There’s a lovely cat who needs a home, and who is in danger… A really nasty situation has developed in the apartment complex where I live. After years of co-existing with feral cats, the new manager has declared war on them — and not just feral cats, but any cat found outside. We were told that if we fed any outside cat, we would be fined, and that if any pet cat was found outside, it would be trapped and sent away along with the ferals. Now, a lot of the residents here have been feeding cats outside, pets and ferals, for years, and the thought of them going hungry got a lot of people very upset, including me…
Two weeks ago, the trapping started. Most of the cats they were catching were kittens. It was clear from the beginning that the trappers were not professionals. I checked with Animal Control, and they knew nothing about the trapping. By law, the trapped cats are supposed to go to the county shelter, but they aren’t showing up there…
I am scared for myself and for my pets. I am moving on September 8 — even though the manager is charging me an extra $2000 for being, in her words, “unprofessional.” I don’t know if the ferals can be saved. Probably not. I feed them after dark even so.
But there is one kitty, whose photo I’ve attached, who could be saved. He isn’t feral. His owner abandoned him. I call him Ben. He’s about four years old. He’s timid and gentle. He runs from the feral cats. I can pet him, pick him up, and even get him into a carrier, with less trouble than my own cats give me. He needs to be neutered and have his shots, but I would gladly do that if I could keep him from being trapped and find him a loving home. It would make all this misery worthwhile if I knew he was safe.
Anyone who has any leads, contact me at AnneLaurie @ verizon.net (click on my name to the right) and I’ll put you in touch with Liz B.
Scott S.
I am moving on September 8—even though the manager is charging me an extra $2000 for being, in her words, “unprofessional.”
Is that legal?
Mont D. Law
I am curious – I’m in Canada – is there anyway to get the cat to me?
The Other Chuck
Blow off that $2000 charge. It’s a hundred percent illegal. Let her know that if she persists, she’ll end up paying YOU for court costs. Then post a review about her little stunt on Yelp.
As the law is concerned, your pets are your property, and if they’re properly tagged and she takes them away anyway, she’s basically tresspassing if not committing outright theft.
JR
It sounds like the building manager is breaking the law with regard to handling these cats. Animal control should be notified that an illegal and abusive cat trapping operation is underway, and that cats are being treated illegally.
The manager is responsible, and so are the manager’s employers.
People go to jail for this kind of activity.
FoxinSocks
This whole thing strikes me as illegal. We had an apartment complex try to shut down a feral colony where I live and after a long battle, they gave up, because in the end, having a managed colony is to the benefit of everyone.
I’d suggest contacting Alley Cat Allies for some advice:
http://www.alleycat.org/page.aspx?pid=452
240-482-1980
Also, try contacting your local tv station. See if the new management can be shamed into stopping this.
In regards to Ben, I can contribute some money if he needs to be transported to a new home.
Villago Delenda Est
@JR:
Agreed.
That building manager is expecting intimidation and bullying to work.
That building manager is exposing the building’s owners to legal action that will make their lives a living hell.
Sarah
@Mont D. Law: I would help pay for transport if it can be worked out!
vwcat
I would love to take one but, I live in northern Illinois.
I wish I lived closer so I could take one as we have been talking of getting a new cat.
J. Michael Neal
Maybe I should start a business carrying rescue animals around the country. That would be a job, right?
vwcat
can you possibly send one of the cats to me? I have a loving home for a cat.
vwcat
@J. Michael Neal:
actually, yes. there are so many to be adopted and sometimes the perfect pet is states away from the perfect guardian.
You could make a nice business from that.
Maude
If you break the lease, you have to pay the amount of rent due and you lose the security deposit. A manager can;t just make stuff up and get away with it.
What usually happens is a tenant goes into court to get the security deposit back. The tenant has to prove to the judge that he or she is owed the deposit.
The manager is not allowed to speak to a tenant in that way.
I’d get out and after the owner.
Jane2
@Mont D. Law: You’ll need some paperwork and all…details here.
Valdivia
I would also send some paypal if there is somewhere to transport Ben.
J. Michael Neal
Actually, I wouldn’t mind doing that for mileage and maybe a little extra. I enjoy driving by myself. It would probably be more efficient if at least one end of the trip is in the Upper Midwest, though.
Steeplejack (phone)
Trendy alert! I’m at the Newseum with Kathleen Turner and Margaret Engel for a Q&A on their Molly Ivins play. And when I say “with,” I mean in the green room with. Film at 11:00.
Valdivia
@Steeplejack (phone):
I haz a jealous.
Quaker in a Basement
You could ask this “professional” manager to give you a little kiss–then show her where to put it.
Violet
That kitty is adorable. Look at those little white paws. I hope someone can help him.
Agree with the others. The manager is doing something illegal. Don’t know how far you want to take it, or if getting out is just the smarter option, but paying the $2000 seems ridiculous.
Quaker in a Basement
@Steeplejack (phone): Please let Ms. Turner know that we men of a certain age still haven’t quite gotten over Body Heat and we still hold her in, um, high esteem.
