Resort Prohibiting Cats

[Sherpa Vern]

Originally Posted by Old-Biscuit

Correct........never OWNED a cat
Had Many that lived with us. But never owned cause you do not own cats.

Dogs have owners; cats have staff.

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by propchef

Been there.

Service animals are dogs only, and highly trained ones. There have been MANY challenges to this and what happens is that the rules tighten and the challengers do not prevail. Folks who try to pass off their emotional comfort animal as a service animal are doing a great disservice to those who actually need them.

Thank you times 1000. A nice quirk about ADA laws is there is no prohibition against a private citizen calling out someone who is obviously scamming the rules. My go to response is “Isn’t it great the law allows service animals for those who need them. I only hope that Karma is real and those people who abuse the system will someday need one for real.” BTW, miniature horses also are listed as animals with true ADA protections. Never seen one, but the literature claims they are excellent at their tasks. I always visualize them as being Amish powered wheelchairs, but apparently they can perform multiple tasks.

[Bigceasar]

Why would a park exclude cats? Multiple reasons. At our parks we almost never had an issue with people letting their dogs run free, cats not so much. Had multiple complaints over the years of cats on guests’ picnic tables, rummaging thru their belongings and just being a nuisance. And unlike dogs it was generally impossible to either identify the owners or capture and hold them till the owner appeared.
And the single most expensive repair we ever had that was directly attributable to a pet was a cat. So idiot thought a good was to dispose of their litter box full of clay litter was to dump it down the sewer line. All it took to fix that problem was shutting down sewer services on a loop of sites, refunding a portion of those guests fees, renting, picking up using, and returning an excavator that wasn’t available until the next day, turning off power while we dug up the sewer lines, replacing the pipes, repairing the parking pad and landscaping at the excavation site and paying a whole bunch of quarters into the swear jar.

[DutchmenSport]

The only cats I've ever seen in campgrounds (running loose) are ones that somehow escaped out of the camper and their owner could not get them back. You'll see these cats running around sometimes, and you absolutely cannot catch them. How many of us travel with live pet traps? When it comes time to "go" all you can do is let the campground management know your cat is running feral and if it can be caught to please call them so they can retrieve the cat.

I once had a cat get out of my car when I was in a downtown area (not camping). Actually, I had 2 of them. They both jumped at the same time. I was able to grab one by the tail and got him slung back into the car and the door slammed. The second one took off.

I followed that cat for 3 city blocks and couldn't get it. It found it's way around the county court house and then it slipped inside a wrought iron fence surrounding the air conditioning units. The cat found a hole and crawled inside one of the units. There I stood. What to do? Answer? Nothing but leave. It was a Sunday, everything closed? No one around. I waited about an hour, the cat never came out. I had to leave.

I totally understand cats running feral in campgrounds. It happens more than anyone would like to admit. But $50 a pet for a deposit.... that's just nuts!

[Hpozzuoli]

Keep the cat inside and the shades down. Nobody will ever know. Hiding a dog is harder, but hiding a cat is easy.

[Argosy]

The pet policy doesn't say anything about forbidding cats, it doesn't even specifically mention cats:


Pet Policy

Well behaved pets with current shot records are welcome! Please be sure to register all furry friends in your party at arrival. Guests are responsible for picking up after their pets. Please dispose of waste accordingly in a trash receptacle. 2 pets max, 50 lbs. or smaller. A one-time non-refundable pet fee of $50.00 per pet per reservation will apply. For the protection of, and in consideration of our guests, noisy, vicious or unruly pets are not allowed. Guests who are unable to control their pets must remove them from the premises, or the animal may be taken by local animal control authorities. Exotic pets are strictly prohibited.

If you've got a couple of pets, the park makes another $100, even for an overnight from the way their policy is written. The only possible out I see is "per reservation".


It's all about the money honey, another fee to lighten the customer's wallet.

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by Argosy

The pet policy doesn't say anything about forbidding cats, it doesn't even specifically mention cats:


Pet Policy

Well behaved pets with current shot records are welcome! Please be sure to register all furry friends in your party at arrival. Guests are responsible for picking up after their pets. Please dispose of waste accordingly in a trash receptacle. 2 pets max, 50 lbs. or smaller. A one-time non-refundable pet fee of $50.00 per pet per reservation will apply. For the protection of, and in consideration of our guests, noisy, vicious or unruly pets are not allowed. Guests who are unable to control their pets must remove them from the premises, or the animal may be taken by local animal control authorities. Exotic pets are strictly prohibited.

If you've got a couple of pets, the park makes another $100, even for an overnight from the way their policy is written. The only possible out I see is "per reservation".


It's all about the money honey, another fee to lighten the customer's wallet.

And if there was no pet fee it could be argued those costs a park incurred due to pets such as disposing of waste, providing real estate for a pet area, maintaining said pet area, staff time enforcing pet rules and assisting guests capturing the occasional runaway pet and any other costs are unfairly spread to guests who do not have pets. There is always another side to any coin.

[astrnmrtom]

Originally Posted by D Gardiner

Guess we would not be welcome with our pet Amazon parrot, as they are classified as exotic pets. How can you say no to that face.

I had a very mellow, and sweet Amazon years ago who was almost silent 99% of the time. We lived out in the county on five acres and there were times he'd let loose with a "AWK-AWK-AWK-AWK-AWK!!!!" contact call that I could clearly hear at the other end of the property. Didn't take long before my African Grey learned to yell: "Franky!!!!!! Shhhhh!!!!" When he did.

