Los Angeles considering increasing legal limit for dog and cat ownership

[Liberal_in_LA]

Ed Muzika has cat companions wandering about his Northridge house, a den full of kitty doodads and the remains of nine feline friends on his mantle.

But given his druthers, he'd have even more cats to keep him company.

"This is Cat Central, with all three cats," said Muzika, 63, as Radha, Sita and Dustin give visitors the once-over. "I want more.

"I want to rescue these guys."

Ed and his cat


Muzika may get his wish, if two City Council members and the new head of Animal Services can succeed in raising the legal limit for dog and cat ownership.

The motion, introduced in June by Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Paul Koretz, would increase the number of allowed pets from three dogs and/or cats to five of each.

----------------

Supporters of the plan say it could help reduce the crush of abandoned animals at city shelters, which have seen a 20 percent jump since the start of the recession, and spare them from euthanasia. In addition, they say up to $800,000 more in canine registration fees could help city coffers.


http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_16085807?source=rss

[Cronus Protagonist]

1. Ugh!

Glad I don't live next door. The stench must be overpowering.

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. From 3 cats? If he has a little box that he keeps clean, no stench

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I have three cats. I clean the litter boxes regularly. There is no "stench."

[Liberal Veteran]

4. I have five cats and clean the cat box daily.

And my house smells just fine.

[Bryn]

5. I have 9 cats!

No strench because litterboxes are cleaned twice a day. They're all fixed and have up to date shots. Plus I have two big dogs. :)

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Ugh!

The stench of responsible pet ownership must be overpowering in your house.

:rofl:

[Cronus Protagonist]

9. lol

You go live in that hell hole then. 9 shits and up to 18 pees a day... you could clean 6 litter boxes four times a day each and it would still reek to high heaven. And I bet you a dollar that much cleaning NEVER happens in any household with nine vermin living in close quarters ike that.

[Bryn]

32. Fresh Step helps! LOL

Actually I have 6 cats and 3 kittens. When I rescued 3 young cats from freezing weather last Feb.one turned out to be preggy and gifted me with 3 kittens. 4 of cats mostly hang out outside on upper deck and two like to hang out in front porch. One cat belongs to Mom so she's in Mom's room most of the time sitting on window seat. Normally I have 3-4 cats but I came into 9 cats somehow.

[Drunken Irishman]

21. I have 445,041 cats!

And no stench.

;)

[DrDan]

6. +1

[State the Obvious]

8. Yes, if you live next door....the stench is DISGUSTING!

I have nothing against cats or dogs. But our neighbor volunteers to rescue feral cats in the area. At any time, we can have up to 15 cats wandering in our neighborhood. I live in a quiet tree-lined cul de sac. Our park-like backyard and patio USED TO BE such a source of enjoyment for our family. It has now become a litterbox for our neighbor's "rescued" cats....along with the raccoons and skunks that stop by on a regular basis to eat from the food dishes that she leaves outside. We do not have a dog....and I will not get one. We have tried everything.....EVERYTHING..... to solve the problem without doing harm...... monitors of all sorts, motion-detection sprinklers to scare them away......nothing works. ( I am not asking for suggestions.) We could not have even one barbeque this summer because of the horrible odor that unexpectedly drifts our way when the wind blows a certain direction. On a beautiful summer evening, I've had to close the windows because the urine smell was so bad. Our entire neighborhood has become hostage to her cats. We have tried to talk with her, reported her to Animal Control, talked to our City Councilwomen. It is definitely a health issue....and the Health Dept. has issued a warning to her. All the neighbors have tried to talk and reason with her, but because she has pet organizations supporting her.....she threatens to sue us. She knows she has the power to fight. It is a nightmare. (We live in L.A. county.)

But more to the point.....yes, in a PERFECT world...... the owners of 3-5 cats would be responsible (and most are). But this is NOT a perfect world, and sometimes people suffer.... because of another person's thoughtlessness.

I am not trying to antagonize cat owners.....but there really are TWO SIDES to every story.

[Cronus Protagonist]

10. Thank yoiu

And most cat owners are unaware of the stench because they live in a house that's totally encrusted with dander - they're so used to the smell, it just smells like "home" to them. And since there is a parasite that lives inside the brains of peopke who have close contact with cat feces (cats walk all over everything after walking and digging in their litter boxes), making them like cats more and more.... the peeps with 9 cats are almost certain to be carrying that parasite.

UGH!

