Cat Laws In Ohio, Help W/ Cat Woman?

Question

I am curious at what are the laws in ohio for having in home cats.. The neighbor next to me have at least 30 cats in her home and at least once a week she takes bags of dead cats out from where her house is soo dirty... You have to wear a mask inside. Its horrible.. You can smell the litter clear outside... Its a 2 bedroom trailer and she give sthe rooms to the cats and sleeps in a bed in the living room. Its very unhealthy shes even been feeding all the cats in the neighborhood and I have trouble keeping them out of my trash. I have complained number of times to the park manager and she just uped the price of the rent because of all the cats in the park. Now we all have to suffer. On top of that she stoled my new neighbors simease kitten and took it inside I had one of the neighbors who has a key go over there and get it out while she wasnt home. What can I do.??? This is just nasty and I cant deal w/ it anymore... Legally what are my decisions...HELP W/ CAT WOMAN

ive tride the park manager and she dont seem to give a damn and I also talked to other neighbors who have seen it first hand and they just told me more **** to piss me off now I got a 2 month old and the cats are pulling out her dipers out of the trash can.. I cant deal any longer.. and they piss in her stroller when I fold it up and put it on the pourch.. I dont know who to contact.. because i dont know if its animal crulity or not..

Answer 1

As aggravating as this neighbor is there is one thing that you have to understand, it isn't her fault. She is an animal hoarder. People who hoard animals don't do it to harm the animals in any way. Actually, they believe they are helping the animals and giving them a safe home. These people really do love each one of their pets and don't realize how out of control the situation is. Many people who become hoarders will always be one. It is a condition that they have no control over.

The person you are describing fits the classic definition of an animal hoarder. She has a large number of animals in her home and continues to add to the number. She is feeding other animals in the neighborhood. Her home is being taken over by the animals. Her home is filled with trash, feces, urine, and deceased animals. As much as you dislike this woman what she needs more then anything is HELP from professionals.

Animal hoarding is a common problem and more and more cases are found every day. Many states and communities now have procedures in place to help/handle these people because it is becoming a common issue. More then likely your city or at least state has had to handle someone like this at least once. They need to be notified and the more people who give a descriptive and accurate complaint about this woman the better. Your best bet would be to call your local Animal Control Officer. They will be able to take the necessary steps to inspect this woman’s home and remove the animals.

I am going to provide you with a link (in the source box below) that describes what animal hoarding is and how it occurs. It also gives advice on how the situations should be handled. Even with the best research this is NOT something you should take care of yourself. This woman will defend her animals and will not accept you trying to help her, mostly because she doesn't think she needs it. You need to be active in calling in the professionals to handle this situation.

Good luck. I hope you read the link below and make the calls that need to be made.

-Brit

Answer 2

Call Animal Control in your town or the Health Department(even the police) and tell them you have a woman hoarding cats. Tell them about the bags of dead cats, the smell. If it's a health issue they might come out because it sounds pretty bad. If not try ASPCA or Anti-Cruetly society.

You don't have to live in a big city to call these agencies, they often do investigations throughout the state. Typically, "ALL REPORTS are kept CONFIDENTIAL and your information WILL NOT be given out. If you prefer, reports can be made anonymously. You DO NOT have to leave contact information to make a report."

As far as I know Ohio has no state laws about cats. "Only a few states do not seem to have statewide provisions that specifically address cats including Hawaii, Idaho, Kentucky, Ohio, and Washington" Even states that do mainly have laws regarding mandatory rabies vaccination. Here's the only laws I could find, one section addresses companion animals:
http://www.animallaw.info/statutes/stusoh959_01_99.htm#cruelty

"Ohio’s cruelty laws are among the weakest in the United States and the maximum sentences are rarely imposed."`

In many states animal hoarding is considered a cruelty since there is neglect:
"Animal Hoarding or Collecting: Obsessive/compulsive disorder in which individual keeps a large number of animals-sometimes more than 100-in his or her home, and neglects to care for the animals and the home environment; "collectors" are usually in extreme denial about the situation. Technically, hoarding can be considered a crime, as it is a form of neglect."
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=cruelty_crueltyglossary

Here's an Ohio link that may help you find the right people to talk to:
http://www.humaneohio.org/html/who_to_call.html

In general though it sounds like the state of Ohio doesn't take cat or even dog abuse very seriously.

