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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU moving into house with a cat in no-cats neighbourhood

308 replies

museumsandgalleries666 · 19/04/2021 18:42

Asking for a friend :-)
Buying a house (freehold) in a newly-built (20 years old) neighbourhood and have received a letter from the resident's association advising no cats are allowed.
AIBU to continue my purchase and move in anyway? Do the Res Assoc have any legal right to stop anyone owning a cat?
Looking for advice as nearing completion and purchase chain will be affected.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
nestlestealswater · 20/04/2021 21:11

I would definitely like to live in a cat free area! They shit everywhere and decimate the bird population.

Having said that I wouldn't want to live anywhere with such an interfering residents' association. The cat thing will be the tip of the iceberg.

numberoneson · 20/04/2021 21:29

Absolutely do NOT go ahead if you want to keep your cat and keep it safe.

Mamanyt · 20/04/2021 23:44

I would NOT buy this house. The RA sounds totally batshite crazy, and there will be one issue after another, and...CAT!

PenfoldPenny · 21/04/2021 00:01

Sounds ideal to me. Cats are annoying! Whether its legal or not its the preference of all who live there that there are no cats. Moving in with a cat would be a deeply unpopular move.
Just dont.

Either find another home for the cat or move somewhere else.

Harmonypuss · 21/04/2021 01:28

I've not RTWT but what does this resident's association do if a cat wanders into the area from a neighbouring street that's not part of the association's area? Shoot it? 😒🐈‍⬛🐾

FinallyHere · 21/04/2021 06:42

It's not impossible that they have left enough poison down so that any cat trying it doesn't last long.

Who would want to risk it for their cat

HoneyRose87 · 21/04/2021 10:09

@nestlestealswater

I would definitely like to live in a cat free area! They shit everywhere and decimate the bird population.

Having said that I wouldn't want to live anywhere with such an interfering residents' association. The cat thing will be the tip of the iceberg.

@nestlestealswater - That’s not true about cats causing the bird population to decimate. Starvation, disease and loss of habitat are the factors in this.

www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 10:48

@HoneyRose87
That’s not true about cats causing the bird population to decimate. Starvation, disease and loss of habitat are the factors in this.

That may be the case on a large scale, but on a small scale it stops birds coming to the garden. My kids spent ages making bird feeders and fat balls etc. but next door have got four cats who are constantly coming into our garden and the birds just get scared off, constantly. I've seen it happen over and over again with my own eyes.

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 10:49

@HoneyRose87 Oh and it also means our own pet rabbits have to stay indoors, or they get terrorised in the run in their own garden. It's really shit. Not to mention all of the literal shit, and the ruined plants.

Cats have a negative impact on neighbours' lives in many different ways.

HoneyRose87 · 21/04/2021 11:19

@dropdtuning - You’re derailing. A poster said cats were responsible for causing the bird population to decimate.

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 11:22

@HoneyRose87

Discussing the impact of cats on neighbours in a thread about neighbours not wanting their neighbours to have a cat =/= 'derailing'

sunshinesupermum · 21/04/2021 11:27

Your friend should pull out. Such a controlling RA does not auger well for the future and I'd be really worried for my cat.

user1491404899 · 21/04/2021 11:28

I'd love to live in a cat free neighbourhood. Can't stand them wandering around. House cats only please!

Although there's no scientific evidence for bird decline....I watched the ginger cat over the fence systematically take out 7 nests last year. And the about of poo in the flower beds is ridiculous!!!

More cat free neighbourhoods please!

HoneyRose87 · 21/04/2021 12:19

[quote dropdtuning]@HoneyRose87

Discussing the impact of cats on neighbours in a thread about neighbours not wanting their neighbours to have a cat =/= 'derailing'[/quote]
@dropdtuning - I was answering a poster, you replied to my post and started derailing my original point about cats causing the decimating of wildlife.

Thiscantreallybehappening · 21/04/2021 12:33

@museumsandgalleries666

Hi OP, did your friend manage get anymore information on the legality of this letter from the RA?

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 12:35

I didn't 'derail' your post either @HoneyRose87 ; I answered it.

By saying:

Cats may or may not be responsible for the large-scale drop in bird numbers, but there is no doubt that locally cats drive birds away from local gardens, wildlife reserves etc.

This is relevant to the thread because it is about the impact of the OP's cat on her immediate neighbours.

And it is relevant to your point because the poster you replied to was talking about cats affecting the population of birds, whether that's local or large-scale. Locally, cats absolutely do have an impact on bird numbers.

