YaY :)

[Bilby]

It is obviously a bit of a culture thing cos over here, nobody's first thought is to declaw a cat. Barely heard of with most owners. Don't even know if you can get it done here! Only declawed cat I ever saw was because of an accident to his paw.

Sorry you didn't get him but maybe when you move, you may still find him available.

BTW, is it necessary to tell anyone you have a cat? People bring in animals all the time over here on the dodge.

[apple*tart]

Originally Posted by Bilby

BTW, is it necessary to tell anyone you have a cat? People bring in animals all the time over here on the dodge.

This is not a good idea (sorry Bilby!). I did this once when I was much younger. It was fine for a few months until a maintenance guy saw him sitting in the window and reported me. I had a choice to either get rid of him or violate my lease, lose my security deposit, and pay a fine. Luckily I found someone to take him for me until my lease ran out. Otherwise I don't know what would have happened to him. He probably would have had to go to the shelter as I couldn't have afforded the fine. He's sitting about 2 feet from me right now, actually, lol. I just gave him a little scritch thinking about how sad that could have been.

[GB]

I absolutely agree with apple*tart. If you sign a lease with rules then it is your obligation as a good citizen, good neighbor, and good tenant to follow the rules you agreed to. What if the next person to live in that apartment had sever cat allergies? My SIL has horrible cat allergies. She can not be in any room in my house that has carpet or fabric. She can only sit on hardwood chairs in my house otherwise she has a major attack. The next person to live in that apartment could have major issues if there is carpeting that no amount of vacuuming will fix. What about the people living around you who do not want to hear a cat meowing at 3am? When you agree to abide by rules then the answer is not to break the rules when you do not like them.

[Bilby]

Originally Posted by apple*tart

This is not a good idea (sorry Bilby!). I did this once when I was much younger. It was fine for a few months until a maintenance guy saw him sitting in the window and reported me. I had a choice to either get rid of him or violate my lease, lose my security deposit, and pay a fine. Luckily I found someone to take him for me until my lease ran out. Otherwise I don't know what would have happened to him. He probably would have had to go to the shelter as I couldn't have afforded the fine. He's sitting about 2 feet from me right now, actually, lol. I just gave him a little scritch thinking about how sad that could have been.

No need to apologise. Things work differently in different countries. We tend to let things ride a bit more over here - not everyone of course. Think we tend to have the attitude that by-laws are made to be broken!

[Bilby]

I think you can take anything to any extreme you like. To me a crying baby is going to be more annoying than a cat any day of the week. Likewise an arguing couple or a loud tv or a souped up car.

And what you may agree to in one situation, you may not be able to keep up to as life's side-swings come into play. I know my life has had drastic changes imposed on it over the years.

I know also that I would rather break a by-law than see an animal put to sleep. So that is what I do now.

[GB]

Originally Posted by Bilby

I think you can take anything to any extreme you like. To me a crying baby is going to be more annoying than a cat any day of the week. Likewise an arguing couple or a loud tv or a souped up car.

The difference is that when you agree to live in an apartment you have a reasonable expectation that there could be a crying baby or a loud TV, but if you pick a place to live that has a rule of no pets then you have a reasonable expectation that you will not be woken up by a cat at 3am. There could be people who choose to live in that very place for the reason that cats are not allowed.

Also, you hit the nail on the head when you said "to you". Yes to you those other things are more annoying, but someone who hates cats and chooses to live somewhere that expressly forbids them would very possibly think otherwise. They would very possibly think a cat meowing early in the morning is much worse than a loud TV. It is all about perspective. You are a cat lover (as am I) so a meowing cat does not bother you, but a cat hater would not feel the same and if you agree to share a living space and all play by the same rules then it is not fair to break those rules just because you like your cat and don't want to get rid of him/her.

Originally Posted by Bilby

I know also that I would rather break a by-law than see an animal put to sleep. So that is what I do now.

There are other options besides breaking the law or putting the cat to sleep though. You can give the cat up to someone who can care for him/her for instance or you can move to someplace where cats are allowed.

[Wyogal]

and when you sign a lease, a contract, you are agreeing to the rules. If you think that rules were made to be broken, then don't sign a lease. Bringing pets into an apartment on the sly is not a good thing to do, for the aforementioned reasons. If you want to do what you want, then buy a house and do your owsn thing with your property...
My sister had a Persian cat that she had declawed, and it was never the same again. Poor thing couldn't even make it across the room without having to stop and regain its balance.
Yep, one of our cats has damaged a couch, brand new, scratched it. But, oh well. We provide a scratching box for our cat now.
By the way, it's a dog book, but the title makes sense, "How to behave so your dog behaves." You could insert "cat" (or child, for that matter!).

[Bilby]

Originally Posted by GB

There are other options besides breaking the law or putting the cat to sleep though. You can give the cat up to someone who can care for him/her for instance or you can move to someplace where cats are allowed.

Good luck with that one. That has not been my experience in all the years that I have rescued cats, I have only successfully found a home for one of them. Finding homes for cats is extremely difficult. Hence why so many are put down every year. I know that at least half of mine would have to be destroyed if I had to give them up. So, breaking by-laws is the way to go. But you are entitled to your opinion obviously.

[Bilby]

... and my point about events having an impact on your life and your commitments seems to have been ignored. Life is not that black and white. You have to bend with the flow.

And as I said previously, things are different in different countries, and I know that I am relatively typical of my countryfolk when it comes to bylaws such as pets.

[GB]

Originally Posted by Bilby

Good luck with that one. That has not been my experience in all the years that I have rescued cats, I have only successfully found a home for one of them. Finding homes for cats is extremely difficult. Hence why so many are put down every year. I know that at least half of mine would have to be destroyed if I had to give them up. So, breaking by-laws is the way to go. But you are entitled to your opinion obviously.

You only addressed one of my points. Yes, I know it is difficult to find a home for a cat. I was unsuccessful myself. It can be done though and there are also no kill shelters that wil take them in, although I will concede that those can be difficult to get a cat into as well.

However, the option of moving to a place that accepts cats is still viable. Yes it is extremely inconvenient and probably the last thing anyone would want to do, but the way I see it you have two options. You can inconvenience yourself or you can inconvenience your neighbor. In one case you are breaking rules and social obligations and in the other you are not.