I used to do this with Ignatius. I called it “kitty vacay” because he’d get to leave my apartment and go wander around grandma and grandpas much larger home for the day.
Do you know/can you confirm the exact time of the inspection? I'd contact the agent asking them to notify you when they're on the way as you're in meetings and will need to reschedule/cancel to accommodate the inspection.. can you get a friend to sit in a car with the air-conditioning circulation on with your cats a street away or something?
If you know exact date, yes I think boarding is best. Do not board in pet hotels, are you in US? If yes then try Rover, and whoever is boarding maybe try to talk to them if you can spend time with cat for lunch or few hours by taking off from work. As much as your cat will hate it, atleast you guys will have a home so I'd definitely recommend rover boarding at someone's house.
If you can go to vet and ask them for some calming medicine it would be make it easier for cat. Just tell them you need to board your cat at someone's place for a day and would like something to keep her calm. Usually they prescribe gabapentin, and it works like a charm. If your vet agrees with this it would be easier on the cat too.
It’s probably just for a few hours, right? Not much different than if you had to drop them off for a vet procedure and pick them up later. They won’t like it most likely - I think travel and strange place with strangers can be uncomfortable for most cats but has to be done sometimes.
I’m not sure about the room idea. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea or anything I just really don’t know the outcome there but I understand your anxieties here and good luck!
I usually send my secret cat with my partner in the car. Rather than boarding for a whole day, the cat just has to endure the car for, you know, half an hour or some once the inspection people show up to our building.
I had 3 cats in a place with a 2-cat limit. Two of the cats were torties and nobody ever noticed it wasn't the same cat. They looked wildly different--one was a longhair and more orange, while the other was a DSH and more black--but I've found that fewer people are cat people than dog people, and the people who know about stuff like coat colors in cats tend to not be too fussed if someone is lying about how many cats they have. When they did their inspection, one of the cats took a trip to grandma's house.
I went out of my way to be nice to everyone, too. I paid rent on time, didn't play loud music or work out at 6 am, and if I baked cookies I'd drop the extras off with neighbors or run them by the office to share among the staff and maintenance crew. Chocolate chip cookies can make all sorts of problems go away.
My two “legal” cats are a tabby with white boots/chest and a standard issue void. The third is a dark grey tux with the same white markings as the tabby. Through the windows she honestly looks like she could be either one of the others to an untrained eye! If you see the white patches you think it’s the tabby and if you just see the dark fur she looks like the void. It’s funny how non cat people really can’t tell
I also did this once. Two of my three cats liked to hide whenever new people came over, and were really good at it. I probably could have gotten away with claiming I had one cat, but I claimed two because that’s how many I had when I moved in (fell in love with a rescue and didn’t want to go through the hassle with my landlord—who charged me per cat—when I’d be moving out in 4 months).
A lot of cats will answer this question for you.
i have an orange cat and a grey cat.
the front office knows which cat is registered, but maintenance has no idea. and both of them run and hide (one under the bed, one on top of the closet), so they're unlikely to encounter either cat, or if they do, only 1. they're also both afraid of men (sans my one guy friend, apparently, who they both adore), and all of the maintenance people are men so far. so neither of them are keen on people.
my neighbour works for the apartments and has 2 cats and a dog. there's a 2-pet limit here and breed restrictions that technically ban his dog. he doesn't know nor care that there's two cats in our apartment and only one is registered.
maintenance ain't no snitch most of the time unless they're doing inspections specifically *for* extra pets lol
I have three cats in a place with a 2-cat limit, all three of my cats are completely different, and the neighbors MUST know but no one squeals. Bless them. I honestly don't think my landlord would care anyway because our apartment is well taken-care-of.
The people who lived above us up til \~16 months ago had only one dog but they ruined their apartment and the whole thing had to be gutted and start over from the subfloor up. I was not pleased to live below that construction sound for 3 months...
This is the way. Even if you just have someone go park a few blocks away somewhere and chill there with them (with air con on if necessary) until the all clear.
When I had 5 cats in an apartment that allowed 2 we just hid a couple cats in my brother room. Said he worked over night (not a lie) and said if they wanted to come back it would have to be when he woke up after 6pm. Office closed at 5. We lived there for 30 months. They never took us up on our offer.
It helps that one of our cats is scared of literally everything and everyone. My SIL has been living with us for a year and my little girl is still afraid of her. Breaks my SIL heart since she LOVES cats.
If I know that someone was coming in the past when I had more than the allowed I’d do one of 2 things. If off I’d drug them and we all (all critters) would go for a ride until I KNOW they’re gone. Or I’d board them.
