I was thankful to discover that the rule about no pets does not apply to my state, NH. Basically all I have to show is that the pet does not frequent the kitchen, and that I wipe down all surfaces prior to baking/decorating.
My cat's food is in the basement, so literally she practically NEVER comes into the kitchen.
Cat/Dog/Pet dander is one of the most common allergies out there (I have to carry around an inhaler because of how allergic I became to them after having DD, always had it, just developed into breathing issues after she was born)..
The reason they don't allow pets is pretty simple... When you have a pet, the pet dander is EVERYWHERE. I have a hard time explaining this to MIL that even though she can put the cats in the basement, it doesn't change the fact that the dander is everywhere (on her clothes, in the carpet, chairs, surfaces, etc.). Sanitary wise, you touch your pet to take them off the counter, but do people wash their hands right away EVERY time. Or if a pet gets into the pans while you're away and you don't know they were sitting in the cake pan and go to bake a cake with it. The fav' though is a friend of my Ma's who has the type of dog that you basically have to "wipe" after they do their job, but when she's done she doesn't wash HER hands... Wonderful woman, but it sorta grosses everyone out.
In other words, yes, until you get rid of the cat or build another kitchen you won't be able to get licensed... Unless you can prove the cat is a handicap service cat 
yep, same rules apply in Ohio if you want to get licensed.
I was just reading through PA's requirements for home food processors and it said 'No animals allowed in the home at any time'. Is this a pretty common requirement? So is that to say that I can't sell a cake because I have a pet cat?
NC requires a separate kitchen if you have pets, because of the 'pests' thing. Since I'm not getting rid of my babies (3 cats, one dog... for now...), we're going to hopefully close in the carport and make that into my bakery. 
I'm checking with some folks today about that.
but it seems to be a pretty common thing, not to be able to have pets.
I need to have a seperate kitchen with a sep. entrance in my county in CO. SO luckinly I found a cheap place outside my home to work and then I dont even have to worry about the pets. Though I am not supposed to transport my animals ever in the say vehicle as my cakes. Hmm, like to know how I pull that off. Though now that i am getting my new place ready I can't wait to get all the stuff over there and out of my house. My whole kitchen is suffering and So do my pets when I am baking I dont let them in the house. The fur just flys as soon as they come in. I dont think it is bad, until I am baking then I notice ever little hair.
In my county in WI, there needs to be a door separating the kitchen from the rest of the living space, but i made sure to ask the health inspector if that ment my animals could be on one side of the door and the kitchen on the other and he said that was correct. I have 6 dogs and 2 cats, sothat was an important issue for me. However...
I find dog hair when i sweep the bakery floor which I am sure I drag in on my feet. I try to decontaminate myself as good as I can, but as someone else said... it is evrywhere!
I find it really annoying when I'm working with fondant and occasionally find a car hair. I can understand the rules for no animals.
Last week we were at my in-laws house and they have one large dog that sheds even more than my three cats combined! We were drinking wine and my mother-in-law forgot to rinse the glasses. Even though she keeps them in the cabinet they still had fur in them. After I pulled the third piece of fur out of my glass or mouth, I decided I didn't want anymore wine.
By the way, just for the record, dander is dried saliva from dogs and cats which is why it's worse on cats than dogs and so prevalent. Bathing the animals helps immensely but doesn't get rid of it completely for obvious reasons.
See, I could not have done this when we had our dog - she was a Siberian Husky and a very naughty dog. The cat however...she's just a 9-year old lump who is either sleeping on the kids' beds or in the basement eating. Not much inbetween.
Never underestimate the power of a lump! I'll never forget the thread a while back where there was a perfect missing spot of icing on the corner of one of 3 cakes a member had iced, left uncovered on a card table and was going to decorate the next am. She couldn't figure it out until someone pointed out that it was so perfect that it had to be a cat the licked perfectly thru to the cake! Her cat was a big ol' lump too that she figured could never make it up to the table! Yet another reason to box the cakes immediately!
