I just recently fell below because I declined a person with no picture, no reviews, and no attached government ID. I am sorry but as a female-bodied person who will be alone in the house with someone else, I need some credentials about who you are, especially if you have no reviews lending credibility. Heck, even if they are lacking all of those things, but leave a very detailed message about the trip and explaining it is their first time on airbnb, it puts me at ease and I will book them. But when I get nothing, I shouldn't be expected to give something in return - this is first and foremost MY SPACE. Furthermore, a person with no credibility attached to their profile should not expect the same reception as someone who has put time into their profile, provided Identification, and stacked up favorable reviews. That is just how things work.
I also agree with you that most of my declines have been people trying to bring babies and cats - Sorry. I live in an old house , and while it is clean and charming to the nines, probably needs to be lead paint tested like all houses built prior to 1977 (mine was built right after WWI), not to mention all the potential death hazards considering my house is not in the slightest bit baby or toddler proofed. Furthermore, sometimes I have to decline last minute reservation requests because I had a guest depart while I was at work, and a new guest wants to check-in. I can't take a reservation if I haven't been home to switch over the rooms. I am not sure if declining a request counts as such, but if it does that is also annoying.
My new way to go about this is rather than me declining, I ask them to cancel once I explain why my listing doesn't meet their needs. Most of the time they are very good about it.