landlord cat declaw rant

[cookiebun]

I'm just here to let off a little steam and maybe provide some important information for folks. My husband and I just drove 50 miles to view a rental that we are dying to get into . It would be our own "forever home". We wanted to retire there. It was absolutely perfect. Then we got to the pet policy. They only accept declawed pets. Now before anyone tells me to educate the landlord or offer to put caps an the cat's claws, let me educate all of you a bit about the multifamily home industry. I worked in that industry for 28 years. You can't really try to "educate the landlord" because the person who is showing you the rental is just a very small cog in a very big machine. The person in charge of the property is also simply another small cog. Most rentals in the United States are owned by large mega corporations, many of them multi-national. These are multi-billion dollar operations whose primary goal in not to provide housing, rather it is to provide a good return to their investors. This is true not just for apartment complexes, these companies control millions of houses as well The leasing agent I was dealing with knew that it was total b.s. and not in the cat's interest to be declawed but she could not do anything to accommodate us. Renters who own cats need to band together and somehow brow beat these companies into ending these policies. We need a network of vets willing to provide paper work lying that the cat is declawed or willing to declare that the cat is too medically frail for surgery. People who do not want to pay pet fees are able to get forms online from doctors and psychologists swearing that their pets are "emotional support animals" and not pets. Why doesn't someone step up to the plate and protect our cats from routine torture and mutilation? My husband and I were so angry that they were not upfront about this policy in their ad. We wasted a whole day and put 100 miles on our car. The leasing agent said we MIGHT be able to get in if we got a vet to declare our cat medically frail. We also offered to pay an enormous non refundable pet deposit. I'm so angry about this, I had to post this somewhere. We have to stop this B.S.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. Go down the route of a 'medically frail' cat and see if that helps. But, the thing I want to ask, as I have seen similar posts, is can they actually place a rule like that, or should they be setting up a 'no pets' clause? I have heard that these declaw rules get overruled if taken to court; but, I don't know if that ends up in places establishing a 'no pet' rule instead, which I think is the more legally sound approach.

If you want to do something about it, find out what you can do to set up a campaign for such an endeavor, and spread the word. Little starts can lead to big things. I don't know how to start such a project, but perhaps you could look into it.

Hopefully, some of the other members are aware of such endeavors in this area and can connect you with them.

 

[cookiebun]

don't know if that ends up in places establishing a 'no pet' rule instead,

"don't know if that ends up in places establishing a 'no pet' rule instead, "
That won't happen in a corporately owned rental. Far to much money to be lost. The place were I worked was locally owned when I first started working there. When we went corporate and started accepting dogs with hefty pet fees, we went from 88% occupied with 50% turn over to 98% occupied with 40% turn over. There is simply far too much money be made by allowing pets, especially dogs of all sizes. Then there is also the service animal/emotional support litigation that corporations want to avoid. If you see "no pets" advertised I can just about guarantee this is mom & pop rental operation. Yes, if I remain retired I might make this my cause since I used to work in this industry.

 

[Azazel]

All States should just outright make it illegal to declaw cats. It’s slowly happening across various countries - maybe this should be the cause that we put our energy into.

 

[amethyst]

I think one thing people can do that would make a difference is push for banning declawing, then you can use the law to push back with. The landlord can require you do something that is illegal just to rent the home. More and more places (both individual states as well as entire countries) are banning declawing (along with other animal mutilation), so if people can band together, write into your government representatives to try to get laws passed where you live too.

As to the "emotional support animals", more and more places are luckily cracking down on that. Most areas now you have to get a written letter from your actual mental health doctor that you have been seeing for at least a year stating that you require the animal for your mental health to live a normal life. So landlords can legally ask you for that letter, if you can't provide it they can legally decline your rental application with a pet. An ESA is not a service animal, it's just a glorified pet, a service animal is a medical device that happens to be a highly trained animal, and is legally no different then say a wheelchair or a oxygen tank.