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

The issue is that dogs are poor generalizers - it's not that the dog is "sneaky, greedy" etc, but that they have no intrinsic sense of morality or "rightness" and so only think something is "bad" if it has bad consequences. If it has never had bad consequences except with a human in the room, then how on earth are they to know that the rules still apply with the human out of the room? You need to train in such a way that corrections and rewards occur when the dog does not think you are present - i.e. hiding around the corner. Read here https://tr.im/nuwH0

I personally owned a Labrador Retriever (read: chow hound) that could be left 6" from a hot dog in a sit-stay for half an hour and not touch it - the word was "mine" and it meant that you don't touch that, even if I am not in the room, even if whatever, you DO NOT touch that. You could leave a plate of food on the floor for hours and not only would she not touch it, she would also keep the other animals (dogs and cats) from touching it.

In all probability, these dogs studied were just not properly trained/proofed before the experiment. With "proofing" to set them up and catch them in the act to give

Answer 4

Why doesn t the woman complaining put her trash in a tall can that can t be opened by a cat? Do any of you understand that under Ohio law, as I understand it, cats are considered "companion animals" just like dogs. That puts them on an equal status with dogs and trapping them yourself or harming them is as bad as harming a persons kids. If the woman IS hoarding cats, yes call in the ASPCA and have them investigate, but let s not be committing crimes and cruelty to the cats because you re too stupid to figure out how to keep them out of your garbage.

Answer 5

I don't live in Ohio, but if this woman's cats are so abominably cared for, then she's breaking the law!
Please look in the county pages of your phone book and call local Animal Control. They'll send out an officer once they've heard your complaints, and confiscate those kitties so that hopefully they will find better homes than what she's providing. She may be charged with animal cruelty via neglect, as well...good luck to you.

Answer 6

Call the SPCA if possible. They're less likely to euthanize adoptable animals they rescue than if you call animal control or the police.

Do a google search for "[your city name] SPCA" or "[your county name] SPCA" and you will find the SPCA closest to you. Then call them up and let them know what's going on, because that is definitely way over the line and they'll come rescue those poor cats (and liberate the rest of the neighbourhood).

It is impossoble to guess what your local laws are since rules governing animal ownership are generally done at they city or county, not state, level, but may places do have ordinances specifying things like that and I guarantee you it's not 30.

Good luck!

Answer 7

Well I hope not I have 6 so where does that put me and I also have 2 dogs. I think just owning an animal makes you different from people with no animals, they don't understand why you spend money at the vet for some dog or some cat it just pisses me off.

Answer 8

Call Animal Control. Or you could even call the police about animal cruelty. It's pretty clear this woman ISN'T taking care of her cats.

I used to know a guy something like her. And frankly, he was a nut case.

Until this gal is taken care of, try not to leave the stroller where the cats can get at it.

Good luck.

Answer 9

I'm not sure there's much you can do short of calling the SPCA. A lot of "collectors" have some form of mental issue or illness that often overrides their judgment. It could also be that she's just REALLY lonely or just cant get along with other people. It happens in Cali, too unfortunately. Call your local law enforcement to try to get her evaluated. Sounds like she needs serious help. I'm sorry for your inconvenience!

Answer 10

contact:
1. ASPCA
2. local Health Department
3. local mental health department
4. police department

usually, the limit is 3 cats, but sometimes up to 5. It sounds like a health issue; she most likely has mental health issues. The ASPCA can help, as well as the health department.

as for your property: get a trashcan with a tight lid, so they'll stop messing with your trash. you can also get large plastic bins with lids from walmart or target, to keep your other belongings safe on the porch