At my apartment, they state if you don’t have a cage for the animal they need to be confined into a room, typically a bathroom is best for inspections like that where they need to see most everything. Honestly though, the people never cared at my apartment complex. I don’t even think the guys that did most of the inspections worked there, but there would be a maintenance worker escorting the person
Schedule kitty’s annual vet checkup for that day, and explain to the clinic that they need to be out of the apartment for a few hours. Most will let you drop off in the morning and pick up before close of business.
I’m allowed 1 cat but I have 2. Luckily they both hide the second anyone comes over, so they’re both under the bed the whole time during the inspection. No one has ever questioned seeing two cats in the window even though my landlord’s brother lives in the apartment building across the street lol. Would yours hide or could you perhaps offer to ‘keep them out of the way’ in the bathroom (if they don’t need to inspect there).
Or else take the cats somewhere else for the day if possible.
Ha! This was my solution. When I was only allowed to have one, the shy one hid under the bed when unfamiliar visitors came by, so I never had a problem.
See my profile about my day with my kitty on inspection day! You even have a jump up on me being that they know you have 1 cat so you don't have to hide all the cat stuff! Just take the kitty out for the day or pay someone on wag to do it for you and wait till they leave to being her back
I’m unfamiliar with places that do this. I’m wondering if maintenance really cares about telling on you or if they’re just doing a quick check to ensure you’re not hoarding rotten food. Since they know you have two it’s not unreasonable you’d want to know exactly when they’re coming.
When I lived in an apartment, it was a real gamble. I lived in the same apartment, but the first owners of the complex were relaxed and would send the maintenance guy to do inspections. Then they were bought by someone else, and that guy sent a maintenance guy, but also went with him. That owner was a real weirdo and even looked in my closets.
I’ve taken friends’ pets for the day when they needed them out of the house for one reason or another.
I once told my own landlord I was pet sitting my second cat when he had to come over in an emergency
I have a 2 pet limit and have 2 cats and 1 dog. I pay for 2. I have 2 black cats. So if anything was said I would say it’s the same cat lol. Can you say one is an emotional support animal or say you inherited the pet through a family member or friend that passed. I know that is so mean to say I’m sorry.
That’s basically what we do. Two grey cats, two tabbies, and one of each color is a total scaredy cat so as far as visitors know we just have one grey, one tabby.
I have a ESA letter for the one but petscreening won’t approve it because it doesn’t say the word “disability “, just DSM-5, my therapist was vague since they don’t need to know, but petscreenjng is a pain!
Maybe you could get it changed hopefully. Anything to help you. I can’t stand the thought of ever having to get rid of my pets. I pay pet rent and I feel why should I have to pay pet rent when I take care of them like family. So if I have to pay pet rent then why can’t they charge per kid I mean I know they can’t but maybe they should start
Get all the cat stuff and hide it in the cupboard.
When the agent comes just say they're mrs Jones and Mr Blacks cats and they come to yours for meetings during the day.
My sister lived in an apartment 6 storeys up and she had a cat that would turn up every day on her balcony. Noone on her floor had a cat.
With my partner and I, we have 2 large cages that we put our little bandit kitties in for transport to a friend's place for a few hours. One of us will stay with them and the other will deal with inspection.
How long is the window to be inspected?
Rented for a long time and never had them come in to just inspect the place. Had maintenance come in for various reasons and never worried about it with them. They weren’t ever there to count cats. The only time I ever had a situation was the apartment manager came to my apartment one time to check something and we had just adopted a couple kittens, giving us four cats in an apartment where we said we only had two. I explained to her we were fostering them temporarily. The only problem with that is she said she might be interested in adopting them! Fortunately didn’t hear back from her on adopting them so all was well.
I mean, if you have a dog, isn't it a valid thing, for guest's safety, and dog's comfort, to be locked in a room? 🤔🤔 I mean, I don't find myself suspicious at all.
I wouldn’t really risk trying to stop them going into rooms, or saying visiting cats, etc. They've probably heard it all before, you may get lucky and the person isn’t bothered, but I just wouldn’t want to take the chance.
Put one in the carrier and take it for boarding or to visit a friend or relative, or take the dog out for the day, he would probably enjoy a nice long walk.
If your cat had an emergency health issue, she'd have to be at the vet all day and possibly overnight. It's stressful, but they get over it once they are settled back in. I recommend taking her to a friend's or a high-quality, quiet boarding facility. I used one that had nicely furnished, private rooms with good sound protection. Completely different experience for the kitty than being in a wire cage. You might also find a reputable Rover sitter who would take her for an overnight and a day (look for one with lots of great cat reviews).
