Cat Damage and I didn't pay the pet deposit

[Warpnow]

So, I moved into an apartment a few months ago with my girlfriend. She wanted to get two cats...we could nowhere near afford the pet deposit. Nowhere near. Paying it would have meant starving, so we didn't. I was very opposed to getting the cats, but we did in the end.

I woke up today and they've torn up a small section of carpet by one of the doors, right by the metal strip. Its probably three or four inches by two inches.

Anyone know if this can be repaired? If not, any idea what the apartment complex will do when I move out and they see the damage? Just keep my current deposit? My current deposit is only $150, which I guess I could afford to lose...

My real worry though is of them trying to sue me for damages. What kind of a chance do you think there is of that?

[uberdonkey5]

ok, this is maybe not the best advice, but I once lived in an apartment which we completely trashed...

I accidently ripped the toilet out
A friend broke two glass table tops
I put my foot through a door
The walls were covered in beer stains
...


just before leaving I made sure toilet was bolted back down properly, friend bought two new glass table tops cheaply, we washed the beer stains from the walls, and I removed the wooden veneer from behind a wardrobe and grafted it on the the (thin) wooden door to make a reasonable match.

Basically, your cats could well do this again. 1st thing to do is to prevent more damage from your cats. 2nd thing to do is work out what is cheapest.. a repair, replacement or insurance (how expensive can that have been! insurance companies are a rip off anyway... they hardly ever pay out for anything so mostly its a waste of money getting insurance - I boycott all insurance that I don't legally need).

.. in summary, if you can't repair it and you can't afford to repair it, its betting risking to hide it.. hang-on, its not MY HOUSE you're talking about is it?? I'll be round in 5 to check.

[RabbitWho]

Well once I lived in an apartment in Ireland with a heater I never once used. When I moved out the landlord refused to give back the deposit because he claimed I had broken the heater.
So we took him to civil court, in Ireland there's a special branch for dealing with housing claims called the PRTB, because I did not get a solicitor to write him a letter saying I was moving out (I had rung him on the phone two months before hand to say so and he said that was okay.) he was not legally obligated to return the deposit.
Because I could not prove I had never used the heater I had to pay for it.
All in all it cost me about 600 euro. the price of the heater easily fit in to the price of the deposit, but for some reason I had to pay for that extra, when I always believed the whole point of the deposit was to cover damages.
The moral of the story is never take your landlord to court because the ods are weighed against you.

Dunno if that's relevant to your case though!

[uberdonkey5]

ah, you see the problem in law usually comes down to proof. YOU had to show that HE had to return the deposit. Many landlords are dodgy...

in the last month STOP THE LAST PAYMENT. Then, when he enquires, just say deposit should cover it, but you will pay for any damages (assuming the deposit is the same as a months rent). I think its best to be as fair as possible, BUT you need the power in your hands. In this way, HE HAS TO ASK YOU SPECIFICALLY FOR DAMAGES and has to take YOU to court if there is a problem (defence is much easier than trying to take someone else to court). In the UK law landlords can't evict you for 3 months (I think.. maybe its 6), thus one month is no problem.

[blueshiftoverwatch]

I woke up today and they've torn up a small section of carpet by one of the doors, right by the metal strip. Its probably three or four inches by two inches.
If it's only a small section of carpet maybe you could glue it back down with contact adhesive. All hobby stores should carry it.

[Warpnow]

If it's only a small section of carpet maybe you could glue it back down with contact adhesive. All hobby stores should carry it.

Its not that they've pulled it up off the ground, its that they've shredded it. That part of the carpet is now a bunch of strands that would fit through a sift.

[blueshiftoverwatch]

Its not that they've pulled it up off the ground, its that they've shredded it. That part of the carpet is now a bunch of strands that would fit through a sift.
Oh, I was thinking that you had the kind of carpet where all of the carpetting is one strand and your cats just pulled out a strand of carpetting that could be sort of put back in.

