vyger : Oh my! How delightful you are!
vyger : Oh my! How delightful you are!
You know what is funny but sad because it's true? I actually offered this to her once. She declined because she is 'allergic to dogs'.Cat repelent, to keep the cats from peeing around the place ---- Wolf urine!!!! Yes, tell your neighbor spraying a little fresh wolf urine around will keep the cats away
How did I not see this post until just now?Did you say the eviction process can take quite a while? Several months or even longer? Where I live, it's not easy for a landlord to evict someone, even if they haven't paid their rent. Have you legally appealed the eviction? Can you see if there is a lawyer in your area who specializes in animal advocacy? If you could have one conversation with such a lawyer, perhaps that would provide you with new information, or perhaps that lawyer could refer you to someone who might take your case pro bono.
I again bring up the possibility of doing a GoFundMe page and getting social media involved. It's doubtful that your neighbors would even be aware of your social media activity or your GoFundMe efforts for legal help.
Also if the possibility of eviction for continuing to feed the cats is real, and if I were in your shoes, I'd consider contacting my local news station and newspaper and see if they would do a story on what is happening to you. There is a lot of power in public outcry. It would be good to get advice and input from a lawyer about whether these tactics would be effective in your case. I'm not advising you to do any of these things, and you have to take care of yourself. I'm just rambling about what I might do in your situation.
Have you contacted Alley Cats International? They might have some helpful suggestions for you.
I'm not going to minimize the situation and say the cats will all be fine and survive on hunting prey, because that's just not realistic, as you say, some may be fine, some may not be fine. Gradually decreasing the food instead of abruptly stopping the food would be better if that is possible. Is there a Humane Society in your area that you can contact for assistance and advocacy? You've mentioned animal control, but is there a Humane Society that could help? Is it possible for the Humane Society to take these cats and see if any of them are adoptable? Can you say what city and state you live in?
This is actually much better than you realize, from a legal standpoint. The big legal issue that I see is ownership. If he approves then he establishes that they own/owned the cats. The reason for your potential eviction then becomes null and void because they have admitted the cats are their pets and ironically they are now in violation of their own policy. This is also true if he declines. Either way you have won because answering either yes or no establishes that they own the pets. His only out is to say that he has no interest or control over the animals in which case you are free to do with them as you please. Again you win. If he says no that again means that they own the cats/pets and they are then responsible for their care BY LAW. Again since they are not your pets the eviction notice becomes void. Not only that (and I love this part) YOU CAN SUE THEM for the time and cost you have incurred in caring for the animals since they took ownership of the property since they had a legal obligation to care for the animals but deferred that obligation to you. It became an implied contract. A thousand a month plus interest ------. Interestingly you can sue them even if they agree to give the cats up because their care would be retroactive to them acquiring the property. But I would hold that back depending on their dropping all action against you. Oh and finally because you were doing this for the other owner for so many years your "contract" was already established when the property changed hands. There would be a lot of room for debate with this as to the legality of the obligation but chances are good a working class people jury would find for you and not the "company". It would probably never get that far but it sure would be a interesting case. By the way this is something that a legal school would be interested in taking on as a case because it would give the students tremendous experience. If they did that the only thing you would have to pay would be court filing costs.and 2 of them are going to go to the Community Office and speak directly with the CM, hopefully tomorrow but likely Thursday. He wants the cats gone? They will take the cats to, get this my friends, a Cat Home. Can you believe this??? And they are willing to take all 20-25!!! All of this wonderfulness depends COMPLETELY on the CM giving his freaking approval.
You're a fighter for these cats, it's not like you're asking to keep a gang known for blood sport in the community! You just want these cats to be given a life and help them.Sorry everyone! Between running an underground cat railroad, having my AC go out, car troubles, and a 'summer' cold...I haven't had much time left for anything. Wanted to provide some quick updates:
1. I am still in my home! No further notices or action has taken place. This is still my top priority - not getting evicted.
2. The management still has done nothing in regards to the cats. While this is good news, it also means that he is happy to sit by while cats are (supposedly) being denied food and water. This actually disgusts me even more. I am making my way through the chain of command within the Property Management company itself as Pet Alliance of Orlando in partnership with Orange County Animal Services just got the greenlight for 'mass trap events' starting in August. This is what I had originally arranged back in February that the manager never gave his approval for. This time, I am going over his head.
3. Sadly, I never heard more from the lady that offered to take my colony. Well, to be fair, she responded to a few messages, but to my knowledge no one came to speak to the the CM and she did not provide details or even directions to her location in Osteen. So, using the resources I have, I managed to re-home about 12 cats. They are doing well and so far seem to be acclimating to their new environments nicely. Some of the cats had their favorite buddy, so I tried to keep them together.
4. I have a plan to shift the feeding location, but need to visually check the area and see if it will be a good spot or not. There is a huge cell tower about 500-600 feet from my house (if you were to draw a line in mid air), and I discovered that where it sits is NOT owned by my neighborhood! Removing ANY colony from land owned by a business or person is ideal. I'll reserve judgement until I can take a look myself, but immediate concerns are other people/kids messing with anything I might set up. There is a walking path that is frequented a lot by kids going to and from school.
5. There are already MORE cats.
Yes, there is tons more, but this is most of it. As it has been recommended, I will be starting a go-fund me page to help with the financial impact of relocation, food, and continuing care and management. We (myself and TNR groups I am working with) decided to use the opportunity to get as many cats out of the neighborhood as possible, so this new colony could end up being HUGE, but it will make the mass trap effort easier and the cats should be safe from being exterminated.
Please let me know your thoughts about any/all of this. The wealth of insight and knowledge you have given me is what got me moving in the right direction. Not to mention the support alone has kept me going. Thank you all again, so very very much.