Somehow or other I just got around to reading this again. In my house the best thing to do is leave the cake in a room with a door (I happen to have a spare apt. where I will do this. Unfortunately it's not air conditioned, so it's not a good place for me to work.).
When it's too hot I resort back to what I've always done in the past - put the cake in a cool oven or even the microwave during the night. I don't trust my cats as far as I could throw them! (And believe me, there have been times when I would have loved to have thrown them like a football! Especially in the morning after they've done their nocturnal mischief.)
Yah, I have one dog and I would find the fur at my desk at work!! It just gets on your clothes and things and no matter how much you clean, some of it will get airborn and land, and usually its in something your about to eat. So I can understand the ruling also.
See, I could not have done this when we had our dog - she was a Siberian Husky and a very naughty dog. The cat however...she's just a 9-year old lump who is either sleeping on the kids' beds or in the basement eating. Not much inbetween.
Never underestimate the power of a lump! I'll never forget the thread a while back where there was a perfect missing spot of icing on the corner of one of 3 cakes a member had iced, left uncovered on a card table and was going to decorate the next am. She couldn't figure it out until someone pointed out that it was so perfect that it had to be a cat the licked perfectly thru to the cake! Her cat was a big ol' lump too that she figured could never make it up to the table! Yet another reason to box the cakes immediately!
Does anyone know what the requiments are for Tn, Im just doing cakes every now and then nothing major, I dont have any animals in my home i was going to buy a Mini Yorkie and decided against it for this reason, Some one told me that you dont have to have a licence unless your making a lot of money so far im not rich, Thanks
I have to admit this is a subject I hadn't considered. Fortunately I have a Yorkie and they don't shed much, if at all. I keep him clipped, since we live in a tropical climate, and brush him regularly.
I think my kids track in way more dust and dirt than my dog ever does 
! Good thing those aren't against the rules....or maybe they are !
" By the way, just for the record, dander is dried saliva from dogs and cats "
Sorry..... but dandar is from the dried SKIN of the animals.....
Dander = dandfruff on humans. Just dried scalp that flakes off and floats around same as human scalp.
Yep, same rule in Ohio....no pets in the home.
Thanks for the info, i wont be getting any pets unless it can stay outside
Yep, same rule in Ohio....no pets in the home.
Thanks for the info, i wont be getting any pets unless it can stay outside
If you're in Ohio.....call the Dept. of Agriculture first. There was a lengthy thread for Ohio bakers a while back and we discovered that depending on who you talk to there, they will tell you either NO pets in the home (whether licensed or not) and someone will tell you YES, pets are allowed in the home, UNLESS you're being licensed/inspected. Every time I called (except once) I've been told NO pets in the home regardless of whether you're licensed or not....and my neighbor used to do inspections for my county and also said NO pets. So when you call, get the name and phone number of who you spoke with for protection if they tell you pets are allowed!
I play it safe and have NO pets. It's just my preference as I would not buy baked goods from anyone baking in their home if I knew they had animals inside. I've had dogs and cats in the past and there is NO way to keep that freak'n hair contained! It drove me nuts!
Does anyone know what the requiments are for Tn, Im just doing cakes every now and then nothing major, I dont have any animals in my home i was going to buy a Mini Yorkie and decided against it for this reason, Some one told me that you dont have to have a licence unless your making a lot of money so far im not rich, Thanks
This is a very broad generalization so forgive me if there are states with exceptions but most of the time selling is selling and it doesn't matter if you make a little or a lot.
Check out the article about starting a home business in the articles section. There may be some TN info in there!
Good luck!
Yep, same rule in Ohio....no pets in the home.
Thanks for the info, i wont be getting any pets unless it can stay outside
If you're in Ohio.....call the Dept. of Agriculture first. There was a lengthy thread for Ohio bakers a while back and we discovered that depending on who you talk to there, they will tell you either NO pets in the home (whether licensed or not) and someone will tell you YES, pets are allowed in the home, UNLESS you're being licensed/inspected. Every time I called (except once) I've been told NO pets in the home regardless of whether you're licensed or not....and my neighbor used to do inspections for my county and also said NO pets. So when you call, get the name and phone number of who you spoke with for protection if they tell you pets are allowed!