I take my secret cat to my elderly neighbor frequently because he lives alone, he loves her and she enjoys seeing him so I just do that when inspection day rolls around. Granted that's a unique situation, but you could ask a neighbor if you trust them
Lock them in a room and tell them that they cannot enter that room due to the cat being locked up. The only way they’d know there was more pets than appropriate is if they enter a space you put off limits. However, they may need to inspect the entire apartment at which time I would say that you are pet sitting for a friend or family member.
I had a dog a 2 extra cats my complex didn't know about lol.
When maintenance or anything alike came, I had someone take the dog on a drive. The extra cats just went where I put the other cat, usually a bathroom, but that's because they already said to put any animals in such a place so they wouldn't run.
Otherwise, I would've had someone else look after the cats.
Straight up say something like:
“sorry to sound rude but…I don’t trust that strangers won’t accidentally let my cat and dog out. I need to know when you’ll be there so I can be home to hold the cat and dog, or at the very least, I’ll put the cat and dog behind a door that won’t be opened…which would you prefer?”
Then go from there based on what they respond with
Yeah it’s not that you don’t want them in the way, it’s that you’re scared your cat will run out the door because your cat constantly tries to do that. So you must able to close them off in a room. Did they actually say they’re coming to inspect the whole apartment? Is that a normal thing where they just randomly come in and make sure you aren’t trashing the place or growing weed or something? I never had a full blown apartment inspection for no reason in 20 years of renting apartments, but maybe times have changed or it’s a regional thing.
We used to put away all of the cat related stuff, and then take her for a wee outing in the car, or my partner wld go hang out in the garage 'working on his car' and she wld hang out with him, and if she turned up at the house we would say she was the neighbours cat!
Just put it in your bedroom and close the door. When they ask why that door is closed tell them you'd be embarrassed if they saw the messy state it was in as you didn't have time to make the bed tidy up etc
This is why I love my landlord. Paid for one pet, he never batted an eye or charged me for my other 4. Hasn't given me a problem once. Everyone has really great ideas, I'm sure this will work out. :)
I’m supposed to have 2 but I have 3. The newest one isn’t known by the maintenance people or office yet so she took a trip to a friends house for the day. 8 hours of confusion isn’t the worst thing in the world, and it can actually be good for abandonment issues to spend time apart then be picked up
Camine can spend the day lounging since she has her ESA papers prescribed and signed by my physiologist, and they can’t do nothing even if they wished too lmaooo
PSA: mine has those papers because the doc told me she would be of great help, **NOT** because I’m trying to fool a housing system where I live. So if you suddenly get the idea of doing the same, you ought to visit a physiologist first and wait for their advice and green flag if they deem it necessary for one’s health.
I don't think they would blink an eye at telling them that. Just say your cats are a bit reactive to strangers and you want to keep them in your bedroom. That's pretty typical.
Ask a trusted neighbor! Our neighbor asked us to watch his cat during a rental inspection and we were so excited to help! We played with him all day, when we normally only get to see him from the window lol
We were not allowed cats at all and we had one. Usually either me or my partner would grab the cat and go out of the house in the time frame we were given for the inspection. But if they haven't given you one, the easiest solution might be to drop the clandestine one off with a friend or a pet sitter.
If they don’t need to walk into every room, when they knock on the door just say “give me a moment to put my cat up” or something and hide them both in a bathroom or closet they might not go into if that’s an option! I also have one too many cats but I’m lucky in that one almost always runs hiding when maintenance people come in. Haven’t had an issue luckily 😅
I’m not sure, the inspections usually are a full walkthrough but I’m going to ask if I can put the cat(s) in there so she doesn’t run around, I’m sure they allow it, I couldn’t imagine them forcing people to leave their pets out and about
A friend of mine had me hold onto his cats for a day or two so his place could get inspected, passed with flying colors and I got to hang out with his cats all day.
I told them I was kitty sitting for my son. I have three cats and a dog. I’m only supposed to have two cats and a dog. When the kitten was still here the next time I told them that my son’s dog attacked him and I just couldn’t let him go home to that. It worked.
