9.28.2010

Free to a Good Home. Or Any Home, Really.


"Scary cat...scary cat...what are they feeding you?"...it's the remix, ya'll!

I'll preface this by saying, this is probably going to offend some of you cat lovers. I realize not all kitties are awful, I'm just a dog person.  That being said...

I don't like cats.

I also don't like green olives, mullets or candy corn.

Until recently, all of those things were equally unliked. They all resided on an equal playing field of "Things Leslie Doesn't Care For". But not anymore, friends. Ohhhhhh noooooo....not anymore.

In the past 14 days, my disdain for felines has shot through the roof (along with my blood pressure) due to one crazed, possibly disease-ridden cat that has taken up residence outside of my building at my apartment complex. It's LARGE, with disgusting, gray matted fur. A gorgeous creature, really.

You see, it all started about 2 weeks ago, when one night my boyfriend and I decide to go for an evening walk around my apartment complex. The weather was nice and we wanted to stretch our legs. Simple enough, right?

Anyway, so we start walking and as we're rounding the back of the complex we see a rather large, stray-looking cat, crouched on the ground about 10 feet away from where we are. Because it's a large apartment community, there are tons of pets out at any given time of the day, though most of them are kept on leashes. We thought someone might have just let it out for a potty break or something and really didn't think anything of it.

So we keep walking and without any warning, said cat bolts toward us, all possessed-like and whatnot.

Of course this startles us, so we kind of shoo it away and keep walking, hoping maybe it was just being playful. It then proceeds to crouch down to pounce AGAIN and charges at us AGAIN, almost like it was gearing up for Round Two. This time, we throw a water bottle at it to try to deter it long enough for us to calmly walk run back to my building. Ok, well I ran like a little girl, my guy was a bit more cool and collected : )

Fast forward to about a week later...the boy and I are out walking again one night and guess who decides to make an appearance....yep- the scary cat, himself.

This time the cat does the same as before...crouches down as soon as we're in its view (mind you we were standing about 20 feet away from it, not bothering it at all). We try to stay calm and keep walking, hoping that if we ignore it, it will leave us alone.

No dice.

As soon as we are within about 10 feet of it, it charges at us very aggressively. We had a wad of keys with us, so we instinctively just hurl the keys as hard as we can. This does not deter the crazed animal ONE BIT. It crouches, charges and pounces....again. Of course by this point, we're both freaking out a little because it's quite a distance back to my building.

Just as this is all going down, a fellow resident sees what's going on and asks us if we just had a run in with "the gray cat". Apparently, it chased her up to the 3rd floor of her building just nights before!

Fast forward to this past Sunday....

20 comments:

  1. The poor thing was probably abandonded. I know that when we were living in a college town the apartment complex had a lot of stray cats that people just dumped when they moved. Pretty sad really.

    I hate when I hear that people hate cats, being a cat lover myself, especially since its usually based on a bad cat experience. I promise not all kitties want to turn you into their own personal cat toy!

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  2. I am scared. to death. of cats! HATE them! Definitely call animal control. Regardless of the cat's history, he doesn't need to be free to roam if he is hurting people, ick!

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  3. oh, girl....i HATE cats! we have one that hangs around our neighborhood and it scares me to death. the other day when the exterminator came, i wouldn't even let him in, b/c the cat had taken up residence on our front porch and i was afraid it would run into my house (it has before). keep calling animal control, b/c obviously your apt. mngmnt is not going to come through for you. protect yourself (especially if you think it really is sick - yikes!) good luck and keep us posted on how it turns out!!

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  4. Not a big cat fan myself. That cat is seriously dangerous. It might have rabies or any other kind of disease that you don't want. I'd say the apt complex should start a campaign where you all keep calling animal control until the cat is gone. If you keep bugging them they'll get sick of you and do something. You are right. You shouldn't have to do it but at this point whatever it takes to get that dangerous cat out.

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  5. Thanks girls! Y'all make me feel SOOO much better about my fear of cats, haha!

    Amy- That is terrifying that it went into your house! Oh my, I probably would have died right there!

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  6. First I love Friends, so excellent way to start off the post!!

