Alas, Rita has to stay alone...

On May 7, 9:01 am, "MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER
wrote:
"MaryL" -OUT-THE-LITTER wrote in message

...





"Jane" wrote in message
oups.com...
On May 6, 6:48 pm, wrote:
Ginger-lyn wrote:

I don't know what your landlord is like, but can you ask him about
adding another cat? Some landlords will make exceptions, in spite of
what the lease says.

I agree with Ginger-lyn on this. But I'd also ask for a change in
writing, if he does agree to let you (Jane) have another cat. Otherwise,
if you should ever get into a conflict with your landlord, he'd have
the perfect excuse to evict you, and it would be your word against his
that he'd agreed to let you have a second cat.

I hate to be paranoid like this, but renting is business, and you have
to protect yourself (and your kitties!).

Good luck!
Joyce

Well, good news. I talked with the Community Relations person, and
she said that I was
indeed allowed to have two cats. However, I have to do the whole pet
lease/money thing
for the 2nd cat, too. So I need to get vet papers, a pet lease, a
picture, and pay an extra
$150 deposit and $25 a month for the 2nd cat. Phew. They don't even
have a picture of
Rita yet, because I never got around to changing over from Fin to Rita
when the cats
changed. I guess I'll take care of them all at the same time.

Now to call the shelter at 10am and let them know.

Rita's getting a kitten! I hope, anyway. (Depends a lot on how she
reacts when
she sees him at the shelter.)

Jane
- owned and operated by Princess Rita

Jane,

I have a major concern with what the shelter is requesting (not your
decision, I know). That is, I think it is a very poor idea to ask someone
to bring a cat out of her home environment and ask her to act "normal" at
the shelter. It is even a very poor idea to introduce the two cats in
your own home until they have each had time to be acclimated to the other.
The new cat should be in a separate room for awhile, then slowly and
carefully introduce them. So, don't be surprised or disappointed if Rita
or the new kittend don't "take" to each other at the shelter -- adopt
whatever the outcome, and work on the slow introduction. Thanks for doing
all this!!

MaryL

One final point...If shelter staff do not absolutely require you to bring
Rita to the shelter, then decline the invitation and simply bring the new
kitten home. In addition to what I wrote earlier, this policy asks you to
bring Rita to an environment where there could be contagious diseases (UTI
is very common -- indeed, rampant -- in even the best-run shelters). That
is another reason why the new kitten should be quarantined in a separate
room of your home for awhile (even a bathroom, if you are short on space) --
with food, water, litter box, lots of toys, plenty of attention from you,
etc.

MaryL

Photos of Duffy and Holly: 'o'http://tinyurl.com/8y54(Introducing Duffy to Holly)http://tinyurl.com/8y56(Duffy and Holly "settle in")

They want me to bring Rita to the shelter to see how she will react to
the kitten. It's a better idea then to bring home
a kitten, then to have to bring it back once it becomes apparent that
she hates it and won't tolerate another cat in
the house. Heck, I may have to do that anyway.
We are well aware that Rita will be out of her element, scared, and
probably miserable. HOWEVER, she's also a rather
sociable cat, and travels pretty well. I'll bring her stuffed kitten
and bear, and some treats, and a couple of toys to play
with, and of course I'll be there the whole time. The lobby where
we're going to do this is far away from the d*g area,
so I doubt she'll have a problem with the dogs barking.

As for the slowly introducing stuff at home, it just ain't gonna
happen. It may be a big apartment, but it's not THAT big.
They're just going to have to tough it out the hard way. I have to
work all day and don't have the time to do the whole
'slow intro' thing.

We'll manage.

Jane

MaryL wrote:

I have a major concern with what the shelter is requesting (not your
decision, I know). That is, I think it is a very poor idea to ask someone
to bring a cat out of her home environment and ask her to act "normal" at
the shelter. It is even a very poor idea to introduce the two cats in your
own home until they have each had time to be acclimated to the other. The
new cat should be in a separate room for awhile, then slowly and carefully
introduce them. So, don't be surprised or disappointed if Rita or the new
kittend don't "take" to each other at the shelter -- adopt whatever the
outcome, and work on the slow introduction. Thanks for doing all this!!

