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Before the tar and feathers are brought out, there are large families here with incompetent parents living in grinding endless poverty. They depend on welfare, Medicaid and food stamps, yet every few years they produce another child. It goes from generation to generation. If they would limit these people to one child per family, their numbers would soon drop. I feel so bad when I see those poor children in ragged clothing, some of them barefoot, all of them thin as rails.
The reasoning behind the limited number of cats and dogs I read, was to prevent hoarders from becoming a town nuisance. The law allows them to go in and remove the suffering animals from hoarding situations. And it's also to prevent puppy mills from sprouting up in their townships.
IMO.....that is their excuse for these laws.
If they can go into a home to count how many cats or dogs are there.....they could just as easily go into a home and access the care the animals are receiving. Are they well fed, is the home reasonably clean, does each animal have a vet record.
And, as far as the public nuisance aspect.......there are usually already other laws that cover things like that. Noise, odor, etc.
And limits such as three or four...... REALLY? That is a far cry from a hoarding or puppy mill situation.
And....I agree with you and Jasper.....all of the "reasons" for limiting the amount of animals allowed could also be applied to kids. If it is legal to place limits on the number of pets allowed per household.....it should also be legal to limit the number of kids allowed per household.
You can't take away someone's kids without good reason....the same standards should apply to pets.
If they can go into a home to count how many cats or dogs are there.....they could just as easily go into a home and access the care the animals are receiving. Are they well fed, is the home reasonably clean, does each animal have a vet record.
I agree. I feel those pet laws are unconstitutional and infringe on our rights. What next? Will they dictate what toilet paper people have to use and how many rolls you can have in the cabinet? Or that we have to buy our carrots and peas from some particular factory farm. Or tell us how many houseplants we can have in our homes?
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And, as far as the public nuisance aspect.......there are usually already other laws that cover things like that. Noise, odor, etc.
Which are ignored even when on the books for some reason. Where we spent last winter in FL there was a couple who lived on a lane just outside the Resort with about 10 poodles - give or take a few as the brush and trees blocked the view. The managers of the Resort and many of the people who stayed there called the police repeatedly about the 24/7/365 barking and yipping. Nothing was ever done. Apparently the police would tell the couple there were complaints and leave it at that. Fortunately our site was not near the lane, we were on the other side, so the barking didn't bother us. The same thing here in TN. There was a man with a small pack of beagles that barked on and off all night long where I lived for a few months. Sleeping was impossible. The neighbors and myself called the Police repeatedly and we'd see them stop by there, talk to the owner a few minutes and leave. Nothing changed so I had to move. No way could I work a fulltime job with almost no sleep. I actually had dark circles around my eyes after a few weeks of living there. I remember the nights before I moved, when the weather was beautiful, I would drive up by the woods about half a mile away and sleep in the back of my small station wagon. It was the only good sleep I got during those months. I'll tell you, some dog owners are the most inconsiderate and selfish people I ever met. They know their dogs are a nuisance, are bothering all the neighbors, and yet do nothing about them. It's infuriating.
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And limits such as three or four...... REALLY? That is a far cry from a hoarding or puppy mill situation.
And....I agree with you and Jasper.....all of the "reasons" for limiting the amount of animals allowed could also be applied to kids. If it is legal to place limits on the number of pets allowed per household.....it should also be legal to limit the number of kids allowed per household.
If they tried that everyone from the Pope down would be on our case. After all, in the eyes of most people, cats and dogs are "just animals" and children are our precious future. Of course these people have no clue how some of these children live in the inner cities and back off the main roads in rural areas.
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You can't take away someone's kids without good reason....the same standards should apply to pets.
I agree. We seem to be losing more and more of our freedom in this country.
People who work the welfare system keep having kids to keep the benefits coming. Once a child starts school those checks slow down and the state wants mama to get a job. Keeping an infant in the house ensures she doesn't have to.
I'm not saying ALL families on welfare are like this, but this does happen.
People with three or four cats or even five or six are not hurting the municiapl's budget any. It's so stupid, these limiting laws.
For me, I used to love four cats. But as I've gotten older I am finding even three (my current number) a challenge. My girls aren't old, being 9, 8 and 3, but I don't intend to add any more as they leave me. Maybe I'll feel differently when I am retired and have more time to devote to care, but even then, I don't see myself with more than one or perhaps two older already bonded cats rescued from a shelter. I'm just too tired.
I am a single guy and I have 5 cats, 4 cars and 3 houses and one feral kitten in the back yard under the deck. of all that stuff to maintain and pay for, by far the cats are the cheapest and easiest of to take care. I also like all the other assorted domesticated animals too. Its a crazy scene when my buddy brings his dog over and my oldest cat chases the dog around the yard. as a disclaimer, I will say that I inherited 3 of the cats, 2 of the cars and a house. I don't think I would actually have more than 3 cats just cuz they demand so much petting (I only have two hands!) all the time and fair amount of house/litter box cleaning to maintain a clean non pet smelling home. I would try to find some good homes for a few of the cats but I am afraid that some dead relatives would be rolling over in their graves and possibly haunt me! I used to actually have 7 and have lost 2 to old age/cancer in the last 2 years. I also don't care what someone else thinks of me because I have so many furry friendly ***** cats hanging out and living the good life! One day I may even get a dog when the cats thin out a bit.