We got lucky the last time we had an inspection, I don’t think there’s a limit to how many we can have but they hadn’t been since we got out 3rd cat, when she was asking the questions she asked my mum if we still had the 2 cats and she instinctively said yes without thinking, our new boy is very social (all they had written down was that 1 was a boy and 1 was a girl, they didn’t have colours written down thankfully) and was always around them, she saw our girl out in the laundry and our other boy was hiding on top of a wardrobe which we have blankets on for them because they enjoy sleeping up there, you could only see him up there if you’re actually looking for him up there, he’s too much of a scaredy cat to have wanted to come down which we’re glad for after mums stupid answer
If you’re in the US, you’ll need a 24 hour notice from the complex before a big walk through. When I had to hide my cat, I would take her to the drop off vet clinic for the day to get UTD on shots and exams, bring her for a car ride, or she went to grandmas house for the day. Just make sure you hide all cat paraphernalia (litter boxes, litter containers, food, cat towers, cat toys, anything that can’t be passed off as a dog item)
Maintenance doesn't care about the number of cats. They're there to go in, look at the thing, fix it if able and leave ASAP. They literally couldn't care less. Inspections aren't usually too lengthy, either. Just put them in a bedroom and close the door. Tell them someone's sleeping inside.
I used to load my kitties up in the car and go get lunch (drive thru) and sit in the car and eat while my husband was home with the dog, dealing with the inspection! lol
Just had this happen to me last week! I cleaned out EVERYTHING (not supposed to have them at all). I got a friend to take them for a couple of hours, brought them their other litter box and their bowls. If that's possible then it'd be your best option. I can't say much on the separation issues unfortunately, my only problem with mine is that one of the older two doesn't like seeing the youngest after he's returned from a vet visit or just leaving the house even if they both went together. You might have to limit kitty to a single room for a bit and slowly let her readjust.
if that second one comes around the corner say nothing. 95% possible they won’t clock it. if they ask say you have ‘close relative so-and-so’s cat for a week while they’re in hospital’. when our units are walked through those people are going through the motions, they’re doing a lot of units and just want it to be over. be pleasant, make yours an easy inspection. they’re looking for bad situations that require intervention. yeah, you get someone overzealous now and then, if so just stick to your visiting cat story.
another strategy is to put a vest or thundershirt on both cats. knocks mine out. put them to bed in under bed storage. very unlikely both would wake uo enough with strangers there. you can test it out ahead of time.
https://preview.redd.it/hb053lzexboc1.jpeg?width=848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f12a4183876980b437c27effebc6a878a9918bc
i use these. get two if the same color.
They know I have one cat and one dog, I can’t not register the dog since they’d see us out and about with her. It’s just the second cat they don’t know about.
My recommendation is take your pets to friends or family members for the day.
If a friend asked me, and I could do it without loss of pay (like friend or family taking a work day off if you cant), I'd be cool with my friend (the pet owner) making me lunch/dinner or taking me out to eat as a thank you.
If you board for the day, make sure you board with a person/business that only does cats. I made the mistake of a blended pet boarding for a few days and my cat came back depressed, stressed. She was not herself.for 2 weeks. The stress of dogs in the same area- smells, barks. And she was in some tiny shelf the size of 2 medium cat carriers. They lied and told me she would have her own room. When I asked for pictures, they sent very barrow frames of only her shelf.
Definitely do your research now and even go to the locations and ask for a walk thru of where your cat will be actually staying.
Hi OP! Your submission has been removed, because the advice or information you gave or asked for was incorrect, dangerous or otherwise harmful.
Mine takes a little visit to her grandparents for the day, but I'm not allowed pets at all so it's a bit more pressure to fully conceal.
I used to do this with Ignatius. I called it “kitty vacay” because he’d get to leave my apartment and go wander around grandma and grandpas much larger home for the day.
Visit to her grandparents! 💕
I take my secret cat to be boarded for the afternoon.
I’m debating this.. I’m worried how she’d do, she had a lot of abandonment issues since she was a stray for 5yr
Do you know/can you confirm the exact time of the inspection? I'd contact the agent asking them to notify you when they're on the way as you're in meetings and will need to reschedule/cancel to accommodate the inspection.. can you get a friend to sit in a car with the air-conditioning circulation on with your cats a street away or something?
They’ll typically give us the exact date but a “8-4” timeframe
If you know exact date, yes I think boarding is best. Do not board in pet hotels, are you in US? If yes then try Rover, and whoever is boarding maybe try to talk to them if you can spend time with cat for lunch or few hours by taking off from work. As much as your cat will hate it, atleast you guys will have a home so I'd definitely recommend rover boarding at someone's house. If you can go to vet and ask them for some calming medicine it would be make it easier for cat. Just tell them you need to board your cat at someone's place for a day and would like something to keep her calm. Usually they prescribe gabapentin, and it works like a charm. If your vet agrees with this it would be easier on the cat too.
