Cats in Duquesa Village

Many thanks Helen, i will be in touch by email

Kind regards

 

Hello

For all those in support of introducing CNR, can you please attend the Duquesa village EGM tomorrow, 17th November 2012 at Duquesa Golf commencing 10am as there will be a discussion and hopefully a vote on this. 

many thanks

I just got home from the EGM and I cannot be more disappointed. I was not expecting a miracle and I know people like me who have pets should keep them in, but the fact is I was hoping for a little bit more understanding. So, the tramps will still be used, cats will still be in danger and I know that poor animals will not end well. Residents who have cats, even adopted from the urbanization, chiped and neutered must keep them in at all time and if it fals in the trap then tough luck. I know that the problem of the feral cats will not be sorted, they will get rid of the actual ones and new will arrive. CNR will not be used as volunteers might move and the communi should not allow cats. In the event a cat from the programmer scratches or passes a disease to a human, the community might be responsible. I will check for tramps and cats trapped and release them if I see them. Also, aea have placed on Thursday a request to the town hall to call the center and collect feral cats. Our response will be, we cannot go in private urbanization. Just to remind everybody, when cats are trapped and taken to the center, if they are not claimed they are put down in a few days. I will try and keep my cat inside at all time, tough thing as he is adopted from this urbanization and was used to live outside, but still. I hope no animals will suffer and no cat owner will loose thier loved pet.

Hello

I am also very disappointed to hear of the Presidents decision not to allow any cats in Duquesa Village unless they are kept indoors, I thought General Franco was dead but not so, he is very much alive and well and living on DV.    I  think it is only fair that AEA put a note permanently on the notice boards advising residents that traps are being placed on the urbanisation and if your cat is caught it will be killed.  I think it would also be fair to advise any new residents or anyone thinking of buying an apartment that if you have a pet cat you are NOT welcome on DV ie. don't buy here especially if you want to have a cat and let it out.  I hate to think that if anyone does have a cat indoors and it escapes outside by accident, there is a strong liklihood they will never see it again,   

I also hate to think that come next summer DV will most likely be overrun with rats and mice, what will the cat haters do then?? beg for the cats to be brought back   -  too late as they will all be dead.   I would rather have a few cats on DV than rats and mice which spread more disease than any cat ever could.  

So sad and unnecessary, to think that the president will not even consider trying CNR as a pilot just to see if it works....democracy rules......not in DV :(

 

 

 

 

Hello, Yes I was also very disappointed of the response and attitude by the president and panel. Also some of the u.k residence was also very unwilling to try to resolve the issue in a humane way. Some mentioned cats getting in to their kitchen and eating the food. Well, a bit pathetic I would say. What would they say about a rat or mice getting in. It could perhaps be a solution for them to keep their door closed!! If they think catching the animals in cages, which is horrendeously stressful for them, then sending them to a center where they will stay for three days before getting gassed to death. I would have thought the some of the residence and the president and panel would have been more sympathetic, but I was very disappointed in their attitude and will certainly not recommend the urbanisation to anybody who would be interested in buying before letting them know the uncaring and unhelpful attitude of the president, commitee and some owners. It does not make good reading.

I totally agree with you, a little compassion goes a long way but I understand there was no compassion or support evident at the meeting apart from Valentina who did her best.  To the lady and panel member who complained that a cat might get into their kitchen, well the easy solution is to fix mosquito netting over the window, that way fresh air still gets in but it keeps the cats and mosquitos out - so easy to solve that problem isn't it !!    I would strongly advise them to fix mosquito netting now anyway as they will need it for the plague of rats and mice that will arrive shortly.....but the rats will chew their way through that no problem and I really do hope they end up with vermin in their kitchen as it will serve them right. 

Regarding the complaint re cat mess, i'm not sure if residents are aware but there are a number of stray dogs running around DV, I saw one in my stairwell the other night and when I followed him down to the garage I saw him pee and poo on the floor.   I have cleaned this now and it really is no problem but the reason i have mentioned this is some residents are so quick always to blame the cats for this.  It is very unusual for a cat to mess in a stair/garage as normally they prefer the earth outside so they can bury it, and i'm not saying that cats never do this as sometimes for example if another cat is near and they want to mark their territory or if they are frightened or stressed unfortunately they will mess wherever they are, but just think the next time before you blame the cats it might actually have been one of the stray dogs that did it.......

We totaly agree with the President / Panel , the community must come first as we all know many familys including children arrive every summer for their holidays, i'm sure no one wants to see or hear about someone being scratched by a feral cat and possibly catching a disease not to mention messing in and around the swimming pools. The vast increasing number of  feral cats seems to be causing a problem for the responsible owners of cats and dogs, public health of the community must come first.

This message was last edited by carolinej on 21/11/2012.

Think the point cjb1 is that DV, being situated where it is in a pleasant semi rural spot, will always have feral cats moving in as soon as others are shipped out. Its the natural order of things. No one wants to see cats (or dogs for that matter) messing up the village or scratching or biting anyone but catching and removing feral cats for others to replace them continually will not solve this problem. As others have said, responsible management, widely practiced worldwide, involving humanely catching, neutering and returning to the environment prevents the breeding and also moving in of other animals. Obviously people should not encourage feral cats by feeding them and certainly shouldn't leave food around to attract vermin (which may soon be in abundance incidentally when the cats are moved out). I don't have pets at DV but feel worried for those that do given the harsh capturing, impounding and destroying of animals I'm hearing about.

