Cats and selling a house

[Bernadine]

Do I need to get the cats out of the house for showings?  I'm thinking probably yes, but hoping you all will say no, lol.  They will hate me.

Also, if you have any great advice for selling a house, I'll take it!

[Bernadine]

Aug 30, 2016 11:28:14 GMT -5 @tambcat said:

Yeah.. I could get the black cat out, but the white one.. she almost got left behind for both of our last moves because we couldn't get her into the carrier. She would have to stay. Good thing she keeps mostly to herself.

I don't think I've ever been to a showing where pets were present, so I assume getting them out of the house is standard and preferred.

We went to one open house with a cat, which we loved, because we love cats.  But of course, not everyone does.  (Jerks)

The hardest one to get in the carrier is also the most likely to come out and greet people, lol.

[thatgirl2478]

If you can, it's a good idea. However, if you can't it's not a huge deal.

[MrsPotatohead]

I would say it depends on the market. I can imagine it's preferable not to have pets around, just to make sure not to turn off any potential buyers.

The market here is so crazy though, I think you could have a whole collection of farm animals and it would still go for over the asking price.

[zelda25]

We just made sure the litter box was clean all the time; the cats hid under our bed whenever anyone came in the house, but we made sure all the agents showing the house knew that they were absolutely, positively NOT to get outside.

[tulips]

I think it's preferable to at least remove dogs from the house, I remember seeing cats at a couple of the houses we looked out and it wasn't a turn off.

One came out to greet us and there were a couple cat-size lumps under the bedspread in one of the bedrooms we looked at. LOL

[Bernadine]

Aug 30, 2016 11:35:55 GMT -5 tulips said:

I think it's preferable to at least remove dogs from the house, I remember seeing cats at a couple of the houses we looked out and it wasn't a turn off.

One came out to greet us and there were a couple cat-size lumps under the bedspread in one of the bedrooms we looked at. LOL

The dog will definitely be gone- he's a barker/growler!

[Aloe Vera]

It depends on the cat.

My cat hides whenever he sees strangers so that wasn't a problem.
If your cat is friendly, you can take him with you anytime there is a showing and make sure the litter is clean. Some people don't like cats that's the main raison I would remove the cat.

[birdistheword]

I was always excited to see cats or dogs in the houses we toured, lol. But I think I am...not typical in my obsession with animals. Like, one house we went to just had some dachshunds chilling in the living room. If you have well-behaved cats that aren't traumatized by strangers, I think it would be fine to leave them.

[Jalapeñomel]

I would. I'd be afraid the realtor or broker would let them out.

[Deleted]

Never even thought about removing our cat. She's strictly indoors and really, really dislikes the carrier and car trips. Plus, if you are keeping the house show-ready each morning and work during the day, there's always the chance that you'd get a call at 10am and have a showing at 1. I assumed my cat generally just hid somewhere when someone showed up and she realized she didn't know them.

ETA: For general selling the house tips, reduce all the personal clutter--photos, excessive collection items/chotzky, books with possibly controversial titles, religious items should be boxed away. Shampoo/clean any carpets and upholstered furniture. Keep things smelling fresh and clean, but avoid fancy perfumes or air fresheners (may trigger allergies). Come up with a routine for keeping each area maintained through the week, and a morning/quick clean up plan to get it show-ready in an hr or less (making beds, wiping down counters, emptying sinks, hiding garbage bins). If you know about a showing in advance, have fresh flowers on the table and fresh fruit (apples, bananas, oranges) in the kitchen area. Do what you can to also make counters, closets and rooms look as empty/open/spacious as possible. 

Also, start taking time to purge throughout the house--empty closets, clothes you're not wearing, memorebelia you really don't need, pens that don't work, books/games you're not using. Less to pack or toss when packing really hits (fyi, we have a contract on our house right now, so we're  right in the middle of the chaos, sort of fun, but chaos all the same). 

[Jalapeñomel]

Also, lots of people are allergic to cats, and I think that could be a turn off for potential buyers.

[blondemoment123]

I hope it's okay lol. Our new property manager (we currently rent) asked that we take the cats out of the house for our inspection since she's allergic. H had a hell of a time wrangling all 4. I can't imagine having to do it every time there was a showing.

[papie]

I think cats are fine. One of my cats would probably follow people around, the other would not be seen.

[lightbulbsun]

I think it depends on your cat. If they just chill and ignore people, then it's probably fine. If they're an escape artist, probably not a good idea. I didn't mind cats being home when I was looking at houses (I am allergic).

