Can you host with a cat (entire place)?

[Andrea5840]

Hello,

I am thinking of becoming a host, but want to confirm if this is possible if I have a cat at home? The people staying would not be obliged to look after the cat, but they would need to not harm the cat and know it was there. I would be away and they would be renting the entire place only, with the cat.

Thanks.

[Gillian166]

@Andrea5840  yes this is possible, so long as you explain the situation. And there are enough cat-loving humans on this planet to make this a feature! I know my guests enjoy meeting and playing with my dogs, for various reasons, pet lovers will delight in this situation if you explain up front that the cat will the present (curious to know who is feeding it? and if you have an indoor litter box that needs cleaning). Be sure to include a few pics of the cat in the listing, to make sure non-readers don't miss the information. 

[Mark116]

@Andrea5840  You can do it, but why would you want to put your cat at risk like that?  Guests are basically total strangers.  Anything could happen from the cat being actively harmed to people leaving out something harmful for the cat to eat or accidentally letting the cat outside.  There has to be a better way, if you want to rent your home while you are away then you, in my opinion, need to find a different place for your cat.

[Andrea5840]

I'm less worried about the cat, and more worried about the way everyone describes the people renting Air B and B. 

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Andrea5840 

I think that experienced hosts are just imagining all the things that could go wrong.

I have three cats and I do travel for work. I do leave them at home as they would not be very happy being taken elsewhere (cats are also more likely to be lost that way). My cats are indoor/outdoor, which is common here in the UK, and they would go nuts being crated or caged up. They can't stand going in a carrier five minutes down the road to the vet's.

I also have had a great local cat sitter who would come twice a day to feed, play and cuddle with the cats and send me loads of photos and videos each time, change the cat litter etc. I was very confident with that situation. 

However, I have a homeshare listing. I am not sure I would rent out an entire space with my cats in it. That is a bit riskier. By that, I mean that I get to meet, live with and get to know my guests a bit so I can get a sense of whether it's okay to leave my cats alone with them before I go away.

[Gwen386]

@Andrea5840 As you should be. 

And it’s not the people renting airbnb. It’s people anywhere.

And as @Gillian166 said, 99% of guests are wonderful, but who’s to say you won’t get the 1% who are not. 

[Helen3]

Personally I would never put a much loved pet at risk by leaving it with guests that could neglect it or worse. @Andrea5840 

You say guests don't have to look after the cat. Who is going to feed it? Change the litter tray, keep it company?

Is there a reason you can't take your pet with you when you let your place out/have it stay with family/friends/have it stay at a local cattery?

[Andrea5840]

I have a cat sitter who comes twice a day to cuddle and feed the cat. 

[Gillian166]

@Andrea5840 99% of my guests are wonderful people, just like you and me. and then there's the 1% who are astounding. there's a few examples here of disgruntled guests complaining, demanding full refunds for mild inconveniences, ranting, and clearly the hosts here can spot the behaviour cos the responses are very... real. haha. 

[Bubba-Lee0]

Wow, you would actually trust your cat to complete strangers?  Have you read what bad guests do to people's homes? Your cat will wind up stolen, kicked out of the house, tortured or dead. Too many psychos out there who hate cats.

Be a Responsible Pet Owner. Take your cat with you.  And yes, I have two cats. I take them with me when I am not staying in my property. If you're not willing to do that, then maybe owning a pet isn't something you should be doing.

[Gwen386]

@Andrea5840 OH MY GOD! And yes, I needed to spell it all out and put it in caps.

So, if your guests are not obliged to look after your furry family member, which I would never do in the first place, how will he/she eat, play, drink, or have litter box changed? So then what, the guests have to live in a funky house where there’s an un-emptied litter box. 

So in addition to not caring about a living animal, you are actually letting your guests know that you won’t be home or in the area. This is an open invitation for guests to entertain additional people (party time), destroy your property, steal everything in the house, and god-forbid, hurt the cat, kill the cat or let the cat out so he/she gets lost. 

If you can’t take your furry baby with you, hosting is not for you! If you do start hosting, please let cat stay with a friend or relative or at a kennel. 

DO THE RIGHT THING!