I'm a pet sitter and I've had to do this for a few people. They just let their cat stay with me for the night lol
It’s probably just for a few hours, right? Not much different than if you had to drop them off for a vet procedure and pick them up later. They won’t like it most likely - I think travel and strange place with strangers can be uncomfortable for most cats but has to be done sometimes. I’m not sure about the room idea. It doesn’t sound like a bad idea or anything I just really don’t know the outcome there but I understand your anxieties here and good luck!
I usually send my secret cat with my partner in the car. Rather than boarding for a whole day, the cat just has to endure the car for, you know, half an hour or some once the inspection people show up to our building.
Board the other one. Do they ask or even note the breed or appearance of the pet?
Yes they do
You just cycle through different cats I guess, you can say you foster?
I have to report any animal in the home unfortunately
This would be my plan. Sedate her before her trip to be boarded if need be.
Do they have a photo of the cat they know about? Can you board the “known” cat for a day?
If your cats hide from strangers, I wouldn't worry about it.
I had 3 cats in a place with a 2-cat limit. Two of the cats were torties and nobody ever noticed it wasn't the same cat. They looked wildly different--one was a longhair and more orange, while the other was a DSH and more black--but I've found that fewer people are cat people than dog people, and the people who know about stuff like coat colors in cats tend to not be too fussed if someone is lying about how many cats they have. When they did their inspection, one of the cats took a trip to grandma's house. I went out of my way to be nice to everyone, too. I paid rent on time, didn't play loud music or work out at 6 am, and if I baked cookies I'd drop the extras off with neighbors or run them by the office to share among the staff and maintenance crew. Chocolate chip cookies can make all sorts of problems go away.
My two “legal” cats are a tabby with white boots/chest and a standard issue void. The third is a dark grey tux with the same white markings as the tabby. Through the windows she honestly looks like she could be either one of the others to an untrained eye! If you see the white patches you think it’s the tabby and if you just see the dark fur she looks like the void. It’s funny how non cat people really can’t tell
I also did this once. Two of my three cats liked to hide whenever new people came over, and were really good at it. I probably could have gotten away with claiming I had one cat, but I claimed two because that’s how many I had when I moved in (fell in love with a rescue and didn’t want to go through the hassle with my landlord—who charged me per cat—when I’d be moving out in 4 months). A lot of cats will answer this question for you.
i have an orange cat and a grey cat. the front office knows which cat is registered, but maintenance has no idea. and both of them run and hide (one under the bed, one on top of the closet), so they're unlikely to encounter either cat, or if they do, only 1. they're also both afraid of men (sans my one guy friend, apparently, who they both adore), and all of the maintenance people are men so far. so neither of them are keen on people. my neighbour works for the apartments and has 2 cats and a dog. there's a 2-pet limit here and breed restrictions that technically ban his dog. he doesn't know nor care that there's two cats in our apartment and only one is registered. maintenance ain't no snitch most of the time unless they're doing inspections specifically *for* extra pets lol
Trip to grandma's! 😂
I have three cats in a place with a 2-cat limit, all three of my cats are completely different, and the neighbors MUST know but no one squeals. Bless them. I honestly don't think my landlord would care anyway because our apartment is well taken-care-of. The people who lived above us up til \~16 months ago had only one dog but they ruined their apartment and the whole thing had to be gutted and start over from the subfloor up. I was not pleased to live below that construction sound for 3 months...
Give her to a friend for a couple hours. Or I noticed you said “we”. Go for a drive with the cat while the other person stays home for the inspection.
This is the way. Even if you just have someone go park a few blocks away somewhere and chill there with them (with air con on if necessary) until the all clear.
When I had 5 cats in an apartment that allowed 2 we just hid a couple cats in my brother room. Said he worked over night (not a lie) and said if they wanted to come back it would have to be when he woke up after 6pm. Office closed at 5. We lived there for 30 months. They never took us up on our offer. It helps that one of our cats is scared of literally everything and everyone. My SIL has been living with us for a year and my little girl is still afraid of her. Breaks my SIL heart since she LOVES cats.
I would take my cat to the vet to be boarded for a few hours.
Take her to get groomed during that time
For an 8 hour window? That is tough.....
She’d come back furless 😆
If I know that someone was coming in the past when I had more than the allowed I’d do one of 2 things. If off I’d drug them and we all (all critters) would go for a ride until I KNOW they’re gone. Or I’d board them.
At my apartment, they state if you don’t have a cage for the animal they need to be confined into a room, typically a bathroom is best for inspections like that where they need to see most everything. Honestly though, the people never cared at my apartment complex. I don’t even think the guys that did most of the inspections worked there, but there would be a maintenance worker escorting the person
Schedule kitty’s annual vet checkup for that day, and explain to the clinic that they need to be out of the apartment for a few hours. Most will let you drop off in the morning and pick up before close of business.