    I say just avoid it an see if it will leave you alone. You can also call the local humane society, they are the good ones that not the bad ones like the pounds, and they will come out and get the cat.

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  7. Oh hunny! You deserve a VACATION!

    You've totally done the right thing. I cannot believe you apartment management wouldn't take care of calling pet control... so ridiculous!

    I'd be with you too, girl. I'm usually easy to please, but I would for sure let your apartment complex know that this situation just lost your loyal business!

    As for that crazy mountain lion of a cat, Keep after that animal control! Good luck love! Hang in there!!

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  8. I share a dislike for all of the things on your list... minus the candy corn. I go a little candy corn nuts this time of year! (But definitely no mustard, olives, or cats! hehe)

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  9. Girl I am DYYYING over this post! I swear me and you are one in the same. I cannot stand cats- they scare the crap out of me. I would absolutely call the police! They will call animal control once they get there and more than likely AC will stay until they get that dang thing because of the police.

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  10. Crazy cat story! I would be peeved at the building mgt. but it doesn't surprise me that they're all "it's not our problem". I'd get on animal control like a bad rash and call them over and over until they remove kitty krazy for once and all.
    It's only a matter of time before that cat hurts someone.

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  11. OHMYGOSH! I'm definitely not a cat person, but I have a heart for any cute little furball. That said, I'll saw "aw how cute" at a stray cat...whilst trying to get a stray puppy physically into my car to rescue it. haha.. Soo yeah. Eric had a crazy cat like that outside his house. She would seriously lunge at us. It was SO weird. She randomly quit coming around (we think his neighbor shot her or something b/c the cat kept attacking his dog). Does your news station have any people who "work for you?" Like we have "channel __ works for you" or whatever. You could always call them. Or even tell mgmnt you're going to call them. Or animal control. No one wants to be a news story.

    I'd give animal control another call for sure. Wow. That's so freaking scary! I can't believe it CHASES you. I mean.. I've seen cats being aggressive if they have kittens around, but BANANAS!!!!!!!

    Good luck, girl. Sorry you're dealing with this. If that thing attacked my dog, I dont even know what I would have done. A cat scratched Gracie once and I took off after it. Didn't catch it, but man was I pissed.

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  12. Okay, I'm a cat person and this post freaks me out. It sounds like the cat is rabid or something! Eek - I'm so sorry, how annoying.

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  13. Important things first: Candy corn is repulsive. Green olives, however, rock. I could live off those alone.

    As for the cat, man. Sorry about that! I would keep calling animal control and ask to speak to management. When I was living in Baltimore, I was bitten by a stray and had to go through rabies shots (during law school finals! fun!). Animal control had to come get the cat and test it and it was a nightmare to get in touch and get them to come get the thing, really awful.

    I would also contact the property management company again and tell them you have spoken to a lawyer and will have to pursue legal action if they cannot protect the safety of the residents by removing the dangerous animal. It is on their property, therefore, their issue to deal with. Keep pushing, put it in writing. Don't back down. Threaten to contact the local paper as well. Bad press is something rental places want to avoid.

    As for the cat, while it is still there, get a spray water bottle to keep in your bag. If it threatens you, spray it with water, cat
    ** should ** run away.

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  14. ewww... i hate cats! they're creepy and when they harass my leg by rubbing against it, it makes me want to puke. dogs rule... cats drool! :) xo dollface

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  15. Bhahahaha.. I'm trying not to laugh.. Bhahaha.. Okay, I'm getting it together..
    Oh my goodness.. That's crazy! Have you called animal control or talked to your property manager?

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  16. I'm not a cat person at all! But I did love hearing Smelly Cat on Friends!

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  17. I have an award for you http://traci66.blogspot.com/2010/09/versatile-blogger-award.html

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  18. I hate cats :( OH Friends... I think that show needs to come back!

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  19. I love cats but that cat sounds like it could be feral. It is not “inhumane” to catch a cat in a cage and give it to the proper authorities by the way…HAHA….what is wrong with people?

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  20. first of all, i love that the picture is from "friends"...one of my all time favorite shows! second of all, i am so sorry that you have to deal with this. it doesn't sound fun at all!

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