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[appleaddict]

We have cats. (Not many, just two.) What should we do with them when showing our house? I have thought of putting them in the car and going for a drive, but a two-hour drive during an open house with two cats just is NOT appealing--besides, I need to be working on my dissertation during such stretches of time. Our cats are not allowed outside and so I feel quite uncomfortable with lots of people going in and out of my house with our cats at home, or even a single family during a showing. You never know whether kids will be there and what they will do, perhaps being clueless enough to let the cats outside.

Would crating them be the right idea? Of course, then the people coming through the house would be treated to our angry, caterwauling cats. (They despise being locked up.)

Any ideas?

(Finally, I hope I posted this in the right section. Sorry if I didn't!)

[aristotelian]

If you feel the need to move the pets but also get work done while the house is being shown, a motel or cheap hotel would be an option.  Motel 6 and Holiday Inn among other chains accept pets.

[larryc]

I would stick a big sign "Please don't let the cats out" on the door and be done with it. People are mostly nice and your cats can hide under a bed if they feel uncomfortable.

[trabb]

Going along with what larryc said, will your cats consent to be kept in a single room?  Then you could put on the sign "Cats are in the second bedroom. Please try not to let them out" knowing that if they do escape the bedroom, they probably still won't make it outside.

[wegie]

I've used cats as a selling point in the past. Make sure the fire's on, put on the coffee, and persuade the cats to curl up in front of the fire and look cute. Even the estate agent complimented my cat on his behaviour (no small compliment given that he was known in-house as the furry fiend).

Don't worry about cat haters or people with allergies, for one thing, the latter will never buy the house because they'll start sneezing as soon as they get in the door.

[helpful]

Have you never heard of a kennel? Or having friends who are cat lovers but have no cats take care of them at their house?

[clean]

Make sure that the litterbox is clean.  Catbox odor is particularly bad. Do those other things that people recommend, like baking bread or cookies.  (When my last house was for sale I gained 15 pounds because I quit cooking.  I did not want to have a dirty kitchen or any cooking smells in the house.  Even the smell of beacon can turn off a buyer.  Of course, I was not completely upset that I had to eat at restaurants instead of cooking!)

I would do whatever I could to eliminate the signs of the animals.  Too many people are /think that they are allergic to animals, especially cats.  

I negotiated that the carpets be professionally cleaned as a part of my last house deal because they had a cat.  If you think it is even a potential problem, it would not hurt to have Stanley steamer or whoever, come through.

For what it is worth,

clean

[appleaddict]

Make sure that the litterbox is clean.  Catbox odor is particularly bad. Do those other things that people recommend, like baking bread or cookies.  (When my last house was for sale I gained 15 pounds because I quit cooking.  I did not want to have a dirty kitchen or any cooking smells in the house.  Even the smell of beacon can turn off a buyer.  Of course, I was not completely upset that I had to eat at restaurants instead of cooking!)

I would do whatever I could to eliminate the signs of the animals.  Too many people are /think that they are allergic to animals, especially cats.  

I negotiated that the carpets be professionally cleaned as a part of my last house deal because they had a cat.  If you think it is even a potential problem, it would not hurt to have Stanley steamer or whoever, come through.

For what it is worth,

clean

Actually, this is one of the reasons I want to remove the cats during showings. Not during the whole showing season, mind you, as a couple of posters above seemed to divine from my original post. I don't want to turn off potential buyers. Now, our whole house is wood floors or tile--the only carpet is on the stairs to the basement, and it's new. We do have a few area rugs. I don't foresee the smell being an issue if I remove the cats so there's no evidence (and people don't therefore imagine smells) and put the litter boxes in the garage.

My question was really just what to do with them when someone calls for a showing. Just curious what others do.

Helpful:  Almost all of my friends have dogs (I do not wish to subject my spoiled cats to a dog--they are probably not even aware that dogs exist), and several others are not "animal people." I also do not wish to kennel them for an hour or two at a time-that seems expensive and really traumatic for the cats. Thanks though.

[appleaddict]

Going along with what larryc said, will your cats consent to be kept in a single room?  Then you could put on the sign "Cats are in the second bedroom. Please try not to let them out" knowing that if they do escape the bedroom, they probably still won't make it outside.

Yeah, this would be the obvious plan of action. They are just so contrary to being locked up, although I guess I could do that. (Their contrariness wouldn't bug me, except that they are LOUD when they are ticked!)

[clean]

Is there a park nearby?  Could you put them in a cat carrier or even a much larger dog carrier?  Then you could take them to the park.  You could sit at a picnic table and read/write, and they could look out of the cage at 'the world'.  That would be more productive than driving for 2 hours.

clean

[clean]

Do you have an office at the university?  You may be able to 'smuggle' them in a couple of times before someone complained.  Sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.  You could also do your work as long as they were quiet.

clean

[appleaddict]

Do you have an office at the university?  You may be able to 'smuggle' them in a couple of times before someone complained.  Sometimes it is better to ask forgiveness than permission.  You could also do your work as long as they were quiet.

clean

LOL :) you are full of ideas! Actually, this would be a good idea, if I were teaching somewhere this year. I've been writing full-time and will be starting the TT in the fall, so I have nowhere to go, really, but the car. Which they hate, as I mentioned. Although your idea about a park might be a good one, and I hadn't thought of that.

I am still considering putting them in a big crate (the kind used for dogs) in our basement. They'd be loud and pissed, but they wouldn't get outside. And my mind would be at peace!

[englitprof]

We're dealing with this right now ourselves, and we're pretty much just putting up a sign asking agents/viewers to make sure the outside doors are shut behind them.  I suspect that my cats will head straight under the bed as soon as they realize strangers are in the house.

Clean posted again as I was writing this--not a bad suggestion, as long as it's on the weekend.

[larryc]

Is there a park nearby?  Could you put them in a cat carrier or even a much larger dog carrier?  Then you could take them to the park.  You could sit at a picnic table and read/write, and they could look out of the cage at 'the world'. 

Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.

[appleaddict]

Is there a park nearby?  Could you put them in a cat carrier or even a much larger dog carrier?  Then you could take them to the park.  You could sit at a picnic table and read/write, and they could look out of the cage at 'the world'. 

Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.
Meow.

LOL. It's as though you know my cats personally!

I think I have decided to crate them, individually, with food/water/litter, in the sunroom. Both cats love the sunroom, people will probably only stand out there for a minute or two, any unfortunate events that may happen pertaining to the litter box will be dispersed quickly because of all the screens out there, and best of all, I won't worry that they will get out.