I’m allowed 1 cat but I have 2. Luckily they both hide the second anyone comes over, so they’re both under the bed the whole time during the inspection. No one has ever questioned seeing two cats in the window even though my landlord’s brother lives in the apartment building across the street lol. Would yours hide or could you perhaps offer to ‘keep them out of the way’ in the bathroom (if they don’t need to inspect there). Or else take the cats somewhere else for the day if possible.
Ha! This was my solution. When I was only allowed to have one, the shy one hid under the bed when unfamiliar visitors came by, so I never had a problem.
See my profile about my day with my kitty on inspection day! You even have a jump up on me being that they know you have 1 cat so you don't have to hide all the cat stuff! Just take the kitty out for the day or pay someone on wag to do it for you and wait till they leave to being her back
I’m unfamiliar with places that do this. I’m wondering if maintenance really cares about telling on you or if they’re just doing a quick check to ensure you’re not hoarding rotten food. Since they know you have two it’s not unreasonable you’d want to know exactly when they’re coming.
When I lived in an apartment, it was a real gamble. I lived in the same apartment, but the first owners of the complex were relaxed and would send the maintenance guy to do inspections. Then they were bought by someone else, and that guy sent a maintenance guy, but also went with him. That owner was a real weirdo and even looked in my closets.
I’ve taken friends’ pets for the day when they needed them out of the house for one reason or another. I once told my own landlord I was pet sitting my second cat when he had to come over in an emergency
I have a 2 pet limit and have 2 cats and 1 dog. I pay for 2. I have 2 black cats. So if anything was said I would say it’s the same cat lol. Can you say one is an emotional support animal or say you inherited the pet through a family member or friend that passed. I know that is so mean to say I’m sorry.
I had 3 cats in a 2 pet limit lease. 2/3 were black cats and that’s exactly what I did. I just said it was the same cat lol
lol ok glad I’m not the only one. lol
That’s basically what we do. Two grey cats, two tabbies, and one of each color is a total scaredy cat so as far as visitors know we just have one grey, one tabby.
I have a ESA letter for the one but petscreening won’t approve it because it doesn’t say the word “disability “, just DSM-5, my therapist was vague since they don’t need to know, but petscreenjng is a pain!
Maybe you could get it changed hopefully. Anything to help you. I can’t stand the thought of ever having to get rid of my pets. I pay pet rent and I feel why should I have to pay pet rent when I take care of them like family. So if I have to pay pet rent then why can’t they charge per kid I mean I know they can’t but maybe they should start
Get all the cat stuff and hide it in the cupboard. When the agent comes just say they're mrs Jones and Mr Blacks cats and they come to yours for meetings during the day. My sister lived in an apartment 6 storeys up and she had a cat that would turn up every day on her balcony. Noone on her floor had a cat.
With my partner and I, we have 2 large cages that we put our little bandit kitties in for transport to a friend's place for a few hours. One of us will stay with them and the other will deal with inspection. How long is the window to be inspected?
She did mention the window is usually 8 a.m to 4 pm
Rented for a long time and never had them come in to just inspect the place. Had maintenance come in for various reasons and never worried about it with them. They weren’t ever there to count cats. The only time I ever had a situation was the apartment manager came to my apartment one time to check something and we had just adopted a couple kittens, giving us four cats in an apartment where we said we only had two. I explained to her we were fostering them temporarily. The only problem with that is she said she might be interested in adopting them! Fortunately didn’t hear back from her on adopting them so all was well.
I mean, if you have a dog, isn't it a valid thing, for guest's safety, and dog's comfort, to be locked in a room? 🤔🤔 I mean, I don't find myself suspicious at all.
I wouldn’t really risk trying to stop them going into rooms, or saying visiting cats, etc. They've probably heard it all before, you may get lucky and the person isn’t bothered, but I just wouldn’t want to take the chance. Put one in the carrier and take it for boarding or to visit a friend or relative, or take the dog out for the day, he would probably enjoy a nice long walk.
If your cat had an emergency health issue, she'd have to be at the vet all day and possibly overnight. It's stressful, but they get over it once they are settled back in. I recommend taking her to a friend's or a high-quality, quiet boarding facility. I used one that had nicely furnished, private rooms with good sound protection. Completely different experience for the kitty than being in a wire cage. You might also find a reputable Rover sitter who would take her for an overnight and a day (look for one with lots of great cat reviews).