Before we left to full time, I only had the Grey, and was told in no uncertain terms, he wasn't coming along because - "No one else wants to hear all that noise." He was a talking, laughing, sound effect machine, and if anything squeaked, beeped, creaked, or rang like a phone, he could imitate the noise at 5x the volume. Then there was his loud, crazy sounding, long, hysterical belly laugh. No doubt if we'd brought him along that there would have been numerous complaints. Not saying other pet parrots are the same. I know a couple who camps with a Sulphur Crested Cockatoo that you'd never know was there.

As for resorts not allowing cats. We travel with one who NEVER goes out. He was an 100% indoor cat when we lived in a house, yet I completely understand the ban because some people who travel with them, let them out to roam. I've had my tire covers sprayed, my bike cover sprayed, my tires sprayed, and my motorcycle cover sprayed. I'm sure some were from neighborhood or feral cats, but others were other campers cats.

One issue with pets, and cats especially, is we notice that it's the people who live in the park full time who are more likely to let them run free. But then, the fact that in most parks the rules don't seem to apply to the permanent residents, is a whole 'nother thread.

At least most dog owners are used to using a leash. Cat owners, not so much. Only met one other camper who walked her cat on a leash.

The reality is, whatever rule a campground wants to have is up to them. I'm sure a park that didn't allow any pets would still do a strong business. For every person that would take their business elsewhere, there is one who would welcome the restriction. Same with additional fees, whether reasonable or not. It's whatever the market will bear and the more that charge a fee, the more that will join the trend unless it's hurts their business.

[Argosy]

Originally Posted by Bigceasar

And if there was no pet fee it could be argued those costs a park incurred due to pets such as disposing of waste, providing real estate for a pet area, maintaining said pet area, staff time enforcing pet rules and assisting guests capturing the occasional runaway pet and any other costs are unfairly spread to guests who do not have pets. There is always another side to any coin.

I don't travel with pets so this doesn't affect me. I do agree we should pay our way for services used. But that seems excessive considering the majority of people do as they should and their pets are well behaved.

I went to the website and started to book a site. There's a $12 a night resort fee. I picked out a site Sunday-Saturday, that was $1100. A window popped up that said to lock in the site would cost $20. I'd seen enough. All I'd done was chose a site and the dates and was on the hook for $142 in fees with a single pet.

[markpj23]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

I've read that domestic cats kill upwards of 6 billion small reptiles, mammals and birds each year. If an RV park is in an area that is a nesting ground for birds or other animals that may be endangered or protected I could see prohibiting cats would make sense. Dogs don't usually have access to nests or creatures in trees. And just because you keep your cats inside doesn't mean others do the same.

Dogs are generally excluded from most beaches because nobody wants to step in dog poop on the beach but also due to turtle and bird nesting areas on the beaches.

Additionally, with the congestion at RV parks these days, I doubt any park owner is concerned with then tiny loss of revenue from cat lovers staying away.

Inconsiderate pet owners will continue being irresponsible and we will see an increase in no pets allowed polices as a result.

x2!

[Bigceasar]

Originally Posted by Argosy

I don't travel with pets so this doesn't affect me. I do agree we should pay our way for services used. But that seems excessive considering the majority of people do as they should and their pets are well behaved.

I went to the website and started to book a site. There's a $12 a night resort fee. I picked out a site Sunday-Saturday, that was $1100. A window popped up that said to lock in the site would cost $20. I'd seen enough. All I'd done was chose a site and the dates and was on the hook for $142 in fees with a single pet.

All those fees were disclosed prior to you incurring any charges. It’s not like fees are something never seen before. They are common in many different industries. I don’t see a problem.

[glwinger]

Originally Posted by hohenwald48

I've read that domestic cats kill upwards of 6 billion small reptiles, mammals and birds each year. If an RV park is in an area that is a nesting ground for birds or other animals that may be endangered or protected I could see prohibiting cats would make sense. Dogs don't usually have access to nests or creatures in trees. And just because you keep your cats inside doesn't mean others do the same.

Dogs are generally excluded from most beaches because nobody wants to step in dog poop on the beach but also due to turtle and bird nesting areas on the beaches.

Additionally, with the congestion at RV parks these days, I doubt any park owner is concerned with then tiny loss of revenue from cat lovers staying away.

Inconsiderate pet owners will continue being irresponsible and we will see an increase in no pets allowed polices as a result.

We have a couple of cats roaming our neighborhood right now. They both seem to belong so someone since they have collars on and look quite healthy. We have bird feeders, squirrel feeder and feed the rabbits. We have found a few dead birds and one baby rabbit. I have tried live traps, but they seem to avoid them.

Some people seem to think it's OK to let their cat roam loose.

We had a neighbor that did just that until it was hit by a car.

Also, cats do not need to be licensed like dogs or are included on the leash laws. And very few are vaccinated against rabies since that is one requirement to be licensed. They also carry other diseases found only in cats. A cat scratch can be serious, requiring antibiotics and extended recovery time.

I have nothing against people owning cats, as long as they are never allowed to run loose or taken out in public.

[oatmeal]

Originally Posted by Argosy

The pet policy doesn't say anything about forbidding cats, it doesn't even specifically mention cats:

The OP said the RV Park is part of a chain of resorts, and was told that the "resorts no longer allow cats at their resorts." But no indication who actually said it.

However, the website for the Flying Flags in Buellton does specify dogs only, no cats or exotic pets. I wouldn't be surprised if Avila Beach simply hasn't updated their website.

[Old-Biscuit]

Neighbor had several cats....couple of her own plus all the Ferals she attracted by feeding them
Then she moved.........left her cats plus the ferals

Slowly their numbers are dwindling..........