My personal opinion is that they need to legislate how many kids folks have, before mmaking laws about numbers of cats.... Only 3 cats.... But 19 kids is fine?!
Couldn't agree more. I lived in a county that limited the number of pets you could have to 8, I think it had to do with waste management issues as it was a rural area. But they didn't limit the number of children and considering how poorly cared for many of the children were it makes you wonder what we as a society value more.
People who work the welfare system keep having kids to keep the benefits coming. Once a child starts school those checks slow down and the state wants mama to get a job. Keeping an infant in the house ensures she doesn't have to.
I'm not saying ALL families on welfare are like this, but this does happen.
If they'd do away with Welfare, you'd see the number of out-of-wedlock babies drop off to nothing. Women would know that THEY would have to get some kind of work and support themselves and the child. These single women feel they're entitled to a free living. Like society owes it to them. I saw a few shows where they interviewed Welfare mothers. No work ethic at all. No interest in any kind of education. As I recall only one was a widow, and in my opinion, deserved Welfare/foodstamps. She had several children when her husband died or was killed. All the rest were single women. Welfare encourages laziness and lack of motivation and fatherless children who live in poverty. From what I've seen over my lifetime, no one could change my mind on this.
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People with three or four cats or even five or six are not hurting the municiapl's budget any. It's so stupid, these limiting laws.
Exactly. Look at the school taxes in most areas! I wonder what the truth is. Why the numbers of pets are limited in some places. I do know those Gated Communities limit the number of pets also, usually to two. I was told (by someone living in The Villages FL) it was to keep people from turning into hoarders and from breeding dogs, creating a nuisance - odor and noise.
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For me, I used to love four cats. But as I've gotten older I am finding even three (my current number) a challenge. My girls aren't old, being 9, 8 and 3, but I don't intend to add any more as they leave me. Maybe I'll feel differently when I am retired and have more time to devote to care, but even then, I don't see myself with more than one or perhaps two older already bonded cats rescued from a shelter. I'm just too tired.
Once you retire it'll be easier, you'll see. You wont be so tired all the time. The cats and dogs I had prior to retirement didn't get the attention these 4 cats do. Same as you, too tired, worn out, little energy by the time dinner was finished and the kitchen cleaned up. Of course litterpans were always scooped, everyone was fed.... but many days, that was about all the time I could spare. I'm glad those days are over.
Quote; Exactly. Look at the school taxes in most areas! I wonder what the truth is. Why the numbers of pets are limited in some places. I do know those Gated Communities limit the number of pets also, usually to two. I was told (by someone living in The Villages FL) it was to keep people from turning into hoarders and from breeding dogs, creating a nuisance - odor and noise.
The small town I live in passed an ordinance about a year ago that prohibits ownership or harboring of more than 4 cats. A close friend of mine is on the city council and he told me the purpose of the law was to keep people from feeding and otherwise helping stray/feral cats. In other words, they want to get rid of the stray cat problem by slow starvation. In their view much cheaper and less work than doing any kind of organized TNR. If you get caught feeding stray cats you are considered the responsible party and can be heavily fined for each cat over the limit. I understand the intent, but in my view it's going about it the wrong way. The main problem I have with our local ordinance is that it makes no distinction between stray/feral cats, and household pets that are spayed/neutered. If the authorities wanted to come to my house and count noses, I would be over the limit and fined even though mine are all fixed. It's a typical example of government at work with a poorly written law.
Within the bounds of any society, freedom is never absolute, and individual rights are always tempered and limited by the rights of other individuals. You can't expect to be left alone when there is good and sufficient reason for disturbing you. In other words, every right comes with responsibilities, including the right to own cats or have children. You would certainly owe something to the cats and children that you do have, but you may also owe something to cats and children that you do not have. It's a tough nut figuring out how all this actually does or ought to work.
As for retirement, it's a fine thing, but the notion of all that extra time is a mysterious one. It just doesn't seem to exist. I have no idea how I ever managed to fit going to work into the schedule. In any case, we went from 5 cats to 4 shortly after I retired and then from 4 to 3 shortly after the spouse-person retired. After a while, we decided that 3 was just not enough cats, so we got 3 kittens. Ack! The time and effort needed to get them acclimated to each other and then to the three senior cats has been significant. Great progress has been made, and there will once again be peace in our time some day, but right now, it isn't much easier than ever, despite both of us being home and available most days. I think I need a nap!
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It goes from generation to generation. If they would limit these people to one child per family, their numbers would soon drop. I feel so bad when I see those poor children in ragged clothing, some of them barefoot, all of them thin as rails. 
I wonder what the truth is. Why the numbers of pets are limited in some places. I do know those Gated Communities limit the number of pets also, usually to two. I was told (by someone living in The Villages FL) it was to keep people from turning into hoarders and from breeding dogs, creating a nuisance - odor and noise. 