MaryL

I was thinking the same thing. I've brought two new cats into the
apartment, and neither were especially welcomed by Little Bit and
Sammy. They were both well acquainted with Rocky (RB), since he
was a regular fixture whenever I took them out for walks - but it was
still a while before Sammy welcomed him inside, and the best that can
be said is that Little Bit tolerated him. Spotty's introduction was
much
worse - they had to be kept in separate rooms at first to prevent
fights. It was days before I felt I could leave them unsupervised.

OTOH, my experience involved bringing a cat into someone
else's territory. Perhaps by making the introduction in a neutral
territory
would eliminate Rita's feeling of needing to protect her home and give
a truer picture of how they would get along. Especially since you say
she's not bothered by traveling.

Anyway, purrs coming that the trip and intro go well, and that Rita
welcomes a new furry sibling and you soonhave a new master/mistress

Steve Touchstone
supervised by LB, Sam and Spot

wrote:

Ginger-lyn wrote:

I don't know what your landlord is like, but can you ask him about
adding another cat? Some landlords will make exceptions, in spite of
what the lease says.

I agree with Ginger-lyn on this. But I'd also ask for a change in
writing, if he does agree to let you (Jane) have another cat. Otherwise,
if you should ever get into a conflict with your landlord, he'd have
the perfect excuse to evict you, and it would be your word against his
that he'd agreed to let you have a second cat.

I hate to be paranoid like this, but renting is business, and you have
to protect yourself (and your kitties!).

As I'm learning to my dismay (although it doesn't involve
pets - I have a nice official sticker in my front window
confirming that I'm paying rent for them). I rented an
Arizona apartment which provided concierge service (for
accepting parcels, referring new tenants to area stores,
recommending people who perform maid service, etc.). They
had a nice (clearly identified) "Recreation Building" for
tenant use, with billiard tables, card tables, kitchen and
meeting areas, and the complex (of 1220 units) sponsored
semi-monthly dinners for residents to socialize. There were
nine heated swimming pools, a well-equipped fitness room and
a small movie theater which showed weekly matinee's for the
kids and at least one screening a month for grown-ups. (An
ideal situation for an able-bodied retiree who knows no one
in the area.) A month after I moved in, the complex changed
hands.

The concierge service was promptly discontinued. Now if you
get a parcel by mail, it goes back to the post-office (about
ten miles away) unless it will fit in the standard
mail-boxes in your area of the complex. (Because the complex
provides central mail-boxes, the postman is not allowed to
bring the parcel to your door - understandable, since the
entire complex must occupy at least a square mile, probably
more.) The December dinner was cancelled with no advance
notice to those who'd made reservations. (We arrived in our
holiday finery to find the building locked, unlit, and a
hand-written note on the door announcing the cancellation -
no reason given.) The recreation building was promptly
turned over to the maintenance department for storage.
(Although the "Recreation Building" sign is still
prominently visible to prospective tenants being shown
around the property.) Because they are visible to
prospective tenants, the swimming pools exist and appear
well-maintained, but the "heating" is purely theoretical.
The fitness room is still there, but most of the equipment
is not functional (and they're "not sure" when it will be
replaced). The movie theater is still scheduling movies,
but they can't show them until they replace the burned out
bulb in the projector. (Apparently a major project, since
it's been "burned out" for three months, now!)Unfortunately,
none of these amenities were written into our leases, so we
have no recourse. (Of course, there was no reduction in
rent when the amenities disappeared, even though they were
the reason many of us chose to pay a much higher rent than
the apartments themselves warranted.)

What has me most concerned, though, was that they sent
around a notice that they would be inspecting our smoke
alarms, checking for leaks, and replacing air-conditioning
filters. The notice plainly stated that this was a REQUIRED
semi-annual inspection, and that we could not refuse to
allow the inspectors access. (Actually, I think the
smoke-alarm inspection is required by law for all rental
property - it certainly was in California.) I'm retired, so
I was present for the alleged inspection (which of course
took place during the normal business day, when most
residents were at work). They went directly to the
air-conditioning unit, changed the filter, and left - must
have been here all of five minutes! When I called the
office of the building to ask when the smoke alarm
inspection would be performed, I was told they showed the
inspection was complete! (Why believe ME, when I told them
no-one went anywhere NEAR the smoke alarm?) I was upset
enough to write a letter to the management company's main
office (with a copy and covering note to the Phoenix Fire
Department) but so far no one has bothered to reply to that,
either!

