My cat got into next doors house....

kataklysm

Our neighbour is getting on a bit, lives on her own with one cat. Neighbour on the other side has two cats, and we're in the middle with our two. We're all in tiddly little houses. And there's lots of other cats in the neighbourhood.

So yesterday, she got back from being on holiday for a week, and put a letter through our door blaming one of our cats for getting into her house while she was away, eating her cat's food and sitting on her couch etc. She also said that her neighbour has seen our cat in her garden digging things up.

I can see how these things would be annoying. But to me, the solution is spectacularly simple and it does not involve stuffing notes through people's doors and making enemies of your immediate neighbours. It's called SHUT - THE - WINDOW. What on earth does she expect me to do if she leaves them wide open?! Have a sternly worded conversation with our cat? Ground him for a week without pocket money? :wall:

Just in case anyone responds with "Well if you were a responsible cat owner etc" ...both my neighbours keep their cats in exactly the same way.. we provide ours with three trays of their own, we keep them in all day and night apart from an hour or so in the evenings, and a couple hours longer at weekends. We don't let them out unless we're home. Her cat is also not confined indoors, and neither are my other neighbour's. YET she expects mine to be imprisoned because she can't be bothered to fit a cat flap. As for the digging things up, I know it's annoying - because her cat does exactly the same thing in mine. But I don't cause a fuss because there are more important things in life to worry about.

Sigh. Anyone had this problem? I can't afford a cat fence, they can't be house cats... and they don't take to leads. I honestly think she expects a miracle here.


Edit: Final thought - we think she's just angling for some money from us ("expensive cat food"... "had to buy things to put on the garden" ... "ate a plate of chicken".. ) etc. Maybe the grown up thing to do is say "We're very sorry, here's something to cover the damage". Slippery slope?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I would be more surprised that she went away for a week and left the window open for that time. Perhaps she needs to consider the possibility of burglars more than marauding tabbies?

I'd ignore her, especially as there is no proof it was your cat.

krlyr

Whilst I would normally say "your cat, your responsibility", I can see your point in saying the neighbours do the same. I think offering money could be a slippery slope like you said, especially with no proof it was your cat. I think I'd just give a vague apology, "Oh, sorry if it was my cat - cats will be cats eh?" and give her some info on cat flaps that work via magnets on collars or chips so they'd only let her cats in.

However, if you do decide to keep your cats contained to your garden, you don't necessarily need an expensive cat fence. My dog started jumping out 6' fence so I ended up having to copy the idea of a cat fence to keep him in, but did it on the cheap - made my own brackets for the top of the fencing and used a roll of chicken wire (which I had lying around), you could probably construct something for cheap/free if you were determined enough.

mummyroysof3

id be saying she was lucky it was only a cat that went in her house leaving the window open

becky2011

Who an earth would leave their window open for a week! Like another poster also said, she has no proof that it was your cat and I'm sure the police wouldn't be interested in taking any paw prints!
Maybe just try an apology and then move on

murphydog999

Am I missing something? Unless she has CCTV in the house, how does she know all this? Did she had someone feeding her cat and they told her?

kataklysm

Phew.. thank you so much everyone, really glad to know it's not just me who thinks she's nuts.
It's such a silly issue, but I'd hate for her to cause them harm to get at us. Makes me wonder what she might do next.
I would point out the risk of burglarly / invalidated house insurance, but she might take it as threatening, we don't want to be accused of trying to scare the old bat. The last thing we want is her daughter banging on our door too.

It's kind of the last straw really, we're a young couple, into heavy metal etc but we are absolutely the quietest, most considerate neighbours purely for her benefit. We almost never have friends over in case it annoys her, keep our TV down, never play loud music, keep the house and garden in order, park considerately.. even take her bins to the end of the drive for her.
She on the other hand ruins every summer's day by opening her windows and cranking out Gold FM, her TV is so loud we can hear it in the kitchen... she made me dig up all my ivy because she couldn't be bothered to clip the occasional frond that came through her side of the fence (which I offered to pop round and clip for her..), she digs plants up from my front garden.. never trims her 16ft hedge blocking the sunlight at the back.. accused me of planting virulent weeds (that originated in her garden).. complains about almost anything she possibly can. Most of which she causes but is determined to blame us or extort money.
We're not bad people. I hate feeling so demonised, particularly knowing other neighbours are watching us too. But she's old, and we don't want to fight with her, so we just acquiesce each time.
I just don't know what she expects this time. I've never in my life walked into my kitchen to find someone else's cat on the counter eating a plate of chicken. It's just a ridiculous scenario. But of course, it must be my fault

Grr.. just venting a bit here Next house will have NO neighbours.

Anyway. All that sorts of makes me want to take the higher ground and offer her the spare cat flap we have, or chuck her a £20 to cover the cost of her expensive cat food... whatever she's angling for to keep her quiet for another 6 months at least. Otherwise I suppose we just ignore her and tip-toe around until the next time she thinks we've done something.

kataklysm

murphydog999 wrote: »

Am I missing something? Unless she has CCTV in the house, how does she know all this? Did she had someone feeding her cat and they told her?

Apparently she did some detective work. Her cat always sleeps in its bed, and she found black fur on her sofa.
I like to think that's because when she's away, her cat lounges on the sofa watching the Discovery Channel eating Doritos and ordering takeout..

Of course, I'm under no illusions, Dr. Gonzo is a naughty cat and it probably was him. But, aside from enrolling him on a class about property law, what can I do about it if she leaves windows open? :rotfl:

paddypaws101

Your row of houses sounds very like mine, and I sympathise with your issues.
Firstly, cat proof fencing does not have to cost a fortune....if you and OH are handy at all then the average small London garden can be done for a couple of hundred pounds...if you want details of how I have done mine just ask.
Secondly, I would probably try and pacify her for now, not with cash, but maybe pop round with half a dozen pouches/tin trays of 'luxury' cat food....preferably one that you have sitting in your own cupboards that your cats wont eat anyway!

dizziblonde

Used to have a neighbours cat that would regularly wander into my house.

Correct proceedure was, pick up cat, give him a quick fuss and scratch behind the ears, carry cat to neighbour's door, deposit cat with neighbour - go in for cuppa. The one time he DID cause an issue was him sat on our outside windowsill and me looking out in the dark to see a pair of gleaming orange eyes and almost pooing myself with fright.

Sphynx

She sounds like a bit of a nightmare all round. I personally wouldn't give her any money or offer any cat flap etc. It sounds like you have bent over backwards to keep her happy and she is taking advantage (catch me digging up plants at my neighbours behest). Just ignore her as best you can. You haven't done anything wrong SHE was the one who left her house open to all and sundry. There are plenty of ways to discourage cats (orange peel, cayenne pepper) that don't cost very much. She has family who can help her with those things should she want to do so.