by Diana Coman

Created on: April 30, 2009

The truth is that "pet-friendly" does not actually mean that ANY pet is welcome. After all, people can have as pet a goose, a pig, a parrot, a snake, a turtle or a tiger and the list does not stop here. So if you ask why dogs are allowed and cats are not allowed, perhaps you should extend the question to other animals as well. And then you might start to see one of the issues: each type of pet has its own ways and needs and therefore each time the hotel decides to allow another type of pet it has to make an investment, a new set of rules, a new set of issues to consider. If laws about allergen free rooms apply also, it means that the hotel must have special rooms for guests with dogs, for guests with cats, and so on. Not hard to see also their point of view, is it?

More to the point however, cats leave distinct smells that are stronger and much more persistent than dog smells. Cat urine smell is almost impossible to remove and some people can detect it even in the cleanest of houses where there is a cat. It is true that it is possible (or at least we all hope so) to ensure that a cat will NOT mess up in the room. But the truth remains that if a cat DOES mess up, the hotel will probably have to call professionals to clean the room to get the smell out. Or perhaps even change the mat at least if not the furniture or floor itself. There is also a possibility that cats left alone might scratch furniture or even "mark" their territory. Of course this kind of problems could be solved with a large fee or a huge deposit for allowing cats. But I suspect that there are few people willing to pay such a fee and not going to a more expensive hotel that is very likely anyway to accept already both dogs and cats. Hence many average hotels simply don't think it is worth the trouble because their usual customers would simply not agree to pay that much for having their pet with them.

Other issues might include the fact that cats come in at any hour so they would either need a way of access into the room or they would make noise at any hour to be left in or out. Providing a way of access raises clearly some security issues. As to waiving this issue with the fact that many domestic cats are indoor cats and never go out, the hotel cannot really rely on that. And a hotel cannot say that only indoor cats are allowed as the question would just become "why not all cats?".

Another possible reason might be simply the fact that there are more people travelling with dogs than with cats. So the hotels still seem it as more hassle than it is actually worth. But overall there are still many hotels that really accept cats as well as dogs, so if you are keen on travel with your cat friend, don't despair.

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