s/o Animals in businesses

[Pom]

I vote YES! Unless none of your properties are pet friendly and your renters can't have them, LOL.

[dexteroni]

It would live there all the time? The shop pets I know go home with the owners each night. What would you do on the weekends? And won't your DH be working in this building with you? What will you do if you end up not having this business at some point during the cat's life span?

[lime]

My first thought is that evenings and weekends are a lot of alone time for a cat.

[LoveTrains]

No if the cat lives there and is alone every weekend and night. That is cruel.

[v]

No, don't do that. "A lot of people in town" are being crappy to the cats.

[Deleted]

I don't understand. So you would leave the cat at your shop unattended all night and on weekends or whenever the shop is closed?

I know cats are independent, but what about if it's sick or your shop is closed for more than a day at a time? I mean obviously you could go visit it, but that seems like a hassle and not good treatment for the cat.

Also, I know most people don't mind pets, but cat allergies seem to be more prevalent than dog allergies and I would really feel horrible making anyone sick that came in my shop. I know several people that start getting itchy eyes and sneezing if they have touched anything a cat has been around.

[dexteroni]

In addition to not liking the idea of leaving a cat there all the time, I kind of agree with being overly cautious of allergies in this case. This isn't a boutique people can choose to patronize or not; it's a place they have to go if they want to obtain housing from you.

If you do end up getting a cat (that goes home with you every night), I recommend mentioning to prospective tenants that there's an office cat, and offering to meet them somewhere else if they're allergic.

[alleinesein]

Jul 5, 2015 14:15:46 GMT -5 @rennido said:

Thanks you guys. I completely agree with you all on the cat front...it would be to mean to leave the kitty every weekend. I didn't fully think that out. I'll keep snuggling the kitties at the shelter.

Maybe you could work something out with the shelter to feature their kitties available for adoption at your place.  If your rentals are pet friendly  you could help the shelter find new homes for their kitties.

[dexteroni]

Great idea alleinesein!

[pamela]

If you do that, consider putting a sign out front warning of the cat for those who are allergic. I personally couldn't sit there and read & sign a lease with a cat that has been in the room without itching and sneezing.

[cheezer]

I'm pretty allergic to cats. I couldn't sit on the same chair a cat had been on without having very itchy, swollen eyes and lots of sneezing.

[mccallister84]

Please, please, please make sure it is abundantly clear to anyone coming that there are cats on the premises.

I'm highly allergic to the point where I would need my inhaler.

Unfortunately it's not a matter of just leaving once I get inside and see the car. Once I'm exposed to cat dander I'm pretty miserable for at least the rest of the day.

[audette]

I responded in the other thread, so my opinion is already stated. Pets in a business environments look unprofessional, and even worse, can drive away business. I mean, let's face it. As much as some folks might enjoy loving on a store cat , the lack of an animal isn't likely to drive them away, whereas having a cat there will most certainly make your office very uncomfortable to a moderate portion of the public. And you'll be dealing with both property owners and renters, I'm guessing.


My allergies aren't bad enough to need an inhaler, like a previous poster, but if I had to do anything more than stand upright and touch anything other than hard surfaces that are frequently cleaned in your office, and leave within 5 minutes, I'd need to pull out the benedryl to avoid a bad allergic response.

[cleosprite]

Our vet features cats for adoption. The cats they have are kept in a (very roomy) cage, since it obviously can't be wandering around where dogs, sick animals, etc pass through on a daily basis. That might be a good comprise to keep a cat available for adoption in a cage so clients don't have to worry about allergies and random cats jumping into their lap.

I don't know what your office set up looks like, but if you have a space where clients don't go, you could also let the cat hang back there while you do paperwork or whatever.