Mittens030869 · 21/04/2021 12:43

I’m sure cats do drive away from local gardens, although there are still plenty of birds that come into our garden despite my 3 cats. Yes, they do occasionally catch birds, though not all that often.

However, my cats catch far more mice, which I think is something most people appreciate. Not to mention the occasional rat.

Maybe without cats the rodent population would be more of a problem than it is now?

Original poster
museumsandgalleries666 · 21/04/2021 13:00

Sorry I haven't been back. It's an ongoing delicate situation between the vendors and RA and I don't want to add any more information at the moment in case someone recognises the situation. However I will be back with an update once it's resolved. Thanks for all your comments

OP posts:
Original poster
museumsandgalleries666 · 21/04/2021 13:02

@museumsandgalleries666

Sorry I haven't been back. It's an ongoing delicate situation between the vendors and RA and I don't want to add any more information at the moment in case someone recognises the situation. However I will be back with an update once it's resolved. Thanks for all your comments
Purchasers not vendors. Anyway I'll update when I can
OP posts:
HoneyRose87 · 21/04/2021 13:05

@dropdtuning - I was talking as a whole, not on a smaller scale, it’s quite clear birds will die on a smaller scale, in different areas but this is not purely by predation.

mumsiedarlingrevolta · 21/04/2021 13:10

OP are you in the UK?

I have a friend in America and they are not allowed washing lines!!

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 13:24

@HoneyRose87

I was talking as a whole, not on a smaller scale, it’s quite clear birds will die on a smaller scale, in different areas but this is not purely by predation

The post to which you responded said nothing about it being 'as a whole' or globally or on large scale. They said:

I would definitely like to live in a cat free area! They shit everywhere and decimate the bird population.

Which, while it doesn't specify, strongly suggests they are talking about the impact of cats on a local small area. Which was exactly the point I made.

So I wasn't in any way, shape or form 'derailing'.

You chose to answer that poster by sharing a link that refers only to the large-scale effect of cats on the national population, and is in fact not relevant to the previous poster's, and my, point about the impact of cats on a small-scale, local population. Which is also - not incidentally - the point being discussed on the thread as a whole.

Your post is the only one that talks about the overall national large-scale impact. Every single other post, including the OP, is talking about an immediate, small-scale impact. So please don't accuse me of 'derailing' when I'm not.

Sn00zeyoul00ze5 · 21/04/2021 13:54

I spent time viewing several properties in one area
I put in an offer for a freehold
To then find out that there was a communal charge for the grounds eg grass & tree cutting
I asked why this was not on any of their promotional paperwork or any of the previous conversations

I walked away immediately

HoneyRose87 · 21/04/2021 13:57

[quote dropdtuning]@HoneyRose87

I was talking as a whole, not on a smaller scale, it’s quite clear birds will die on a smaller scale, in different areas but this is not purely by predation

The post to which you responded said nothing about it being 'as a whole' or globally or on large scale. They said:

I would definitely like to live in a cat free area! They shit everywhere and decimate the bird population.

Which, while it doesn't specify, strongly suggests they are talking about the impact of cats on a local small area. Which was exactly the point I made.

So I wasn't in any way, shape or form 'derailing'.

You chose to answer that poster by sharing a link that refers only to the large-scale effect of cats on the national population, and is in fact not relevant to the previous poster's, and my, point about the impact of cats on a small-scale, local population. Which is also - not incidentally - the point being discussed on the thread as a whole.

Your post is the only one that talks about the overall national large-scale impact. Every single other post, including the OP, is talking about an immediate, small-scale impact. So please don't accuse me of 'derailing' when I'm not.[/quote]
Your kids homemade feeders, cat poo and rabbit, were not derailing? Grin

The post is about not being allowed a cat in a ‘neighbourhood!’ The OP didn’t mention the effects of cats on wildlife. I just corrected one post.

dropdtuning · 21/04/2021 14:12

You didn't 'correct' that poster, though. He/she said that cats shit everywhere and decimate the bird population. Clearly meaning the local bird population. Which is true.

You posted a link about the overall numbers of birds in the UK not being affected by cats. Which doesn't change their point.

My mentioning of feeding birds and not being able to allow pets into our own garden was precisely to address the point of being allowed a cat in a neighbourhood. I was giving examples of how cats really do have a negative effect on others in the local neighbourhood, including but not limited to the local birds.