apt hunting with my cat

faycat · June 2007

My boyfriend, myself, and my kitty have started apartment hunting and I'm so frustrated with the number of apt listings specifying no pets. We're looking in a few neighborhoods - Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Ft Greene. What confuses me is that everywhere we go, especially in Park Slope, everybody has a dog! So there must be pet-friendly apartments, why are we having so much trouble finding them?! We have a pretty decent budget (around $2500), we're flexible about set-up (large 1, 1.5, 2, as long as it's nice). It just saddens me that so many of the nicer apts don't allow pets, especially considering how desperate the shelter situation is in this city. The ironic thing is that my cat is by far the cleanest thing in my apartment!

I'm assuming that those of you reading this pet board have pets, did you all have a lot of difficulty finding pet-friendly apartments, especially in the neighborhoods that I listed? I'd appreciate any advice. Our cat is our heart, and we also want to adopt a second cat, because all of the kitties that need homes breaks my heart too much.

sweet tea · June 2007

it might be worth asking the LL directly. all of the apts i've lived in have said no pets in the lease, but none has minded cats. you might also offer to put down a bigger security deposit.

faycat · June 2007

Yes, I'm sure it's worth a try to ask the landlords, but it would probably sound so weird to ask A. are you willing to accept my cat, and B. are you willing to accept the other cat that we have yet to adopt?

I must admit, my current landlord does not want any pets in the apt, and that is a major reason why we are moving. I can get away with my one because she is so quiet and well-behaved, but I just don't feel that I can push it with a second here. So yes, we are moving so that we can get another cat, a cat for my cat. We're moving for my cat!

apollonia666 · June 2007

Hey, that's way better than dumping a cat because you're moving into a place that doesn't accept pets. It really upsets me when people do that.

Every time I've had to hunt for an apartment I've found that having cats narrowed down my choices considerably, but I still found a place. It just takes more work.

Why not just go ahead and tell potential landlords you have two cats when you're asking about it? You'll be getting the second one soon enough, and it's doubtful the landlord will be standing there counting them when you bring them in, or coming by to check. And if they are, a white lie's easy enough, like, "Oh, the other one gets really nervous during moves, so we're having friends keep her for a few days until we get the place a little more settled."

faycat · June 2007

Actually, that's exactly what I've started doing, telling them that I have two. It's a lot easier than saying that I have one and another on the way, it's like I'm pregnant or something.

By the way, that kitty licking in your avatar kills me every time I've seen it.

caseopele · June 2007

faycat · June 2007

Wow, casopele! I'll have to go through all of those carefully. I really appreciate it.

meganlibrarian · June 2007

I've been up-front about having a cat, and have found that it's much less of a big deal than dogs. My overall sense is that landlords usually mean "no dogs" when they say "no pets". Heck, my LL says "no pets" in the lease, and it seems that most people living in my building have cats, dogs, birds, etc.

Overall, it can't hurt to simply say, "I have 2 non-destructive cats. Could something be worked out with you?" and see what happens. Good luck!

faycat · June 2007

I thought that was true about cats for the most part, but my upstairs neighbor just told us the other day that our landlord found out about her cat (in a 4-apt building, 3 apts have cats!), and the landlord wrote her a letter saying that she had to get rid of the cat. She tried to write a very nice letter saying that she would give them an extra deposit, the cat is very clean, she would pay cleaners when she moves, etc. and they still said no. I know that by tenants laws they can't really do anything to her, although I guess they could choose not to offer a lease renewal when hers comes up again. I would just rather not get into that situation, I really don't want a contentious relationship with my landlord. I was pretty surprised that our landlord was so unwilling to compromise on that, they are usually very easy to deal with.

meganlibrarian · June 2007

faycat wrote: I thought that was true about cats for the most part, but my upstairs neighbor just told us the other day that our landlord found out about her cat (in a 4-apt building, 3 apts have cats!), and the landlord wrote her a letter saying that she had to get rid of the cat. She tried to write a very nice letter saying that she would give them an extra deposit, the cat is very clean, she would pay cleaners when she moves, etc. and they still said no. I know that by tenants laws they can't really do anything to her, although I guess they could choose not to offer a lease renewal when hers comes up again. I would just rather not get into that situation, I really don't want a contentious relationship with my landlord. I was pretty surprised that our landlord was so unwilling to compromise on that, they are usually very easy to deal with.

See, this scenario scares me. We'd have to move - there's no way that my husband and I would give away our cat. That's why we were insistently upfront about having a cat when looking for new apartments, and needing it accounted for on the lease. That alone cuts out a lot of the potential risk.

faycat · June 2007

It scares me too, I would never never give up my cat. I would sooner move to a bad neighborhood and live with it for a year than give her up. I know it was a risk to adopt her when I wasn't supposed to have a cat, but I couldn't turn her away. There are too many cats that need homes, and a scar on her eye meant that she had been passed over for quite a while, it just broke my heart. I took my chances, what can I say.

caseopele · June 2007

Here are more:

http://ardorny.com/propertysearch/rentals_search_details.asp?id=799607

http://ardorny.com/propertysearch/rentals_search_details.asp?id=743055

http://ardorny.com/propertysearch/rentals_search_details.asp?id=303223#

http://ardorny.com/propertysearch/rentals_search_details.asp?id=730694#

http://ardorny.com/propertysearch/rentals_search_details.asp?id=799606#

http://brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=723331

http://brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=722774

http://brownharrisstevens.com/detail.aspx?id=724442

http://www.corcoran.com/property/listing.aspx?Region=NYC&ListingID=1007013&ohDat=

http://www.citi-habitats.com/viewlisting.php?adID=704714&scroll=1

http://www.citi-habitats.com/viewlisting.php?adID=915422&scroll=1

http://www.citi-habitats.com/viewlisting.php?adID=934802&scroll=1

http://www.citi-habitats.com/viewlisting.php?adID=866397&scroll=1

http://www.citi-habitats.com/viewlisting.php?adID=343601&scroll=1

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/359246362.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/fee/359145121.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/abo/359141253.html

http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/fee/359100433.html

armchair_warrior · June 2007

cats should be easier than dogs when looking. I allow both. hehe

faycat · June 2007

Well where are your apts armchair_warrior, ? Hook a sister up!

apt hunting with my cat

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