thread: Bureaucracy Sucks!

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  1. #1
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Nov 2005
    Langwarrin. Victoria
    1,654

    Bureaucracy Sucks!

    Okay first off I need to preface this with a please don't respond with a "well you knew the risk" post......don't need to be told I told you so at this point...just need to vent some anger at the injustice of the system.

    About 6 six years ago we bought a block of land to build our dream home on. Now this land title document was over 200 pages with all the crazy nit picky building covenenants etc.....a HUGE document. There were 2 lines in this over 200 page document that said that the estate had been declared by council by law to be a cat free zone......I missed it on reading the contract, my husband missed it, our lawyer didnt pick up on it when he read it and the land developers did not point it out.

    So we signed on our dream home etc etc and began building......It was then that we discovered that we were moving into what was apparently a cat free area.....we could not legally pull out of our contract at this stage.......we have or had at the time two cats which I love dearly......I have always had cats, do not remember a time when I did not have a cat around and love them tobits and pieces.

    We are also responsible cat owners......our cats are solely indoor animals and are never ouside so do not pose a risk to any supposed native wildife in the area (which we have never clapped eyes on by the way in the whole five years we have been here).

    We ummed and ahhed about it all and having no where to rehome the cats to decided to take the risk and bring the cats with us. We did the right thing and registered them at this address and thought we will do the right thing and, well if council picks us up on it we will deal with it. We did not hide the fact we have a cat...our neighbours all know...noone has had a problem.

    It has taken them over five years to pick up on their computer system we have a cat (one died of old age just recently). We have been told council has deregistered them and we have X number of days to rehome her or she will be forceably removed and euthanaised.

    i am devestated. My cat is a family member and she is also my lifeline. Due to ill health I am unable to work outside the home...she is my constant companion and sometimes the only one I will talk to from one end of the day to the other. I have anxiety attacks...she is able to calm me down without the use of drugs...no one else, not even hubby can do that. Her ability to help calm me has helped me stay of anti depressants for the past few years despite suffering health related depression. This is important to me now I am pregnant as I do not want to be pumping even more drugs into my unborn baby. She has sensed every pregnancy and every loss we have suffered and been there for me snuggling up to my belly instinctively providing comfort.

    She is there for me during this pregnancy which has been stressful beyond belief quietly helping to calm me and keep me sane.

    Most important of all she is my hypo cat...she can sense (as many animal species can) when my blood sugars are dropping, especially when I am asleep at night, and she will nudge me to wake up and attend to it before they get too bad. This is extremely important to me at the moment with hypos being 10x more prevalent when you are pregnant and needing to avoid any risks to my precious unborn child.

    To be quite frank she is a part of me and I don't know how I am going to cope without her...It sucks! It just really sucks!

    i think the council regulation sucks especially when we are not as close to the wildlife areas as the exisiting older housing areas around us. there are also many many cat owners in this estate, most of which I would imagine would be unregistered and many who let their cats roam.....we frequently have one of a couple of regular visitors on our deck at night annoying our animals through the glass and frequently have to bring our dog in at 2 am and lock him inside to stop him barking at the cat sitting on the fence tormenting him.

    arrghhh......i dunno. I know there is probably no solution but I just think blanket rulings are unfair and unjust and it...well...it just sucks is all!!

    I'm gonna miss my baby.

    As soon as we have money we will be moving I think....I built this home as a dream home to raise my family in and until Monday that's what it was....now it has all soured.....now it is just a house with four walls and roof and bad juju!

    If you read all this thanks....i just needed to get it out......
    Last edited by melbel; October 21st, 2009 at 11:20 AM.

  2. #2
    Registered User

    Dec 2007
    Sunny Qld
    14,682

    Um can you just "pretend" that you rehomed her? Like, deregister her, tell the council you have rehomed her, if they come around for an inspection (do they do that?) then put her in a kennel for the time they are there or something and then um... live your life the way you want and they should never come around again and hassle you?

    Thats what I would do.

  3. #3
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Nov 2005
    Langwarrin. Victoria
    1,654

    We thought of that already but what if the ranger comes to do a spot inspection or sees her in a window. i dont know if they can come into the house or something like that.....dunno what the risks are in that scenario....

    Also when we we rehome her we have to give council the address of her new home so I assume they will be following up on it....

  4. #4
    Registered User

    Dec 2007
    Sunny Qld
    14,682

    Bah if a ranger comes around to do a spot inspection to see if someone has a cat due to some bloody stupid covenants - obviously they have nothing better to do with their day!!!

    Think of it this way - are you willing to get rid of her - or move - NOW before trying this idea? What if they never came around and checked? and you did get rid of her? I'd take the chance first, and then deal with the consequences. She sounds like a bloody special cat, and I know I wouldn't ever get rid of mine - and they never do anything as amazing as yours does!!!

    Also when we we rehome her we have to give council the address of her new home so I assume they will be following up on it....
    Sorry - didn't see this part - can you give them a friend's address who has a cat of a similar age and breed? That way if they go around there - they'll never know the difference.

    OR - give them my address - I doubt they will be coming to Tassie to check up

  5. #5
    Registered User

    Feb 2008
    Near the Snowies!
    2,975

    I was thinking along the same lines as Reyna - can you get your doctor to verify that she is needed due to your medical condition- much like a guide dog or similar? If re-homing her is going to put your life and your new baby's life potentially at risk, I would say she is an extremely important part of your life. Maybe get your neighbours to write a letter saying they have no issues with the cat living next door too?

    I would be trying everything to keep her there before you try and rehome her...that really sucks..why is it a declared 'no cat' area? Is there a wildlife reserve or something nearby? In which case if she is always kept inside then there shouldn't be a problem with her attacking wildlife? I hope they see sense...sounds like a stupid rule to me!

  6. #6
    Registered User

    Dec 2007
    Sunny Qld
    14,682

    Ooh just had another thought - can you write to the land developers and ask them to exempt you from the covenant? Never know - they might just do it! Worth a try anyway

  7. #7
    Registered User

    Feb 2008
    Brisbane QLD
    30

    Have you looked into whether there might be a legal loophole on medical grounds? Could your doctor put together a report backing up your claims of the cat improving your health and wellbeing?

    Good luck.

  8. #8
    BellyBelly Life Subscriber

    Jun 2008
    In snuggle land
    4,499

    Can she be registered as a care animal? I have no idea how you would do this. I know people with diabetes can have dogs registered as a care animal. Never heard about it with cats. Maybe call Diabetes Australia.

    You might be able to apply for special consideration, given your circumstances. You'll need back up from your doctor. But if you details your circumstances, they'll at least have to consider it.

    I'd call or write to your local MP too.

    Doggie 'doctors' diagnose their owners' ills - Creature Comforts- msnbc.com