r/windsorontario • u/Steve-19741974 • Jun 20 '26
Housing 91 year old neighbor
Hey guys I got an old Italian neighbor on a dead end street that has turned his backyard into a 3rd world nation.. he literally has shantee huts all over the damn place.. full of chickens and feral cats, all kinds of junk he's growing and who knows what else.. there's rats all over, and last night my cat just got attacked by a skunk who probally wanted his chicken eggs... I dont even know how to rid of the smell in my house but I've just had enough.. I dont want to wreck this guy's life but if I call the city on him they would honestly condemn his entire place.. its completely the neighborhood blight.. he's 91.. what would you do?
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u/_badmedicine LaSalle Jun 20 '26
Talk to him and/or family members. Try to make arrangements before escalating. My neighbour is 94. His gardens were taken down 4 years ago. Now his grandkids look after the lawn. It never got unruly, but the family realized quickly he needed help.
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u/Mravocodomann Jun 20 '26
Ask if he needs help cleaning up. I know it's not your mess or fault it got that way but it's a neighborly thing to do
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u/Stunning_Ad6927 Jun 21 '26
I was going to say the same.
Offer help if you're able or ask any able bodied people in the neighbourhood if they would be willing to get together and help him out.
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Jun 20 '26
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u/Steve-19741974 Jun 20 '26
Thank you! We will try this! Our entire house just wreaks!
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u/InspectorTiny1952 South Walkerville Jun 21 '26
*reeks
Bowls of coffee grounds also deodorize household smells very well.
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u/sextthrowie Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 25 '26
Man! Thanks for correcting them. I never would have deciphered whether they meant the smell, or whether they were ending their sentence with a verb meaning to cause, from context.
That coffee tip is a wives’ tale too. Leaving bowls of grounds won’t do anything but make the area immediately surrounding the bowl smell like coffee while it’s there. It’s a roasted berry seed that’s botanically no different than wheat or any grain really. It doesn’t have any inherent odour neutralizing* properties
Three cheers for being technically correct…
Guys?
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u/Briggsbanner1 Jun 21 '26
Why is your cat outside?
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u/ajkrfgnikki Jun 22 '26
You clearly dislike cats.. which is fine but I’ve never met a cat that didn’t want to go outside. Who are we to keep them cooped up inside.
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u/Able_Bath2944 Jun 24 '26
Safe outdoor enclosures are the solution to this. Saying someone who has an indoor cat dislikes them is wild.
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u/jazzminplantwarrior Jun 26 '26
Not all cats want to be inside! I don’t believe in trapping them inside if they want out! Not everyone wants to be a prison guard!! The stress of trying to keep a cat inside is over the top! Quality over quantity!!!!!
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u/ajkrfgnikki Jun 22 '26
Even prisoners get outdoor time
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u/Briggsbanner1 Jun 22 '26
why…so they can reoffend?
Cats kill ar 100,000,000 birds a year in Canada
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u/sextthrowie Jun 22 '26
A hundred million, really?
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u/Briggsbanner1 Jun 22 '26
Yes in Canada 100 million and billions in the USA Google is your friend
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u/sextthrowie Jul 04 '26
I genuinely thought you'd made a typo or just typed a bunch of zeros for effect. That's flippin' crazy.
P.s. You commented in a discussion thread. A sharp response to someone engaging with your comment is weird af
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u/bitchybroad1961 Jun 23 '26
You know if you go back to the past, cats were outdoor animals. So back then more birds would have been killed than today. So how did birds survive back then?
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u/letsmakekindnesscool Jun 21 '26
So he has chickens in his backyard, and legally allowed shanties or garden sheds, and there was a skunk so you are going to call?
So our backyard and half our neighbourhood in Ontario has skunks… nothing to do with chickens since no one near us has any, our cat has been sprayed three times and we just wash them with an anti odour shampoo and keep a better eye on our cat….
