get the animals out of the house (we want them out not just for showing but so that they don't get out or locked accidentally in a room etc). We can't just leave during the workday to get them. I agree, we don't necessarily need 24 hours, but we do need some notice to get them out of there or make alternate arrangements.

 

[VillageMama]

...but we just posted a note about not letting the cat out when they're viewing the house.

This always made me uncomfortable when we were house hunting.

To put it bluntly (but not meant unkindly)... your cats are not my responsibility.

I would spend the time we were looking at the house worrying that I was accidently going to trap a cat in the wrong room... or in the basement... or in the garage... or worse, it would get outside.

Some cats really hound the doorway. I would be very careful to make sure that one didn't make a break for it when I opened the door but I was so nervous that a child would get bored and want to go outside and a cat would get out.

No, I think that if the homeowner is concerned about a cat getting where it shouldn't be, rather than leaving a note making it the potential buyer's responsibility, the owner should make other arrangements for Fluffy.

 

[DisneyBamaFan]

We showed our house many, many times over 5 months with a cat and litter box. We are very careful to keep the litter box clean, anyway - so we never had odor problems. We didn't care if the cat was let outside, so that wasn't an issue.

However, if I had a pet of any kind that might bite a stranger or guest in our home, it would be put down. I love animals, but will not tolerate that...

 

[binny]

Oooh... I wouldn't try that in this market. If a buyer sees your MLS listing and would like to add it to their list of houses to look at this morning and you say "24 hours notice", they will simply skip your house entirely. There are just too many other houses for sale.



Oh, but it is possible. It will royally suck but you can do it. I kept my house "15 minutes to show worthy clean" for a year... and I had a dog and four young children.

I nearly lost my mind, but it can be done. The trick is to get rid of almost everything in your house. Pack up or throw away almost all of your child's toys. If you get rid of 80% of your belongings, it is sooo much easier to keep the house clean.

Good luck!!

Yep me too! Sellers can no longer dictate the hours. I homeschooled, had a DH that travelled, and kept the house clean. We had MANY showings where people would just show up, or they would call and say "Can we come by in 10 minutes?"


Our house finally sold TG, but it would have been impossible to crate the 2 cats every time someone wanted to see it. Im sorry if someone is allergic, but the listing said "cats in house".

We cleaned it (and still do) every day. Most people dont know we have a cat much less 2. And as for damage, the house was in MUCH worse condition when we bought it from the dogs that lived there. We bought it anyway, people need to learn that no house is perfect.

 

[minkydog]

I kept my house "15 minutes to show worthy clean" for a year... and I had a dog and four young children.

I nearly lost my mind, but it can be done. The trick is to get rid of almost everything in your house. Pack up or throw away almost all of your child's toys. If you get rid of 80% of your belongings, it is sooo much easier to keep the house clean.

Good luck!!

This is what we plan to do when we sell. We're planning to move after DD16 goes off to college. What we plan to do is clean out and eliminate most of our belongings, put those things that we reallly can't part with in storage. Paint and stage. Then we will move into our RV and go elsewhere with the dog while we are selling.

We very nearly did NOT buy our house to start with. The owners had three little yappy, snippy dogs who barked continuously while we were there. To top it off they had never cleared to backyard other than a small strip by the backdoor, which is where the three nasty little dogs did their poop. Think piles and piles of poop by the back door. We took a pass the first time. But 5 months later we still hadn't found THE ONE, so we took another look. This time we asked the family to please remove the dogs altogether(and the realtor passed on to them our negative comments about the poop!) The second time around was much better and we've been here for 18 years.

 

[Handbag Lady]

I am very allergice to cats and have heard that the Siberian Russians are the most non-allergic kitties out there.

However, my sister has three normal kitties and she's very clean. You can't smell them at all but within three minutes of walking into her house, I start sneezing and getting stuffy. Then, my eyes water.

When we were house-hunting, I could tell easily when someone had a cat. I would jsut stop and leave and my husband would continue looking. They can be cleaned up after, so it is no reason to not buy a house just because of a cat.

 

[Minnie_me]

UPDATE from OP:

First of all, it's soooo funny that so many people have issues with "CAT SMELLS" --- when I absolutely can't stand the DOG SMELL in my friends' houses! One of the PPs posted that "some dogs have a smell if they're wet" (or something like that) --- in my opinion, all dogs REEK! LOL!

Anyway, this is what we did and what we plan on doing.

We will clean the litter box before each showing. Not remove it. As I said, it's in a far corner of the basement, it's covered, and my realtor was 2 feet from it and couldn't smell it (and she insists that she's one of those people who can smell a cat a mile away).

And we will put kitty in her carrier and take her with us. Most of the time, we'll be going to my classroom. I can always get some work done there. We've done it twice so far, and it's worked out just fine.

As for allergies, that's not my problem. As a matter of fact, DH, DD and I are all allergic to cats. But for some reason, Siamese cats have never bothered us. (our kitty is siamese) People with allergies are used to being in other people's houses where there are pets that they're allergic to. If it's a dealbreaker for the house, so be it.

Thanks for the insight and advice!!