I've begun looking into "senior housing" (where I can rent
an apartment plus maid-service, all utilities paid, three
meals a day, a full schedule of recreational activities, an
emergency call system and a twenty-four hour staff trained
to respond to emergencies). It costs a lot more than I'm
paying here - but not really, after figuring in the cost of
utilities, groceries, etc. (Oh yes, if I decide I no longer
want to drive, they provide transportation for medical
appointments, shopping, etc. - all part of the basic
package.) When my lease expires, hopefully I'm outa here!

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote in message
...


wrote:

Ginger-lyn wrote:

I don't know what your landlord is like, but can you ask him about
adding another cat? Some landlords will make exceptions, in spite of
what the lease says.

I agree with Ginger-lyn on this. But I'd also ask for a change in
writing, if he does agree to let you (Jane) have another cat. Otherwise,
if you should ever get into a conflict with your landlord, he'd have
the perfect excuse to evict you, and it would be your word against his
that he'd agreed to let you have a second cat.

I hate to be paranoid like this, but renting is business, and you have
to protect yourself (and your kitties!).

As I'm learning to my dismay (although it doesn't involve pets - I have a
nice official sticker in my front window confirming that I'm paying rent
for them). I rented an Arizona apartment which provided concierge service
(for accepting parcels, referring new tenants to area stores, recommending
people who perform maid service, etc.). They had a nice (clearly
identified) "Recreation Building" for tenant use, with billiard tables,
card tables, kitchen and meeting areas, and the complex (of 1220 units)
sponsored semi-monthly dinners for residents to socialize. There were
nine heated swimming pools, a well-equipped fitness room and a small movie
theater which showed weekly matinee's for the kids and at least one
screening a month for grown-ups. (An ideal situation for an able-bodied
retiree who knows no one in the area.) A month after I moved in, the
complex changed hands.

The concierge service was promptly discontinued. Now if you get a parcel
by mail, it goes back to the post-office (about ten miles away) unless it
will fit in the standard mail-boxes in your area of the complex. (Because
the complex provides central mail-boxes, the postman is not allowed to
bring the parcel to your door - understandable, since the entire complex
must occupy at least a square mile, probably more.) The December dinner
was cancelled with no advance notice to those who'd made reservations.
(We arrived in our holiday finery to find the building locked, unlit, and
a hand-written note on the door announcing the cancellation - no reason
given.) The recreation building was promptly turned over to the
maintenance department for storage. (Although the "Recreation Building"
sign is still prominently visible to prospective tenants being shown
around the property.) Because they are visible to prospective tenants,
the swimming pools exist and appear well-maintained, but the "heating" is
purely theoretical. The fitness room is still there, but most of the
equipment is not functional (and they're "not sure" when it will be
replaced). The movie theater is still scheduling movies, but they can't
show them until they replace the burned out bulb in the projector.
(Apparently a major project, since it's been "burned out" for three
months, now!)Unfortunately, none of these amenities were written into our
leases, so we have no recourse. (Of course, there was no reduction in
rent when the amenities disappeared, even though they were the reason many
of us chose to pay a much higher rent than the apartments themselves
warranted.)

What has me most concerned, though, was that they sent around a notice
that they would be inspecting our smoke alarms, checking for leaks, and
replacing air-conditioning filters. The notice plainly stated that this
was a REQUIRED semi-annual inspection, and that we could not refuse to
allow the inspectors access. (Actually, I think the smoke-alarm
inspection is required by law for all rental property - it certainly was
in California.) I'm retired, so I was present for the alleged inspection
(which of course took place during the normal business day, when most
residents were at work). They went directly to the air-conditioning unit,
changed the filter, and left - must have been here all of five minutes!
When I called the office of the building to ask when the smoke alarm
inspection would be performed, I was told they showed the inspection was
complete! (Why believe ME, when I told them no-one went anywhere NEAR the
smoke alarm?) I was upset enough to write a letter to the management
company's main office (with a copy and covering note to the Phoenix Fire
Department) but so far no one has bothered to reply to that, either!

