Pets in College: How to Avoid Roommate Conflicts

By Lexie Tapke on March 8, 2017

Whether you have ESA (Emotional Support Animal) certification, or just want your fur-child with you in college, there are some things that you need to keep in mind when having pets in college, especially if you want to avoid roommate conflicts. Here are some tips for keeping your pets and your home happy.

  • Make sure you have enough time to properly care for a pet.

People are constantly mesmerized by puppies and kittens, and fail to think about the commitment they are making when thinking about getting a pets, or pets, in college. If your major is highly demanding, or you have too many clubs and organizations, it may be better to wait until things in your life slow down before you own a pet in college.

If you have an ESA, this still applies. Animals have the power to love us unconditionally, no matter how often we leave them alone or grow lazy when it comes to taking them for walks. Owners need to make sure this love is reciprocated, and there’s no better way to show your pet some love than to make sure they have everything they need: shots and vaccines, food, exercise, etc.

Image via Pixabay

  • Everyone is 100% on board with having your animal.

This is crucial and will come in handy if you run into bumps along the road of living together. If everyone equally agrees with welcoming you and your pet, then working together will be easier and more of a team effort. It is never a good idea to force your animal’s presence onto someone else who doesn’t want this. This can cause lots of conflict in the future.

Even if you have ESA certification, it is still better to find people who fully accept your animal. Just because the certification protects your animal’s ability to be there (under certain circumstances), it doesn’t mean that you should abuse it.

  • Clean up after your pet.

They always say that a clean house is a happy house. Regardless if your house is clean already or not, you don’t want your animal to be the root of any problem, especially cleanliness. Make sure that if your dog makes a mess or chews something, you take care of it. If you have a cat, clean up their litter and invest in air fresheners just in case. Nobody wants to smell your animal’s business in the living room, especially since you may already have messy college roommates that do enough damage.

Image via Pixabay

  • Be ready to replace damaged items.

Both cats and dogs (and other domestic animals, but these are the most popular pets) tend to chew, eat, rip, and soil most things. If you can prevent these things from happening, do it. For example, if your cat likes to chew power cords, invest in some plastic tubing to cover them. If your dog makes a mess with his food, feed him on a schedule and clean up after he is done.

If your animal is ruthless and finds a way to misbehave, communication with your housemates is key. They need to know that even if you can’t control the issue entirely, you still care and want to do everything in your power that you can.

It is also a good idea that the housemates of someone with a pet keep an open mind. Pets are like family members to many owners; respecting a pet is close to respecting a relative. Every household will operate differently and react even more differently to animals; however, always being open and honest with each other about a pet is the core to successful ownership of pets in college.

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