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I am laughing over here......sorry to hear of your continuing cat whoas but this is too sweet. Why anyone promotes an HOA is beyond me. Trade your sense of individuality and mobility even your ability to do what you want for what is rightfully yours for a fluid and fleeting property value is insanity. Oh and you pay someone to do this to you.......beyond moronic!
I totally agree! It's just hard to find a house without an HOA here! That's why I thought it's not a big deal since almost everybody has an HOA, it isn't gotta be that bad. Should have thought twice!
I suggest you go talk to your neighbor and explain that your cats were out before, but as of ___(date) you have kept the cats inside. As crazy as it sounds, you might reason with the neighbor, and they might consider your polite endeavor as genuine. Quit pandering to the HOA and forcing them to act--cut them out of the middle and talk to your neighbor. It is considerate of you to fix yourself, but it should not have taken a complaint for you to act responsibly.
If your neighbor refuses to talk to you, try pictures.
As for the HOA bashers, please continue to look past the problem to get in your fake, righteous indignation. The OP brought this on herself, as much as no one likes to focus on the root of the issue. Her cats were blissfully roaming the neighborhood enabled by her. The HOA is acting on a complaint. Do any of you know that the HOA is not ticketing other cat owners? Do any of you know if the HOA is attempting to reduce the cat roaming problem in the neighborhood. Geez, the mind-numbing and stupid rationale that makes someone's inconsiderate and inappropriate behavior someone else's fault: the evil neighbor and the crazed HOA leadership.
What about the neighbors dealing with the problems of the roaming cats? Allergies, other pets, yard and flowers being used as a litterbox? Come on, people, think about it
I know of a few non-HOA areas where no one gets called. The cats disappear. At least the OP has her pets.
I suggest you go talk to your neighbor and explain that your cats were out before, but as of ___(date) you have kept the cats inside. As crazy as it sounds, you might reason with the neighbor, and they might consider your polite endeavor as genuine. Quit pandering to the HOA and forcing them to act--cut them out of the middle and talk to your neighbor. It is considerate of you to fix yourself, but it should not have taken a complaint for you to act responsibly.
If your neighbor refuses to talk to you, try pictures.
As for the HOA bashers, please continue to look past the problem to get in your fake, righteous indignation. The OP brought this on herself, as much as no one likes to focus on the root of the issue. Her cats were blissfully roaming the neighborhood enabled by her. The HOA is acting on a complaint. Do any of you know that the HOA is not ticketing other cat owners? Do any of you know if the HOA is attempting to reduce the cat roaming problem in the neighborhood. Geez, the mind-numbing and stupid rationale that makes someone's inconsiderate and inappropriate behavior someone else's fault: the evil neighbor and the crazed HOA leadership.
What about the neighbors dealing with the problems of the roaming cats? Allergies, other pets, yard and flowers being used as a litterbox? Come on, people, think about it
I know of a few non-HOA areas where no one gets called. The cats disappear. At least the OP has her pets.
Honestly, this is the best advice here. The neighbor probably saw several cats outside, some of which are the OP's cats. Now of course, even though your cats are inside, you are caught up whenever the other cats are seen. Talk to the neighbor, show them your cats or take them pictures and explain that you are sorry and keep them in now. You should also respond to the HOA with a letter and probably pictures of your cats, again saying you keep your cats in now but didn't before. Also, do not put food outside as that attracts the other cats.
You should also check the animal control ordinance for your city and county. In my county, cats must be leashed or inside your yard just the same as dogs.
I'd also talk to the person claiming your cats were in their yard. Let THEM know that you keep your cats inside from his/her request. Let them know that your cats are not the cats in question now, and getting that person on your side will prevent them from pursuing it with the HOA...
Summed up, HOA's are always a nightmare. Stay away from them at all costs.
Anyone house built in my county after the late 1980ies will have an HOA. You gotta read the fine print, learn to deal with them, and quite possible take them over if need be.
All I gotta say is thank God I live in an area where HOA's are not the norm. I often read people saying if you don't like the HOA lifestyle then simply don't move in to a neighborhood that has one but in many regions HOA's are the norm and it is tough to find a neighborhood that doesn't have one. Thank sweet Baby Jesus that is not the case where I live because I could not live like that. I live in a subdivision of about 100 homes that looks like the perfect candidate for an HOA, but luckily it does not have one. And guess what? We have a few cats wandering around the neighborhood, some houses have basketball hoops in the driveway, one guy painted his house a stupid color, one guy has a funny statue in his front yard that looks like a giant phallic symbol, two families leave an RV in their side yard, about a quarter of the houses have fire pits in the back yard and there are about 3 families that hardly ever mow their lawn. For a neighborhood of about 100 houses that's pretty good. Very pleasant place to live. If that amount of nonconformity is too much for you to handle then maybe you SHOULD live in an HOA but I think more times than not you will find that even when people actually have some freedom over their surroundings you can still have a nice peaceful neighborhood that is great to live in.
Just be an adult and respond calmly and reasonably to whoever said you would be fined. Ask them to provide you with photographic evidence of the cats that were roaming. Get colored collars for your cats (great suggestion by another poster) and provide pictures of them so they won't be confused with the roaming cats. Seriously, you need to calm down and stop freaking out over everything. That's not a good way to get your point across.
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