[koenn]

get rid of the cats before you run out of carpet.

[norm7446]

Can you not go to a carpet shop and ask for a sample book to look at. Cut a section from the sample that matches your carpet with a sharp craft knife*. Then patch the section that the cats have shredded. Job Done.

My Mother always had cat's and if any of them did this she would put down Cayenne pepper in that area as cat's do not like it and then associate that area with the pepper and will stay away from it.

* Remember kiddies. Only adult's should use sharp knifes, as they are very dangerous.

[The Real Dave]

Its not that they've pulled it up off the ground, its that they've shredded it. That part of the carpet is now a bunch of strands that would fit through a sift.

Find a piece of carpet roughly the right colour, cut it to the right size, and stick it down there :) Then buy a cheap ornament or something, and pop it over it :) The ornament will keep it out of sight out of mind, and the carpet patch should defend against a glance :) Would this work in your situation?

Edit-Its next to the door? Forget the ornament thing than. Maybe a mat? How often does anyone look at the ground near a door anyway?

[RabbitWho]

Its not that they've pulled it up off the ground, its that they've shredded it. That part of the carpet is now a bunch of strands that would fit through a sift.


Aha! You didn't get them a scratching post did you? it's like locking someone in a room without a toilet and being surprised when they make a mess on the floor.
Cats need to scratch, it's a biological imperative, their claws grow in layers like onions, the top layer needs to be worn down or peeled off every day, otherwise
No. 1 they wouldn't have sharp claws and they'd be very sad.
No. 2. they'd be as silly in evolutionary terms as their inferiors, Dogs, who have to walk all the time or go to the vet to get their nails clipped or they end up with terrible painful ingrown toe nails.

[Warpnow]

The section of carpet is near the metal strip that keeps it to the floor. Less than an inch. I had an idea of replacing the metal strip with a thicker one, and cutting away the carpet that is shredded.

I don't have any experience with carpet, but I think this idea has merit.

[tele_mark]

If you coudn't affort a et deposit, wt made you think you could afford pets in the first place?

[wojox]

The section of carpet is near the metal strip that keeps it to the floor. Less than an inch. I had an idea of replacing the metal strip with a thicker one, and cutting away the carpet that is shredded.

I don't have any experience with carpet, but I think this idea has merit.

That might work. You really need a knee kicker to push the carpet back up and re-hook it to the metal.

[Warpnow]

If you coudn't affort a et deposit, wt made you think you could afford pets in the first place?

Just because I can't afford $300 then doesn't mean I couldn't afford $5/month in food and $10/month in litter for a year, even if they add up to be similar amounts of money. In effect, I could afford the cat, but only barely.

[RabbitWho]

I don't have any experience with carpet.

I like this sentence.

[RabbitWho]

Just because I can't afford $300 then doesn't mean I couldn't afford $5/month in food and $10/month in litter for a year, even if they add up to be similar amounts of money. In effect, I could afford the cat, but only barely.

What happens if the cat's leg gets caught in a slamming door (for example) and needs to be amputated? that costs about 120 euro at home. What happens if one of them gets cancer and needs a course of long term treatment? You just going to throw them out?

[MoebusNet]

@ Warpnow:

I hope this occurred by an exterior door, since carpet is often rain/wear damaged in this area.

Cut the carpet back from the door (say cut out about the width of the door wide by the width of the door back from the wall) exposing the flooring under the carpet. Obtain a piece of linoleum flooring slightly larger than the hole you've created and install (glue) it so the carpet slightly overlaps the edges of the linoleum. Obtain carpet edging strips to hold the new carpet edges in place. Now when you open your door, there will be a small area of linoleum flooring in the door before you walk on the carpet. If you do a neat, professional appearing job, the landlord may think it was always like that. You can always place a doormat inside the door to further disguise the situation.