I've begun looking into "senior housing" (where I can rent an apartment
plus maid-service, all utilities paid, three meals a day, a full schedule
of recreational activities, an emergency call system and a twenty-four
hour staff trained to respond to emergencies). It costs a lot more than
I'm paying here - but not really, after figuring in the cost of utilities,
groceries, etc. (Oh yes, if I decide I no longer want to drive, they
provide transportation for medical appointments, shopping, etc. - all part
of the basic package.) When my lease expires, hopefully I'm outa here!


Good luck Evelyn. If you were in Florida I could give you about 2 to 3
dozen recommendations since Florida is the retiree state. Services like that
are a dime a dozen here

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:

I rented an
Arizona apartment which provided concierge service (for
accepting parcels, referring new tenants to area stores,
recommending people who perform maid service, etc.). They
had a nice (clearly identified) "Recreation Building" for
tenant use, with billiard tables, card tables, kitchen and
meeting areas, and the complex (of 1220 units) sponsored
semi-monthly dinners for residents to socialize. There were
nine heated swimming pools, a well-equipped fitness room and
a small movie theater which showed weekly matinee's for the
kids and at least one screening a month for grown-ups. (An
ideal situation for an able-bodied retiree who knows no one
in the area.) A month after I moved in, the complex changed
hands.

[snipped rest of story for brevity]

Wow, that is really terrible, Evelyn! You're right that since entitlement
to those amenities wasn't written into your leases, you can't do anything
about it. These creeps are raking it in at your expense. I wonder why
the original management decided to sell?

Sheesh, first it was the cockroaches, now this. How long is it until you
can move out of there?

Joyce

Jane wrote:

Well, good news. I talked with the Community Relations person, and
she said that I was
indeed allowed to have two cats. However, I have to do the whole pet
lease/money thing
for the 2nd cat, too. So I need to get vet papers, a pet lease, a
picture, and pay an extra
$150 deposit and $25 a month for the 2nd cat. Phew. They don't even
have a picture of
Rita yet, because I never got around to changing over from Fin to Rita
when the cats
changed. I guess I'll take care of them all at the same time.

Now to call the shelter at 10am and let them know.

Rita's getting a kitten! I hope, anyway. (Depends a lot on how she
reacts when
she sees him at the shelter.)

Hooray! That's wonderful. Good luck with the introduction - I hope it works
out!

Joyce

Jane wrote:

As for the slowly introducing stuff at home, it just ain't gonna
happen. It may be a big apartment, but it's not THAT big.
They're just going to have to tough it out the hard way. I have to
work all day and don't have the time to do the whole
'slow intro' thing.

I really hope you'll reconsider this. I introduced two of my cats very
slowly, and I also work full time and wasn't around during the day. I just
kept the new kitten (Roxy) in my bedroom with the door closed at all times.
If you have a studio with no separate bedroom, then the bathroom (as MaryL
suggested) would also be OK. Little kittens don't require a lot of space,
and in fact when they're new to an environment, it's actually less stressful
for them to be enclosed in a small space.

It can sometimes take a while for the newcomer to be accepted, so there
is a time investment. However, it's really not labor-intensive, from your
point of view. There isn't a lot you have to *do*, other than keeping them
separate most of the time (ideally with a space under the door where they
can sniff each other). Once or twice a day, you can put the kitten into
a carrier, and bring her out into the main part of the house, where Rita
can check her out through the holes in the carrier. Even with that, I
wouldn't do this for more than half an hour per "visit". So it wouldn't
really take a lot of effort, just a bit of planning.

Since you've had trouble with cat introductions in the past, it might not
be an accurate assumption that you'll "manage". And even if they don't end
up hating each other, I thought the point of getting a second cat was so
Rita would have a playmate/companion? So it would be best if they could be
actual friends, not just roommates who barely tolerate each other.

