I won’t bore you with all of the correspondence, but here is the summation, and we will let this pass. Please, remember, if your place of residence has laws regarding feral/community cats, they are exempt, and protected.
Dear Terry:
After much consideration, deliberation and discussion, Lisa and I have come to the decision we will attempt to keep the cats contained as much as possible. While the law stipulates it is their right to come and go as they please, after my attempted discussion with Betty regarding the one cat that entered her garage one time, which can easily be dealt with, it is apparent she is unable to have a reasonable discussion without flying into a rage. Irrational, intolerant people are not the easiest to communicate with, as I am sure the members of the board know quite well. Due to this we are extremely concerned the cats’ lives might well be in danger, and that someone may attempt to poison them. It also concerns us that poisoned baits could cause harm to other woodland creatures. Another of our concerns is that we do not want the board to be burdened with basically inconsequential complaints that could easily be resolved personally if we could only establish a dialogue. We are sure you have plenty of serious problems to deal with, and your time is best spent on those. We anticipate it will be difficult to keep them from running out the door on occasion since they were born in the woods and consider it their home, but will curtail this as much as we possibly can. I do intend to take them out for supervised play periods in our feeding area to fill that void, and I will not leave them unattended. Fortunately, being retired, I can do this without being too inconvenienced. We also intend to leave our animal deterrents deployed just in case. The extra supplies I will need were ordered yesterday evening and will be delivered tomorrow, July 5, 2018. We hope that these additional measures will make all of our lives more peaceful. I do want to thank you and the other members of the board once again for your patience and understanding, and assure you we will continue to do the best that we can do to be responsible members of our community.
Warmest regards,
Terry D. Appel
Terry, I’m sure you, as I, feel we’re spending way too much time on this cat issue, but in my roll as OHWC President I feel I have a duty to all that live here to try and resolve the issue. When I look at city code 6.05 Animal Control I’m drawn to two sections. 6.05.020 defines “Animal Nuisance” within subsections (8) & (9) as an animal that trespasses and an animal that creates risk of substantial harm. I believe that I have a couple of residents who would say that these cats meet this definition. When I then look at section 6.05.040 “Prohibited Acts” it states “no person shall permit an animal nuisance”. The feeling is that by feeding these cats, you are aiding in the existence of creating a nuisance and that this is in violation of not only the Associations by-Laws, but city code. I would be interested in VHS’s and your attorney’s take on this.
Sorry we’re spending our time on this.
Terry Keil, President
OHWC
Terry:
I did that research prior to having the cats processed, sir. Community cats are not considered to be a nuisance animal, to be guilty of trespass on any property within the city limits, nor capable of substantial harm. They have their own, separate classification. I’m not sure if you saw my previous missive, but litigation to cease and desist against the complainants was one of the things Lisa and I discussed. We ruled that out as just something else which would cause more contention, and so decided we would rather try to mitigate the situation by controlling their access to the outdoors and monitoring them when outdoors to prevent them from wandering down that way. In some cases discretion is indeed the better part of valor. We do not want to get into a legal battle with either our neighbors or the association, even though we know our legal standing. Aside from one individual, we like living here. We find the board to be caring and even-handed, we like our other neighbors, and we would like to remain here. We would rather bite-the-bullet, control the cats, though we are not obligated to do so, and try to get along with everyone.
“Animal assemblage” means the gathering of seven or more altered dogs and/or altered cats over the age of six months, except community cats, on one or more adjoining lots owned or occupied by the same owner(s) or tenant(s) of a single residence on the lot(s).
“At large” means any animal, other than community cats, that is not under restraint.
“Community cat” means any free-roaming cat that may be cared for by one or more residents of the immediate area that is known or unknown; a community cat may or may not be a feral cat. Community cats shall be distinguished from other cats by being sterilized and ear-tipped. Community cats may be part of a trap-neuter-return (TNR) program.
It’s pretty cut-and-dried: they are exempt, and we can care for them. I would have left them strictly alone if this were not the case, but I did not want them to reproduce and spread throughout the property. If we need to seek legal counsel, we will, but we do not want this to advance to that stage, and we truly do not want to leave Oak Hill Woods, though we have also been discussing that. As I said in my previous message, we will do everything in our power to prevent this from escalating to that point, and to try to promote peace in the neighborhood.
Warmest regards,
Terry D. Appel
Terry, I truly appreciate all that you and Lisa are doing to mitigate this problem and hope that this puts an end to the issue.
Thanks again,
Terry Keil, President
OHWC
Terry,
I can’t say that it’s my pleasure to try to appease one toxic individual (the other individual is willing to work with us to resolve her issue), but I CAN say it is my pleasure to try to get this off of the board’s back, and maintain the peace. You have always treated us fairly, and we have no complaints with our interactions with the board. As soon as my supplies arrive tomorrow so I can hold the cats inside for extended periods I will put my plan into action. Until then I am keeping a close eye on them. Three are currently asleep in the sunroom with me, and three are asleep under the picnic table. They sleep a lot.
In parting for now, all I can say is, some people are reasonable and flexible, some are not and want everything their own way, or there is hell to pay. In this life we have to deal with both. Now please, for heaven’s sake, go enjoy your holiday. After two extremely trying days, I am going to try to enjoy the rest of mine.
Warmest regards,
Terry