I almost feel guilty, but I don't. The cat is an emotional support animal. Officially! I have a note from Aunt Z's doctor. And here's info from the DHHS. There is a $200 cleaning fee I think they threw into the contract (when Aunt Z moves out). I'm guessing that might be a side-effect of all this. But I'm comfortable with that. No pet deposit, no monthly fee (at the new place). I did need a note from the doctor, current shot records, and I need to license the cat.
From DHHS:
Assisted living facilities are generally considered housing under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and must consider requests for emotional support animals (ESAs) as reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities.
ESAs are not pets under the FHA and are treated as assistance animals, so a resident may be required to provide documentation if the disability or need for the animal is not readily apparent.
Facilities generally cannot deny an ESA solely because of a no-pets policy, breed, or size restrictions. They also cannot typically charge pet fees or pet deposits for an approved ESA.
Facilities may deny an ESA request if:
- The animal poses a direct threat to health or safety.
- The animal has a history of aggressive behavior.
- The resident cannot adequately care for the animal.
- The accommodation would create an undue financial or administrative burden or fundamentally alter the nature of the facility’s services
Decisions must be made case by case and cannot be based on blanket policies or assumptions about certain animals.
). He was a gorgeous silver point persian (something like that). Always ran and hid when we visited (kids, lol). When my mother-in-law passed, one of my sister-in-law's insisted on taking him (emotional reasons, she just had to take him because he was her Mom's). So the cat went to live with her and her 2 pit bulls. (Side note - there were better offers at the time). Later another sister-in-law told us how sad the situation was, that the cat was locked in a room howling all the time. So we took him, to our house with a cat and german sheperd (that liked cats). He ended up quite happy here, surprisingly. We have a doggie door, but he didn't like it outside, he went out once and that was enough for him, never again (thank goodness). I ended up giving that cat subcutaneous fluids at the end of his life (his kidneys were failing). Funny how things work out sometimes.