For as long as I can remember, I have wanted a cat. I love those whiskered, hairy little bastards. They’re soft, and when they choose you, they are the cuddliest creatures ever. They also have sharp nails and just generally do whatever the hell they want. Recently, I got a furry demon of my own named Wonton.

I suffer from anxiety and a touch of depression, neither of which shame me (brains suck sometimes), but they do get in the way of my every day life sometimes. I’ve done research, and pets can help with calming down anxiety attacks. Therefore, I view pets as a stress breaker. Unfortunately, many landlords in our fair city disagree.

For landlords, a bad pet owner can ruin the concept of having a pet friendly place for eternity. For them, pets are total stress makers. They have the potential to scratch up the walls and the carpets (if anyone knows how to get Wonton to use his scratch post rather than the carpeted stairs, please let me know), or ruin screened windows or doors, or even stain carpets with urine or feces.

For concerned pet owners, these are also stress makers. We don’t want our pets to be untrained and ruin things, but sometimes things happen during the training process. Responsible pet owners will, as a rule, do their best to fix or replace things their pets have wrecked, but all it takes is that one guy who doesn’t give a flying rat’s ass about rented property that wrecks it for everyone.

I live in a pet friendly apartment. I paid a pet deposit and pay a monthly “pet rent”. My cat is kind of a jerk sometimes, but he’s a kitten, and the occasional jerk moment is to be expected. We’re doing our best to keep him from permanently damaging the apartment, and in general, he’s a stress breaker for me. He sits on my lap and purrs in the morning after breakfast, and he plays with me in the evening after I’m done work. He’s soft, sweet, and just the best.