My little suburban neighborhood on Maui has a dividing issue. Cats. Free roaming, outdoor cats to be specific. Mind you, we've always had a cat (or two) but they were kept indoors so that we could haul out their poop. People on Maui think the rest of us enjoy hauling out their cats' poop.
We don't.
At our first Homeowner's Association meeting, 8-10 couples finally decided to bring up the issue. Every week before we could mow our little lawn, we'd have to scoop up mounds of cat shit. Yes. Since there isn't any bark dust or sand right here, they just poop wherever they want ... except, of course, not their own yard. We were one of the couples who complained (Ralph had cancer and could not be in contact with the urine and feces). Three separate times the cats pissed through our screen door onto our tile entry.
The Crazy Cat Lady lives kitty corner from me. She has FORTY cats. Some are indoor only, some are outdoor only (with access to her garage). Ralph and I were friendly with her and her best friend of 30 years who lives right next door to us. We had lawn parties and went out for dinner as well as having them both over for a home cooked meal. We tried working directly with Crazy Cat Lady (her term by the way) about the unhealthy remnants from her cats. She suggested lots of natural ways to deter them. Pepper all over the lawn. Mothballs. Special deterrent spray. Citrus peels and spray. None of them worked. She even bought an electronic gizmo that was motion sensitive to scare them away. It didn't work either.
At the meeting, after a few others outlined their problems with all the cats (estimated 400,000 free roaming cats on this island ... with Crazy Cat Lady and cohorts feeding them at their colonies), Crazy Cat Lady's feelings were hurt despite the fact that no one mentioned anyone by name. Megan, her friend, became an angry vindictive woman who began to vandalize our yard. Stealing our bird feeders (thinking we were using them to "lure" cats into our yard so that we could kill them). Pouring molasses down our side of the white plastic fence that divides our yards (yes, it stains). Putting peanut butter on the top of the fence. And so on. It quickly escalated into cat lovers and cat haters (although we are not).
I contacted every resource I could think of to get some help in convincing her (and others) to keep their pets in their OWN yards (or homes). There are so many rules and regulations regarding dogs! Why not for cats? I tried our HOA (our bylaws say we may keep a "reasonable" number of pets). I tried the Humane Society. The Feline Foundation. The County. The Police. The Board of Health. Apparently the feline lovers on Maui have a LOT of money and many are afraid to address this out of control situation.
So I bought a live trap and took my first victim to the Humane Society. August 2011.
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I'm so glad that's your problem and not mine! I like cats but I'm allergic to them and couldn't stand living next to an animal hoarder, which your neighbor is. Here in my town the county would come take all but 3 of those cats away and those three left would have to be fixed. People who hoard think they are doing good but they're not. The health issues alone for those poor cats will have from living in such close conditions is sinful. Good luck with your trapping.
ReplyDeleteYes, Crazy Cat Lady is definitely a cat hoarder. Even her closest friends had tried to do an intervention. But once we complained, they have all surrounded her and her hoarding ways against the meanies.
ReplyDeleteOne of the complaining neighbors, who signed the terrorist letter without ever meeting us, moved from the neighborhood "because his cat went missing and he was worried about the safety of his children". When the Humane Society found his cat and contacted him ... HE DIDN'T WANT IT BACK!
CCL (Crazy Cat Lady) has quarterly garage sales to fund the cat group. She feeds a colony half a mile from our homes. Encourages others to adopt a colony also.
Just a few weeks ago, Maui County had a meeting to discuss the out of control cat and chicken problem. There were speakers for both sides of the issue but they agreed to work together. The next step is to STOP FEEDING colonies of feral cats and any outdoor animals.
Stay tuned!