A Maryland resident has found a clever way to skirt the rules of her neighborhood’s Homeowners Association (HOA) rules that limit just two pets per household.
While owner Alaina Walter’s documentation only lists one cat and one dog, she actually has three pets, but has managed to keep this secret—thanks to two of her cats looking nearly identical.
Walter owns a Bernese Mountain dog named Winnie, weighing in at 90 pounds, and two black cats, Loki and Sylvie. But the cats look so much alike that even friends and family can’t tell them apart—something that has let Walter get away with telling her HOA she only has one cat.
“Our HOA has a two-pet limit for each house, which was stated in the HOA documentation when we moved in,” Walter told Newsweek. “We filled out paperwork stating the breed and weight of each pet, so we listed just one cat and the dog. We moved in July, but so far they haven’t suspected anything!”
@stayinurlain/TikTok
The pet owner shared the story in a now-viral TikTok video, showing footage of both Loki and Sylvie with the caption: “When you tell your HOA you only have one cat because they look the same.” The video has more than 2.5 million views, with comments pouring in from viewers both amused and outraged by the situation.
One commenter asked: “How do YOU tell them apart?” while another wrote: “Not convinced that my husband would notice if I added another black cat to our home.” Some viewers, like Stacey, expressed frustration with the HOA’s control: “HOA gets to dictate how many cats you have now??”
Others shared their own similar stories. Like Maniacalmurloc who said: “We used to do this with two tabby cats we had. They looked nothing alike but they didn’t handle transport well. One hid, and one was a little less shy. Landlord never knew.”
Despite the strict pet policy, Walter says she’s willing to break the rules for her beloved cats, who she affectionately refers to as her “little voids.” She joked that hiding Winnie, their large dog, would be far more difficult. “Winnie is 90 pounds and much harder to hide,” she laughed.
This isn’t the first time a HOA rule has sparked conversation online. Earlier this year, one woman shared how she spent hundreds of dollars on a front yard makeover, only to be told that the white rocks she used were in violation of the HOA regulations.
Another HOA found themselves under fire after a dad was faced with a refusal from his local HOA because he wanted to build a swim spa for his disabled daughter.
Do you have funny and adorable videos or pictures of your pet you want to share? Send them to life@newsweek.com with some details about your best friend, and they could appear in our Pet of the Week lineup.
