Venting please help me out

I got a letter today from our condo management group "reminding" us that no pets are allowed in the building. This imeans someone must have complained about them which pisses me off because they don't hurt anyone. We have a guy living across from us who is on the condo board and he hates cats. I 'm so mad and not sure what to do about it. We asked if cats were allowed before we bought the condo and were told yes. It wasn't till after we moved in that we go our "welcome" package stating no cats allowed. We own the unit, can they have that rule? I mean they don't go in the hallway and never leave our bought and paid for unit. It breaks my heart thinking we might have to loose them.

I'm under the impression that they do not know we have 2 cats, only 1. Cleo crys all the time at the front door when its time for my wife or I to come home. She is loud and craves attention, I would hate to give her away so we can Keep Ameretto. I have tried everything but it appears that Cleo is insecure and always needs to know that we are around. At night as soon as I pick her up and take her into my room she settles on the bed without a peep. She purrs and cuddles all night.

I need ideas on how to quiet her down, has anyone had success with cat repelent. I'm thinking about spraying our front door area in hopes that she won't go near it and cry.

I guess the only good news is the letter only stated a reminded of the policy on pets. It wasn't specific is saying that they knew we had cats, or to get rid of them.

I'm not sure what to do, the though of loosing them is almost painfull enough to sell our condo

Jason

 

I'm sorry Jason that you have to deal with this sad situation. Have you tried using a Feliway diffuser in the front area? It might calm down Cleo. If that doesn't work then I would get a cat deterent spray for the front area. Good luck!

 

Our apartment has a no pets clause as well. One day, we received a note on the door saying that we have an "unauthorized cat" and that we need to contact the manager's office immediately. But it turned out that "no pets" actually means "no pets unless you pay a $200 deposit." So we paid the deposit, and all is well. Hope the solution is as simple for you. Good luck.

 

What type of Spray?

Is it best to get these sprays from the Vet, or can you buy them in pet stores. Do you have any brand names or types that have worked for you in the past?


Jason

 

Hi Jason--I've tried most of the deterrent sprays that you can get from Wal-Mart or a pet store to no avail. What worked for me is ssscat deterrent spray which is basically a can of air with a motion detector on the top. It beeps first and then emits a blast of air. Pretty soon you can set it to just beep. And now I can just set the can in front of where I don't want Copper to go. I found it the cheapest to order it at Valley Vet Supply, but lots of places have it.
Good Luck!

 

this could be long....

A Realtor I used to work with owned a condo and a beautiful German Shepherd dog - this dog was a child to him and his wife and they could not imagine not having him in their lives....especially since they'd had him for 7 years.

Now I live in NH ski country :roll: and the majority of the condos are bought/used as weekend/vacation homes. One day a woman came up for the weekend to use her condo, which was in the same development as the Realtor I worked with. A Lab barked at her (keep in mind this woman had a small dog). The woman thought the dog was going to bite her and she complained to her husband (who happened to be the Treasurer of the condo assoc.) that all large dogs should be banned. She felt that when they came up on weekends to use their vacation home she shouldn't feel threatened by large dogs #-o . So they started to attempt to pass a new condo law stating no dogs over 20 lbs.

The Realtor, Dick, joined the condo assoc. board and got himself voted in as president :y_the_best: took him months but he was able to pass a law grandfathering a clause that all dog that lived there could not be forced to be gotten rid of. Then he sold his condo and bought a house so he wouldn't have to deal with that again.

If you really want to fight this you will have to fight. You are at the mercy of your condo assoc. I'd start knocking on doors, or go to your city hall and find names/addresses of every condo owner in your complex and start mailing letters.

Find out who might own pets, how they feel about owning pets, and start working on passing a new condo law. There should be stipulations regarding pet ownership (weight limit, spaying/neutering, up to date on vaccines, and such). But the only way to change things is to not sit back and complain and let someone dictate to you how things will be - but to start fighting back.

 

I have to be very careful

Mary

As of yet they do not have any proof that I have cats. The letter they sent me was general and vague re stating the pet rule. I know for a fact that their are other pets in the building but I fear that by going door to door I will give them the evidence they need to take action. I am unsure what action they can actually take as my wife and I own our condo outright. Maybe the letter is just a fear tatic as the management company cannot kick us out of a $170,000 home that we own. I;m not sure what my options are, I mean if they had a rule stating that no plants were allowed in the units would that prohibit me from hanging a plant in a home that I own.

Sigh

What to do?

 

one of the first things my Realtor friend did was contact a lawyer to see exactly what his rights were as a condo owner. Yes, like you, he owned his condo and his restrictions/covenants did not state any rules regarding pets ownership (other than if someone rented their unit a tenant could not have a pet). I'd definitely check out the formal restrictions and see what is stated regarding pets. Since it is your property I don't see how they could state you couldn't own an inside-only cat, parakeet, or fish tank if you wanted to. I could understand them not wanting dogs that need to be taken outside to relieve themselves on common areas...but inside pets - any damage would be limited to property you already own.

 

I will do that

Mary

I will contact a lawyer. The key is finding a useful one that won't take all my money and tell me something I already know. I agree with you, I could see no dogs as they can dirty the common areas, but an inside cat bothers no one.

It pisses me off that this rule came around because the former board chair hated cats.


Jason

 

good luck Jason...if nothing else works maybe the market in your area is good. Personally if someone told me I couldn't have a pet inside my own home - I'd be gone

 

What a terrible situation. Good luck. I hope everything works out for you. Keep us posted.

 

Its not her fault

It not even Cleo's fault that she is talkative. I believe that she always needs to know that someone is here, as she was abandoned in the hallway by the family who had her before us.

I've tried to leave the tv on, and my music, and it masks her voice. Also she doesn't cry when put in the bedroom with the door closed. I might have to resort to doing this while we are not home.

Can anyone send me a link for that cat spray we were talking about?

Jason

 

http://www.ssscat.com/repellent/home.html

 

I would think that if you never signed anything saying that you agree to not have cats then I don't see what they can do about it.