[tjwoosta]

Sounds like you have some really crappy carpeting if the cats tore it up overnight. Our cats dig at our carpet all the time, but it doest show any signs of wear at all. And we've had the cats for three years.

I would probably keep the cats hidden from the landlord and tell him/her it got caught up in the vacuum cleaner when you were cleaning or something unrelated to pets. If you play it right you could probably even get the landlord to fix it. ;)

-- If you attempt this and get caught I can't be held responsible.

[Exodist]

So, I moved into an apartment a few months ago with my girlfriend. She wanted to get two cats...we could nowhere near afford the pet deposit. Nowhere near. Paying it would have meant starving, so we didn't. I was very opposed to getting the cats, but we did in the end.

I woke up today and they've torn up a small section of carpet by one of the doors, right by the metal strip. Its probably three or four inches by two inches.

Anyone know if this can be repaired? If not, any idea what the apartment complex will do when I move out and they see the damage? Just keep my current deposit? My current deposit is only $150, which I guess I could afford to lose...

My real worry though is of them trying to sue me for damages. What kind of a chance do you think there is of that?


Just kill the cats, save up money for repairing it your self.

Not sure how extensive or how the dmg looks, but if you cant fix it yourself just pay someone when you do get the money or tell the land lord you did it moving a dresser.

But you should have to worry about it unless your moving out any time soon.

[Nerd King]

My cat made a hole in my door. No ****. Seriously, I have no idea how she did it.

[pwnst*r]

@ op: lol, good luck.

[emigrant]

To avoid another damage,
Make sure the cats are not left hungry.
:-D

[wilee-nilee]

Since I own a carpet cleaning business and do repairs if this shredded area is along a straight wall or even if it is a inset area call a cleaner or professional installer and have them re-strech the carpet so that the damaged area can be removed. This sort of thing need a professional to be fixed. Any apartment I have lived in the carpets were not stretched correctly anyway so I think your probably in good shape. In my stae the carpets hav eto be replaced after three years of occupancy so if your going to be there for awhile, check the laws on this.

I would also add that a carpet cleaning business has been good to me 100$ per hour work, no employer or employees.

[wilee-nilee]

That might work. You really need a knee kicker to push the carpet back up and re-hook it to the metal.

+1 actually since you know what a knee kicker is you can rent a commercial stretcher that will pull the whole room directly in all four corners one at a time.
will send you my knee kicker if you need it.

[brian183]

My dog has ripped up the carpet in a few spots and I moved into a brand new apartment. Personally, I couldn't care less if I get my deposit back. I always consider "deposits" to be money I will never get back. That way I won't be disappointed when I don't get it back and really happy when I do HAH! Also, my dog is a puppy still and I was completely prepared for this to happen to my apartment and the fact I would never see the deposit again. IMO, it's completely worth it as my time with my dog is far more valuable then some stupid apartment deposit which I'll move out of anyway.

-brian

[wilee-nilee]

You can also buy widths of that metal strip that are rather wide and replace the metal strip with one that will either cover the shredded area or make it disappear. If you go this route though make sure it isn't a concrete floor then you need a concrete nail driver to set the strip.

[HappinessNow]

So, I moved into an apartment a few months ago with my girlfriend. She wanted to get two cats...we could nowhere near afford the pet deposit. Nowhere near. Paying it would have meant starving, so we didn't. I was very opposed to getting the cats, but we did in the end.

I woke up today and they've torn up a small section of carpet by one of the doors, right by the metal strip. Its probably three or four inches by two inches.

Anyone know if this can be repaired? If not, any idea what the apartment complex will do when I move out and they see the damage? Just keep my current deposit? My current deposit is only $150, which I guess I could afford to lose...

My real worry though is of them trying to sue me for damages. What kind of a chance do you think there is of that?That's what "Renter's Insurance" is for! :p

[HappinessNow]

That's what "Renter's Insurance" is for! :p
I also highly recommend "Pet Health Insurance", Vet bills can be exuberant!