Cats

I think cats are beautiful animals. They move in such a way and have such fluid graceful bodies. However, I would not live with one.

I don't think it's fair for your neighbours to have your cats loose to roam the neighbourhood screeching at all hours (for mating I assume) and defacing your property by peeing, spraying and pooping all over your yard. And the one I had most is when they sit on my car - or when they've slid down my windshield and leave muddy smears full of grit on my glass.

I also don't think it's fair that as a dog owner I'm required to pay the city up to $100 for an annual dog licence, when we rarely have a loose dog walking around but there are as many as 12 loose cats on my street that I have to brake for when I drive down the road, I have to pick up their poop from my driveway and there's often a puddle of something on one of my garbage cans,  etc. Why don't we have cat licences? 

And most cats don't even seem happy to live indoors. When I walk my dog early in the morning, I see house after house with a cat looking out the living room window while the rest of the house sleeps. They just sit like little statues staring out the windows. They look like they want to run free and are not happy being indoors. If you have a large property with acreage or a farm, I think a cat would be wonderful for your property, but they really don't seem happy to be indoors all their lives.

I'm curious, how wrong is my opinion about living with cats?

By-Laws

On the weekend, I was walking my dog and ended up cutting our walk short because I had a full bladder,so I cut through the school yard walking past a sign that has a red line through a picture of a dog and a by-law number under it. As I was approaching the entrance to the school field, I saw a woman hanging out of her house with a camera with a large lens on it. It appeared to be pointing right at me as there wasn't really anything of interest behind me. I'm going to assume she was taking my picture because I was breaking the bylaw by entering the school field.

I accept that this is true. However, I just wanted to take a short cut home because of my poor bladder and my dog wasn't off leash and she didn't poop on the school field, but I guess none of that matters. I broke the law, correct?

But here's what  bothers me. The bylaws in our community are not enforced. I once called the bylaw officer (we seem to have only one) because of a very large race car engine that rattled our whole house, and you couldn't hear anything but this 100+ db engine coming from the house behind me - it was a definite bylaw infraction, and I had their name and address as well. I called the bylaw office in August and he returned my call in OCTOBER! He said  "oh sorry, I was on vacation for a week and I'm just getting caught up" It made no sense. Twice since I've been to city hall and filed a written complaint about a neighbour with NINE cats that she lets roam the street to mate loudly at all times of the day, sit on our cars, spray my garbage cans and poop in my gardens, including inches below my living room window. As well, there are two people on the street that have left unlicenced, uninsured vehicles on the street for over a year. The bylaw officer has done nothing.

So in my opinion, our bylaws mean nothing and are not enforced. But if for some reason I do get 'caught' for walking on the school field, none of the above will matter will it? The law doesn't care how many other people break the rules, only if you did and were caught.

So I'm curious, how are the bylaws in your community, and do you break any of them?