Man Finds Out Everyone In His Apartment Building Has A Cat Even Though It’s Not Allowed, People Are Sharing Their Pet Hiding Stories
Having a pet makes you feel less lonely and reduces stress, among other fun parts of owning them. But what is not fun is finding an apartment to rent that allows you to have animals living with you, as many landlords don’t trust people with making sure their pets don’t damage their property.
But living without pets is boring and sad, so even though people are told that no pets are allowed, they still sneak in a hamster or a cat, but just don’t tell the landlord about it. While your pet can be well-behaved and quiet, neighbors may still find out about it and snitch about them, but that is not what happened to thomas violence, who shared on Twitter how he found out about the secret pets in his apartment building.
More info: Twitter
Many rentals don’t allow pets but this Twitter user found out that doesn’t stop people from keeping them anyway
Image credits: Reg Natarajan (not the actual photo)
Twitter user thomas violence has 84.5k followers and is one of the creators of the podcast Boonta Vista. He has a dog named Louis (aka Louie) and judging from the photos, he is quite a big boy. That doesn’t say anything about the dog, just that it is harder to hide him, as thomas violence lives in an apartment building where having pets is forbidden.
He once confided to a friendly neighbor that he was worried someone would complain about Louie to the landlord, but turns out that his worries were in vain, because every single person living in the 7-unit apartment complex had a cat and he was the only one without one.
Image credits: thomas_violence
Image credits: thomas_violence
Twitter user thomas violence has a dog named Louis, but his apartment building doesn’t allow pets
Image credits: thomas_violence
Image credits: thomas_violence
The Twitter user only had Louis over sometimes, as his landlord permitted it, but the dog also has another home. But the owner didn’t want anyone to take the time he spends with his pet at home away. Apparently, he has nothing to worry about.
The tweet went viral with over 174k likes and judging from the responses, having secret pets is more common than you would think. People in the comments started sharing that they too keep secret pets despite their landlord living next door, or even hiding a pet in their room while living with parents.
Image credits: thomas_violence
Image credits: thomas_violence
The dog comes to stay from time to time because his landlord allowed it
Image credits: deejbah
Image credits: CansRDefective
As mentioned in the beginning, having a pet can improve your quality of life. Obviously they are great companions and will improve your emotional state by making you feel less lonely, and having something to take care of that is dependent on you makes you feel like you have a purpose.
Research by HABRI showed that having a pet means you have to create a routine, which provides security and a sense of order as well as a distraction.
Image credits: ChrisMBondi
But he was still worried that neighbors could snitch on him to corporate
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Not only do pets help improve mental health, but if you have an active animal like a dog and need to walk it and let it get rid of its energy, owning one helps with physical health as well. Pets mostly are beneficial to the heart and dog owners tend to be less likely to get obese.
In addition to that, if you have kids, pets help them develop as people. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry points out that “A good relationship with a pet can also help in developing non-verbal communication, compassion, and empathy.”
Kids will talk with the animals and they become their secret bearers, and pets “provide lessons about life, including reproduction, birth, illnesses, accidents, death, and bereavement.” Taking care of an animal teaches them responsibility and helps create a routine and teaches them to stick with it. Additionally, they may feel more connected to nature.
The dog owner opened up about his worries to a neighbor and found out that he was surrounded by secret cats all this time
Image credits: Richard Gillin (not the actual photo)
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Image credits: Kingstons101
Image credits: misskylie77
Of course, a pet is a big responsibility and is not realistic to have for all people. They require financial resources, having to plan your life around them, having to deal with occasional destruction of the house, not to mention, some people are allergic to them.
Despite that, a lot of people decide to have pets even though they rent an apartment that doesn’t allow them or may charge them more if they decide to move in with one. The main reason landlords don’t want animals living in their property is because of the potential damage they can cause and they might fear complaints from the neighbors.
Actually, he was the only one in the building without a cat
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Image credits: DemianeukTania
According to the law offices Stimmel, Stimmel & Roeser, in the US, “Landlords have the right to prohibit pets of any kind on their leased premises and also have the right to allow some pets but not others. Thus, a landlord can allow dogs but not cats, or dogs but only if less than a certain number or size, etc. In some states, a landlord can even insist that the dog or cat be spayed or neutered.” Of course, it doesn’t include service dogs.