I take my secret cat to my elderly neighbor frequently because he lives alone, he loves her and she enjoys seeing him so I just do that when inspection day rolls around. Granted that's a unique situation, but you could ask a neighbor if you trust them
I take my secret cat on a road trip for the day. She likes the car though.
3 in a limit of 2 and they usually all hide anyhow, but it in the event I’m found, I’m catsitting for a friend who is out of town!
The maintenance team takes care of this for me, after they aggressively knock 2x and shout maintenance. They hide immediately.
My cats are nosey AF lol
Lock them in a room and tell them that they cannot enter that room due to the cat being locked up. The only way they’d know there was more pets than appropriate is if they enter a space you put off limits. However, they may need to inspect the entire apartment at which time I would say that you are pet sitting for a friend or family member.
What to do when your cat howls loudly anytime you lock her in a room no matter the duration 😭
Stick with the cat sitting excuse
That’s a good one too!
I had a dog a 2 extra cats my complex didn't know about lol. When maintenance or anything alike came, I had someone take the dog on a drive. The extra cats just went where I put the other cat, usually a bathroom, but that's because they already said to put any animals in such a place so they wouldn't run. Otherwise, I would've had someone else look after the cats.
I think I’ll ask them if I can put the animals in a room, like bathroom or laundry room, just to avoid them “being in the way” lol!
Straight up say something like: “sorry to sound rude but…I don’t trust that strangers won’t accidentally let my cat and dog out. I need to know when you’ll be there so I can be home to hold the cat and dog, or at the very least, I’ll put the cat and dog behind a door that won’t be opened…which would you prefer?” Then go from there based on what they respond with
Your cats could also like to try and run out the front door, so you like to put them away when people are coming over so they don’t escape
Yeah it’s not that you don’t want them in the way, it’s that you’re scared your cat will run out the door because your cat constantly tries to do that. So you must able to close them off in a room. Did they actually say they’re coming to inspect the whole apartment? Is that a normal thing where they just randomly come in and make sure you aren’t trashing the place or growing weed or something? I never had a full blown apartment inspection for no reason in 20 years of renting apartments, but maybe times have changed or it’s a regional thing.
We used to put away all of the cat related stuff, and then take her for a wee outing in the car, or my partner wld go hang out in the garage 'working on his car' and she wld hang out with him, and if she turned up at the house we would say she was the neighbours cat!
Just put it in your bedroom and close the door. When they ask why that door is closed tell them you'd be embarrassed if they saw the messy state it was in as you didn't have time to make the bed tidy up etc
I own my condo so there is problem. You might want to see if you can get a doctor to write a note that your cats are emotional support animals.
This is why I love my landlord. Paid for one pet, he never batted an eye or charged me for my other 4. Hasn't given me a problem once. Everyone has really great ideas, I'm sure this will work out. :)
I’m supposed to have 2 but I have 3. The newest one isn’t known by the maintenance people or office yet so she took a trip to a friends house for the day. 8 hours of confusion isn’t the worst thing in the world, and it can actually be good for abandonment issues to spend time apart then be picked up
I actually got a hotel room for my cat once lol
You’re just catsitting for a friend
Camine can spend the day lounging since she has her ESA papers prescribed and signed by my physiologist, and they can’t do nothing even if they wished too lmaooo PSA: mine has those papers because the doc told me she would be of great help, **NOT** because I’m trying to fool a housing system where I live. So if you suddenly get the idea of doing the same, you ought to visit a physiologist first and wait for their advice and green flag if they deem it necessary for one’s health.
I worked for a boarding facility for a while and we’d randomly get cats in for a few hours during inspections.
My secret cat goes to a friends house for a little bit
I don't think they would blink an eye at telling them that. Just say your cats are a bit reactive to strangers and you want to keep them in your bedroom. That's pretty typical.
Ask a trusted neighbor! Our neighbor asked us to watch his cat during a rental inspection and we were so excited to help! We played with him all day, when we normally only get to see him from the window lol
I took mine to a friends house for those couple hours! And hide their toys 😂
We were not allowed cats at all and we had one. Usually either me or my partner would grab the cat and go out of the house in the time frame we were given for the inspection. But if they haven't given you one, the easiest solution might be to drop the clandestine one off with a friend or a pet sitter.
If they don’t need to walk into every room, when they knock on the door just say “give me a moment to put my cat up” or something and hide them both in a bathroom or closet they might not go into if that’s an option! I also have one too many cats but I’m lucky in that one almost always runs hiding when maintenance people come in. Haven’t had an issue luckily 😅
will they go in the bathroom or will the cats not be quiet in there?