 

[Willow's Mom]

Thank you for posting this. I am a renter too and I must police myself very carefully to avoid losing my temper and saying something that would offend homeowners and appear to be completely over the top.

 

[basscat]

No Pets

 

[KittyFriday]

As to the "emotional support animals", more and more places are luckily cracking down on that. Most areas now you have to get a written letter from your actual mental health doctor that you have been seeing for at least a year stating that you require the animal for your mental health to live a normal life. So landlords can legally ask you for that letter, if you can't provide it they can legally decline your rental application with a pet. An ESA is not a service animal, it's just a glorified pet, a service animal is a medical device that happens to be a highly trained animal, and is legally no different then say a wheelchair or a oxygen tank.

Mini rant of my own, I have a friend whose sister moved with her husband to Germany. They had two cats. Got fake ESA letters for both of them so they could fly them in cabin for free. Sh!t hit the fan and they divorced, so sister had to move back. Was absolutely LIVID she couldn't just register the second cat as her ESA as well and fly both back for free, so left cat in Germany with a friend of a friend until maybe her ex-husband will fly back in the spring (he's in the Army) with said cat and give him back to her. He has a lot of reasons to be very upset with her so he probably won't. Keep in mind she 100% could have brought said cat back in-cabin for a small fee, she just didn't want to pay it. Seriously.

OP, it's interesting that you have so many corporately owned rentals where you are. We have some here, but they're more locally owned companies I think (could be wrong), however, everyone I've rented from for the past 8 or so years has been a private individual. I've been super lucky; in fact, I much prefer it that way as individuals are usually much more willing to work with you on stuff like this and they're often more responsive than the companies!

I hope you are able to find a nice place to rent. That really sucks.

 

[Willow's Mom]

It's all corporate here (capitol city of rural county) except for my own landlord, who is right out of It's A Wonderful Life.

Disability is $900 a month and you can't rent anything for that. There may still be some old timers renting out converted chicken coops, broken down VW buses and the like up in the hills on "Murder Mountain", but they didn't get to keep their land and their freedom by blabbing to every little green rush trimmigrant who has only been in Humboldt since 1998 so I'd never know.

My friend, who is a well-known celebrity's widow in certain circles where the word "environmentalist" isn't an insult, only gets $500 for disability. She had her phone cut off so I don't know if she's still living independently or if her kids put her in an institution somewhere.

She raised them 7 miles from the nearest paved road in the house she built with her husband. They were born at home and homeschooled all the way. She deserves a gold watch and a Mother of the Year award instead of a job at the Amazon warehouse and a place to park her car where she won't be arrested for sleeping.

I think a lot of homeowners aren't aware of how bad things are when they accidentally say things that are outrageously classist and triggering. I know I wouldn't be into researching random irrelevant sad stories if I had a home to decorate and improve and love and care for.

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

This is currently a serious concern of mine right now as we're looking to move. A lot of two family homes are cheaper rent but most of them say to contact manager about pet policy. What if all of them want Neko-chan declawed?

 

[KittyFriday]

This is currently a serious concern of mine right now as we're looking to move. A lot of two family homes are cheaper rent but most of them say to contact manager about pet policy. What if all of them want Neko-chan declawed?

I've had mixed experiences renting with a cat. I had one woman who wasn't concerned about declawing, but was nervous about the litter box and the possibility of cat pee. Less so that she thought my cat would scent everywhere, and more so that she was afraid of stuff being tracked or spilled out of the box.

Do you rent currently? I wonder if you could have your current landlord write you a reference and particularly mention your cat and how it hasn't caused destruction, etc.

 

[Willowy]

Honestly, it seems like landlords have gotten crazier in the past few years. More rules, more restrictions, more requirements. I mean, I never rented but I don't remember any of my friends having that many rules about the apartments they rented. I think there should be laws outlining what landlords can and cannot do, because they'll just keep adding rules until they can kick you out if you don't do a nightly entertainment show for them, lol.

