New neighbours cat

On our close there are only a couple of dogs, mine included. There are plenty of cats. My dog enjoys being on cat watch and will run outside joyfully if she catches sight of one. It’s her garden, enter at your peril. It’s what dogs do. Your neighbour is batshit.

Asking you to remove your shrub is actually beyond batshit.

We have 2 cats and we've had cats for decades. Cats are adaptable and your neighbour's cat will find it's way to the woods if it wants to. It is not your responsibility to look out for their cat at the expense of your dog or home.

It is bizarre that they would expect you to!

I had terriers, and a dog flap in the back door. The dogs went in and out whenever they liked. Any cats bold enough to venture into my garden would bolt the minute they heard the dog flap. No way would I have gone on cat patrol before letting the dogs out.

If the NDNs are worried about their cat being in your garden, they need to fit some of that cat-enclosing fencing in their garden to keep it in. They're cheeky fuckers.

If they called any animal welfare organisation and starting bleating about safety and welfare for their cat, they'd be told to keep the cat indoors or get an outdoor enclosure with access via the house.

Who the hell voted YBU?? They are CF! Cat belongs to them their problem!

Ask them to explore car fencing by protectapet keeps the cat in the garden I have it and it s great.

Our cats always come indoors to poo (too lazy to dig in the garden).

The poor birds in that woodland.

I love animals and I get bored with all the cat bashing threads on here. However this is ridiculous. You allow your cat to roam, you accept the risks...whether that be cars, dogs or spiky plants!

Yanbu OP, but I would add that I always scan my garden briefly for the neighbours cats before letting my dogs out purely because that's a situation I wouldn't want to deal with.

ive not read all the replies, but im gonna guess they are very similar to mine (and by the way i am owned by 2 cats whom i would probably die for).. i'd tell the neighbour to 'jog on'.

cats are not stupid, they will be chased by your dog once or twice and do 1 of 2 things. it'll be a twat and sit on the fence and torment your dog all day or it will opt for a less entertaining option of finding a new route round your garden.

you can no more train a cat than you can a pigeon or any other untrainable animal! im afraid i wouldn't wish harm on anyones cat and i wouldnt encourage anyone to go out of their way to harm one, it its in your garden.. its fair game to your dog

You are not bu. We have a pyracantha and both ours and next doors cats quire happily navigate round it. As for your dog, if the cat is there when you let it out the car will soon scat. Fuck the neighbours.

Well done @butterflycatching for asserting your boundaries from the start. I'm shit when put on the spot like that!

They do sound entitled and like they'll be high-maintenance neighbours, so I'd be prepared to say no to all of their requests.

I'd personally be adding more cat deterrents, like those spiky things to pop along the top of your fencing etc.

I'd probably buy a water pistol too and encourage the dog to chase the cat 😂

Never mind that! I’d be using the dog as a deterrent to stop the cat coming into my garden! Ignore them about the plant as well. Cats will go wherever they want.

And if it does, throw it back!!!

it is a bit cheeky and bonkers.

I can see they just want their cat to have safe access to a large roaming area, however I’d be more trying to make friends and maybe apologise for my cat if it possibly came into your garden.

don’t worry, my cat leaps into pyrocanthus and is so far fine and avoids local dogs.

Cat owner here, they do know you can’t train a cat right? 🤣 we had new neighbours move in about 18 months ago with two dogs. Our cat had previously considered their garden as hers as the elderly lady who lived there fed our cat treats and liked to watch her pottering about. I made it clear to new neighbours that they were welcome to shoo our cat away/use a water pistol to deter her. I was hoping the dogs would frighten her off but no, she’s fearless/stupid (there’s a fine line) and enjoys sitting on next door’s shed tormenting the poor dogs.

Nah, don’t people please. Put your plants up. As a cat lover, also a huge plant lover. Fuck your neighbours, your money, your garden. Ignore them.

The cat thing they wrapped up as an animal safety/welfare issue and kind of implied I was a dick for not being concerned if it got hurt.

I’d have made it very clear that I couldn’t care less whether their cat gets hurt and would’ve told them that if they’re that concerned about its safety they need to keep it inside.

YA absolutely NBU! If they wanted their cat to have direct access to the woods they should have bought your house first. Though, cats being cats, you can pretty much guarantee it would go the opposite direction 😆
Sounds like as very new home owners they haven't factored in all the things they are responsible for now like their broadband.
Hope this is the end to their daft requests and you enjoy your new home

The cat will just walk along the fence tops of it wants to avoid the garden, and they’re more than capable of jumping over bushes etc. They also work out how to avoid the dogs pretty well. The cat will be fine without you needing to do a thing.

It's great that you didn't agree when you were put on the spot. It's probably best to say "no" to any request from them, or at least "I'll have to think about that". You don't have to explain your reasons though, "that won't suit/work/be possible" is good enough.

They had the same chance that you did to look at the building plans, location of gardens, roads etc before choosing their plot.

Regarding your dog, one of the best things about having a house is that you can leave the back door open and allow the dog to wander in and out. It would be ridiculous to voluntarily limit yourself re: checking for their cat. The best thing is to disencourage the cat from entering your garden at all. A neighbour of mine suggested using a water pistol if her cat was annoying my dog by sitting on the fence 😂.

As said cats do cats, so whilst they may have identified their preferred safe route the cat won't be listening. I'd be pleased to see safe places for my cat to go, but I would just be hoping the cat agreed tbh.
I think it would actually be possibly unfair on the cat if you super proofed your garden to its benefit (as well as unfair to you/your dog etc), as one day it may not be as safe as the cat first learns it to be.
All in all though I think the cat has done you a favour in a way, you know exactly how cheeky and expectant these new neighbours can be right off the bat. They know you don't give ground, rightly so, but imo fortunately they asked for the impossible to give - otherwise there could have been a whole stream of things from the sounds of it.
Don't feel bad, they'll settle in hopefully and chill a bit with their cat, expectations - and neighbours!

I'd just have said okay to the checking the garden (which if I remembered to do it, which I probably wouldn't, would just be a two second scan while I unlocked the door) and a no to the shrub. I might need a favour one day, so it pays not to come across as totally difficult, especially when you don't even need to follow through on that one! It's not like they can check that you're doing it!

Then I'd have mentioned foxes in the wood.

They don’t seem to know how a cat works!

• They will automatically avoid any space which they don’t feel comfortable in - including gardens with dogs - unless they are of the bad ass variety where they will enjoy sitting on the top of the fence and pulling faces at the dog and just generally winding it up… either way, you absolutely do not need to check before letting your own dog out into your own space!
• If they want to do it they will find a way to get to the wood regardless of any plants - heck if they are really determined they will walk across the roofs of houses to get to where they want - I know of a cat that hates water but will put up with forging a little stream to get into the local beauty spot… again, ridiculous that they would ask you to remove a plant in your own garden when (a) your plant, your garden and (b) cat won’t care at all.

Good luck with these new neighbours - maybe they’ve never lived with neighbours before (could be first timers moving in together or have only lived in more self-contained accommodation previously) - hopefully they will settle down over time and stop making bizarre requests. Are they very young?

Id have just laughed, as a cat owner. You can't force a cat to take a particular route anywhere, they'll go where they want. And they won't want to go into a garden with a dog in it.