I play it safe and have NO pets. It's just my preference as I would not buy baked goods from anyone baking in their home if I knew they had animals inside. I've had dogs and cats in the past and there is NO way to keep that freak'n hair contained! It drove me nuts!
I know thats what my husband and me talked about i also asked some coworkers how they felt about this they said no that they wouldnt buy a cake from any one that has inside pets.
" By the way, just for the record, dander is dried saliva from dogs and cats "
Sorry..... but dandar is from the dried SKIN of the animals.....
Dander = dandfruff on humans. Just dried scalp that flakes off and floats around same as human scalp.
My apologies. grama_j and 2sdae are correct. Dander is the shed scales (skin) from pets and humans. Apparently I was misinformed years ago, or just misunderstood what was said. But there are people who do have allergies to dried cat saliva and these particles, smaller than dander, can stay airborne or become attached to all who live in residence with cats. So this is still a concern.
" By the way, just for the record, dander is dried saliva from dogs and cats "
Sorry..... but dandar is from the dried SKIN of the animals.....
Dander = dandfruff on humans. Just dried scalp that flakes off and floats around same as human scalp.
My apologies. grama_j and 2sdae are correct. Dander is the shed scales (skin) from pets and humans. Apparently I was misinformed years ago, or just misunderstood what was said. But there are people who do have allergies to dried cat saliva and these particles, smaller than dander, can stay airborne or become attached to all who live in residence with cats. So this is still a concern.
I totally agree with you there. I was an emergency nurse for a couple of years and saw several cases of allergies so severe people had to come to the ER. And pets and food were the allergies that seemed we saw most.
I am in TN .. there are absolutely no animals allowed in the house for TN bakers ... which means whenI go legal we have to get rid of our puppies 
Oh I would never in a million years pick a business over my pets. They are like my kids so getting rid of them just to open a business would never happen in my life.
I can understand the pet rule though. However, like I said, I wouldn't give up my pets for anything. I would look for a place to rent way before I would get rid of them.
To me once you have a pet you have it for life. So no home bakery for me..........at least not in those states that don't allow pets.
I had a feeling me saying I would have to get rid of my puppies would rallyup some feelings ... and honestly ... my family is my priority I do understand that people are attached to their animals, I have grown up with animals and got very attached to some, these dogs we have had for about 4 months, they are our "family" however I work until 1am and am suffering health problems and working late hours and having to get up in the mornign with the kids is preventing me from getting better .... my cake business is my way of supplementing my part time evening income right now and to me, my kids and husband are #1 priority, I will not put a dog over the financial stability of my family or my own health. In all likelyness my mother would take the dogs and we would still see them every week. and although I do respect the fact that some people are willing to 100% sacrifice their plans due to a family pet, I am not. as I said before, my health and my children come first and if that means we have to get rid of our dogs to another loving home so that we can maintain a healthy happy household, then that is the way it is going to be.
I'm in Tn and nope, no pets allowed. And from all the jargon in pages and pages of info that had me in circles one day....you can work from home as long as your work place is enclosed from your house. Your kitchen has to be separated by a door. Also, your space has to be in an area that can be deemed commercial. You can't use your favorite kitchen spoon when making cakes, everything that you use for cakes has to be for cakes, everything you use for home, has to be for home. When I went to get my paperwork for my license, I asked if you could do cakes from home and she said no BUT BUT BUT, there are people here that do..professionally from home. (as anywhere else, I know). The rules were extremely hard to find for TN....(well, for me at least). Our website has no info on homebakers and everything I read seemed to be very general (and about a paragraph long).
AmandaPanda, maybe you could help me out a little better with this. It has been awhile since I searched for this info.
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