So cross with TV shows that say cats are dirty! Grrrrr

[glittercat]

We have a few series here in the UK that are about dodgy landlords and / or dodgy tenants.

I am sooo sick of seeing them go into horrible, dirty, smelly disgusting houses and blaming the poor pets - but especially cats.

It's nigh on impossible to rent if you have any pets and it's these programmes that reinforce stereotypes

If people don't look after themselves or where they live, if they don't clean themselves, what chance have their poor animals got?!

There's a programme on now. The person has several cats. The house is an utter, utter pigsty - there are dirty plates of both people and cat food dumped all over. Rotting food left out. Filthy muck all over the kitchen. Cigarette ends and general rubbish everywhere. Empty tins and packets thrown on the floor. Clothes chucked everywhere. The cats have litter trays that have obviously not been cleaned out or scooped for days.

The house itself clearly hasn't been cleaned properly in what looks like years.

And what's the first thing they said when they went in? (landlord and his solicitor person). "oh the smell is because of the cats."

SO CROSS!!! Yes, some of the smell will be the cats but what choice do they have? What about the rotting food and general filth?!

It makes me so angry because landlords mostly now refuse pets so people are either forced to give up beloved companions or end up lying which can invalidate tenancy agreements.

I'm lucky enough to own my property, but who knows what might happen? I can't imagine giving up my lil bubs.

Sorry, rant over - just wanted to get it off my chest!

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[margecat]

Yeah, like the cats dirtied all of those dishes and threw trash all over the place...those shows get me angry.

 

[Norachan]

That makes me furious too. Those poor animals aren't to blame for the conditions they're kept in. They're being neglected and abused!

I have more than 20 cats and my house is always clean because I spend 2 to 4 hours every day cleaning it!

I understand that some elderly or disabled people might have trouble getting around. Some people have mental health issues that make it hard for them to keep on top of the cleaning too. But if you're fit and healthy there is really no excuse.

 

[Margret]

The last time we sold our house (over 30 years ago), people commented on the smell and blamed it on the cat. Now, the fact is, there was no smell! I'd had someone with an excellent sense of smell check, and we were keeping the litter box extremely clean, but people saw it and concluded that the house must smell bad and it must be litter box odors.

We finally figured out that what they were "smelling" was actually the lack of an expected scent - neither my husband nor I were coffee drinkers so there was no scent of coffee in the house. That's when we bought our first coffee maker, and we took to brewing a pot whenever someone was coming over to view the house. Immediately, the complaints about our house smelling bad ceased.

This was a combination of two things, mostly on a subconscious level: The lack of coffee aroma combined with societal convictions that litter boxes are inherently dirty and smelly. But it took both of those things to get the reaction; when we added in the coffee aroma all worries that litter boxes had somehow contaminated the house with an odor that couldn't be removed went away. Humans aren't always rational, and we don't typically analyze what our noses tell us - we just accept it and leap to the most "obvious" conclusion. And you're right, glittercat . Television shows like the ones you describe greatly contribute to the problem. When we were renting, before we could afford to buy a house, the fact that we had cats was always a problem. We even had to temporarily house Sweet Thing with my in-laws for a time, when we couldn't find a place that would allow us to keep her, and we were very fortunate that my in-laws were willing.

Margret

 

[glittercat]

There was one where the woman was an 'influencer on YouTube' whatever the heck that is. So she was posting all these videos of her hair and make up and generally terrific, fabulous and glamorous lifestyle.

Yet she owed a huge amount on rent and when the owners eventually got their house back it was covered in dog mess. They had peed everywhere which had soaked into floors. (yes you might get the odd accident but you clean it up). This had just been left. Again rubbish everywhere, it looked like a bomb had gone off. Can't remember now though if she also had cats...

Now I'm not particularly tidy, but my house is clean and should anyone go somewhere they shouldn't, it would be cleaned up PDQ and if it kept happening I'd look at what I was doing and then they'd be over to the vet.

It's just animal abuse as someone mentioned above - cats are certainly clean and I assume dogs don't like 'going' indoors either!

Margret that's really interesting to read about your experience with people and what they 'expect' to smell!

 

[Margret]

There was one where the woman was an 'influencer on YouTube' whatever the heck that is.

Probably means she had a lot of subscribers to her channel. Like Marmalade and Cole, except not as much fun.

Margret

 

[Furballsmom]

Humans aren't always rational,

For sure!

 

[Jem]

When I was selling my first home, a single wide mobile home, less than 1000 square feet. I had 4 cats at the time and the small spare room was where the litter box was. I was paranoid that my house smelled, because I could smell the litter box, but what I could smell was the actual litter, it was the smell of the clay...not pee or poop. I have a sensitive nose though.
The cat litter room would have been the second to last room people would look at due to how the house was set up, so unless they noticed the cats they would not have a preconception of what my house was supposed to smell like. We got several compliments on how well it showed...not once did we get a negative comment about the cats or smell. AND, one of ours cats did have an issue with litter avoidance due to crystals...Our house sold in less than a month, in a niche market (mobile homes) while it was a slow selling season...with 4 other homes in the park I was in for sale at the same time. So It couldn't have been bad.

 

[lorie d.]

We have a few series here in the UK that are about dodgy landlords and / or dodgy tenants.

I am sooo sick of seeing them go into horrible, dirty, smelly disgusting houses and blaming the poor pets - but especially cats.

It's nigh on impossible to rent if you have any pets and it's these programmes that reinforce stereotypes

If people don't look after themselves or where they live, if they don't clean themselves, what chance have their poor animals got?!

There's a programme on now. The person has several cats. The house is an utter, utter pigsty - there are dirty plates of both people and cat food dumped all over. Rotting food left out. Filthy muck all over the kitchen. Cigarette ends and general rubbish everywhere. Empty tins and packets thrown on the floor. Clothes chucked everywhere. The cats have litter trays that have obviously not been cleaned out or scooped for days.

The house itself clearly hasn't been cleaned properly in what looks like years.

And what's the first thing they said when they went in? (landlord and his solicitor person). "oh the smell is because of the cats."

SO CROSS!!! Yes, some of the smell will be the cats but what choice do they have? What about the rotting food and general filth?!

It makes me so angry because landlords mostly now refuse pets so people are either forced to give up beloved companions or end up lying which can invalidate tenancy agreements.

I'm lucky enough to own my property, but who knows what might happen? I can't imagine giving up my lil bubs.

Sorry, rant over - just wanted to get it off my chest!

People who live like this either have health problems that make it difficult to care for themselves, their home, or their pets or they might be just plain lazy. It's a shame that there are programs like this because it makes all the responsible pet owners look bad too.

 

[aliceneko]

This! What irks me as well is when people say "you wouldn't even treat a dog/cat in that way" whenever someone on tv shows is mistreated. It shouldn't be the norm to treat animals poorly.