by Brenda Nelson

Created on: August 21, 2010

How “Pet Friendly” is a hotel that only allows certain kinds of pets? Not every “Pet Friendly” indeed if you ask many cat owners. Let us learn more about why some hotels allow some pets, but draw the line at allowing our feline friends.

-Litter Box Issues-

Cats need litter boxes, but not all cats use them properly, particularly when stressed. This is a time when cats, might have issues with spraying. If one cat has sprayed in a hotel room it is very hard to remove the odor and other cats will often spray too.

Other litter box issues are simply the mess that spilled litter makes, or the fact that some owners throw the litter in the toilet, which can lead to plumbing concerns, particularly where hotels are rural and use septic systems.

Hotels might even find themselves in a position where guests forgot to bring a litter box or litter, and would simply allow the cat to “go” anywhere in the room, causing many problems for the cleaning staff and future guests.

-Clawing Concerns-

Cats with claws tend to use them, shredding furniture and curtains alike. As cats have scent glands in their paws the clawing is a natural way for them to mark their territory as well as sharpen their claws. In an unfamiliar hotel room the cat is very likely to want to mark its territory in such a fashion and damage the hotels property in the mean time.

-Allergy Concerns-

More people have allergy problems when it comes to cats than with dogs. As pet rooms are also used by other guests from time to time (they are also often used for smokers) having a cat in the room limits the availability of the room to people with allergy problems to cats.

-Demand-

In general fewer people travel with cats than with dogs, as such the hotel really is not risking too much by refusing to accept cats, but they would risk a lot by refusing to accept dogs. If the demand for cats to be allowed in hotel rooms was higher more “Pet Friendly” hotels would allow them, but currently the problems outweigh the demand.

-Alternatives-

In most cases there are alternatives when a person cannot find a cat friendly hotel. Leaving the cat at home with a pet sitter is probably the best option, and one the cat might enjoy the most too. Otherwise there are often area boarding kennels that can accommodate cats providing they have proof of vaccination.

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