Our tenants would like to adopt a kitten.

[Kate K.]

We live and have rentals in northwest suburbs of IL. Our tenants have lived in one of our rental houses for 1 year and 3 months. They are responsible tenants, always are paying their rent on time and keeping up the property in a neat and clean condition. The house we rented out to them has been totally gutted and renovated before we bought it, so our tenants moved in to everything brand new in the house. They had a dog for a short period of time, but house was ok after that. Then they didn't have pets for a while. Today they asked if we would allow them to adopt a kitten. While we do have in our contract that 1 pet under 25 lbs is allowed, we are concerned about cats on our property, as when they urinate in hidden corners, it may not be visible right away but could stink up the house later, requiring extensive restorations. 

So I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions on how to handle this request from our tenants (which is pretty common, a lot of tenants have pets), what to allow them, what limits we should set, and what to be on a look out for, while allowing tenants to have a kitten, and at the same time making sure that our property remains safe and damage free. I thought of putting my response in writing in e-mail and request of them to declaw the kitten, and make sure it uses the litter box, and if there are any damages, they will make sure to pay for the repairs. Anything else we should be aware of?

Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

Kate
  

[Lauren Kormylo]

Declawing is cutting off the fingertips of the cat. Very cruel, and can cause lasting pain and behavior problems In the future. Unless you are supplying the furniture, there’s no reason for you to be concerned about their claws and scratching. Kittens and cats are much better about using the litter box than puppies and dogs are about peeing in the house. I once took in a feral cat who had never been touched by humans or been inside a house. I showed her the litter box and scratched in it. She immediately used it, and always did. Cats do need to be neutered or spayed, so you should insist on that.  

A lot of people charge pet rent. I require a refundable deposit for damage.