When preparing your home for sale, the ultimate goal is to ensure that the home shows at its very best by highlighting the features and eliminating distractions. This allows you to appeal to the greatest number of potential buyers possible, strengthening your selling position and encouraging a quick and profitable sale.

While the Beyond The Stage Homes team is comprised of devoted animal lovers, not all home buyers appreciate our furry friends, and in fact, a home with pets can often be a cause of concern for many, especially for those with allergies. Evidence of pets such as toys, food dishes, and pet beds can also put potential buyers on the lookout for damage throughout the house that may have been caused by the animals. Eliminating the presence of pets in the home will allow buyers to focus on the home’s features, instead of scrutinizing and looking for flaws. Even caged animals can turn off or simply distract potential buyers.

Additionally, the home-selling process can be stressful for your pets. To learn more about how this impacts them, we spoke to some furry friends about their recent experiences when their humans listed their home for sale.

Meet Cooper the Cat, a fun-loving and friendly 5-year-old orange tabby cat who has lived with his humans since he was just 2 months old. His humans recently sold their house, and he recalled the experience for us:

“The whole process was pretty scary. My bed was packed up and put away in the basement and I couldn’t get to it. Some of the doors in the house were closed and I wasn’t allowed in those rooms. We went for long car rides every day, and when we returned home the house smelled different – I could tell that there had been other humans in it while we were out. I tried to warn my humans about the intruders and when they didn’t seem to be listening, I tapped their favourite leather chair with my claws (that got their attention). After a few days, they finally decided that I didn’t need to go for the car rides anymore and they left me in the house while some strange people came in and out. The only good thing was that one of the strangers opened the door for me to take a stroll outside – it was exhilarating!”

Max the Dog, a 2-year-old German Shepherd also had a recent home-selling experience, and he was happy to share it with us:

“It was SO COOL! We went for walks and car rides every day, and I got to spend a ton of time with my humans. I love them so much and am happiest when they’re around. I slept the best I’ve ever slept because the days were so full of adventure! When we were out, I was such a good boy (they told me this all the time). I tried to be really good when we were home too, but I was missing a lot of my favourite toys, and my humans seemed to be vacuuming and mopping non-stop, and I HATE Mr. Vacuum, he's so noisy and chases me around. My humans tried to teach me a new command, but I still haven’t figured out what they want when they say “can you stop shedding?”. They seem pretty upset when I do it wrong, so I hope to figure it out soon.”

As allies of the 4-legged community, we recommend removing all pets from the home when listing it for sale, not only for showings but for the duration of the sale. Reach out to trusted friends and relatives about opening their home temporarily to your fur babies. This will mean less stress on both you, and the pets. Animals can be incredibly sensitive to changes, and to strangers in the house (even when they are removed from the home for showings), and you won't worry about trying to maintain the home with the fur, dirt, and other messes that these pets create for us.

If removing your pets is not an option, minimize pet odours by cleaning your pets regularly, as well as areas that they tend to hand out, and open the windows for at least a few minutes every day, regardless of the season.

Here are a few additional tips:

If your cat(s) absolutely must remain in the house for showings, their presence should be minimized as much as possible.

• Clean the litter box twice daily, and be sure to empty completely and wash at least once a week

• Remove cat and litter box for showings if possible (sometimes this can be as simple as a car ride for the duration of the showings)

• Store food in an unmarked, opaque container – this will help to keep it hidden from buyers, as well as keep the food fresh

• Remove all scratch trees, beds, and all toys

• Ensure that their food area is kept clean and tidy, and remove it for showings

• Vacuum and dust daily

Similarly, for dogs:

• Remove the dog for all showings

• Hide all evidence (leashes, food, toys, beds, etc.)

• Store food in an unmarked, opaque container – this will help to keep it hidden from buyers as well as keep the food fresh

• Thoroughly clean all fabric surfaces (couch, carpet, rugs, bed, etc.)

• Keep dog(s) well-groomed

• Clean the house regularly

• Keep the yard cleaned and patch any bare areas