To suspect my neighbour killed my cat

"Isn’t it a crime to kill a cat? It should be. He doesn’t own nature."

The potential crime is 'criminal damage' as they are considered property.

The Animal Welfare Act addresses intentional acts of cruelty.

But I doubt the police would be interested - difficult to prove.

And actually none of us know whether he did it or not. He hates cats and has accidentally killed one in the past, but that doesn't mean he'd intentionally harm one.

I'd get CCTV and point it at his fence and have one camera put up high on your house covering your garden and maybe his. I'd get another cat too. I also suspect he has killed your kitten. He's a bastard.

The RSPB themselves say that cats do not have an affect on bird numbers. Cats kill a tiny tiny percentage of birds and those they do catch tend to be unwell or injured birds in the first place.

False comparison. Wild birds vs domestic animals (cats/farm animals). No, people shouldn't be killing cats (assuming it was a car), but cats shouldn't be killing wild birds either.

Whilst I agree that cats should be able to go outside and roam, when you live in an urban environment next door to someone who has made i clear that he hates cats and will harm or kill them then you'd have to be pretty stupid to keep letting your cat out!

You'd keep your cat indoors and invest in cat trees and cat shelves etc to keep them stimulated.

Years ago we had a friend who had Siamese cats and she would take them out on a lead go a huge aviary type structure that had things to climb on and plants etc and was like a garden within a garden.

Do you and other posters eat chicken? Turkey? Goose?

Isn’t it a crime to kill a cat? It should be. He doesn’t own nature.

How do you feel about humans, Christ we do far worse.!

A neighbour used to poison cats, so very possible. I’m sorry for your loss OP. Your neighbour sounds vile.

I personally am not a fan of birds, not in my garden, not shitting all over the place. Our neighbour puts food out and our garden is covered in shit- have had to have a word with him to stop doing it.

👏
Yes.

It's most likely that he killed the cat but I can't understand why you continually let the cats out after many, many times he complained and threatened to harm them?

He sounds deranged, I would want to move personally.

Can you cat proof your garden so your cat can’t get out?

I think you should definitely get the ring footage

It's weird to me for people to care about birds being killed because "the environment" and not even caring about animals lives

I don't know about this. As tempting as it would feel, he doesn't sound like the kind of neighbour to get into a war with.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting that I don't care about cats being killed. But it's infuriating to see people be so dismissive of the damage they cause to actual wildlife (domestic cats are not "nature"). It may be "in their nature" to hunt, but their presence is not natural.
A cat roaming free is always going to be destructive and vulnerable.

The fact he admitted killing a cat before is also what confirms to me he has killed the OPs cat. It sounds exactly like my friends neighbour who did this. It's awful. He's an evil bastard who will never change and sadly unlike dogs, the police won't do anything. My friend did call when it happened to her but nothing came of it.

This evil creature living next door to the OP needs to be reported to both the police and the RSPCA. He will try to wriggle out of it but it will frighten him and make him think again. OP I have cats and I am so sorry for you. I hope that your cat was hit by a car rather than at the hands of this revolting specimen.

Also do what PPs suggested about the ring doorbells, make the neighbours aware just what a monstrosity lives amongst you.

And some PPs should be ashamed of their posts on here. It is very distressing. I really hope this vile specimen gets his comeuppance.

Also I would do some sneaky things like sprinkle weed killer on his outdoor plants. Does he have a coconut type mat outside his house? If so sprinkle with warm water and mustard & cress seeds. Accidentally brush by his car with a bag over your shoulder that has a large buckle.

If he has a ring doorbell though don't bother! Be a bit more creative instead. But DEFINITELY POLICE AND RSPCA.

I am so sorry about your moggy. 😿

I'm really sorry to say this OP but I do think he killed your cat. This happened to one of my friends, their neighbour hated cats and another neighbour witnessed him moving the cat onto the road near there house with a spade tucked behind him covered in blood. To make it look like an accident.

He admitted it apparently when pressed and said it was to save the birds. The police never did anything.

If I were you I'd keep your other cat as an inside cat, get a big cat pen that keeps them safe for the garden and never interact with that evil bastard ever again. Someone that does that is a total evil psycho. Sending you love. I'm so sorry.

I’m really sorry, it’s so heartbreaking.

i heard one of our next door neighbours once say loudly, as she walked to her car parked on the road outside our house about our old cat; “if I see that bloody cat again I’m gonna kill it”. She said it deliberately as she saw I was in my front garden. At that point our cat was very old and didn’t really wander anymore anyway. Neighbour is not a nice person and notorious.

After our old cat died of an age related natural cause, we got 2 new kittens. One went outside at about 6 months. A few weeks later we found a row of evenly spaced plastic brown plant pots buried in the ground up to their tops filled with blue rat poison cakes under our boundary hedge on our property. It was definitely the same neighbour as no one else would have access to that part of our garden. We removed the poison and sent a cease and desist via a solicitor.

but, we now keep both cats in. The one that was going out goes into the garden supervised sometimes but sadly people do and will harm cats.

in a neighbouring village a good number of cats disappeared over the same time period and then came home a few days later covered in creosote

"I don't disagree that pets can be contained and not be nuisance animals, but there's a huge difference between hating cats and finding them annoying, and actually killing them deliberately. I could never do that no matter how much they annoyed me."

I completely agree. To intentionally kill a pet suggests a personality disorder and is absolutely wrong. I could never hurt an animal. I guess I just know a lot of people who really hate having cats in their gardens, and having to pretend they're ok with it, because society says we have to. I'd never get a cat for that reason - knowing I'm kind of forcing them on other people.

You already know this man has killed a cat, he admitted it, so it isn't a stretch to think he has done the same to your poor kitty. Despicable man. I am so sorry for your loss.

Speak to the police he's a dangerous, unhinged, weirdo. He told you he had killed a cat before as a warning/ threat to keep your cat away, he didn't just mention it in jest. I'd be going round telling him I know he's killed my cat and see his reaction. I'm furious on your behalf, how dare he take it upon himself to kill someone's pet? Can you take your cat for a post mortem and have evidence to prove what's happened? This bastard needs his comeuppance if he has!!!!

Did he do it? Probably but you'll never prove it. The cat could conceivably have been clipped by a car for example.

we would look into a fence with a slope

Did you?

Cat proof your garden to stop your cat getting out to protect it.

I don't disagree that pets can be contained and not be nuisance animals, but there's a huge difference between hating cats and finding them annoying, and actually killing them deliberately. I could never do that no matter how much they annoyed me.

You will never know for sure. Keep your other cat inside or catproof your garden.

We have cat proof fences to keep them out because I care every bit as much about a killed bird as you do about your cat. I would never kill one but I wish owners were more responsible.

I realise I'm in a minority and won't change any minds, but to me it feels as if cats just shouldn't really be kept as pets in residential areas. If your pet can't be controlled and needs to be allowed to roam free, including in the gardens of people who don't want them there, then they're just not great animals to keep as pets really.