Pets in Home during Showings

Q - We are selling our home and we have 2 indoor cats.  I want to be sure they don't get out accidentally during showings. Any suggestions?

A - The best suggestion that I can give you is to leave your cats with a neighbor, family or friends during the sale of your home.  Remove the litter box, food dishes and all cat toys.  It may seem harsh but not all people like animals and some may be allergic to animals as well.  So by removing all traces of pets, you have also removed a possible objection.

If that is not your choice, place your cats in a cat carrier and make certain the litter box is clean and out of the way and remove the food dishes from the floor.

The least favorable option is to leave the cats in the house and advise your real estate agent not to let the cats out and also leave a note close to the front door with that message.  Be sure the litter box is clean and odorless. Doing it in this manner sometimes distracts the potential buyers from focusing on the house and instead they focus on the pets and want to ensure that they know their whereabouts so that they don't accidentally let one of them out as they open doors to the outside -- such as checking out the back yard.

When your house is being shown, you don't want the potential buyers to be distracted from their goal -- to purchase a home -- particularly yours.