Hi

In response to cjb1, you are right, we do not want to see children or adults scratched by feral cats and we do not want to see any kind of mess by the swimming pools or garages whether it be caused by cats or stray dogs. Sorry to keep labouring this as i'm sure people are bored now, but Caroline is also right in that if you remove the current feral cats then others will move in and the problem (if there actually is one) will be continuous.  I really don't think there is an increasing number of cats on the urbanisation, I rarely see any in the block where I live, and I know of one resident who is trying to help as she has recently re-homed (away from DV) 4 kittens that were wandering around, but i do realise and I do respect that it may be different in other blocks.  The point is that the idea behind CNR (catch neuter return) is threefold; 1. to reduce the possiblity of disease as the cats are neutered and vaccinated against disease therefore vastly reducing the possiblity of transferring disease to humans, 2. when you neuter a cat you take away many of its aggressive tendencies and therefore this vastly reduces any aggression towards humans (less scratching)  and any mess as they no longer want to fight or mark their territory with mess & spray etc.  You will still see them wandering around as they are territorial in that they will continue to live in the area and therefore scare off other cats trying to move in but overall there wiil be much less noise, fights or mess and there will be no more kittens.....which leads to point 3.  reduction in population, neutered disease free cats means no more kittens, over time, the population decreases, cats die off from old age etc. and the cats living in the area are placid and will do a great job of keeping any rodents at bay......I  fail to see how residents can think that this is not a good idea and am disappointed that the president and panel will not even consider trying it to see if it works.  Of course people on the urbanisation come first but CNR offers a solution wihout the need to destroy any animals and will overall result in a much cleaner and healthier environment  which is what we all want surely.....

 

I too agree with Jambo and Caroline.

Also whilst I don't have a cat but I respect the rights of residents to have a pet cat and that we should tolerate pet cats roaming the gardens.  In fact I always enjoy seeing and interacting with my neighbours two pet cats.  They add enjoyment to my stay.  The cats (feral or pet) are good rodent control.

There should NOT be a rule that residents cannot let their cats roam.  If there is such a rule it ought to be changed. 

If during the summer when DV has peak of temporary residents feral cats are being fed then this will cause problems. They come to depend on the food supply.  At the end of the summer  when the temporary residents numbers decline and the food supply thus dwindles then these feral cats might be inclined to enter premises looking for food.  

The better solution is NOT a knee jerk reaction  to attempt to wipe out all the cats in DV   but to stop the feeding of the feral cats and apply the sterilisation approach.

The points made by Jambo are very logicaland environmentally sound and give rise to a sustainable long term solution that will ( I believe) cost less money  for the community in the longer term,  as well as being much more humane approach.

 

 

I agree with the points made by Peter Millstrom and Jambo.

Further, I cannot believe that a cat has scratched someone without some sort of provocation. Friendly cats will not scratch someone unless antagonised and feral cats will run away and hide....

Cats DO add to the atmosphere in the village and BY FAR the biggest problems are from barking and messy dogs. Dog mess can cause blindness in humans and I have seen some in the pool area - UGH!

The decision by the President seem very high-handed and as Jambo says, dictatorial.

I can only suggest that those concerned refuse to pay their community fees until this situation regarding the cats is reversed.

That seems a sensible idea! Halt all services in the village by not paying your community fees, halt all remedial work and let the gardens get overgrown until all feral cats have been given a good bath, fed and a licence to roam the streets. WTF is the world coming to ,

Yeh, well can anyone come up with a better suggestion to stop a ludicrous situation continuing?

As another correspondent said, if you take away one Feral Cat, then another will take over it's territory, and anyway, the point of this measure would be to give owners cats freedom to roam and not be taken away and destroyed.

A more ludicrous situation is the fact that we have many apartments whose owners do not pay community charges but rent them out , probably to people with cats! And the rest of us end up paying for their services. I do not wish to make light of the cat situation but it really shouldn't be top of our agenda when we have other more vital issues to be getting wound up about,

John - you fail to realise how serious the situation is - at least one owner I know is going to move out because of this - and there may be others - who will pay the Community Fees then??

Tom, if they wish to find a more suitable location then good luck to them and its better that then withholding community fees with the prospect of court action surely. As an owner they might find it difficult to sell at the moment , but if they are tenants they do not pay fees.

Well, quite frankly, I don't see why they should HAVE to move due to the dictatorship of someone intoxicated with his new found power.

I reiterate that a suitable course of action would be for them to write to AEA stating that they will withold community fees until this luidicrous ruling is reversed.

They don't have to move, just stick within the rules of the community, the same rules that we all comply with, the same rules that existed when you buy your property and the same rules that our president is applying. If they don't suit then do something sensible about it like putting up for president.

Totaly agree with you John, and what the president has implemented, these feral cats have got to be removed as quickly and as  humanly as possible, can't see how these feral cats are an attraction to the community as someone has previously suggested, the ones i've seen are all starving/crying and fighting. With regard to community fees if owners don't pay they should be  prosecuted regardless. John is right there are more important issues than the feral cat problem.