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Original poster

Selling with cats

29 replies

NapQueen · 02/05/2018 17:51

All the advice Im seeing online says to get rid of the cats for the time the house is on the market until its sold. Is that really what cat owners do??

And to put them away in a cat basket for viewings. One site even suggested taking them in to work for the day.

Please tell me I can sell my house without resorting to any of the above?

OP posts:

SneakyGremlins · 02/05/2018 17:52

I'd be leaving the cats where they are

sdaisy26 · 02/05/2018 18:08

I sent mine to a friend's when we had our viewings but we did it through an open day so was easier than different viewings on different days. And luckily we sold on that day.

She is the kind of cat that will come up to people & have a chat though so I felt it was best for her not to be there to put off non cat lovers.

Lonecatwithkitten · 02/05/2018 18:09

My cats have always observed viewers with a look of disdain, this has never stopped a property selling.

CarefullyDrawnMap · 02/05/2018 18:13

At a couple of houses we looked at we were actually shown around by the cat - they took us around the whole house and garden It was really nice and made us more favourably disposed to the houses, if anything. And when we showed our house, the people who bought it commented on our cats, who'd been asleep in one of the rooms when they were shown round.

I suppose if people don't like cats it might put them off but I don't think the cats should be penalised. It's always nice to see them pop up in the photos on rightmove etc too.

CarefullyDrawnMap · 02/05/2018 18:15

I should make it clear the cats that showed us round didn't actually talk or anything, they just poddled along with us.

Ginorchoc · 02/05/2018 18:17

Don’t actually talk

Ginorchoc · 02/05/2018 18:17

*didn’t

FostersHomeForImaginaryFriends · 02/05/2018 18:17

Following as I'm really nervous about this. We have two indoor cats who absolutely cannot be let out.

GivenAndDenied · 02/05/2018 18:17

When we sold our last house, we did it complete with several cats, and several dogs, plus small cage animals.

I did take the dogs out of the house for each viewing, and made sure soft furnishings were either freshly washed or put in black bags in the cupboards. I changed the cat tray before each visit, disinfected the garden with a nice smelling disinfectant where the dogs had been. I must have gone through a small fortune in shake'n'vac - which I used before each viewing. I also had a plug in air freshener turned up high! Basically I made sure the house was absolutely pristine, not a smear on the windows in sight, no unnecessary pet stuff lying around, and that it didn't smell like a pet owners house. I really went out of my way. And it must have worked, because it sold to the third person to view, within 2 weeks - the first two didn't offer for reasons that had nothing to do with the pets, and the final buyer was not an animal person - so it can't have been too bad. I did ask agent to give me an honest opinion of the smell/state, and he said it was great. It did mean that I asked the agent for a minimum of an hours notice on viewings, so I could rush round and do everything before going out the door with the dogs - the last time, I could see the front door open as I went out the back gate!

So, to answer your question, no you don't have to move your cats out. But you may well have to make extra effort to make sure that your house isn't animalish to non-animal people.

GivenAndDenied · 02/05/2018 18:19

Fosters - our cats are all indoor cats. It comes down to picking the right agent, who will follow your instructions, and making sure the agents have it written on your notes very clearly that the cats are not to be let out. We had no problems at all.

Potentialmadcatlady · 02/05/2018 18:20

FostersHome... mine are the same and they are ‘in your face’ cats so I couldn’t leave them wandering around.. I put them together in their big carrier and put it in the car when viewers were coming.. kept them safe and happy and away from viewers

AwkwardPaws27 · 02/05/2018 18:56

We debated it and put them out in the garden hoping they'd stay there... Our big ginger cat dived through a first-floor window mid-viewing, having climbed up onto the extension. I'm told it was hilarious, although the viewer didn't seem to think so
In future I'd let them just chill out indoors, they'd probably sleep through it.

AgnesSkinner · 02/05/2018 19:20

We’ve sold with cats - we hid away litter trays / beds / bowls etc during viewings but left the cats in situ. We did our own viewings, one cat always hid under a bed and the other one just slept through everything.

Kismett · 02/05/2018 19:51

We have one very friendly indoor cat and showed our tiny home ourselves. Someone still bought it, and no one visibly put off by the cat (they may have just been polite).

I used to dislike cats, and I’ve looked at a lot of houses (moved a lot). The only time t put me off was when there was giant cat furniture and cat hair (and five cats) everywhere.

I suggest warning people though, as even one cat can set off allergies.

Graduate223 · 02/05/2018 20:06

Isn’t it usually advised to send dogs away for the day, not cats! That would be ridiculous. Cats make a house a home in my opinion.

Topsyloulou · 02/05/2018 20:09

We've just accepted an offer on our house. We have two cats, they were around for every viewing as despite me putting them out before the viewing they always snuck in as soon as the door was open! They were in the photographs the agent took too. We had lots of positive comments on the cats and one man spent the whole viewing stroking the cat who followed him into every room.

Just make sure the bowls are clean / tidied away. Same with beds. I'd get rid of the litter trays for viewings if you have them, we don't.

Ilovewillow · 02/05/2018 20:14

We've sold all our houses with cats in situ. I removed all of their bowls etc for the photos and wouldn't have left food down during viewings but other than that not an issue. I think they make the place look homely. Maybe let the agent know you have cats just in case you get an allergic viewer!

DairyisClosed · 02/05/2018 20:15

There is no point in hinting them during the cueing unless you can do a biohazard cleam before each viewing. We actively avoid houses with cats (bad allergy) and can tell immediately if there had been a cat in the house at any point in the last six months.

squadronleader87 · 02/05/2018 20:19

We did our own viewings and the cat stayed around as normal. We did move the food/scratching post etc to the garage when people came around but that’s it. He made himself scarce for the photos.

We’ve viewed places with dogs, cats and chickens and never given it a second thought.

Usuallytootiredbuthappyanyway · 02/05/2018 20:21

I’m buying (fingers crossed) a place at the moment and the owner has a cat. I loved it being there when I did my viewings, tbh I’d be happy if the cat stayed!

OliviaStabler · 02/05/2018 20:23

I was worried for a moment that you were selling the cats with the house

SouthwarkSkaters · 02/05/2018 23:19

We have two indoor cats and sold last July. For the first viewing, I put the litter trays in the car but left the cats. The agent lost one cat.
From then on, either DH or I would have the cats in their carriers out of the house for the viewings - luckily we only had 5 before we sold.

Original poster

NapQueen · 03/05/2018 07:38

Thanks everyone.

Glad to hear it can be done, and I dont need to rehouse the cats. They have free access indoor and out, and an outdoor cat litter tray which will be freshly cleaned before each viewing.

OP posts:

echt · 03/05/2018 08:47

I thought the cats had stake in the sale money.:o

theunsure · 03/05/2018 08:55

I'm in the process of moving, we have 3 cats - house sold within 3 weeks.
Like others we removed all the cat items for the photos as part of the general de-cluttering you do anyway (although 1 cat managed to get in to one picture).

For the viewings we also removed as many toys, blankets, beds and bowls as possible and the litter tray went into the garage for the viewings we were there for.

We also have free range chickens pecking at the back door but the buyers of our house seemed to like them so actually I think they helped sell it!

Didn't cause us any issues and animals don't put me off any property either.

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