There were no nine lives for Teddy and Gus.

The end came Thursday when an Edgemont Ranch couple agreed to dismantle an escape route they’d built for the cats from a second-story bathroom.

“There was no appeal,” said Martha Spence, who was hoping for a change of heart from the Farmhouse East homeowners sub-association of Edgemont Ranch. “My husband couldn’t get off work.”

She said Thursday they would disassemble the 13-foot bridge from the bathroom to a tree and the wooden steps that circled the tree trunk to the ground. The idea was to allow the cats to leave and enter the house at will instead of opening and closing the door for them.

Neighbors split over aesthetics and safety issues. Some worried curious children could be hurt. Some liked the Spences’ solution to giving Teddy and Gus freedom of movement, but others didn’t.

The Farmhouse East board said the bridge had to go and gave the Spences until April 30 to remove the catwalk, made from an emergency fire-escape ladder, and the steps.

But a spokesman for the Edgemont Property Owners Association, which charters a half-dozen sub-associations, cited a larger issue.

Master association bylaws, which supersede neighborhood regulations, prohibit animals from running loose, the spokesman said. End of discussion.

The Spences were going to appeal anyway, but their protest ended with a quiet meow.

daler@durangoherald.com