What about Cats?

[Becky501]

Hi all! I am not a cat person, and I have a guest who wants to bring a male neutered cat for 100 days. She says its litter box trained but sheds lot of hair. I plan on covering all the furniture, any other advice anyone has? Thanks!

[Huma0]

@Becky501 

I am a cat person and have three of them (one is long haired but not actually the one which sheds the most). 

If you feel this booking is worth it, then there are a few things you might be able to do. I have a vacuum cleaner with a pet fur attachment. It worked okay for a while, but I have found inexpensive rollers for removing pet hair on Amazon and they work just as well, if not better. I have a couple of  'mattresses', basically little flat beds that look like mini mattresses. I put these on the sofa and the cats seem to then always curl up on those rather than the sofa itself. Regularly brushing the cat (if the cat likes this) also helps. You could ask the guest if that's something they do.

RE the litter tray, I trust your guest is going to be responsible for scooping, emptying and cleaning it? If not, that could become a problem. I would suggest you get your guest to confirm how often she is going to do that. 

A well adjusted cat is a pleasure to have around the place, but bear in mind that cats generally do not like being moved to a new, unfamiliar environment and can act up as a consequence. 

I adore cats and am a real advocate of them (they are so often misunderstood by non cat people) but I just want to be honest. Some cats are really unproblematic and others aren't. My guests generally love my cats, but that's party because they are so used to strangers and different people coming and going so they are super chilled, but not all cats are comfortable with strangers.

[Becky501]

Thank you so much for the info, this gives me more insight on this issue. I just pray that this cat is a "good" cat with no issues on moving to another house!

[Huma0]

@Becky501 

Also, this is totally off topic, and you don't need to answer if you don't want to, but what happened with your guest Terry? I assume judging by your other reviews, which are all excellent, that he/she is the reason your listing only has a 4.57* rating and that you have 4.6* for communication (despite the other guest raving about your hosting style). Meanwhile, you left a lovely review for the guest.

What went wrong?

[Becky501]

OMG! I was hoping that others would see Terri, she is the only one that wasn't a happy guest. When her & her husband arrived they were fighting about him cheating on her. In fact, that is why they left their hometown because he moved his "girlfriend" next door to their house, according to her. He was a gem, the most kindest, mannerly man I had met...he said, not true. We didn't care, none of our business, didn't want to hear about it, but listened when forced because we are kind people. While we were up in the mountains cutting our winter wood, my husband & I do this every year, they wanted to see & he wanted to help. We can't stop them from going to a public area, so they followed us there. While we were there she told me I wasn't dressed appropriately, I was wearing boots, jeans, long sleeves for carrying wood. She told me I needed to apologize to everyone for how I was dressed because it was disrespectful, then she started threatening me. I told her husband I didn't feel safe & he said she does this everywhere we go! They ended up leaving at the end of the week. It came from nowhere, as you can see in my reply, we had just taken them on a long day motorcycle trip & bought them lunch. She just went off the deep end for no reason, I didn't want to say all this on the public forum, so I rose higher & left a nice review by just looking at the good.

[Huma0]

@Becky501 

That sounds like a complete nightmare. This lady sounds like she has some serious issues. I can't believe she told you that you needed to apologise for how you were dressed. How rude and, well, just crazy.

Well, you were very generous in your review. I don't think I would have been. I did have one similar guest (also part of a couple and the husband wasn't exactly great either, but the wife was nuts). Firstly, this type of crazy guest is unlikely to leave you a good review. Secondly, it would be better if you could warn future hosts about her so it's better to leave an honest review. You don't have to be rude or go into too many details. It can be tricky, but there is always a way to word the review so that other hosts get it.

If this sort of situation happens to you again, which I sincerely hope it doesn't, this CC is a good place to come for advice on how to write these difficult reviews.

Anyway, I am sure this is a one off because it's so weird, and that your ratings will go up as you get more guests and this review will be buried under lots of amazing ones. As it stands, it sticks out like a sore thumb because it is the opposite of the other guests' reviews. Most people will realise there was something wrong with your guest rather than with you.