On the other hand, the UK is planning to confirm a ‘Renting Reform Bill’ which would “legislate to ensure landlords do not unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge a decision.” Bored Panda talked about this amendment to the Tenant Fees Act 2019 in an article you can find here.
Turns out, secret cats and other pets are actually quite common because people can’t abandon their pets just because they can’t find a pet-friendly place to rent
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Do you think more countries should follow the UK’s example? Have you had trouble finding a new place to rent just because you have a pet? Have you ever hidden the fact that you have a pet from a landlord because they wouldn’t allow it? Share your experiences and thoughts on the topic in the comments!
Not a secret exactly, more a work around the rules. A chap moved to retirement accommodation where you could take an existing dog but when it died you couldn't get another one. Well he arrived with a border collie, who apparently lived 27 years, changed colour twice and sex once....
Yep us too. We live with 3 cats that magically changed colors, sex, and age.
Load More Replies... I had a secret cat years ago. I found a stuffed animal that looked just like him which I kept on a windowsill. Whenever the landlord said he saw a cat in the window I showed him the stuffed one and convinced him that’s what he saw.
My apartment manager would pet my fluffy white Persian kitty and then say, "I don't see the pretty kitty!" She would also let me know when the owner was coming by so I could keep Jasper in the bedroom so he wouldn't hang out in the front window and be seen.
Shoot I've been hiding my four cats for about 3 years in my apt complex lol
Hahaha nice! I’ve been hiding 2 for almost a year! My downstairs neighbour has a secret puppy so she doesn’t snitch on me when the cats knocking things off shelves at 3:00am :)
Load More Replies...
My cat doesn't consider himself a pet. It's more of a master/ servant thing. And I'm damn sure not the master.
I had a secret dog for a year because I couldn't afford the pet deposit; rent was already bleeding me dry. He was the only thing that kept me going during a time when my depression was the worst it had ever been. (He's still alive, I'm just not horrifically depressed anymore!)
Is he still living with you? Or just not a secret any more
Load More Replies...
In Germany landlords need a drastical reason for prohibiting pets like cats or smaller ones, only dogs may be forbidden in the rental contract. Here such a drastical reason might be if the landlord lives in the same house and has a massive allergy, even cat hair from pure indoor cats/smaller pets can end up on the stairways or in the elevator.
It’s illegal to reject people with kids (still happens). I see why pets are an issue as there is a percentage of people who are nasty & don’t keep pet homes clean
Load More Replies...
I went to look at a no pets apartment once. There was a cat in every window. I had just let my former roommate take my cat because she was a litter mate with his cat, and he was able to keep them together. I was heartbroken, but it was the right thing. I mentioned while he was showing me the place, which was an awesome place, that it was supposed to be no pets, but I had seen all the cats, and he said "Well EVERYONE has a cat!". It was a great place.
That's not a cat you see in the window, it's just my stuffed animal! Of course it moves, it's a very expensive animatronic ;)
Load More Replies...
I have "secret" cats the the landlords find out when we are trying to move and new renters come to look. Some complain that they are worried about the damage but are surprised when nothing is damaged when we leave (of course, they make up something to keep some extra cash). In our recent apartment, our kids have done far more damage to the wallpaper thab anything. Why be okay to rent to families with young kids but not pets if you are worried about damage?
The housing development my mom lives in allows 1 pet per household. She has 1 legit cat and 2 secret cats. Her defense is the cat flap in the back door. If anyone says anything (and no one ever has) she'll just tell them that the extras must have "just wandered in" through the cat flap.
My landlord charged me $1,300 for JUST the pet deposit (move-in was $4,000). $1,300 for JUST one cat. I had 3 at the time I moved in. Sadly one of them passed away December 2021, so now down to two. Have had 2-3 annual inspections, and I bring one of the cats (at one point 2 of them) to my SO’s house for a couple of hours until landlord leaves. Landlord says I’ve been doing an outstanding job maintaining the place. I keep it immaculately clean and the cats do not destroy anything. So he can shove it.
I had a secret cat. The owner was a tyrant about a lot of things, but never once mentioned the cat. He was a good boy and never made a mess and when we left, the apartment was in better shape than when we moved in 9 years before. Unlike the lady across the hall with the 3 kids who destroyed the apartment. They even etched stuff into the mirrors in the bathrooms!!!
