Feel Three To Come In!

Several years ago, my coworker and I were looking to save some money and generally improve our living situations by becoming roommates. I was currently in a one-bedroom apartment with my two cats, and my coworker had one cat of his own, so we were in the market for a two-bedroom apartment that would accept three cats.

We came to discover, to our dismay, that the standard apartment lease had a two-pet maximum. Apparently, it didn’t matter if the two pets were small cats or giant dogs; two was the limit. We called so many places hoping they would lease to us, but none could be swayed. Of course, there was always the option of trying to skirt the rules and simply not telling them our true pet total, but I’ve always been fairly wary of breaking the rules. What would happen the first time a maintenance person came to change our AC filter and saw three cats? Even being fined wouldn’t be great, tight as money tended to be.

Eventually, I reconsidered my current apartment complex. It was fairly nice, the people were friendly, and at the time, they even offered sweet perks like free pet sitting. I’d been there for four years, so they knew my cats well and loved them, and I was really hoping that I could convince them to bend the rules just this once.

I call their office.

Me: “Hi, I’m one of your current residents, and I’m looking to move to a two or three-bedroom apartment with a new roommate. The problem is, between us, we have three cats, and everywhere we’ve looked, there’s a two-pet limit. But I was hoping that since you know me, and you know my cats, maybe you might let it slide in this case? I would really be happy to continue living here.”

Office Lady: “Oh, I see. Yes, unfortunately, we do have a two-pet maximum. But you should come into the office and we could talk about it.”

I am at work, twenty minutes away, and don’t really want to try to make time to visit their office that day. Why can’t they just tell me yes or no?

Me: “But you have that policy, right? So you couldn’t accept a new roommate with a third cat? That’s really all I need to know. I can keep looking.”

Office Lady: “We do have that policy, but I still think you should come into the office so we can give you more details.”

Call me naïve, but I can’t see the point of doing so.

Me: “I’ll see if I can find the time, I guess. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking at other places. Thank you.”

Office Lady: “Really, you should just come on by!”

Days pass, and eventually, I do find the time to visit their office since the lady had seemed so oddly insistent. I guess they just really don’t want to lose me as a tenant.

Me: “Hi. I’m [My Name]. I called earlier about moving into a new unit but having three cats? You told me your policy wouldn’t allow it, but you also said I should come in, so… here I am.”

Office Lady: *All smiles* “Yes, of course, [My Name]! We can absolutely let you guys stay here with three cats! We don’t mind at all! Your cats are the best!”

Me: “Oh, well… that’s great! But then what’s with the policy? And why couldn’t you just tell me that earlier?”

Office Lady: “We just couldn’t tell you over the phone! The upper management can monitor our calls, you know, and we just couldn’t risk them hearing us tell you we’re bending the rules. But three cats are really no problem at all! We’d love to have you and your new roommate live here!”

I did feel foolish for not realizing that’s what was happening. It made sense as soon as she said it. It made me wonder how many other apartments we’d tried would have said the same if we’d asked in person. But with that, my roommate and I found a nice two-bedroom in the same complex, moved in with no trouble, and then spent most of the next three years keeping our cats separated so they wouldn’t try to kill each other!

There’s a further happy ending: my roommate and I are now in a solid relationship, we’ve recently moved into a house, and the cats all get along fine!