[Becky501]

That is some good advice, I really want to warn others about her without looking like a was being a victim. I hope my reviews catch up, and yes it does stick out like a red thumb so hopefully people figure it out. My review was honest, we really did have a good day with them, I just left out the weird and unexplainable, Lol. Thanks for your opinion:)

[Amanda660]

We only have a pooch now after losing our very old cat a few years ago. 

We had a new tenant sign a lease - couple and their two small dogs.  They ‘forgot’ they had a cat until the lease was signed and then told me.  I allowed them to move in. 

House  had been completely renovated including new carpets.  A month or so in I needed to pop over as an appliance was  under warranty but was playing up and I needed to meet the repair guy.  Only after arranging this we’re they forced to admit that the stair carpet had been ‘damaged’.  Every single one of the 16 carpets treads had been used as a scratching post and utterly shredded.  

As @Huma0 mentioned above, cats often don’t take well to a move - I had one use the spines of my wonderful vinyl collection as a cat post. 😳

[Huma0]

@Amanda660 

Oh no! Did you get reimbursed for the damage?

One thing my cats definitely do not do is scratch furniture. They have a couple of scratching posts but don't really use them much. They prefer the door mats, and I don't mind them using those. They leave the furnitures and rugs completely alone.

I thought it was because I got Pinot and Grigio as kittens so I trained them well, but Merlot was an adult stray that I took in and the vet said he was completely feral (he's not, he was just scared really), but even he doesn't scratch any furniture or carpets.

That's the thing. You just never know because cats, just like our human guests, all behave differently.

[Becky501]

Thank you, sounds like it is not a good idea to allow cats, that will be my new rule.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Amanda660  I had a few cats in my life and all of them scratched at least one sofa . They completely ignored all scratch pads I bought for this purpose.

The litter box starts to smell 2 days after the sand is changed even if it is cleaned x times a day and even if the most expensive sand is used. The sand will be all around the litter box as well so the floor around it has to be swept every day

Cats jump everywhere so I had to wipe all tables multiple times a day and they can overturn or throw down things from the shelves.

If the cat sees a fly in the window it will jump and tear the curtains

And yes, they shred and their hair is thinner than dog's so it flies everywhere.

Cat fleas, (opposite to dog fleas) bite humans as well.

If the cat is not sterilized he can also mark the territory (hydrogen peroxide helps). 

My Airbnb is dog friendly but I don't accept cats, it is just too risky. 

[Becky501]

Thank you, this was good information. Looks like we will be cleaning all winter long...I will not accept cats again.

[Huma0]

@Becky501 

Poor cats. Like I said, my cats do not cause any of the problems that @Branka-and-Silvia0 mention, except for the litter tray. It is true you have to keep sweeping around it as they will 'track' some of the litter around the tray and it does need to be scooped and cleaned regularly.

Mine do not scratch furniture or tear curtains or 'mark' their territory. They do shed a bit, but it's not impossible to keep on top of.

Then again, my cats are very well adjusted because they are used to interaction with strangers and it does not bother them. The vast majority of my guests just love them. They are maybe 'Superhost cats'. 

However, I have no idea how my cats would behave if they were suddenly transferred to a new environment. I can't imagine they would be very happy about it. I think Pinot and Grigio would not act up, but I suspect Merlot would as he is sensitive about that sort of stuff.

You just never know. On the other hand, I am not convinced that dogs are necessarily always a safer bet. My next door neighbour's dog is very sweet but problematic in many ways. I would absolutely not want that dog staying in my listing.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0  Why "poor cats"? It was poor Branka 😄 they had a great time haha

No, they were really sweet and happy and I loved them all but they did all the above except, only one, not sterilized male, marked the territory

Your cats are perfect English gentlemen 😉

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Lol, I'm sure they did have a good time.

It's a common saying that you don't 'own' cats, they own you.