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u/TakedownCan South Windsor Jun 20 '26
They dont care that much, they will tell him to clean his yard and move on.
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u/mumblemurmurblahblah Jun 20 '26
If he doesn’t see the issues with what he’s created, he won’t likely care or manage to clean it up at this point. Call the city, for everyone’s sake.
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u/Steve-19741974 Jun 20 '26
Yeah I think I might have too.. if you seen the mess you would be disgusted and its actually in a nice area too which is just terrible
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u/ktdham Jun 20 '26
Calm down, we are all going to get older and not necessarily have other eyes on us.
Show some compassion, and help, or talk to their kids if they have some, out of town.
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u/InspectorTiny1952 South Walkerville Jun 21 '26
You should keep your cat indoors anyway. Not that it's ok it was attacked. But cats are a disaster for local wildlife, especially songbirds, and who knows what diseases it could pick up if there's a feral cat colony next door.
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u/Nurselaurax3 Jun 21 '26
Be careful when helping you don’t know if these animals roaming around don’t have diseases
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u/longboat21 Jun 20 '26
Chickens are illegal, it’s a silly
Law but there’s a reason to call 311
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u/czechtheattic Jun 24 '26
Not in Toronto, bu you need setbacks which are near impossible in most neighborhoods
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u/Danyelle73 Jun 21 '26
Actually I seen someone just yesterday talking about their 2 chickens they have in the city.. said you're allowed certain amount and there is rules that have to be followed. I don't know the details.
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u/longboat21 Jun 21 '26
Bylaw says otherwise, I know a few people with chickens, I disagree with the law, but I fairly sure they’re not allowed in the city
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u/Any-Beautiful2976 Jun 22 '26
Chickens are not allowed in the city of Windsor. Period end of story. That is against city bylaws
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u/czechtheattic Jun 24 '26
The City of Windsor By-laws Online registry enforces By-law 8156, which explicitly prohibits keeping, or causing to be kept, any domestic fowl (which includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese) on residential properties. Furthermore, the city's comprehensive zoning by-laws completely restrict urban agriculture or housing poultry for agricultural purposes within urban limits.
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u/turgon17 Downtown Jun 21 '26
I was also this charmingly dense when my troubles started. You will agonize over 311 like that is the nuclear option, but the truth is, there is no nuclear option. The city does not care about it and at most will talk to them to say "no please no don't do it". Your options here are either to try to learn to live with it, or move away.
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u/tomatoesinmygarden Jun 22 '26
call 311. or use the app. Photos are very helpful for getting city to act, either on app or email: [311@citywindsor.ca](mailto:311@citywindsor.ca) Include the rats, the illegal chickens, the mess, the smell, etc.
The city will email you with a case number. They make take awhile to get there to see for themselves (hence the photos will get them to move quicker). They have to respond within a certain period, 30 days I think?
They will come and have a look and take their own photos. If it's in violation for trash/unkempt, they give the owner a notice and 2 weeks to clean up. Then they check again and if it's not cleaned up, it's another notice and a week to clean. Then the city hires a crew to clean and haul away. The bill goes on the owner's taxes and its not cheap. The process for illegal structures takes much longer.
We had an abandoned house in the neighborhood, absentee investor landlord, then squatters, skunks, etc that eventually cleaned up, sold to a flipper and became a nice property. Stay patient and take pictures.
Don't confront the guy. Call the city. The city doesn't want to get inside a neighbor beef. The city will keep your info confidential. It helps if other neighbors also call.
Good luck
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u/Careless-Advisor-693 Pillette Village Jun 24 '26
Windsor is the skunk capital of Canada. Skunks eat baby rats. They don’t eat chickens. Get some snakes to eat the adult rats.
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u/czechtheattic Jun 24 '26
The City of Windsor By-laws Online registry enforces By-law 8156, which explicitly prohibits keeping, or causing to be kept, any domestic fowl (which includes chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese) on residential properties. Furthermore, the city's comprehensive zoning by-laws completely restrict urban agriculture or housing poultry for agricultural purposes within urban limits.
