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Orange County woman says mail carrier won't deliver mail because of Chloe the cat

Mail Carrier says cat is hindering him from delivering mail

ORANGE, Texas — Suzanne Perry has lived on North 14th Street in Orange for years.

She loves pets, but her mail carrier not so much.

"I can't be the only neighbor with a cat. Maybe my cat is the only one, but if she is, she's very friendly," said Perry.

The trouble started for Suzanne two months ago.

The mail carrier said "Chloe the Cat" swatted at him.

Suzanne says they both laughed it off the first time.

But the second time wasn't as funny.

"After that, he told me he didn't want to deliver the mail. He asked me would I put a box out on the front."

She lives in the Historic District of Orange, and there's rules that come along with that.

"You can't change the appearance of the house. They want it to stay the same. Well, the mailbox is one thing. Most of them are all attached."

She didn't want to mess up her vinyl siding, so she ended up putting a cardboard box in front of her house.

But of course, the rain ruined her temporary mailbox.

Ultimately, she ended up with a mailbox on the side of the road.

It became such an issue, the post office sent a letter saying she needed to keep the cat confined.

Credit: Suzanne Perry
The Orange post office sent a letter to a woman asking her to keep her cat confined after a mail carrier says her cat swatted at him.

"I don't have a problem with him. If he would only stop and let me know what's going on."

Suzanne says she's willing to fix the issue, but the post man has to be willing to stop by, so they can resolve this saga.

Who knows, maybe Chloe will charm him this time.

The spokesperson for the post office provided us with this statement: 

The Postal Service’s goal is to provide the best delivery service possible.  In addition, the safety and well-being of our employees is of paramount importance.  In order to ensure the welfare and safety of our delivery personnel, the Postal Service has guidelines in place which address situations such as a threatening animal, which could cause injury to an employee. While our letter carriers are vigilant and dedicated, occasionally we are forced to stop mail delivery at an address. In this particular situation, local management has reached a solution with the customer. Customers are reminded to help make your neighborhood safe for our Letter Carrier and for other people…
 
•             Find out what time your Letter Carrier delivers your mail.
•             When the Letter Carrier is due to visit your house, check to be sure your pets are inside. Keep your pet inside until the Letter Carrier is gone.
•             If someone needs to open the door to sign for a letter, first put the dog/cat in another room and close the door.
•             If you have a mail slot, keep your pet away from the slot so the Letter Carrier’s fingers don’t get bitten.

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