Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: chickens in cohousing

[Cynthia Armistead (cyn]

Bonnie Fergusson wrote:

>       Even though it is practically unAmerican to think it, I now believe 
> Cohousing Communities would be better off (and their pets would be better off) 
> if there was a policy limiting the number of pets before move in.

When talking about pets, do you also address the issue of feral animals?

I used to visit East Lake Commons fairly regularly, and I was always 
greeted by a bunch of very friendly cats as soon as I got out of the 
parking area. Some would climb right up to ride on my shoulder! I'm a 
cat person, and I did encourage them by petting and talking to them, so 
I wasn't distressed at all. I asked whose cats they were, though, and 
was told that "everybody feeds them." A friend who lived there verified 
that many different people did keep food out, but as far as he could 
tell it was a growing colony of feral cats. Nobody took responsibility 
for taking the cats to the vet, or even trapping them to have them 
spayed/neutered. And the fleas! (I'm one of those people who are beloved 
by fleas and mosquitos--they'll swarm me and my daughter even if nobody 
else gets a single bite.)

I don't know if the feral cats are still there, but it's an issue I 
would have felt needed to be addressed by the community if I had lived 
there.

Namaste,
Cyn

--
"It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you 
will be when you can't help it." Oscar Wilde
http://technomom.com/ - http://fibrantliving.com/
http://cynthiaarmistead.com/ - http://cyberstalked.org/
http://paganparents.com/ - http://academycaritas.com/
http://heartsonghandicrafts.com/ - http://housefireheart.com/