[kath16]

As long as it didn't smell like cats (or dogs) I don't think I'd mind. And I'm not a pets person. I guess it depends on the cat.

[shopgirl07]

It's really preferable if you can.

[pandorica]

Aug 30, 2016 11:34:48 GMT -5 zelda25 said:

We just made sure the litter box was clean all the time; the cats hid under our bed whenever anyone came in the house, but we made sure all the agents showing the house knew that they were absolutely, positively NOT to get outside.

This is what would stress me out about leaving my cats behind. I don't trust other people to not let them out. My cats are also super friendly and would probably come greet everyone at the door.

[clairedunphy]

When we sold our last house we had a cat and dog, and most of the people who came through did so while we were at work. We couldn't really have the pets out of the house, because we had no warning they were coming. Our cat was old and hated people, so he always stayed hidden, even when we were home, so I'm sure no one ever saw him. We kept our dog crated It worked, someone bought our house.
Also, I was meticulous with the litter box.

[blackcat]

We put our cats in carriers and took them in the car with us for the showings. Thank God our house went under contract within a week, because I was losing my mind, it was exhausting. My fear was that the cats would get out if someone opened the front or back door, or that they would get in the way. Plus, some folks just don't like/are allergic to cats. There was one mid-day showing that I raced home for (again, thank God this only took a week), and by then the cats knew I was corraling them into carriers, so they both hid under the King bed and I couldn't get them out, all while the buyer's agent and buyer were ringing the doorbell. Ugh. Selling a house is rough.

[blackcat]

Oh, also, I put old towels over each of our litter boxes before each showing.

[katietornado]

LOL we booked days at the pet spa for the cats (they had a condo with actual four poster beds; it was hilarious), from Thursday (when the cleaning people came) til Sunday evening. We had showings Friday, open house Saturday, showings Sunday, and the house was sold.

The cats did fine, and it was SO NICE to have them out of the house. I didn't have to worry about them escaping or peeing or putting people off.

If you will have the house on the market longer, you could acquire a large dog crate. We did this when we were renting a house that was for sale. We put all 3 cats in a crate with a litter box and put it away in the basement. Not ideal, but it did the trick.

[magic]

It would be a turn off for me as a buyer to see a cat (or any pet). I'd start wondering if the pet did any damage to the home and that's not where you want a potential buyers mind to go!

[urbancowgirl]

Add me to the list of people excited to see pets at showings.

I am dreading dealing with our cats when we put our house on the market. I plan to leave them in the house for showings, but knowing my jerk cat he'll take a massive dump while people are looking at the house.

[macmars45]

Our cat is an escape artist so when there were showings at the condo we rented (they sold & we didn't want to buy the unit) we took her with us in the cat carrier.

[nikki25]

Nah, we left our cat, I was not dealing with that nightmare. But, he is super friendly and will follow people around so I was worried. People, even those that don't really care cats, loved our Maine coon so it worked out. I would just leave them and make sure the kitty litter is clean.

[samanthamkm]

7 years ago when we were looking for our first home, we had a cat attack us. My husband got scratches on his legs from the cat. We had to use throw pillows to keep the cat off of our legs. When we were looking again 2years ago we had another cat follow us from room to room and another start to attack my realtor. I told her if the house had cats I didn't want to look at it unless the listing agent could be certain the cats were out of the house.

[Bernadine]

Aug 30, 2016 12:59:40 GMT -5 samanthamkm said:

7 years ago when we were looking for our first home, we had a cat attack us. My husband got scratches on his legs from the cat. We had to use throw pillows to keep the cat off of our legs. When we were looking again 2years ago we had another cat follow us from room to room and another start to attack my realtor. I told her if the house had cats I didn't want to look at it unless the listing agent could be certain the cats were out of the house.

OMG.  Our cats aren't like that!

Idk.  My old man cat, the one more likely to be out, gets really stressed in the carrier.  He starts to pant- our vet even offered to do house calls.  We might not have a choice with him.  And the other would hide anyway.

I might just have to settle for getting them out if we do an open house.

[TR]

Oh god, I'm not looking forward to showing our house with our two stupid dogs I'll be wrangling them into my car by myself hoping they don't fight, lol.

[cheeseandcrackers]

even though most people would be okay with seeing a cat, there are some that would be turned off. i would try and get them out of the house, personally. that being said, it depends on how the market is where you are.