Housing Rant

Why is it so freaking difficult to find a decent place I can afford that will allow two cats that aren't declawed but use Soft Paws?! I just got off the phone with a place that was absolutely perfect until I asked if they would accept Soft Paws as an alternative to their declaw-only policy. They wouldn't even consider it. Then the lady told me, "Just get your cats declawed; it makes life so much easier."

Yeah, maybe for humans, but not for the cats. There is absolutely no way I would put them through that kind of physical and emotional torture just to have a place to live.

It's not like where I am is horrible. I'm actually pretty lucky. But I cannot stand my roommate, or any roommate, really. But especially her for many reasons. So I desperately want my own place. However, I keep running into brick walls -- no pets, one cat only, declawed and no Soft Paws accepted, or the place is a dump, or it's way out of my price range.

GAHHHHH!!!!! I am SO frustrated right now!

The problem with a townhouse/condo is that they are way out of my price range. $800/month for EVERYTHING is my absolute maximum. That's really stretching my budget, but if it's a great place, I'd pay it. And I'm talking rent, utilities, and internet for everything. Most condos in my area go for at least $900 plus utilities.

For the place I just contacted this morning, she said something about this wooden wall (?????) that cats seem to love and costs like $1500 to replace. And she said they've "just had too many problems with cats that have claws." *sigh*

Because while Iowa is progressive in many ways, it's still dumb as a box of rocks when it comes to animals. Declawing should be banned in the US -- period.

So remember how I said I couldn't stand my roommate for many reasons? Add one more to the list.

On Friday, I came home and could not find my cats. When I called, I heard Cosette chirp from behind my roommate's closed door. (She was at work at this point.) I opened the door, and voila, my cats were in there. I was irked and texted her about it. Her response was that the wind must have closed the door on them.

That I can kind of roll with. It was very windy that day and we had the house open. However, my cats don't really venture into her room much, so I still had my misgivings. But I shrugged it off as just that.

This morning, I woke up around 9:00 and was bewildered that neither cat was banging down my door demanding breakfast. I rarely shut them out of my room, but I had to last night because they were being rambunctious. I poured each of their bowls and only Cosette came to eat. Very odd, considering McGee loves food above all else. I called and called and shook the bowl to get the kibble to rattle, but no McGee. Out of desperation, I checked her room. No McGee. Her bathroom door (master bedroom) was shut, so because I was out of places to look, I opened it. McGee came slinking out as if he'd done something horrible. I'm sure he probably ate the crap kibble my roommate feeds her cats since that's where she keeps their dishes.

I have yet to confront her again. This time she absolutely cannot blame the wind. Her room was shut up -- no windows open. I can't think of any other way he got shut up in her bathroom other than her doing it. Maybe I just have target fixation, but unless somebody here can point out a logical explanation, that's just one more reason for me to move all the sooner.

You DO NOT. MESS WITH. MY CATS! Even something as innocuous as confining them to her room/bathroom. I don't freaking care. Unless there was some emergency (in which case she needed to wake me up), I can't imagine there would be a call for it. PAWS OFF!

Signed,
A Raging Mad Cat Mom

The steady job I have. What I don't have is any credit history or enough money in savings for a decent down payment or to cover closing fees, inspection fees, etc. I really don't make enough to own a place. Couldn't cover repair expenses in a pinch.

My boyfriend and I went over my budget and expenses and we came to that conclusion. I wish living with him were an option, but he's a Navy Ensign who's soon going to be stationed at either Honolulu or San Diego -- very far away from any of my family. Plus he'll be gone so much that I'd probably end up resenting him. So for now, we're long distance.

But anyway, buying isn't much of an option for me right now.

Hah, yeah...he's not at a good point in his career for that, and neither are we at that point in our relationship. Not to say I haven't thought about it...

UPDATE: I'm going to go look at a place tonight. It seems perfect -- it's in my budget, it's one mile away from work, has a dishwasher, central air, loads of free off-street parking, low utils, and best of all, they will accept my clawed cats and my rats! The only downside is no washer/dryer in unit, but they do have laundry in the building, so I'll check that out.

Fingers and paws crossed!