This seems like one on those articles just straining to make Airbnb look bad. Strange people that steal aren’t unique to Airbnb rentals.
I’m a cat lover and I’m glad the guests took the cat. It seems like the owner left on a trip and left the cat outside. Who does that? That’s neglect. I’m assuming the guests thought the cat was a stray. The cat is better off in his new home.
Part of the current aggressive Short term rental fear mongering.
“You know I heard about this guy, people staying next door stole his cat.”
He was a neglectful pet owner. I don’t blame anyone for taking the cat.
Seriously, folks? Not all cats are pampered indoor cats. The owner said it was very independent and known around the neighborhood.
You know nothing about the details. Maybe he has a cat door the cat goes in and out of as it pleases. What makes you think he locked the cat outside? If he cared enough about the cat to be upset about it being gone, I’m sure the cat had food and water, and wasn’t locked out without shelter to suffer in inclement weather.
I have always had cats that stayed mainly outside. My current cat roams the immediate neighborhood all the time. There is nothing negligent about that unless you live somewhere the cat is likely to get run over. If I go out of town for a couple days, my neighbor will feed it.
Ridiculous to say it was great that the guests stole it.
Bonkers article. ‘Now, what can we write about Airbnb this week?’
Headline:
Shock horror - single woman books Airbnb with a male host and has a pleasant and uneventful stay!!!
It’s been reported that a young woman from Madrid booked a four day stay, in an Airbnb, and during the four days found her host to be pleasant, helpful and an absolute gentleman.
Despite young Maria Jimenez having reservations about…
Nah, feck it. There’s no milage in normal these days, is there?
These clickbait merchants will seize upon the slightest negative element, of a non story, to generate interest. This reply also applies to the other anti Airbnb ranter in the other topic.
I can often be Airbnb’s biggest critic, but I do think I’m reasonably objective. These clowns know nada.
JF
If I recall, you’re not a cat person. I remember reading a previous posting a while back in which you stated that you don’t mind the cat roaming around in your backyard because he was a mouser. I apologize if that wasn’t you, perhaps my memory is failing.
There’s a big difference between coexisting with an outdoor cat because it’s a mouser and a cat that is considered a fur baby and is showered with love.
I’m pretty sure that the “stolen” cat has a better life now with the Airbnb guests. I don’t see it as stolen, more as rescued.
I hope the ‘new owners’ don’t make it an indoor cat. I can barely support that unless it is always since birth an indoor cat. There’s lots of well loved friendly cats that go visiting, it’s something they do. It does not mean they are strays, just because they are outside.
And Ritz sorry I really don’t agree with your pov.
I’d never heard the term ‘indoor cat’ until I came to the US. I thought it was a horrible thing - cats should go out to play, chase mice, climb trees and generally be a proper cat.
Then I read that in my area (possibly others too) that the average life expectancy for an outdoor cat was 5 years.
We adopted our cat as a rescue animal four or five years ago. We can’t let him be an outdoor cat because his previous owners had (cruelly) his claws removed and he wouldn’t be able to stand up for himself in a fight.
I’m surprised it is that high.
Local hawks take the kittens. Local coyote & Fox eat all things cat.
Ask a veterinarian what is best for a cat; indoor or outdoor. Indoor cats can live up to 17 yrs. Whereas, an outdoor cat is lucky to make it to 5 yrs.
Many shelters and rescue groups will not let a person adopt a cat if it’s going to be an outdoor cat. I know this for a fact since my daughter volunteers and fosters cats.
My daughter and her rescue group have declined applicants that mentioned the cat will not be strictly indoors.
My friend adopted two beautiful but worthless kittens from a competition cattery specialized in champion Siamese & Abyssinian cats. Apparently a Siamese male managed to woo an Abyssinian female.
In order to adopt the kittens. a contract to not allow them to roam outside was required.
As a former barn cat owner, I understand this. However I still think barn cats are needed. They are part of a working farm, just as the livestock guard dogs, guard donkey, & herding dog can be.
Here, it’s the roads. It’s heartbreaking to see dead cats in the gutters.
I hope it’s longer than that for my lovely boy. He’s 17 now.
I’m not a cat person in that I don’t dote over them and sleep with thhem. But I’ve pretty much always had a cat around and when I was 19, I was attached enough to my cat that I brought him from Israel to Canada.
So no, I don’t hate cats or anything, I just believe they should be free to prowl around and be a natural cat if possible. All of my cats have been outdoor cats and none have met an untimely demise or even been injured, by being attacked by another animal or getting hit by a car.
And you come to this judgement how? Based on some brief click-bait article and knowing nothing about how this host dealt with his cat? Taking someone’s pet unless you have witnessed it being abused is never okay. It’s cruel to both the pet and the pet owner.
A cat owner going out of town and not taking the cat with him can hardly be considered abuse unless it was left out in the rain or snow or without food.
And BTW, only Americans and Canadians and possibly Brits dote over animals- the rest of the world has quite a different relationship to their pets. Most dogs wander about on their own a lot in Mexico. They know where they live and come home when it’s dinnertime. Do-gooder gringoes are always posting on Mexico expat forums about how they “found” a dog and does anyone want to adopt it, because they can’t. They are then told by others, including those who work here selflessly in animal rescue, that if the dog wasn’t injured, obviously ill, starving or abused, or running around looking disoriented and distressed, as if it was lost, to take it back to where they found it- it is 99% someone’s dog who is missing it, and it knows its way home.
My little furbaby Cajun, lived to 19 1/2. I was hoping she would make it to 20. Miss her dearly.
This would be me. Just walked pups. 2-3 inches snow. 29F. Warm dog coats worn. Now all (dogs & me) piled on couch under a blanket warming up.
And Australians
My very expensive Bengal is inside / outside cat.
He is 17 years old.
He has 2 beds outside- one heated for winter.
He comes when he is called.
Rarely leaves his 3000 square metre garden.
Has the Darwin effect on my flock of chickens.
Excellent teeth.
No health issues.
My cats have always done their own thing.
I had a cat for 15 years and she was estimated to be around 2 when I got her from the humane society. She was indoor/outdoor mostly because I had a dog door already. I didn’t worry too much because she had her claws. She never went very far best I could tell, maybe as far as to cross our quiet street. Once, coming home after work, I saw her sprint across the street towards the house and she was inside by the time I was. It seemed to me that she knew the sound of my truck. I scolded her and told her I wanted her to stay in our yard. Of course I didn’t really believe it would matter but I swear she never got caught across the street again. I would catch her clawing the pine tree trunks in front but she hardly touched the furniture. That said, if I ever had another cat it would be indoor only as I’ve become more educated about suburban domestic cat ownership than I was back in the 90’s.
I ran across some awesome videos last night- guy I never heard of- Rodney Habib. He’s a dog guy, incredibly intelligent and articulate, who makes videos about keeping your pets healthy through diet and things like not using toxic flea and tick medicine on them.
Anyone here who’s a pet owner should watch his video on Frontline, Bravecta, etc. His research is impressive, thorough, and scary.
His video about how much longer dogs (and cats as well) live when fed a real food diet instead of kibble is a real eye-opener. It basically doubles their life span. He interviews a man who has made the Guiness book of world records twice for having the oldest dogs in the world. His current dog, a golden retreiver, is 34 years old.