WereBear
@Steeplejack (phone): You wild man! Show them kitty pictures…
Regarding the bleg, yes, I’m in to help with costs for Ben; I would so take him but three is our limit and we have four…
MazeDancer
Seems like we often have a kind and generous response of “I would be delighted to contribute $ to transporting”. (And count me in on $, too.)
But we need a plan and a paypal account.
Kitties can be flown in cargo, but not in the summer. So for immediate transport to either Canada or Northern Illinois, or anywhere, it will have to be either driving or someone flying with kitty in cabin. (Airline miles can also be used for that if people have extra.)
Flying from Newark to Chicago is not that far. And sometimes there are last minute deals. So maybe that could be arranged?
But anything would require one of the new home people working out through Annie Laurie to hook up with the poster that they are for real. And then the poster working with the new home people on who sets up the paypal, and co-ordinating with the volunteers who will either fly or drive a relay.
Now that’s a big effort. But it can be done. And if you work it out this time, maybe it will set up a model for the future. Easy for me to say, of course, when all I’m offering is money. (Though could possibly take a leg of the driving relay to Canada, depending on the route.)
Others want to help with money, too. But a plan and a paypal account would be needed.
Djur
Yeah, I concur with the remarks in this thread about not accepting the $2000 charge or the illegal trapping. I think people are so used to being powerless (say, in the workplace) that they don’t realize what protection they’re due as a tenant. It is absolutely vital that landlords and building managers like these get their due — the right to live with privacy and without harassment in exchange for rent is ancient and one which we should never give up.
Djur
By the way, do you have a Capture-Fix-Release program in your area? Feral cats are all very well and good but if possible you should make sure they’re sterilized.
jenn
Shoot. Can Liz B foster him for a little while, while working on finding him a home? It sounds like he’s in pretty big danger of getting caught and killed if he doesn’t make it indoors pretty quickly. He sounds like enough of a sweetheart that he could get a home relatively quickly, particularly since he’s gorgeous! Are there any good cat rescue places nearby? I suspect a cat that sweet would be a good candidate (vs. ferals, that they might be more reluctant to take in). Good luck!
Allen
@Mont D. Law: Cats are easy to import into Canada. Regulated by, of all people, Canadian Food Inspection Agency. All you need is a rabies certificate.
La Caterina
I’m in for part of the transport costs.
Tata
Pets are considered property in New Jersey. The manager cannot steal your pets. The police would have something to say about that. As always, though, you have to find the right police officers.
About the manager calling a tenant “unprofessional” – what could that even mean? Unprofessional at what? Being a resident?
J. Michael Neal
@Tata: I should try calling one of my tenants unprofessional to see what reaction I get. If I thought they could pay up, I’d try hitting them with a random $2,000 charge, too.
Liz
i’ve brought my cat from the US to Canada both by car and in plane cabins. It’s very easy. You just need a note from a Vet saying that he’s healthy & got his vaccination. Then you show the paper at the airport or when crossing the border. When flying, half the time they forget to ask for the paper.
Liz
i’ve brought my cat from the US to Canada both by car and in plane cabins. It’s very easy. You just need a note from a Vet saying that he’s healthy & got his vaccination. Then you show the paper at the airport or when crossing the border. When flying, half the time they forget to ask for the paper.
jacy
I would take the kitty if somebody could get it to New Orleans. My husband may leave me, but I can live with that.
schrodinger's cat
He has the same markings as my orange tabby Inji, she is however a bit Tunchesque.
Tata
I’m sorry, this was worrying: why is Liz B afraid for herself?
phoebes-in-santa fe
I’ll also contribute to a fund to pay to fly this fellow to a good home.
a geek named Bob
If anybody’s in the New Haven area, have them swing by. I’ll cough up a few bucks to the Orange Kitty fund.
jafd
_The Columbian Herald_, a newspaper published in Woodbury, NJ (about 10 miles SW of Mount Holly), occasionally accepted cats in payment for subscriptions.
Unfortunately, they went out of business in 1830 or so…
Have passed the word along to my felineophile friends in Easthampton Township, tho.
MoZeu
@Maude: The owner of the property needs to make commercially reasonable efforts to re-rent and if they are successful, they may not keep your deposit. Even if you break the lease.
Aet
“It was clear from the beginning that the trappers were not professionals”
“We were told that if we fed any outside cat, we would be fined, and that if any pet cat was found outside, it would be trapped and sent away along with the ferals.”
Call the cops. Something really weird is going on here, and its not just a civil issue. You might get charged a fee for moving out of a place before a lease expires. But they’re probably gassing people’s pets here, while trying to intimidate them into silence, all so they can save a few bucks on getting rid of strays.
If it was just the non-professional trappers, or the unexplained fees, it’s bad enough. But these two things together indicate something different is going on.
Deb T
Wow, Ben looks just like my half-cat, Bill. Bill is on the loose, but I swear I’m not the only one who feeds him. He’s half tame. In my house I can pet him and brush him, but if I see him outside, all bets are off.
I think there’s a lot of good advice in the comments. Good luck.