She raised them 7 miles from the nearest paved road in the house she built with her husband. They were born at home and homeschooled all the way.

I know it's OT and we should probably start another thread for it, but how did life turn out for the kids? I'm so torn on the subject.

 

[KittyCat Angel]

How will they know ? I find that rule very unusual.

 

[Willow's Mom]

Honestly, it seems like landlords have gotten crazier in the past few years. More rules, more restrictions, more requirements. I mean, I never rented but I don't remember any of my friends having that many rules about the apartments they rented. I think there should be laws outlining what landlords can and cannot do, because they'll just keep adding rules until they can kick you out if you don't do a nightly entertainment show for them, lol.

I know it's OT and we should probably start another thread for it, but how did life turn out for the kids? I'm so torn on the subject.

There are some homeschooling parents on TCS who would probably like to weigh in too, so I think it's worth a thread. Just be aware that homeschooling is a controversial issue and people have strong feelings about it.

homeschooling

Can we have a civil informational discussion about homeschooling here? It's not in the debate section. People have very strong and diverse opinions about this subject. I've noticed several homeschoolers on the board and @Willowy asked me about how my friend's kids turned out over here...

thecatsite.com

 

[furmonster mom]

How will they know ? I find that rule very unusual.

Oh, they find out.
When they schedule a "maintenance visit". Or when one of the neighbors tattles on you.

I think the only way to do anything about this is, as has been mentioned, to get the laws changed.
If I recall correctly, there are groups who are working on this, but it is slow and tedious. I recall reading about one of the efforts failing at the state level, so they moved down to the city level. Once they got enough cities on board, they planned to move to the county level, then back up to state.

 

[BaileyCat]

We have to stop this B.S.

The PawProject.org is VERY active in outlaw declawing. Maybe they can educate the landlord for you. ??

 

[BaileyCat]

That should have read, "The PawProject.org is very active in helping to get declawing outlawed."

 

[cookiebun]

How will they know ? I find that rule very unusual.

They want a certificate from the vet.

 

[cookiebun]

The PawProject.org is VERY active in outlaw declawing. Maybe they can educate the landlord for you. ??

Please reread the original post. You cannot educate a multibillion dollar corporation who's policymaker is 7 ranks up on the chain of command from the person you are actually dealing with. The person showing you the unit knows the rules are BS but they cannot process your application without the mandated certifications. It's the same as not providing a deposit or proof of income. Your application will go absolutely nowhere until you provide that paper work. In the mean time that unit you fell in love with will be rented out to someone with no pets.

 

[Willow's Mom]

I'm afraid of getting too political, but as a renter I can vouch for the veracity of what cookiebun is saying. While standing in line at the low cost vaccine clinic, I struck up a conversation with a woman who explained that she had to buy a house "for her children's pets" because there were simply no pet-friendly rentals available for them.

Most low income pet owners live in their vehicles these days. Unfortunately, most shelters do not release lost pets to their owners unless the owner has a rental and a letter from the property manasger stating that the corporation allows pets in their rentals.

Therefore, most low income pet owners are well aware that all it takes is one mistake, one harness that is slipped, one leash that breaks, one anonymous phone call from a well-meaning but naive homeowner, and our furbabies go to the gas chamber.

We are not ants and there are a lot more than ten of us. We are human beings. We may not own real estate, but that doesn't make us vermin and it doesn't make us "batteries" to fund the things that (collective) you enjoy just as much as we enjoy doing simple things with our furbabies.

Sadly, we are one of your possible futures. Property taxes are expensive and repairs are expensive and I understand that you are struggling to make your mortgage payments just as we are struggling to make rent. Eventually we might not be able to. Right now you may or may not have some power to change things for your future self.

I think that's kind of the point of venting in public. I'm really glad cookiebun had the courage to post this information.