[LostinVA]

14. "there is a parasite that lives inside the brains of peopke who have close contact with cat feces"

:rofl:

[Cronus Protagonist]

18. Bizarre Human Brain Parasite Precisely Alters Fear

Bizarre Human Brain Parasite Precisely Alters Fear

By Charles Q. Choi, Special to LiveScience

Rats usually have an innate fear of cat urine. The fear extends to rodents that have never seen a feline and those generations removed from ever meeting a cat. After they get infected with the brain parasite Toxoplasma gondii, however, rats become attracted to cat pee, increasing the chance they'll become cat food.

This much researchers knew. But a new study shows the parasite, which also infects more half the world's human population, seems to target a rat's fear of cat urine with almost surgical precision, leaving other kinds of fear alone. This discovery could shed light "on how fear is generated in the first place" and how people can potentially better manage phobias, researcher Ajai Vyas, a Stanford University neuroscientist, told LiveScience.

Hijacking the mind

T. gondii is a parasitic germ whose primary hosts are cats. However, it can be found in most warm-blooded animals, including an estimated 50 million people in the United States. One study suggests the parasite has altered human behavior enough to shape entire cultures. In cats, the protozoan reproduces sexually, while it reproduces asexually in other animals.

The germ seems to especially like infesting the brain—"parasites hijacking the mind," Vyas said. Although the disease it causes in humans is rarely dangerous, it is the reason that pregnant women are sometimes told to avoid cat litter boxes (toxoplasmosis is risky for infants and others with compromised immune systems). Some scientists have suspected it might be linked to mental disorders such as schizophrenia and even neuroticism.

http://www.livescience.com/animals/070402_cat_urine.html

(Google it for more sources if you don't like this one)

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

23. Um... the parasite causes *rats* not to fear cat urine.

I am not a rat. And, while I don't fear cat urine, I don't like the smell and therefore I keep the litter boxes clean. I doubt very much than anyone, even someone whose brain has not been hijacked by cat-urine-loving parasites, would complain that my house smells like pee.

[LostinVA]

34. This is the best DU post ever

[Texasgal]

50. Signature worthy!!!

:rofl:

[Liberal Veteran]

52. I, however, am a rat...a democRAT

[Hello_Kitty]

25. Rats would have an aversion to cat urine smell because cats are predators to them.

[Cronus Protagonist]

28. Nonetheless, they're all vermin

And the parasite does and has infected 50 million Americans. We can argu3e about the symptoms in humans, but you can't argue that 50 million cat owners are not infected with a brain parasite from their cats, because it's real.

And they still stink and owners NEVER clean their litter boxes anywhere near enough not to smell.

[LostinVA]

36. Cats are not vermin, the parasite thing is woo, and cats do not sink

This is the best thread all week.

:rofl:

[Liberal Veteran]

43. Cats can be vermin.

I do agree that people who don't care for their feline friends run the risk of being nuisance animals to others.

[LostinVA]

45. They can be nuisance animals

In NC, that's what Bobcats are legally considered, but I don;t consider tehm vermin.

[Jamastiene]

69. Bobcats do have an odor about them that will curl your toes, but

I don't see why they consider them nuisances. There aren't enough of them to stink the place up that bad...then again, I wouldn't know. I have parasites controlling my brain now. I probably just can't smell them. :P

[LostinVA]

71. NC legally considers them nuisance animals

I know this, because my mother complained about a neighbor who was shooting them "for fun."

[LostinVA]

29. hahahaha

:rofl:

[Jamastiene]

63. That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever read.

:rofl:

I think my parasite is telling me its hungry. It wants me to cook :popcorn: and read this thread and :rofl: some more. :rofl:

[ThomasQED]

48. You could get this parasite to battle it out with them

zombie ants

[Odin2005]

61. Wow, just wow.

:rofl:

[Liberal Veteran]

62. That's just the parasite playing with your olfactory receptors to make you think piss is roses!

:rofl:

[Jamastiene]

64. Night of the Cat Urine Zombies

Mmmm... Roses... :evilgrin:

:rofl:

[ThomasQED]

46. Or three

include the thoughtlessness of people who breed animals, whether on purpose or not.

[JVS]

11. +1

[TZ]

13. You have no idea what you are talking about

I bet you live next door to houses with three or MORE cats and you don't even know. Multiple litterboxes and usually hidden away in a basement or laundry room.
Just admit you have an irrational hatred of cats. But don't make fucking stupid statements.
Bigots seem to always be "experts" on stuff they really have no idea about

[LostinVA]

15. You are wrong, TZ -- the parasite in your brain is making you nuts

[Cronus Protagonist]

20. Actually, I live next door to a 3 infested unit

And these 3 cats smell so bad I had to alter the outside of my skylight to keep the odor of their feces and the dander from coming into my unit.

