Bureaucracy Sucks!

[melbel]

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......

[Arimeh]

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.

[melbel]

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....

[Reyna]

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.

[Arimeh]

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

[LionsandBears]

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

[ss_storm]

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!

[Arimeh]

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

[Astrid]

Gosh, my heart is breaking for you. I cannot imagine living life without a cat, or 2 or 3. Here's hoping you can get special consideration for your special furball.

[Trillian]

even though you knew, 5 years is a LONG time for them to pick up on it and they should have just left well enough alone I reckon I think you should look into the companion animal act (might be something different in vic) and see if they can do anything.

[feeb]

Gees that sucks. I am thinking same as others give them someone elses address and say they are new owner. OR get written documentation from doctor re her being needed as assistance animal to notify your of BSL drops.

Good luck ( I can not understand what is such an issue given that your cats are indoors)

[~Raven~]

Oh gees Mel It sucks that there is no room for negotiation.

I reccon if you try to look into the companion animal thing it might help. Also what if you had an outdoor cat run so they see that if puss ever went outdoors then it would be in that an nowhere else...

You could always move to Pakky

[melbel]

I had a look at the NSW companion animal act and it has a really good section on assistance animals of all sorts of species...then looked at the Victorian domestic animals act and we have zero provision for animals of this nature. The most it says is a paragraph saying guide dogs can't be prosecuted if they harm someone in the performance of their duties......Tis all a big joke really.

I think I might have to give Slater and Gordon a ring and see if I have any legal standing to appeal......also a ring to the local MP might be in order.....

[entreat]

I miss having a kitty so much. Dogs are neat, but cats are awesome.

I wish you luck in your challenge.

[Oorki Galoorki]

i am happy for you to give my address as your babies "new " home is SA we dont have registration for cats and it should be able to keep them off your back.

defiantly de register her and if they do a spot check at any point she is having a holiday with you because her new "owners" had to go away quickly!

[luna moth]

Local MP is a great choice. Fight it, mel, as hard as you can!

If a ranger did see your cat, what would the penalty be? It might just be a fine. I'm sure you could get away with it...

[somewoman]

i am happy for you to give my address as your babies "new " home is SA we dont have registration for cats and it should be able to keep them off your back.

defiantly de register her and if they do a spot check at any point she is having a holiday with you because her new "owners" had to go away quickly!

I agree - people go away for business and holidays and need someone to look after their pets. Who better than her previous family who she knows and trusts?

I'd be saying that you rehomed her, give an address of a friend or relative (with friend or relative approval, of course), and if someone from council sees her in your window then you're just looking after her for the new owners.

Besides - who the hell are they to invade your privacy by coming to do spot checks?!? They certainly would be way out of line to go to someone else's house to check that she really has been moved. That goes way beyond any rights that they may have.

It can still be your dream home... If you love the house and the neighbourhood, please don't give up on it that easily... You're probably being picked on because the person who "discovered" you was having a bad hair day or something, and decided to make you their target. Convince them that she has moved, and you probably won't hear anything else from them. Ever. Or it may take another five years for anyone to get around to checking up on it!!

[maz]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hon..there's gotta be a way...there's gotta be