Some Cats Are Definite Nuisances To Their Neighbors
Posted: Friday, April 23, 2010
by Gerry Charbonneau
http://nibblednews.typepad.com
Mary Bly was once quoted as saying that ,"dogs come when they are called; cats take a message and get back to you later."
Please don't get me wrong.... cats and I do not get along all that well. In a word they are not my favorite cup of tea!
Garfield however is my favorite type of mischievous cat. He is a cat with a mind of his own and loves eating, sleeping and Odie and Jon (his cartooned owner).
To set the record straight , I am not allergic to cats and presently do not now own or have ever owned a cat.
Many cat lovers readily admit that although some cats are finicky, aloof and haughty a greater majority of our feline friends make wonderful companions. Cats seem to sense when their owners need them to be near and sympathetic.
Other cats tend to make the top of many a neighbor's most wanted nuisance list. These felines are considered felons: sneaky, constantly meowing and urinating all over the known universe.
The more aggressive cats often decide to create a make shift litter box for themselves and that usually spells trouble for non cat owning neighbors who must live by the determined cat's choice of litter box.
Apartment or condominium owners who live in a "pets welcomed here" building are often left to their own devices to dissuade a cat from using their front door carpeting as a litter box alternative.
I suppose a frustrated tennant could ask his neighbor to control his cat's behavior and try to dissuade the cat from urinating all over the neighbor's carpeting. This requires diplomacy and understanding on the part of the complaining neighbor...after all a cat owner never sees his/her cat in a negative way.
Another method to undermine this type of cat would be to purchase an anti cat aerosol spray and liberally drench the area outside your entranceway with this scented liquid. That might work. It did for me!
A formal complaint could be launched with your landlord or condo board to complain about the cat but this would go nowhere especially if a majority of the board members own cats themselves.
A more drastic approach involves buying a gnarly and growling dog to harass the cat and keep it at bay. This might backfire if the dog becomes a bigger pest to your neighbors than the cat could ever be.
Lastly there is the option of giving one month's notice to your landlord and seeking a residence elsewhere...hopefully in a pet free building. You have to time your move strategically and hope that the weather , vacancy rate and movers can be managed efficiently and successfully.
You could, if you felt daring enough, get a cat for yourself and hope that your cat and the neighbor's cat will take a liking to one another, have litters upon litters of kittens and force the offending neighbor to finally move out due to a definite and overwhelming abundance of meowing and urinating cats.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Hi Gerry, good article. I have found that most people that don't like cats have never owned one. :) My Grandmother, ex-husband, ex mother in law and fiance' all became cat lovers later in life. My Grandmother always viewed cats as a form of rodent until she hit 78 years old and was forced to move into my parents home with 4 affectionate cats. Now that she has had to move to a retirement home at age 91, she misses them terribly! There is still hope for you! PS-There is also a motion detection device that sprays a hissing sound to scare them away. Its available from the Drs. Foster & Smith catalogue and online I believe.Thank you for your comments......I'm glad it's not a hopeless situation for me!The cat that was patrolling outside my doorway was huge....almost 40 pounds of pure affection and loud meowing and it seemed at times a bladder that always needed drainig.I will check out the website you referred. Thanks again
I've never had any of the challenges that you mention but am an animal lover first and then a dog/cat lover. I don't get the urination situation or anythng you state in this article, for that matter. SuzyHi SuzyThanks for your comments..much appreciated.Some people who live next door to cats in apartment or condominium projects fare well with their feline friends. Others are at the the mercy of the furry felons.
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