my problem is more with the cats. i can easily pack up the dogs in the car and take them to my parents' house or just ride them around with me while the house is being shown. my parents have a new house and my mom hates cats...so they can't go there. i've got a storage building out back that is wired, and i have a window unit air conditioner and space heaters (depending on the season), so i've considered locking them in there, but would the potential buyer be turned off b/c he/she/it can't go in the building? it's small, like 8'x12' and there's nothing special on the inside.

i am just now starting to think about selling my house and it is nowhere near ready to be on the market yet, so i'm trying to figure out what would be best down the road.

this isn't about how to clean up pet stains or whatever, it's about what to do with the pets themselves while the house is on the market. i can't afford (and it would be harmful to their health) to board them at the vet for extended periods.

ideas?

1/13/2009 11:03:55 AM

assuming your pets don't smell funky, putting them in a crate for the half hour or so it takes to show the home is pretty standard.

1/13/2009 11:09:07 AM

How many cats are we talking here? I'd say just crate the dogs (or bring them to the parents house), and put the cats in the car. Then again, mine LIKES riding in the car...

I mean, I've only got one, and he is super duper friendly, so I'd just leave him in the house (unless it was an open house situation with the door open constantly). Do you not have any other friends that could just shut them in a room?

1/13/2009 11:11:09 AM

so, it would be better to crate the cats, rather than taking them and their litter boxes and putting them in the storage building? i don't really want to hide the fact that i have cats, but it's always better if you don't come face to face with the litter box imo. i dunno

1/13/2009 11:11:32 AM

Some people might get turned off by the fact that you've had an animal in the house, EVER. Even if it was the cleanest animal in the world, and pooped particles that made you live longer. Some people are just dumb like that.

I would stick the cats in a crate and put them in your car or at a friends house, and hide the litter box. Stick it under a sink, or in a far off closet and cover it with blankets. Most people won't go rummaging through your shit to find it.

Yea, its a pain in the ass, but every little bit helps.

1/13/2009 11:28:19 AM

I would say crate the cats also. When we were looking for a home a lot had cats, but they just hid under stuff anyway.

1/13/2009 11:34:05 AM

My mom is selling her house. She has a Pug and a big ass African Grey Parrot. She just takes the dog over to my sister's house whenever there is a showing, and puts the bird in the cage with a blanket over it.

Whatever you decide, you have to take them somewhere. It is NEVER a good idea to show a house with pets roaming around

And I know that I, personally, would want to see the inside of the storage shed. And I would find it very fishy if my agent told me I was not allowed to.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 11:41 AM. Reason : a]

1/13/2009 11:35:55 AM

Quote :

"How many cats are we talking here? I'd say just crate the dogs (or bring them to the parents house), and put the cats in the car. Then again, mine LIKES riding in the car... I mean, I've only got one, and he is super duper friendly, so I'd just leave him in the house (unless it was an open house situation with the door open constantly). Do you not have any other friends that could just shut them in a room?"

3 cats. i have a civic. if i put 2 dogs in it, there's no room for a crate or crates with cats. 2 of the cats would probably try to dart out the door and no one would ever ever know there was a 3rd (VERY skittish, and VERY difficult to catch).

no, we don't have any friends in town and i don't really know my neighbors.

Quote :

"Some people might get turned off by the fact that you've had an animal in the house, EVER. Even if it was the cleanest animal in the world, and pooped particles that made you live longer. Some people are just dumb like that."

yeah, i'm aware of that, but that's not really relevant/helpful since i already have them and they live in the house. that is why i'm trying to figure what would be the best way to get them out of the house.

my dad had talked about building a man house/storage building thing, i wish he'd hurry up so i could put them there (since he likes cats anyway). i doubt that will happen soon though since he's got a wedding to pay for

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 11:45 AM. Reason : bah]

1/13/2009 11:40:12 AM

Quote :

"Some people might get turned off by the fact that you've had an animal in the house, EVER. Even if it was the cleanest animal in the world, and pooped particles that made you live longer. Some people are just dumb like that."

People who are like that are in a small minority and they will be able to smell pet odors regardless anyways. You aren't going to be able to hide the fact that you had pets in your house unless you move out first, then get the thing cleaned thoroughly.

Seriously, there is no problem with crating the cats (in the house), and taking the dogs with you while the showing is going on. As long as the litter boxes are regularly cleaned and aren't overpowering, you can keep them wherever.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 11:46 AM. Reason : d]

1/13/2009 11:45:27 AM

What my parents did, when they sold their house last year, was leave the cats with me for the time it took to sell the house. That enabled them to get the litter boxes, smells, food, and the pets out of the way so that it didn't potentially bother the seller. It made a huge difference in the cleanliness of the house.