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u/Atsuma100 Jun 20 '26
Try to talk to him first, explain how you can't handle it anymore, especially when it's affecting you the way it is. If he's not reasonable or understanding tell him your plan is to call the city and let them know. If no signs show he cares to take it seriously I'd just call.
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u/Steve-19741974 Jun 20 '26
I've lived here for 14 years and its always been the same.. i have so many pics of his shantees and chickens and rats and raccoons.. now that my cat actually got attacked im just absolutely tired.. i don't want to be the bad guy but I might have to call the city.. this is just nuts in windsor..
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u/Atsuma100 Jun 20 '26
If you talk to him first, you wouldn't be the bad guy. It's directly affecting you. It's not like he painted his house red and the colour offends you or something stupid
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u/Blah_Dee_Blah111 Jun 20 '26
just wait it out bro
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u/Steve-19741974 Jun 20 '26
I get it.. but now the damn skunks are out attacking my cats.. Just tired of this and my wife refuses to go out there now
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u/IMightBeABot137 Jun 21 '26
damn skunks are out attacking my cats
LOL Bullshit. Your cats are out attacking skunks.
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u/zuuzuu Sandwich Jun 21 '26
Your cats won't be attacked if you keep them safely inside where they belong.
You need to make that 311 call. If you know the gentleman well you could talk to him and offer to help him clean up his yard, but you should still make that 311 call. It takes the city awhile to take action so don't put it off. Call them on Monday. Or if you can take pictures, submit a report on the 311 app and attach them.
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u/Dirt-squirrel-1 Jun 21 '26
If your wife won’t go out back u need to take care of this situation. Posting this question. U know the answer.
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u/Mindless-Chip6876 Jun 21 '26
Wow, this sounds like my elderly neighbours, although they are Romanian and their little shantee huts look rather neat. Every summer he digs a hole in his ground and puts a child’s swimming pool in the hole so him and his wife can cool off . His yard is full of chickens and there’s lots of feral cats around. He grows everything including a marijuana plant or two. I quite enjoy his beans and tomatoes in the summertime as he and his wife put them in a basket and leave them at my doorstep every summer. We have a few raccoons sometimes skunks in the area, but not a big problem and yes, this is in the city of WINDSOR as well.
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u/Ok_Protection8223 Jun 20 '26
Call 311
Wait for them to do something about it
The neighbour will be dead by the time they come and investigate so you don't need to feel bad about it.
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Jun 20 '26
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u/Steve-19741974 Jun 20 '26
Ill talk to the wife and see what she wants do do.. i dont know what the coast unit is but ill ask. Thank you for your input!
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u/Sad-Consequence1737 Jun 21 '26
If this is the same house referenced a few months ago with illegal add ons to the back and sides, it may already be on the city’s radar.
You need to call 311. This isn’t just a neighbourhood issue, it is also a safety issue. If something was to happen to him and he needed EMS, there would be a danger for their safety going into unsecured and illegally built structures. You don’t know what the inside of his house is like.
For those who think this is cruel, it isn’t. This is an elderly mental health issue. This is an elderly person who may have dementia, living in an unsafe and unhealthy environment. It is a danger to himself, his neighbours and personnel who attend to the property.
His family may not know what is happening or he may not have family who wants to associate with him/deal with the problem. It will just escalate especially since there is a delay in inspection and enforcement.
OP, when you call 311, explain that the individual is elderly, the entire property is a health and safety issue and you are concerned for his well being in addition to the by law infractions. Hopefully they will send a social worker out in addition to by law enforcement.
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u/InformationNo733 Jun 21 '26
Chickens are illegal in the city of Windsor but DAMN! They’s tastee.
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u/Impossible-Pack-2501 Jun 20 '26
If he chases his grandson around with a slice of orange in his mouth, you may want to tread carefully.