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Only here to vent about neighbours b#&@!@£ cat! Ruined my kitchen!

96 replies

feckingcat · 21/04/2026 17:42

I have a very elderly cat and therefore a cat flap. My old cat cannot tolerate a collar so for years she has just entered and exited the cat flap at her will.

A neighbour much further down the street abandoned a big old Tom cat a few months ago and it’s been roaming around, pinching food here and there. Another neighbour has taken it in and is feeding it regularly. All good.

I came downstairs yesterday morning and was greeted by the very strong and distinctive smell of Tom cat wee. