I can't say much about vancouver, but I know in toronto every apartment building I saw made you sign a paper that said you would not have animals. At the same time, every single one also said, verbally, that pets were allowed and I saw multiple dogs in the apartment buildings and on walks on the grounds. Basically my point is, if you can't find one that allows dogs (this would probably be easier if you have a decent income), most apartments will likely allow the cat as long as it doesn't cause a problem. You could also look into apartments in houses (ie. 2 or 3 family apartment buildings), most of those seem to allow pets and don't even mention them in the lease.