Rentals why no cats?

[Ryan Johnson]

My wife and I are cross-shopping rentals and buying. Leaning more towards renting though. My question is this... We are very meticulous people. We have the nicest looking home on our street, greenest grass, tidiest yard. The inside of our place is pristine. My wife on the other hand loves her cats. In all seriousness our cats have never ripped, torn or damaged anything in our home. They like 99% of household cats use a litter box and have never had an accident outside of their litter box. They don't stink or smell and we've tested this with friends that don't like cats and are sensitive to smells.

Unfortunately we are walking away from our beautiful home because it is severely underwater. We would expect to keep a rental in the same pristine condition as our current home and wish to take a long term lease out 3-4 years.

The funny thing is we are having a hard time finding a "nice" place to rent that will allow us to bring our two cats. What gives....???? Honestly one toddler does more damage to a home than two cats. Why are renters so reluctant to rent to cats owners?

We found a nice home that we would love to rent today but the owner said they have turned numerous potential renters away because of their pets. They are holding out for someone with no pets. Seems like there are fewer people out there without pets.

We were even willing to let the owners see how we presently keep our current home as proof we would insist on maintaining their property in similar fashion but they were still strict.

I understand why someone would not want to rent to dog owners. Dogs eat wood fencing, the stucco siding on homes, chew up drip lines, dig holes, kill grass when they pee in the yard. Have accidents on rugs and carpeting. But Cats??? Cats are often more meticulous than humans.

Just venting but if anyone can help me figure out why landlords are so picky about cats maybe it will help me.

Thanks in advance.