I agree on the kids vs cats. My daughter is two and can be very destructive if shes bored. She will colour on the walls, dump all the cat food into the toilet... I dont let her eat on the furniture unless its a small, non messy snack. My cats have the parts of the chair scratched up, but eh, it is so much more comfy! My house is their house, whats mine is theres - excluding my food! I really hope you can find a place to rent that doesnt have this policy. Most of these policies are made because of a few bad tenants who let their cats scratch up carpet. I can see where they're coming from. If I was a homeowner and rented my house to people, my only rule would be that the animals MUST be spayed/neutered. I cant stand the smell of spray and it is very hard to get out of carpet.