According to news reports, Kristy Grant of Pierson, Florida has almost 170 cats, and local officials have told her to get rid of them.

So far, this sounds like a typical cat hoarding case. But wait, there’s more.

First off, Pierson is a tiny rural community of about 2600 people in 7 square miles. And Ms. Grant lives not in a typical tiny house stuffed to the rafters with half-dead cats and their poop, but a clean place on 10 acres well outside of "town" proper. And she reputedly knows all her cats by name — as opposed to cat hoarders who are generally clueless as to even what’s going on in their house. And her neighbors aren’t complaining about the smell from the poop and dead cats, because there isn’t any (and aren’t any) — instead, they’re complaining that the cats are so healthy they’re killing too many squirrels and birds.

Not a Cat Hoarder

It turns out that Ms. Grant has rescued all her cats, and wants to turn her property into an animal sanctuary. She’s quoted by Local 6 News (where you can see a video if you use IE but not Firefox) as saying "I’m in the middle of nowhere. If I can’t take care of cats here, where can you?"

As is all too common, her local City Council has denied her requests and given her 90 days to remove all but the four that she is allowed to keep under zoning regulations. I’m not sure what it is about Florida — maybe the humidity — but it seems as though that state is crowded with local officials and homeowners associations that love to push people around and try to control their lives. Maybe the Pierson City Council ought to use some common sense in this situation before they give their town a bad reputation.

Just as we had to childproof our home before our sons began to crawl, so we have had to catproof the parts of our home that our cats live in. Just use common sense. If you would not drink or eat something, be sure your cat can't either.

Of course, just as you would not give beer to a human baby, do not offer it to your cat, either (not that they'd take it anyway, since cats generally turn up their noses and run at the smell of alcohol).

All our cabinets with cleaning fluids and powders are locked or out of reach. If a cleaning agent can hurt a child, it can probably hurt a cat, too. The door to our garage is weighted so it cannot stay open by accident. Cats find spilled antifreeze attractive to drink. And drinking it will kill a cat.

Our cats love to munch on fresh grass. And, I love to garden. As our cats are indoors only, I have had to change what I grow indoors to prevent from accidentally poisoning our cats. Below is a partial list of more commonly grown indoor and outdoor plants that are toxic to cats. Of course, we also grow cat-safe grasses for them

Possible Symptoms Of Poisoning

• Acting as if in pain (especially abdominal pain)
• Convulsions
• Check the cat's gums and tongue: if gums and tongue are pale or swollen, this is a sign of something seriously wrong
• Diarrhea
• Listless, no energy, fainting
• Refusing food or water
• Repeated vomiting

Before an event like this occurs, be sure you have on hand the after-hours phone numbers of local vets (not just your own) as well as any local 24 hour emergency vet service. If you suspect poisoning, call your vet immediately! If possible, identify the plant that your cat ate. If you know its scientific name, even better. Tell it to the vet as it will enable her to help your cat more quickly. If not, grab the plant on the way out the door to the vet so it can be identified.

Mostly Indoor Poisonous Plants

• Amaryllis — all varieties
• American Mistletoe — Phoradendron all varieties
• Autumn Crocus — Colchicum autumnale
• Azalea — all varieties.
• Bittersweet — Celastrus all varieties
• Caladiums — Alocasia all varieties
• Christmas Rose — Helleborus niger
• Crown of Thorns — Euphorbia milii
• Chrysanthemum (all)
• Dumb Cane — Dieffenbachia all varieties
• Holly — Ilex all varieties.
• Hydrangea all varieties.
• Japanese — Euonymus Euonymus japonicus
• Japonicum — texanum Ligustrum all varieties
• Jerusalem Cherry — Solanum pseudocapsicum
• Indoor Ivy — Hedera helix all varieties
• Ornamental Tobacco — Nicotiana all varieties
• Paperwhites and other winter forced bulbs — Narcissus all varieties
• Philodendron all varieties
• Poinsettia — E. pulcherrima
• Rhododendron — Ficus all varieties

Outdoor Poisonous Plants

• Arrowgrass — Triglochin maritimun
• Baneberry — Actea all varieties
• Black Locust — Robinia pseudoacaria
• Bleeding Heart — D. spectabilis
• Bloodroot — Sanguinaria canadensis
• Boston Ivy — Ampelopsis quinquefolia
• Boxwood — Buxus all varieties
• Bulb Flowers: Star of Bethlehem, Tulip, Hyacinth, Iris
• Buttercup — Ranunculus all varieties
• Castor Bean — Ricinus communis
• Chinaberry — Melia azedarach
• Clematis viginiana
• Cyclamen — all varieties
• Daphne — Daphne mezereum
• Deadly Nightshades (including potato vines, green spots, and tubers) — Solanum all varieties
• Dutchman's Breeches — Dicentra cucullaria
• Elderberry — Sambucus all varieties
• False Hellebore — Veratum viride
• Foxglove — Digitalis purpurea
• Ground Cherries — Physalis all varieties
• Hydrangea — all varieties.
• Horse Chestnut — Aesculus hippocastanum
• Indian Tobacco — Lobelia all varieties
• Jack-in-the-Pulpit — Arisaema triphyllum
• Jimson Weed/Thorn Apple — Datura all varieties
• Lantana — Lantana camara
• Larkspur — Delphinium
• Lily — all varieties.
• Lily of the Valley — Convallaria majalis
• Locoweed — Laburnum all varieties
• Lupinus — all varieties
• Monkshood — Aconitum all varieties
• Morning Glory — Ipomoea purpurea
• Mountain Laurel — Kalmia latifolia
• Mushrooms (all outdoor varieties)
• Narcissus all varieties
• Night-blooming Jasmine — Cestrum nocturnum
• Oleander — Nerium Oleander
• Onions, Chives, etc — Allium all varieties
• Poison Hemlock — Conium maculatum
• Poison Oak, Poison Ivy — Toxicodendron
• Pokeberry — Phytolacca americana
• Poppy — Papaver all varieties
• Privet — Ligustrum vulgare
• Rhubarb (only the leaves are toxic) — Rheum rhaponticium
• Rosary Pea — Abrus precatorius
• Stinging Nettle — Urtica all varieties
• Sweetpea — Lathyrus all varieties
• Tansy Mustard — Descurainia pinnata
• Tomato (only the vine is toxic) — Lycopersicon esculentum
• Virginia Creeper — Parthenocissus quinquefolia
• Wild Cherry, Wild Peach, Wild Apricot, Chokeberry, Almond, Black Cherry — Prunus all varieties
• Wisteria — all varieties
• Yews (especially the berries) — Taxus all varieties

P.S. Common human recreational plants, such as tobacco, marijuana, and cocaine, aren't so hot for cats either.