Pets in Flats

Bit of a query:

Our tenancy agreement says we are not allowed pets (it also says something about getting all the carpets shampooed every 6 months so it can go scratch) but me and the missus really want a cat. We've always had pets before at our respective parent's places and it's definitely nicer to have one.

Does anyone know how seriously estate agents take these 'no pets' rules? (please no reposts of those letters in other threads about the dude making up shit to confuse his estate agents so they'd ignore his dog)

Also, we live on the first floor with no garden or outside space and I'm not sure if it would be cruel to have a completely indoor cat or not?

Cheers

it depends on your situation. like does the landlord or estate agent come round a lot/ at all? i had my cat in my last place because no one ever came round. it was a big house so i just taught the cat to come in and out of the window so didn't have a catflap put it. i'm not sure how good it is if you don't have direct access to a garden though. i remember someone, perhaps tricitybendix (sp?) saying that she had 'house cats' - but i don't know. my cat loves going outside.

http://www.27bslash6.com/strata.html

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 21 May 2009 10.16am
To: Helen Bailey
Subject: Pets in the building

Dear Helen,

Thankyou for your letter concerning pets in my apartment. I understand that having dogs in the apartment is a violation of the agreement due to the comfort and wellbeing of my neighbours and I am currently soundproofing my apartment with egg cartons as I realise my dogs can cause quite a bit of noise. Especially during feeding time when I release live rabbits.

Regards, David.

From: Helen Bailey
Date: Thursday 21 May 2009 11.18am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Pets in the building

Hello David

I have received your email and wish to remind you that the strata agreement states that no animals are allowed in the building regardless of if your apartment is soundproof. How many dogs do you have at the premises?

Helen

From: David Thorne
Date: Thursday 21 May 2009 1.52pm
To: Helen Bailey
Subject: Re: Re: Pets in the building

Dear Helen,

Currently I only have eight dogs but one is expecting puppies and I am very excited by this. I am hoping for a litter of at least ten as this is the number required to participate in dog sled racing. I have read every Jack London novel in preparation and have constructed my own sled from timber I borrowed from the construction site across the road during the night. I have devised a plan which I feel will ensure me taking first place in the next national dog sled championships. For the first year of the puppies life I intend to say the word mush then chase them violently around the apartment while yelling and hitting saucepan lids together. I have estimated that the soundproofing of my apartment should block out at least sixty percent of the noise and the dogs will learn to associate the word mush with great fear so when I yell it on race day, the panic and released adrenaline will spur them on to being winners. I am so confident of this being a foolproof plan that I intend to sell all my furniture the day before the race and bet the proceeds on coming first place.

Regards, David.

From: Helen Bailey
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 9.43am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

David, I am unsure what to make of your email. Do you have pets in the apartment or not?

Helen

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 11.27am
To: Helen Bailey
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

Dear Helen,

No. I have a goldfish but due to the air conditioner in my apartment being stuck on a constant two degrees celcius, the water in its bowl is iced over and he has not moved for a while so I do not think he is capable of disturbing the neighbours. The ducks in the bathroom are not mine. The noise which my neighbours possibly mistook for a dog in the apartment is just the looping tape I have of dogs barking which I play at high volume while I am at work to deter potential burglars from breaking in and stealing my tupperware. I need it to keep food fresh. Once I ate leftover chinese that had been kept in an unsealed container and I experienced complete awareness. The next night I tried eating it again but only experienced chest pains and diarrhoea.

Regards, David.

From: Helen Bailey
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 1.46pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

Hello David

You cannot play sounds of dogs or any noise at a volume that disturbs others. I am sure you can appreciate that these rules are for the benefit of all residents of the building. Fish are fine. You cannot have ducks in the apartment though. If it was small birds that would be ok.

Helen

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 2.18pm
To: Helen Bailey
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

Dear Helen,

They are very small ducks.

Regards, David.

From: Helen Bailey
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 4.06pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

David, under section 4 of the strata residency agreement it states that you cannot have pets. You agreed to these rules when you signed the forms. These rules are set out to benefit everyone in the building including yourself. Do you have a telephone number I can call you on to discuss?

Helen

From: David Thorne
Date: Friday 22 May 2009 5.02pm
To: Helen Bailey
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

Dear Helen,

The ducks will no doubt be flying south for the winter soon so it will not be an issue. It is probably for the best as they are not getting along very well with my seventeen cats anyway. .

