So Mad Can't See (Update 09/10; Victory!)

[Vraille Darkfang]

I'm going to see if this makes me feel any better.

You might remember that earlier in the year I had a Thread entitled "I need a Cat Whacked".

Basically, about how this lady moved in next door & let her cat run wild & how it was turning my birdfeeders into catfeeders.

She has since allowed 4-5 more cats have the run of her basement.

The problem has escalated to the point the authorities were called in.

One cat is now dead. The rest are on "The List"

Basically, I was trying to be nice. I told the lady her cat's were really being a nuisance.

Her reply "I can't control my Cats, they do what nature intended" (Thank god she doesn't raise Pit-Bulls).

Fine. I'd argue that nature intended for the cat to kill or starve. Not kill 3-4 birds a day, leave their dead bodies and then wander back & stuff itself full of cat food.

But, as she allowed more cats the run of her basement (she leaves her basement window open). The problems have gotten unacceptable. I've tried various pellets/cat repellents, not of it works very well (or is just too expensive; 30 bucks a week is unreasonable).

1. It smells like a dirty litterbox in our yard. We can not even open our windows. My wife filled SIX!!!!!!!!! Wal-Mart sacks full of Cat Crap just along 1 side of our house the other day.

2. One of the cats is not neutered. It has taken to Sprayng my & my nieghbor's car. We are not amused.

3. It broke our nieghbor's bird feeder.

4. The climb all over everything, leaving cat-prints everywhere.

5. Our Deck is NOT a scratching post.

6. My wife has cat allergies. Even if we could stomach the stench of Cat Crap outside, the tuffs of Cat Fur sets of my wife's allergies.

7. We planted a bunch of herbs. They seem to have gotten between the cats and their crap-spots, so they tore them all out.

8. Their is still the issue of Bird-Corpses in the yard. (I only put out the feeders now when I'm around).

So, we gave animal control a call. They infomed us that cats that do this fall under the Pest/Vermin/Nuisance Category (much like Rats/Wasps, etc). Moreover cats need to have a liscense in the city limits & proof they have all their shots. Animal Control said they'd talk to the lady about her cats.

The response?

One cat does have a Cat Tag (Wether shots are up to date is another question). The rest, she just 'adopted'.

"Do they have their shots; like say RABIES Shot?"

"No"

"What about spayed/nuetered?"

"I don't know"

"We have recieved multpile complaints (True, our neighbor called as she has been driven from her flower garden due to the volume of cat crap in it). Your cats are really causing a lot of problems for several people."

"Not my Problem. Cats will be cats"

"We are going to have to set out traps, to try to catch these vermin"

"What Vermin? These are MY Cats and you shouldn't go around trapping them!"

"We aren't setting out traps on your property, ma'am. We setting them out on other people's property to catch whatever animal is causing the destruction to their property."

"Humph!"

That's basicly what Animal Control relied their conversation to us to be. Told us they set the traps out once the temps got below 95 or so, so the animal wouldn't die of heat stroke.

Warned us they could only set out the traps for 3 days, do to the heavy demand for their services (Keep your cats Inside people). They catch several THOUSAND Strays/Wild/just let loose cats every year. (Town population under 8,000).

Day 1 (actually Day 10, darn Heat Wave).

Catch 1 of the cats first try (Orange Tabby that responsible for most of the fur/claw marks on the deck).

Animal Control come to pcik it up. The thing is so wild and viscious they inform us they are going to have to take it back and 'Put it Down'. It has a Flea Collar. They tell us they'll try to contact the lady (as they HATE to do something to someone's pet). But, that even if she wants to claim it, she'll have to apply for a City Tag & provide proof it's shots are up to date. If she won't claim it, it's too wild and vicious to put up for adoption.

In effect. We have a "Dead Cat Walking"

I could tell it really got to the Animal Control Lady that she was going to (probablly) have to take this animal and kill it. I think she was really, really, really, mad at whoever let it get to this stage. "It's not the animal's fault, someone had to let it get this wild."


Now the reason for being ticked. Animal Contol got one, so we go back to the bottom of the list (which due to continuing heat wave, massive numbers of people), means we might not see them back until October.

Now me and my wife are eating dinner. As we get up to put the dishes in the sink...

One of that, umm, lady's, cats is taking a crap in our herb garden, ripping up basil as it does its business.

I rush out to run it off. Good, it stinks to high heaven in our backyard. We have a nice deck, but have not been able to enjoy it for 4 months.

This one would be the poop/bird killing/destroyer of plants one. This is the one, that really, really, really needs to go away.

I've had it.

I've been nice.

I've been patient.

I've followed proper channels.

Proper Channels has done what they could.

The owner has basically said, bleep you.

I'm calling Animal Control on Monday to verify, but if the Cat is considered a Nuisance/Vermin (possibly worse, if it has no proof of Rabies Vaccine), I believe I can set out my own Live Animal Trap & then just cart whatever I catch to the Pound.

I'm sure this is OK for those cats without tags (after fewer strays means less work for them).

