Emotional support cats

The allergy objection

This is the one that comes up for cats and almost never for dogs. Another resident's allergy is not an automatic answer either way. Where two residents have competing needs, a housing provider is expected to look for an accommodation that works for both, which in practice means air filtration, separate entrances, unit relocation or scheduling shared spaces. What it does not mean is that whoever complained first wins.

If the other resident's allergy is itself a disability, the provider has two accommodation duties running at once and has to make a genuine attempt at both. A provider who refuses your animal by pointing at a neighbour without exploring anything has not done that.

Declawing, and why it is worth naming

Some leases require cats to be declawed. Several jurisdictions have banned the procedure outright, and it is a veterinary decision rather than a housing one. A requirement to mutilate an animal as a condition of an accommodation is not a reasonable condition, and a provider insisting on it is on weak ground.

Damage, litter and the deposit argument

You remain liable for damage the animal actually causes. That has always been true and did not change in May 2026. What is now genuinely contested is whether a provider can charge a pet deposit up front for an assistance animal, because HUD's guidance saying no has been rescinded. The distinction that matters is between a refundable deposit and a non-refundable fee, and several states do not permit the second thing at all.

Odour from an unmaintained litter tray is a habitability and nuisance question, and it is the most common way a cat accommodation goes wrong after it has been granted.

Number of cats

There is no statutory limit, and there is no automatic right to more than one. Each animal is assessed against the same standard, so a second cat needs the documentation to address why that animal is needed rather than being appended to a request for the first.