[Liberal_in_LA]

26. "3 infested unit" Oh my

:eyes:

I'm sorry your neighbor isn't practicing good litter box hygiene

[Cronus Protagonist]

31. He also locks them out while he's at work

And they cry like babies and dump all over the roof of the building. However, it's the smell and the dander that bothers me. I wouldn't care at all if the cat owners would keep it to themselves and their own property, but they have a mistaken belief that cats are clean when they are not at all clean animals.

[LostinVA]

38. The poster considers kitties "vermin"

[LostinVA]

39. So, you are saying the dander came in through your skylight?!

:rofl:

This keeps getting better.

[Liberal Veteran]

41. Teh dander. It piggybacks on the parasites.

[LostinVA]

42. omfg -- stop it

:rofl:

I think I just broke a rib laughing!

Damn, I laughed so hard I pissed off teh Vermin cuddling next to me.

[Jamastiene]

65. I wonder if the dander gives us parasites too.

I can see it now. Each eye is a window of a cockpit. One parasite behind each eye behind the control panel directing Cat Urine Lovers to go sniff cat boxes and go mmmmmm. Roses....

:rofl:

[SoxFan]

53. Crazy cat lady!

[LostinVA]

16. That is absolutely not true

:eyes:

Oh wait, I feel the parasite in my brain moving around,

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. Parasite...commands...me....

Feed...kittehs...now....Kittehs...want...tuna....... AAARGHH!!!

[Cronus Protagonist]

22. You could do some research before mocking

http://www.livescience.com/animals/070402_cat_urine.html

It seems you may be displaying symptoms... over 50 million Americans are already infected. You might be one of them.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

24. No, I'm just a regular zombie.

BRAINS!... BRAINS! Oh, wait, I'd better look in another thread because I'm not finding any here.

[hippywife]

49. LOL!

:rofl:


I was coming to lurk and not post but you got me. :rofl:

[Jamastiene]

70. ...

:spray:

[LostinVA]

40. wooo woooo

[LostinVA]

30. hahahahahahahahahahaha

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

44. Kinda tickles, doesn't it?

[LostinVA]

47. Yeah, but I think I kinda like it

Oh yeah... right there, baby.... good parasite......

[WolverineDG]

55. the worm turned

:rofl:

I think the OP should see what it's like when there are no cats in the neighborhood....bet they'll be whining about all the rats, mice, & possums in no time flat.

dg

[LostinVA]

58. I know!

Like the geniuses in the Middle Ages: they killed the "Satanic" cats, who were killing the rats that carried the fleas that carried the Bubonic Plague.

[Jamastiene]

66. What is bad is when the parasite has insomnia.

That's the worst. It just keeps you up all night long tossing and turning in your brain. Your eyes go back and forth watching where you can feel the movement of all that tossing and turning.

Alas. It is but a small price to pay to never smell cat urine again though, isn't it?

:P

[Upton]

33. The only "stench" I've noticed

is that which is emanating from your cat hating posts...

[Taverner]

12. cute cat

[Codeine]

19. Quite apart from the story,

that's a lovely cat.

[Liberal_in_LA]

27. yes it is

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

35. Yes, but he is creating a horrible stench

that has rendered his entire neighborhood uninhabitable, all because the lovely but sneaky little bastard has intentionally implanted cat-pee-loving parasites in the brain of his human, causing said zombified human to believe cat pee smells like roses and lilacs.

[Jamastiene]

67. I wonder if my bubble bath really smells like cat urine and

I can't tell. I have 2 cats. I probably have the parasite. My bubble bath says it is Sweet Pea scent. I mean, what if it smells like cat pee, but I think it smells like sweet pea because of the parasite.

I'm sure it's ok though. My mother can smell cat pee from miles down the road. She would tell me. I'm sure.

Whew! That was a close call.

:tinfoilhat:

Oops. The parasite is telling me to go feed my cats some treats. Gotta go.

:rofl:

[ShamelessHussy]

37. i have 6 kitties... ain't no one tak'n-m either!

=)

[superduperfarleft]

51. This thread rawks. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

54. Weird how the most benign topic (pets) becomes a brawl

[Jamastiene]

68. This isn't a brawl...yet.

So far, it is a great laugh fest though. :P

Pardon me while I open my umbrella. The skylight is raining cat dander again.

:hide:

[flvegan]

56. Lord above, I'm loving this thread.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

57. Fun, innit?

[LostinVA]

59. +1

[cwydro]

73. Hell my cats ARE parasites!

Lil fuckers.

But they do their business in the yard. I have a very large yard and they know the boundaries.

[Contrary1]

60. This guy takes care of about 500 cats...be grateful you don't live next door to him

http://www.caboodleranch.org/

[superduperfarleft]

72. Kick. n/t