It's the one she actually has Tags for I'm not sure about. If that's the one we catch, do I have to let it go? Throw it back over the fence? Lug it to the Pound, so they can call her to get it out of the joint?

I thinkhow it works is: I tell them I'm having problems with Vermin Animals & am going to set out a Trap. They ask me some questions to make sure I'm setting the Trap up on my property. They may have to come out to verify, that I am, indeed, setting it up in our yard. They may also require that they come out in person to verify what we catch.

Despite how ticked off we are, me & my wife are still trying to do this the right way.

Visions of Cat-Poop Catapults (Hey, your cat left this over here, here it is back) and saucers of Anti-Freeze have crossed our minds more than once. They first destruction of my wife's herb garden had her dwelling on not nice things (wehter to the cat or its owner) I'm not sure.

But it's getting to the point, we have to do something. Due to a recent promotion at work & some other things, we are looking for a new house.

Care to take a guess how hard it is going to be to move a house where the yard reeks of cat poop, and little piles are sticking out here and there?

We are about to our wit's end.

The owner of the cats has made it very clear that she is in no way responsible for any of her cats actions in any way possible. Thus, the responsibilty must fall to others.

Animal Control is doing what it can. But it's only 2 people (really, they only have 2 employees) & they are overwhelmed as it is.

Thus, responsibility is left to those directly affected. That means me, my wife, or the 75 year old widow next door. Our other neighbor was so fed up she bought a dog & put up a fence. (Again, wife's allergies prevent the dog option).

So, I guess, it's going to be "Here Kitty, Kitty" for me.

 

[Harmon]

Couple of thoughts (hoping to help)

First off I recall the thread and as I did then express my concerns that you and yours are taken care of while maintaining the welfare of the animals. I know you are mad and you have every right to be, the animals that are not your responsibility are making your life difficult.

Second- Pit Bulls aren’t dangerous by nature, they were bread to be killers yes, but there are more then a few that have not been. Our family had an American Pit Bull that loved children (and I don’t mean with steak sauce, he loved to play with kids) for nearly fifteen years. He was smart, a great guard dog, and never took a bite out of anyone. Unlike a little terrier I recall from my youth, but that is another story, and a bit of a hijack to this thread.

Third (I think) I am a cat lover- well not a cat lover, but I have two cats that are my children and I love them as such. It would just kill me to find out that one of my neighbors had killed one of my kids, and I know that I might seek some form of vengeance if something like that happened. I have a cat that stays pretty close and another that ventures out a distance, I fear for them both but rather think its better for them to know what’s beyond the windows and doors then to live a long boring life inside wondering.

Next (I lost count) I do not believe that you would feel very good about killing the cats, you don’t seem like the type- though you might be happy for a time that they are dead, you might feel a bit to bad later and that would be bad for you. Consider the trapping of said pests.

I know you like us all are more then likes strapped for coin and purchasing live traps and such seems really stupid but consider buying one, trapping the cats, then taking a picture of them, then return the cat to the owner- “I catch this cat again, and he’s going to the pound to be put down.”

Also consider taking all that cat crap- take pictures of it and the clean up, take some soil samples nearby, then take the cat crap to the owners house and deposit it on her porch. Save the soil samples and the pictures for any future legal actions, inform the owner- “I just spend X number of hours cleaning up cat crap- your cat’s crap. The next bag of this stuff that I clean up will be scattered about your yard and every bag there after. I suggest that if you continue to let your cats be cats then you spend some time in my yard with some tools for clean up.” Oh, and record all conversations, if you have a video camera that would be better- oh, and let her see it.

I Googled live cat traps and came up with a few sites with traps for sale, expensive but consider your future feelings and not the ones that come from anger now.

You are correct to feel this angry and I hope you see some logic in my thoughts and suggestions. Please consider them before you do anything rash or out of anger.

Take care, and peace.

 

[Vraille Darkfang]

First off I recall the thread and as I did then express my concerns that you and yours are taken care of while maintaining the welfare of the animals. I know you are mad and you have every right to be, the animals that are not your responsibility are making your life difficult.

I have a friend with a Pit Bull. Yes, they are can be a nice dog. But they require a lot of training. (She also has 2 dogs. They often bark for hours at a time I have never seen her take them for a walk).

As for threats of violence. They are just that. I've had cats my entire life (up until I met my wife and her allergies). I have been a responsible pet owner since I was 8. It's not that hard.

As for the one cat winding up dead (I guess, Animal Control hasn't called us back). They went to her door and told her "We are going to be setting out Live Animal Traps on this Person's Property, if we catch your animal in it, you will have to provide proof of Tags and Shots to get it back".

They told her to her face! Point Blank, no nonsense. "We have recieved multiple complaints of cats from your residence doing all sorts of property damage to neighbors. We are going to see if it is true".

They told her "We are going to do this" They did it. The cat was running around and it got caught. The thing that wasn't in the plan was the fact that the cat is half-feral & bites & claws anyone who gets near. If she isn't willing to claim it (and pay for its Tags & Shots, then the animal is going to be destroyed). (There isn't a no-kill shelter anywhere near here & I don't think they'd take a half-feral one anyway).