My suggestion would be to find a friend or a relative that can take them for a short amount of time. If you can't, take them with you in the car, I wouldn't leave them in a shed, even if it is nice. Some buyers would be more turned off by that than by seeing them at all.

1/13/2009 11:50:48 AM

we have a flushing cat toilet that will be in full use by then. we're transitioning b/w normal litter and the toilet right now. that should cut waaayyy down on the smell.

1/13/2009 11:53:50 AM

When we sold our house, we took the dog out with us and put 1 cat in the spare upstairs bathroom with a note on the door that a cat was inside and to please not let her out. The other cat we didn't have to worry about because she hides better than Jimmy Hoffa when strangers come to the house.

1/13/2009 11:55:01 AM

damn 3 cats and two dogs? any kids yet?

i think potential buyers would think worse of the cats than the dogs, if they have to see other...something about he stigma of them pissing everywhere and smelly litter boxes etc. i guess in general its the whole peeing/crapping inside the house versus outside like the dogs. so keeping them as hidden as possible is best. i'd say the storage shed is your best bet, maybe sheets over the crates, but yeah buyers will want to see inside the shed.

when i was checking out my house, the shed was locked, no key was left, agent had no info on seeing the inside of the shed. it was a little annoying, but didn't turn me off totally. i saw it on the second showing, so all was good. maybe you should just do something with the cats on second showings or something

1/13/2009 12:03:12 PM

a realtor can probabaly tell you the best thing to do with pets, I'm sure that is something that comes up a lot

1/13/2009 12:05:08 PM

I looked at a house where my realtor told me before entering that we had to be careful not to let the cat out. I never saw the cat and I didn't really think it was an odd request or anything.

1/13/2009 12:32:36 PM

eeh, most buyers and buyers agents really don't like the whole "dont let my cat out" signs. they come to look at your house, not to worry about your animals escaping the house. <]

1/13/2009 12:38:27 PM

We sold the house on the first showing, so I really don't give a shit.

1/13/2009 12:51:16 PM

sounds like you priced it too low i'd give a shit about that

and yeah, keeping it in a room is a much better solution than letting it roam around the whole house and you're worried about letting them out

1/13/2009 1:09:07 PM

Actually, we got 10 grand over what 2 different realtors wanted to list it for.

1/13/2009 1:34:44 PM

I remember when I was looking at houses, we went to one with a cat. As soon as we opened the door we saw a dead mouse by the front door, I didn't even go inside.

1/13/2009 1:46:19 PM

there's probably enough people who like cats that they won't notice the cat smell.

When we were house hunting, any cat evidence was an immediate dealbreaker for us.

1/13/2009 1:50:54 PM

Quote :

"i think potential buyers would think worse of the cats than the dogs, if they have to see other...something about he stigma of them pissing everywhere and smelly litter boxes etc. i guess in general its the whole peeing/crapping inside the house versus outside like the dogs."

I think the complete opposite. I would think the chances of a cat pissing everywhere is slim compared to a puppy running around the house. And I think by FAR that dogs are messier, smellier creatures (well, maybe not teeny dogs, but ones that at least come up to your knee - labs, retrievers, etc). A clean litterbox will exude no smells.

And I think some people are right, that when it comes to whether or not the buyers would notice, they're going to notice unless those pets have been gone for a week or so, with cleaning done of course.

For quick situations, leave the dogs with your Mom and put the cats in the car and hide the litterboxes. But for long term situations, I don't know what to tell you. Now's the time to get to know those neighbors

1/13/2009 3:27:20 PM

I'm allergic as hell to cats, so no matter what amount of cleaning is done I'd still be less likely to want the house. (I know I'm not everybody)

My advice is to find someone to take care of them, do a good job cleaning up everything, and just disclose to potential buyers what pets you have so they know.

1/13/2009 4:42:26 PM

we have a cat and our house is currently on the market.

Our realtor told us to post a note on the front door saying, "Please do not let the kitten out." Keep in mind, our cat is 3 years old and far from a kitten. The litter box is clean and has no odor. The cat has never sprayed or anything like that and we are sure to vacuum and dust daily to eliminate dander.

Granted, the house has been on the market for six months with only 6 showings, but I don't think that has anything to do with the pet. Most of the time he is asleep in the office chair or on our bed.

1/13/2009 5:19:53 PM

you planning for some loong showings! When my wife and I were looking at houses, we didn't spend but 20 mins per house (when we liked them). People who did have pets usually put them in the garage inside their cages.

1/13/2009 5:31:30 PM

I can tell you what NOT to do...

One house we looked at had a low 4ft or so fence with a mean ass chow mix in it that we seriously thought was going to jump out and eat us. We hurried into the house only to find dog paraphernalia EVERYWHERE, and a note on the garage door saying not to open it because the dog was in there and not very friendly. Scared the crap out of us, we kept expecting another dog to jump out from a closet.

1/13/2009 6:50:38 PM