Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Pet Policy for Cats in Co housing community

[Karen Carlson (kcarlson2]

If only we could count on our cats to be a positive part of our ecosystem. But, 
there's plenty of evidence otherwise. From the Illinois Dept of Public Health: 
"Many rat problems around homes can be related to the keeping of pets. In fact, 
rats may live in very close association with cats and dogs. Rats frequently 
live beneath a doghouse and soon learn they can feed on the dog's food when he 
is absent or asleep. Although house cats, some dogs and other predators kill 
rats, they do not usually provide effective rat control." From the TNR 
RealityCheck: (excerpted, not quotes) Cats are non-native invasives, not part 
of our ecosystem, don't discriminate native species of small animals and birds 
from "pests." As much as I love and appreciate cats, I have seen my formerly 
outdoor cat bring a live mouse into the house and let it go---making a b-line 
to the pantry.


Karen Carlson
Arboretum Cohousing Community
Madison, Wi





 Outdoor cats compensate for many
> human, sloppy, rat-friendly practices: humans attract rats with imperfect
> composting, with unharvested fruit, with the feces of their pet dogs, and
> with bird feeders. Outdoor cats usually take care of the resulting rats
> without too much notice (or credit or appreciation ;-)
> 
> If you do wish to limit outside cats, your policy at a very minimum should
> restrict BOTH outdoor cats and birdfeeders.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> Beverly Jones Redekop
> 
> beverly.jones.redekop [at] gmail.com
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> On Fri, Apr 24, 2015 at 6:26 AM, Sharon Villines <sharon [at] 
> sharonvillines.com>
> wrote:
> 
> >
> >
> > > On Apr 24, 2015, at 8:50 AM, Coleen O'Connell <oconnellcoleen [at] 
> > > gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > If you lived in a regular neighborhood
> > > you would have zero control.
> >
> > Actually not. It depends on whether you are rural or urban. Outdoor cats
> > are illegal in Washington DC. The cats could be reported, or caught and
> > turned in to animal control.
> >
> > The reason we finally got a pet policy at all is that we consulted Animal
> > Control on the interpretation of the law on dogs. Unless they are in a
> > fenced yard that belongs to a privately owned house, dogs have to be "under
> > the control of the owner." "Under control" means the dog is on a leash or
> > close enough for the owner to grab them. A child under 14 (?) doesn't
> > qualify as a person who can control a dog. To walk a dog on a leash, they
> > are supposed to have an adult present.
> >
> > A condo doesn't qualify as private home. If we had allowed dogs to be free
> > roaming on our property, we would have been liable as a community for their
> > actions. Since a number of our members had been subject to or had close
> > friends subject to dog bites (one young child being bitten in the face
> > leaving permanent scars), no one was willing to take that risk.
> >
> > The control of cats is not so strict as dogs in DC but it could be
> > enforced. Cats are more of an irritant.
> >
> > Sharon
> > ----
> > Sharon Villines
> > Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> > http://www.takomavillage.org
> >
> >
> >
> >
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> >
> >
> >
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