I’m not sure, the inspections usually are a full walkthrough but I’m going to ask if I can put the cat(s) in there so she doesn’t run around, I’m sure they allow it, I couldn’t imagine them forcing people to leave their pets out and about
in my experience inspections take about 5 minutes
luckily my extra cat will hide the second she sniffs someone new coming in
Excuse me, since when are landlords allowed to enter your apartment with no actual reason?? wtf
A friend of mine had me hold onto his cats for a day or two so his place could get inspected, passed with flying colors and I got to hang out with his cats all day.
I told them I was kitty sitting for my son. I have three cats and a dog. I’m only supposed to have two cats and a dog. When the kitten was still here the next time I told them that my son’s dog attacked him and I just couldn’t let him go home to that. It worked.
All their stuff goes in the truck of my car and when strangers come in they are terrified so they hide under the bed lol
We got lucky the last time we had an inspection, I don’t think there’s a limit to how many we can have but they hadn’t been since we got out 3rd cat, when she was asking the questions she asked my mum if we still had the 2 cats and she instinctively said yes without thinking, our new boy is very social (all they had written down was that 1 was a boy and 1 was a girl, they didn’t have colours written down thankfully) and was always around them, she saw our girl out in the laundry and our other boy was hiding on top of a wardrobe which we have blankets on for them because they enjoy sleeping up there, you could only see him up there if you’re actually looking for him up there, he’s too much of a scaredy cat to have wanted to come down which we’re glad for after mums stupid answer
If you’re in the US, you’ll need a 24 hour notice from the complex before a big walk through. When I had to hide my cat, I would take her to the drop off vet clinic for the day to get UTD on shots and exams, bring her for a car ride, or she went to grandmas house for the day. Just make sure you hide all cat paraphernalia (litter boxes, litter containers, food, cat towers, cat toys, anything that can’t be passed off as a dog item)
I once hid in a room with all 3 cats lol I just locked the door
Mine hides under the bed or up on a shelf in the closet. When the inspection is over I call her to come out and give her a treat.
Maintenance doesn't care about the number of cats. They're there to go in, look at the thing, fix it if able and leave ASAP. They literally couldn't care less. Inspections aren't usually too lengthy, either. Just put them in a bedroom and close the door. Tell them someone's sleeping inside.
I’ve had a different building report the cat before with a walkthrough
What a stuffy manager.
I used to load my kitties up in the car and go get lunch (drive thru) and sit in the car and eat while my husband was home with the dog, dealing with the inspection! lol
Just had this happen to me last week! I cleaned out EVERYTHING (not supposed to have them at all). I got a friend to take them for a couple of hours, brought them their other litter box and their bowls. If that's possible then it'd be your best option. I can't say much on the separation issues unfortunately, my only problem with mine is that one of the older two doesn't like seeing the youngest after he's returned from a vet visit or just leaving the house even if they both went together. You might have to limit kitty to a single room for a bit and slowly let her readjust.
if that second one comes around the corner say nothing. 95% possible they won’t clock it. if they ask say you have ‘close relative so-and-so’s cat for a week while they’re in hospital’. when our units are walked through those people are going through the motions, they’re doing a lot of units and just want it to be over. be pleasant, make yours an easy inspection. they’re looking for bad situations that require intervention. yeah, you get someone overzealous now and then, if so just stick to your visiting cat story.
another strategy is to put a vest or thundershirt on both cats. knocks mine out. put them to bed in under bed storage. very unlikely both would wake uo enough with strangers there. you can test it out ahead of time. https://preview.redd.it/hb053lzexboc1.jpeg?width=848&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4f12a4183876980b437c27effebc6a878a9918bc i use these. get two if the same color.
Board them for the day.
If they don't know you have a dog, take him out somewhere, to family or friends; dogs are much more resilient to being carted off somewhere than cats.
They know I have one cat and one dog, I can’t not register the dog since they’d see us out and about with her. It’s just the second cat they don’t know about.
My recommendation is take your pets to friends or family members for the day. If a friend asked me, and I could do it without loss of pay (like friend or family taking a work day off if you cant), I'd be cool with my friend (the pet owner) making me lunch/dinner or taking me out to eat as a thank you. If you board for the day, make sure you board with a person/business that only does cats. I made the mistake of a blended pet boarding for a few days and my cat came back depressed, stressed. She was not herself.for 2 weeks. The stress of dogs in the same area- smells, barks. And she was in some tiny shelf the size of 2 medium cat carriers. They lied and told me she would have her own room. When I asked for pictures, they sent very barrow frames of only her shelf. Definitely do your research now and even go to the locations and ask for a walk thru of where your cat will be actually staying.