Regards, David.

From: Helen Bailey
Date: Monday 25 May 2009 9.22am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Pets in the building

David, I am just going to write on the forms that we have investigated and you do not have any pets.

Helen

Does anyone know how seriously estate agents take these 'no pets' rules? (please no reposts of those letters in other threads about the dude making up shit to confuse his estate agents so they'd ignore his dog)

ahem

Ahh that was funny. You should be fine man, as long as your landlord doesn't come over that often. As for keeping them in a flat, well personally I wouldn't but my gran breed show cats for many years and they never saw outside. As long as you keep the littertray clean it's fine.

If you do end up with a house cat, try and create high spaces for it to perch; apparently they like to be able to get above other creatures and be able to watch. And put grass about for 'em to chew on.

Haha erm, steve don't worry about the estate agents mate, its more hassle than its worth for them to do anything about it, unless you fuck the flat up due to the animals, but then that'd be a problem regardless if animals were involved or not.
Personally I don't think its right to keep an animal indoors all the time, I don't agree with it, if it was a dog that was getting walked once or twice a day and getting out plenty then its a different story, but to keep a cat cooped up in a flat all day and night is not very nice for the cat IMO.

+1, how would you like it?

yeah, would feel a bit guilty. we're not planning on staying here forever, next place will have garden or roof terrace (i'm not much of a house cat either). it's the selfishness that makes me want a cat right now.

My pets all wear heels.

you should be fine. if the owner/agent does want to come and inspect the flat, they (usually) need to give 24 hours notce. plenty of time to dispose of the evidence (err...give it to a friend to look after). worst case scenario, you can just claim to be looking after it for a friend who is out of the country / in hospital.

cheers mattty, tbh the agent is the least of my worries. was just curious if anyone here had any properly content house cats.

I have a house cat. He was a very timid kitten and even 8 years later is only really secure and happy when he's indoors and we have no visitors. I suspect he's not a typical case. He has no interest in going outside and hates going to the vets.

Really if they have never known outside they are fine. Get them neutered, and get a laser pointer because they won't get enough exercise and will get fat. Feed them at set mealtimes, not on demand. Indoor cats get very little exercise. 2 cats is better than 1 apparently.

My lease says I'm not allowed pets, but I own the place. What the hell can they do?

My lease says I'm not allowed pets, but I own the place. What the hell can they do?

wha ?

My pets all wear helmets.

wha ?

I own my flat, but it's still a leasehold, and there is a no pets condition in the lease.

you'll need at least one room that looks like this

you'll need at least one room that looks like this

I don't have a cat and I still want a room like that.

Aaron you've seen the two cats at my place- they cannot get to a garden but they are both happy.
A friend of mine has a rescue cat that cannot go outside as it has feline aids- better it go to a loving home than be put down surely?

The moral of the story is get an aids infected cat or just a plain ugly one, they wont want to go out anyway. All the other cats will just slag them.

yeah Neil, your cats are great and very content but you do have an uber flat, if I had one it would be sharing a shoe box with us until we get somewhere bigger, and I have big shoes.

I have indoor cats. In a fairly small flat. They get lots of love, and some times I chase them down the halls of the building. That's always fun for everyone.

Our lease also says no cats. We've been here for over two years with no problems yet.

I got my cats from a woman who always had them inside. I kept them inside for the first year or so I had them, and they were always nice cats but could be a bit weird.

Once they started having the ability to go outside and do some real exploring they became allot more friendly and developed much more personality.

I agree that it is unlikely that there should be a problem with the agent. Visits are rare and will probably only result from a neigbours complaint etc regarding the pet. However, any damage caused may cause problems with the return of the deposit at the end of the tenancy. Certainly I seen enormous damage caused by dogs to flats where the cost of repair has had to met out of the deposit.

I have a cat that spends perhaps 90% of his time outside and certainly I feel that it is cruel to keep a cat inside all the time. I suggest that you let the cat out during the day. They always seem to come back when food/bed is on offer!

cats are weird though. my cat loves going outside but my downstairs neighbours cat really doesn't like leaving the house or being around others or whatever. they're all totally different and as far as i'm aware you can't train them to be outdoorsy or reclusive or whatever, they are what they are i guess.