When my apartment was taken over by a property management company my first question was can I get a dog? Next was are there breed restrictions? I was told yes to the dog and no to the restrictions. I rescued my sweet Ursula a few months later. They came to do the inspection and Ursula nervous peed when the property manager went to pet her. He said to send him a copy of our key and that'd be the deposit. Ok score. Another property management company took over about two years later and ursula is now a hidden dog🤷
Not a secret exactly, more a work around the rules. A chap moved to retirement accommodation where you could take an existing dog but when it died you couldn't get another one. Well he arrived with a border collie, who apparently lived 27 years, changed colour twice and sex once....
Yep us too. We live with 3 cats that magically changed colors, sex, and age.
Load More Replies... I had a secret cat years ago. I found a stuffed animal that looked just like him which I kept on a windowsill. Whenever the landlord said he saw a cat in the window I showed him the stuffed one and convinced him that’s what he saw.
My apartment manager would pet my fluffy white Persian kitty and then say, "I don't see the pretty kitty!" She would also let me know when the owner was coming by so I could keep Jasper in the bedroom so he wouldn't hang out in the front window and be seen.
Shoot I've been hiding my four cats for about 3 years in my apt complex lol
Hahaha nice! I’ve been hiding 2 for almost a year! My downstairs neighbour has a secret puppy so she doesn’t snitch on me when the cats knocking things off shelves at 3:00am :)
Load More Replies... My cat doesn't consider himself a pet. It's more of a master/ servant thing. And I'm damn sure not the master.
I had a secret dog for a year because I couldn't afford the pet deposit; rent was already bleeding me dry. He was the only thing that kept me going during a time when my depression was the worst it had ever been. (He's still alive, I'm just not horrifically depressed anymore!)
Is he still living with you? Or just not a secret any more
Load More Replies... In Germany landlords need a drastical reason for prohibiting pets like cats or smaller ones, only dogs may be forbidden in the rental contract. Here such a drastical reason might be if the landlord lives in the same house and has a massive allergy, even cat hair from pure indoor cats/smaller pets can end up on the stairways or in the elevator.
It’s illegal to reject people with kids (still happens). I see why pets are an issue as there is a percentage of people who are nasty & don’t keep pet homes clean
Load More Replies... I went to look at a no pets apartment once. There was a cat in every window. I had just let my former roommate take my cat because she was a litter mate with his cat, and he was able to keep them together. I was heartbroken, but it was the right thing. I mentioned while he was showing me the place, which was an awesome place, that it was supposed to be no pets, but I had seen all the cats, and he said "Well EVERYONE has a cat!". It was a great place.
That's not a cat you see in the window, it's just my stuffed animal! Of course it moves, it's a very expensive animatronic ;)
Load More Replies... I have "secret" cats the the landlords find out when we are trying to move and new renters come to look. Some complain that they are worried about the damage but are surprised when nothing is damaged when we leave (of course, they make up something to keep some extra cash). In our recent apartment, our kids have done far more damage to the wallpaper thab anything. Why be okay to rent to families with young kids but not pets if you are worried about damage?
The housing development my mom lives in allows 1 pet per household. She has 1 legit cat and 2 secret cats. Her defense is the cat flap in the back door. If anyone says anything (and no one ever has) she'll just tell them that the extras must have "just wandered in" through the cat flap.
My landlord charged me $1,300 for JUST the pet deposit (move-in was $4,000). $1,300 for JUST one cat. I had 3 at the time I moved in. Sadly one of them passed away December 2021, so now down to two. Have had 2-3 annual inspections, and I bring one of the cats (at one point 2 of them) to my SO’s house for a couple of hours until landlord leaves. Landlord says I’ve been doing an outstanding job maintaining the place. I keep it immaculately clean and the cats do not destroy anything. So he can shove it.
I had a secret cat. The owner was a tyrant about a lot of things, but never once mentioned the cat. He was a good boy and never made a mess and when we left, the apartment was in better shape than when we moved in 9 years before. Unlike the lady across the hall with the 3 kids who destroyed the apartment. They even etched stuff into the mirrors in the bathrooms!!!
When my apartment was taken over by a property management company my first question was can I get a dog? Next was are there breed restrictions? I was told yes to the dog and no to the restrictions. I rescued my sweet Ursula a few months later. They came to do the inspection and Ursula nervous peed when the property manager went to pet her. He said to send him a copy of our key and that'd be the deposit. Ok score. Another property management company took over about two years later and ursula is now a hidden dog🤷
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