PhD Student bringing over 2 cats trying to find flat!

Hi all,

I will be attending a PhD program next fall and I'm already looking to see if anywhere accepts cats. Its early I know but I'm doing the PETS process and its making me a bit high-strung that everything works out. I'm scared that I'll do the PETS process and get the cats over to the UK, then not be able to find somewhere to live that accepts cats!

Has anyone gone through this process? At this point I'm wondering whether I'll have to leave my cats in the US for a month before I'm able to find a place. Which, frankly, will drive my parents nuts as they are not cat people, and the thought of them flying unaccompanied is a bit frightening, but it can be done I suppose. If I don't do that, the thought of having 2 cats in a hotel room is not going to be fun. I have lived in the UK before, but it was student housing and it was pretty painless. Guess not this time around!

Finding a place that will accept pets is definitely tough. Cats are a bit easier, I think, especially if you'll be living alone (most of the objections I've run into - beyond "strictly no pets" - is being allergic).

It took me about a month of looking before I found a place that would accept a dog and cat (and now I'm looking again, and have been doing for about a month). I'm working full-time, though, and looking to share a flat, so that limits my options.

Hi equestrianerd,

Well its good to hear that you found somewhere, even if it took a while. Are you in London? What part? Did you go through a letting agency? I've been looking on rightmove.co.uk. Can you recommend anything else? It looks like I may have to leave the cats w/ the parents for a month or so til I can find a place. Sigh.

One of my classmates on my MSc (Durham) brought a cat over and adopted one.  Frankly, I thought it was a bit nuts to do it for a year, but your situation is different as you'll be at least 3 years here.

I'm not going to lie, it's going to be tough.  She was looking for a furnished place, which pretty much wasn't happening - students have a bad reputation as tenants in the first place, and most people won't want their furnishings subjected to cats with all the damage they potentially represent (pee, scratching, hair, etc.).  You'll have a much easier time if you're looking to rent unfurnished, as the only risk for the landlord will be carpets, which should be covered by the damage deposit if your cats "misbehave".  She ended up getting an unfurnished place, but it wasn't in the area she wanted.  I think in the end she was glad to have a roof over her head at all - she was in a pet-friendly hotel for the first two weeks of term, having failed to secure a place prior to that.  Definitely do your research in advance. 

Well its good to hear that you found somewhere, even if it took a while. Are you in London? What part? Did you go through a letting agency? I've been looking on rightmove.co.uk. Can you recommend anything else? It looks like I may have to leave the cats w/ the parents for a month or so til I can find a place. Sigh.

I'm in zone 1, in Hoxton/Shoreditch. It's a nice flat (bit small, but it is central London), but the landlord's turned a bit wacko, which is why I'm looking again. I searched primarily through spareroom.co.uk, as it's geared towards flat-sharing. (moveflat.co.uk is as well, but there's no option to filter for pets being allowed.)

I've been e-mailing only places that claim pets are allowed, and a lot of the time, I get the old "oh sorry, the pets YOU have won't work" (there's a prejudice against big dogs in flats, even though mine is the best dog ever for that sort of thing).

They do list studio flats if you don't want to share.

You could also try gumtree.com. Again, no easy way to filter the people who don't allow pets, but at least the ads there seem real (unlike craigslist where they're all double rooms in Westminster for £80/wk!).

Good luck!

Sorry, I have nothing helpful to add, but I wanted to say that your post title makes me giggle a little. When I read it, I see "2 cats trying to find a flat" and have a mental image of them wandering the streets of London looking for a flat together!

I think if you offer some sort of pet rent or decent additional deposit for potential damage to the flat, you'll have better luck. Also say you'll have the place professionally cleaned when you move out (i.e. carpets steam cleaned).

Dealing with the landlord personally will probably be better than via a letting agent, especially if you are dealing with them from overseas.

Glad to know I am not the only one facing this challenge.  I'm as Masters student - so I'll be there 2 years - traveling with 2 dogs and a cat.  I know it sounds crazy but they are family members and there's no way I'm getting rid of them! 

So in addition to the web sites mentioned here thus far, where are the best places to start researching/looking for a home to rent?

M.

It is definitely tough. I brought my two cats over as well. I moved over in September and left my cats with my parents. Before going home for Christmas I managed to find an unfurnished flat then I brought my cats back with me after Christmas. It worked out really well.

Dogs are especially difficult.  I know of one couple who came over with their just about 8 pound dog.  There were only three places that would even let them view and they would up paying way over odds for a flat.  The other places were disgusting.

This was in Cambridge, so if you are moving to a bigger area it might be different. Also, different areas might have different attitudes, but the dogs will be a big issue. 

Museprose- Do you know where you are attending your Masters program yet? I am still not sure but my options are oxford,cambridge,durham (top choice), edinburgh or leicester. I've already seen that oxbridge will be difficult in terms of pets.

What I'm worried about now is how I'm going to even get my cats to our destination! My parents won't keep them until I get settled so now I'm trying to figure out if they can ride on trains, or if I should rent a car (in which I would terrorize those poor uk drivers!) And whether there are pet friendly hotels near heathrow.

This is proving to be quite the challenge!!

Pets can generally ride on public transport.

I'm mainly worried about how I'm going to get 2 cat carriers and 3 suitcases. I see you're in fife? I lived in Glasgow for a year...Scotland is lovely!

I would get a taxi. There is no way you can handle all of that on the train.

Yes it is