If you want to live an apartment but you don’t want to give up your current pet or even want to get a new pet or not deal with ridiculously high pet fees then there are ways that you can get around this so you don’t get in trouble with your landlord. here is how I would go about doing all of this.
Why Apartments Ban Pets
Its very frustrating when you are looking for a place and a lot of them seem to have this rule but the reason that landlords don’t allow pets in their properties is because of the noise, odor or damage liabilities they could potentially deal with. They may also not want pets there because the building could also be historical and they don’t they want the risk of damaging the building or some special situation that concluded them to not allow pets.
How To Sneak A Cat Into Your Apartment
Obviously the first thing you want to do is get your cat there in the first place. You want to sneak them in when there is no one around which is usually around very early morning or evening and carry them in some type of bag that doesn’t look like a cat carrier. You could even use a purse if your cat is small enough. You want to do it this way because you cat could start meowing which could give you away and someone might want to visit you during other times (like a neighbor for instance).
It also gives you some time to settle your cat in your apartment. Its also a very good idea to not tell anyone living there that you have a cat as well as they can report you.
How To Keep A Cat Quiet In An Apartment
If you have a cat that is just naturally noisy there really isn’t a way to stop them from meowing but you can train them to be quieter. The best way to do this is to simply ignore their meows if they want something. After some time they will meow at you less.
How To Hide A Cat During Inspection
Some times your landlord with do a surprise inspection of your apartment to see if everything is the way it should be. Here are some things that I would do when this happens.
1: Move Your Cat To Your Car
The best way to make sure that your landlord doesn’t know you have a cat is to move them to your car and have your friend watch them. They are there to check your apartment but not your car. You also want to move their litter box, toys and any other cat related things in your car as well.
2: Clean Your House
If your landlord is doing an inspection you definitely need to clean your house because they can leave an odor behind. You especially want to clean the litter box as that gives off the worst odor. Spray everything down, clean all the cat hair of your furniture and wash anything that you can to remove any indication that you own a pet.
Does Maintenance Report Pets In Apartments?
Yes and no. The truth is most of the time maintenance guys rarely know what is on your lease so they will just assume that pets are allow in your apartment. Many people have told me that the maintenance guys have seen their pets and they were fine. They could however know the landlord and can be told to specifically check for pets so there is a chance you could get reported for having a pet as well.
Your best bet is to hide your pet or any cat related things whenever they come to your apartment just to be safe.
Some Things To Consider
This is something that you can do and even if you get caught the landlord might work with you such as asking you to get rid of the pet, paying a pet deposit or a monthly pet fee but some will not and evict you which can hurt your chances of renting another apartment so its a very risky thing to do. Not only that you could have to pay a large fine which is per pet.
It will also be awkward having your cat live with you in the apartment if maintenance is around because if they spot your cat there is a chance you could get reported for having a pet that isn’t supposed to be there.
Even with maintenance men not around your neighbors could possibly hear your cats meowing or even moving around and knocking things over which if they do can also get you potentially reported.
Final Tips To Keeping Your Cats Hidden From Landlords
- Keep your cats away from windows
- Keep cat furniture to a minimum
- Reduce smell from the litter box as much as you can
- Don’t let your cat be too noisy or have any noisy cat toys around
- Show a lack in interest of pets to anyone you know at the complex
Conclusion
Overall, you can keep a cat in your apartment and never be caught but I don’t suggest doing this and would recommend renting a place that allows pets. However, if you really care about your cat that much, are willing to take the risk of possibly having to move out, dealing with the other issues that come with it and don’t want to deal with pet fees then I would say go for it.
