Cats Have Some Tenants Scratching for a Solution

Calling it a cat fight at the Lincoln Place Apartments wouldn’t be too far off.

The complex contains about 800 older apartments and many cats. And that’s the problem: many tenants can’t live without their cats, while the landlord can’t live with them--at least not under current conditions.

“A number of residents are in great distress,” said Sheila Bernard, president of the tenants association.

Cat owner Frida Martin, 73, was angry enough to talk to a reporter--but too scared to have her photograph taken with her two cats.

“I’m a handicapped senior and they give me joy. They’re like my kids. They’re always aware of how I feel--and that’s more than you can say about some kids,” she said.

“We just had a meeting at my house about this. We’re going to fight it.”

Bob Bisno, a partner with Lincoln Place Apartments, said that many tenants put food in the public areas not only for their own cats, but for wild cats that roam the neighborhood. In turn, the wild cats bring fleas that infest the buildings and the domesticated cats, he said.

“I personally have nothing against pets,” he said. “But I get complaints about fleas, and you have a lot of tenants who are not contributing to the flea remediation efforts. That’s the real problem.”

Still, he said, he thinks a compromise is possible.