Greetings and salutations, all. I won’t go into great detail here. I will simply copy an e-mail I received, and my reply. I will stress that I have no problem with the HOA. They are simply doing their job. My problem lies with the pettiness of others. If I get the chance I may comment more later. The e-mails are as follow:
Oak Hill Woods Board [oakhillwoods@yahoo.com]
Terry, we have again received complaints of cats from neighbors living around your condo. They have been found on back porch furniture and running into a garage whose door was open. If these cats are pets, then I ask that you maintain them in compliance with Article XVIII section G of the Associations Declaration. If these are wild animals I would ask that you refrain from feeding them as this draws them to the area. I know that you have taken steps to discourage these cats from causing problems within the complex, but it appears these efforts have not resolved all issues.
Thanks
Terry Keil, President
OHWC
Megabozo [harold@haroldsroom.net]
Dear Terry:
The cats were processed at VHS as TNR community cats as per city ordinance, so we do not own them. They come and go as they please at their discretion. I have forwarded your e-mail to VHS for their take regarding the rights of these cats to roam free within city limits, ie our common areas, and to verify the community cat description as “fed by one or more neighbors.” That would be us and the Smiths. It is my understanding city ordinance supersedes HOA rules and requests, as I believe I may have mentioned when I informed the board as to my intentions regarding these cats last fall, and why I proceeded the way I did because I did not want to break the law, but I will advise the accuracy of this when I hear back from VHS. They have been advising me as to what to do about the cats from day one, and I have followed their directions explicitly. You might want to check with our HOA lawyer regarding the cats’ rights and status: city ordinance vs HOA rules and requests et al. Send me the opinion and I will forward it to VHS and my attorney for response. In the interim, I have ordered four adjustable nozzle spray bottles which I have found to be highly effective in chasing the cats away from places we do not want them to be. Pretty damned simple. If a person has an IQ over 75 they should be able to handle it. Shoot them five or six times and they never come back. I will hand deliver these to my two neighbors to the south upon arrival Monday, and gladly give the other two to anyone who might request one. I have one sitting next to my chair at this moment. “I never leave home without it.” I fear this is as much as I can do. I have reached my limit on expenditures in processing the cats so they are sterile and safe, and trying to placate certain people. All of the animal deterrents I have installed will remain active, but I cannot prevent the cats, raccoons, foxes, coyotes or deer from going through the woods or into the streets to bypass them. They will not pass southward through our front or back yards, but that is the limit of my control. If anyone else wants to keep animals from the woods or the streets from entering their yards, I would highly recommend the motion activated sprinkler deterrents. The animals all fear them. We are using 304 SST clad hoses for those to try to prevent them from rupturing in the sunlight and summer heat. You can’t use them in the winter lest they freeze, but if you use them in conjunction with the electronic ultrasound models, especially the adjustable frequency models, it is just like Pavlov’s Dogs: The ultrasonic goes off and, “OH NO! THE HISSING, CLICKING COLD WATER SPRAYER IS NEXT!” The sprinklers are safely tucked away in the garage, but they run anyway.
I will be back in touch when I hear from VHS. Please feel free to forward this as necessary, and if you do run this past our lawyer, please forward his opinion for response.
Warmest regards,
Terry D. Appel, Esq.
