Selling with cats

[NapQueen]

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?

Nonsense. As a buyer, I viewed one flat with two cats in it. The flat was nice, clean, no smell at all, we cuddled the cats The flat had two major issues not related to the cats, otherwise, we would go for it. The only problem I can imagine might be the smell - but it is not a problem of cats alone, it is just a poor cleaning. I really don't think that cats can be a problem.

I insisted on only doing viewings when I was in so that I could make sure the cats didn’t dive through the front door. I didn’t trust the agents as I had a kamikaze cat at the time who would make a beeline for the door when she heard the doorbell, as she thought dancing in the road was marvellous sport.

Fortunately we sold to the first viewer.

We've been viewing and went into several houses with cats lounging on an owner's bed. Not a problem at all, other than the "what do you want in my house" look that you get from cats! We're animal lovers but I guess it might be a problem for people with allergies or who don't like animals.

We have 2 cats and have managed to sell our property without getting rid of them! We have made sure to put the little tray in the garden first thing when we've had viewings in case it smells, and put away their scratching posts, beds, bowls etc. But I would advise putting them outside for viewings just in case viewers have allergies or phobias (yes, we have a friend with a cat phobia!), this is obviously easier if you're doing your own viewings.