Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Michigan

The answer is in your condominium by-laws. If the "one cat" pet policy is spelled out, and it was in existence when you purchased your condo, they you must abide by the rule. You agreed to do this when you accepted delivery of your deed that was subject to condo restrictions.

If the pet policy went into effect after you purchased your condo (AND you had two cats), then you may argue that your second cat is "grandfathered" in. This may or may not be an effective argument, but worth trying.

The association may not "selectively" enforce the rules, they must enforce the rules with an even hand. The association may be able to fine you for violation of the rules, (read your by-laws).

The association may hire a lawyer to get an injunction (court order) telling you to get rid of one cat. The association may also be able to charge you for its legal fees (read your by-laws) If this happens, and you refuse to abide by the court's order, you will be held in contempt of court, and you could be fined or even jailed. This sounds rather Draconian, and is really not likely to happen, without a lot of advanced notice.

Why don't you try to get one of your cat-less neighbors to take your 2nd cat. This way, you could visit, and not be in violation of the rules. If you find a neighbor who really likes both cats, you could swap them back and forth, and even have "play time" for them to visit each other. This could be a temporary solution until you accomplish the other alternative, which is to find a more animal friendly environment to move to.

You may have other neighbors who feel as you do, and the condo "board" may be a very small (but pushy) minority. If you can rally enough cat-loving neighbors who will support a majority vote to change the by-laws (read the by-laws for the specific requirments to amend the by-laws, it's all spelled out), then maybe you can get the rules changed to permit everyone to have 2 cats.