She was warned about her cats' actions by multple people. She was warned by the Animal Control (a division of the Police around here). I can't believe that she really cares all that much for her cats.

If a police official (they have a special police uniform) walks up to your door & tells you point blank. "Your animals have been doing things they shouldn't, if you can't or won't control them we, the dully appointed and paid authorities, will have to enforce the local laws and take your animals away", shouldn't that get your attention?

I have no sympathy for this woman, or how she may feel about what happens when Kitty winds up in the pound on kitty death row.

I have sympathy for the cat. It should not be in this posistion. If she was a responsible pet owner it would never have gotten this far.

I'm even willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and say she 'adopted' some local strays. But, all she did was feed them. They are still wild, still not spayed/neutered (as the smell on my new car can attest), and not up to date on their shots. They are still a hazard.

As for doing something really nasty (Anti-freeze reference). That is merely fantasy. We live in an area with quie a few small children (I can see them getting mauled). Despite what dreams I may have, I'm not going to raise a hand in anger towards those cats. The garden Hose in another story.

And, if you remember, I said her house fronts on a major truck route into town. Last week when I was traveling down it, I saw a Cat get plowed into by a Semi going 55. The cat did not survive.

Her cats are going to get run over. I see at least 3-4 roadkills a month right along where she lives. She's playing Road-kill Roullette with her cats lives. They'll lose at some point.

If she really cares about those cats, she's got a wierd way of showing it.

Almost like an abusive husband who treats his wife like crap & then says he loves her.

She's got a wierd way of showing it.

PS. All references to Traps refered to the Live-Catch kind. The local Hardware store has a bunch (they're big sellers, go figure) for 30 bucks. I'm going to make sure of the proper way of doing things. If I have to wait 2 moths for Animal Control to show back up, that's fine.

Actually, I'll just get our neighbor (the 74 year old widow) to call in. She's lived her entire life in the town & done all sorts of volunteer work for 50+ years. They'll jump to help her out. So, I'll just have to wait for the heat to break before more Traps (the live kind) are set out.

 

[Ranger REG]

Her reply "I can't control my Cats, they do what nature intended" (Thank god she doesn't raise Pit-Bulls).

"Then perhaps it's NOT your nature to keep them. Let the Humane Society deal with it, B****!"

At least that's what I would have said.

 

[megamania]

Instead of the pound take them many miles away and let them be cats somewhere else. If this many cats are in and out her basement, you may even wish to contact health services. Her very basement / apartment may be "unfit" for living and that may place a new spin on her "cats are cats" when it gets her either expelled from her home or forces her money to fix the problem.

 

[bodhi]

If she really cares about those cats, she's got a wierd way of showing it.

A month or two ago, there was a woman on the news here (PDX metro area) who had multiple horses, underfed and unwell. She had apparently managed to acquire these over time, I forget the details. After she finally got reported, the authorities shut her down. I think all the horses got relocated to reputable farms and ranches. Anyhow, she was diagnosed with some kind of hoarding disorder, ala Crazy Ebay Mom. In addition to Animal Control, maybe you should give Social Services a call. The problem may be bigger than (semi)feral cats.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I remember the original thread, and I'm sorry to hear that things haven't gotten better, and in fact, have deteriorated.

Man- you see stuff like this all the time on Animal Planet's Animal Cops and in the local news.

I agree that there may be more going on than this lady being dim- she may actually be mentally ill. Give social services & your health department a call. Better yet, write them a letter as well. If you can, get other neighbors to sign it with you.

She may need more help than the cats she's "helping."

OTOH, she could legitimately not understand what she's doing. I remember reading a column in a local newspaper reminding people that hummingbirds need high calorie foods to sustain their turbocharged metabolisms and that mixing DIET sodas into their feeders just starves them to death. :\

 

[LightPhoenix]

I definitely thought of Animal Cops too.

If you and all the neighbors are feeling the same way, IANAL, but I'd investigate a class action lawsuit against your neighbor.

Also, don't discount the efficacy of multiple complaints. If they have to keep coming down there every week, they'll eventually take action against the owner.

 

[Mark Chance]

Catch the cats, but don't hurt them. Remove any tags from them and toss them in the trash. Take them to a shelter, the one farthest from where you live if your town has more than one. If asked about missing cats, say, "I took a stray to the shelter. Could that have been one of yours? Gee, I'm sorry." If asked what shelter, be honest and let the inquirer now.

People who can't take proper of animals have no business owning animals.

 

[Aeolius]

Ever thought of investing in a dog?

"What? Fido ripped your kitty to shreds? I can't control my dog, he does what nature intended."

A more humane solution might consist of motion-activated sprinklers or perhaps lining your fence with hotwire.

Granted, I live on a few acres and have my fair share of critters. Seeing the neighbor's dog or cat walking across the yard is commonplace. If their animals attacked mine, however, I'd have to get out the crossbow.