Hosting with cats?

[Mike3137]

Hello,

We are thinking of being a host. We have two indoor/outdoor cats. They use a cat door. They would need to be fed each day and sometimes they bring in rodents. They are very nice and friendly cats. I'm not sure if people would want to rent a house with cats. Does anyone have any advice or experience like this? Thanks.

Mike 

[Title updated by Community Manager for relevancy]

[Helen3]

Why on earth would you want to put your much loved pets at risk by leaving them with strangers @Mike3137 

you can't expect paying guests to look after and feed your pets .

you need to take them with you to wherever you will stay when you let out your place.

[Mike3137]

Thanks for your feedback. I guess we can’t be hosts then. Bummer! 

[Helen3]

Why can't you easy enough to take house cats to wherever you would be living when you let out your property or put them in a cattery @Mike3137 

[Mike3137]

We would be traveling on vacation, far away, so we would not be able to take our cats with us. 

[Helen3]

Then you could looked into having them stay in a cattery @Mike3137 

[Mark116]

@Mike3137  I wouldn't put my pets at risk.  Airbnb for all of it's infrastructure/policies, etc. is still allowing complete strangers onto your property. 

Some people don't like cats, some are afraid of cats, some might lock the cats OUT for the duration of the stay, or accidentally lock them in somewhere, and there are worse outcomes that could happen as well.  I'm also pretty sure if a cat brought in a dead rodent to the Airbnb you would be at risk for getting a safety violation.

[Mike3137]

Thanks for your feedback. I guess we can’t be a host then. 

[Helen744]

@Mike3137 Lots of people with pets host . Just make sure that guests know there are cats and agree to the cats being part of the household. To many people this would be a bonus... H

[Mike3137]

Thanks for your feedback Helen. Maybe we can give a price discount because of the cats. We need to think about it. 

[Frances3408]

@Mike3137. It sounds like you are after guests who cat sit in a whole house. There are other platforms probably more suited imo. ie house sitting.

If your trips away werent for too long you could consider building (if you havent one already) a cat run at the cat door so they can have a familiar space of their own, separate to the guests. You could then ask/pay someone to come in and feed them, etc. In that case I would make it very clear that cats are on the premises but not required to be cared for. But for longer trips you probably need a cattery.

My daughter has 2 cats who live with us (non Airbnb) and I would never trust a random guest to their care or have access to them. I would only do it if I was living in the house and WFH and renting a room or studio only. But I am not a risk taker and the cats are family members.

Recently on a reno reality TV show a family member was pet sitting the family dog of contestants and accidently ran over them and it died. 😞

[Cheri354]

I would latch the cat door closed when you have guests and board your pets when you are away on vacation 🙂 Guests don't really want surprises that can come through a pet door. That's invasive.

Pets don't really want to put up with strangers that have no motivation to care for them. Ask a friend or vet for recommendations regarding boarding your lovely kitties !