When I brought Roxy home 9 years ago, I was very meticulous and careful
about her introduction to Smudge. But when I brought Licky home, I wasn't
planning to keep him - he was a foster kitty - so I put no effort into the
introduction at all. Final result: Smudge and Roxy became great friends
and played together, groomed each other, and slept all curled up together
for years. Smudge and Licky can't stand each other, and 4 years later, they
still fight every day, so it's never really settled down. Licky gets along
better with Roxy, and they play together, but they're not super close.
Now that might just be Licky's personality, being paranoid and wary all
the time. But it might have worked out better if I'd done a better job of
introducing him into the household.

Joyce

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:
I rented an Arizona apartment which provided concierge service
[...] A month after I moved in, the complex changed hands.

The concierge service was promptly discontinued. [hooror story]

You would *really* like some of the novels of J.G. Ballard. Try
"High-Rise" and "Cocaine Nights".


What has me most concerned, though, was that they sent
around a notice that they would be inspecting our smoke
alarms, checking for leaks, and replacing air-conditioning
filters. The notice plainly stated that this was a REQUIRED
semi-annual inspection, and that we could not refuse to
allow the inspectors access. (Actually, I think the
smoke-alarm inspection is required by law for all rental
property - it certainly was in California.) I'm retired, so
I was present for the alleged inspection (which of course
took place during the normal business day, when most
residents were at work). They went directly to the
air-conditioning unit, changed the filter, and left - must
have been here all of five minutes! When I called the
office of the building to ask when the smoke alarm
inspection would be performed, I was told they showed the
inspection was complete! (Why believe ME, when I told them
no-one went anywhere NEAR the smoke alarm?) I was upset
enough to write a letter to the management company's main
office (with a copy and covering note to the Phoenix Fire
Department) but so far no one has bothered to reply to that,
either!

In the UK, the fire brigade would take that very damn seriously.

============== j-c ====== @ ====== purr . demon . co . uk ==============
Jack Campin: 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland | tel 0131 660 4760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/jack/ for CD-ROMs and free | fax 0870 0554 975
stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, & Mac logic fonts | mob 07800 739 557

wrote:


Wow, that is really terrible, Evelyn! You're right that since entitlement
to those amenities wasn't written into your leases, you can't do anything
about it. These creeps are raking it in at your expense. I wonder why
the original management decided to sell?

Apparently they are the THIRD owners in the course of a year
- the company that owned it when I moved in were already the
second in 2006, and this one took over in December, 2006.
(And since, if I didn't move in here as planned, I would
have had to pay to board the cats for however much longer it
took to find another place, I really didn't have many
options, even if I'd known.)

Sheesh, first it was the cockroaches, now this. How long is it until you
can move out of there?

My lease isn't up until November 9th, but the gal at the
senior facility I'm looking into says sometimes a letter
from them thirty days in advance of departure can get new
residents out of their existing leases - although I'd be in
their "Independent Living" area, they also offer "Assisted
Living", so a request on their letterhead often carries a
little weight. However, my brother will be going back to
Wisconsin the end of this month, and will not return until
September, and I'd like them to be here when I move, so I'd
probably wait until then, anyway. (I have a lot of
"consolidating" to do, too - when I moved from California, I
knew I was moving into a larger place, so didn't get rid of
nearly as much stuff as I should have, and now it's come
back to haunt me!)

Jack Campin - bogus address wrote:

"EvelynVogtGamble(Divamanque)" wrote:
have been here all of five minutes! When I called the
office of the building to ask when the smoke alarm
inspection would be performed, I was told they showed the
inspection was complete! (Why believe ME, when I told them
no-one went anywhere NEAR the smoke alarm?) I was upset
enough to write a letter to the management company's main
office (with a copy and covering note to the Phoenix Fire
Department) but so far no one has bothered to reply to that,
either!


In the UK, the fire brigade would take that very damn seriously.

They would in Los Angeles, too! (And I should think,
considering the brush fire danger in desert country, they
would here in Arizona, also - once someone gets around to
reading my note.)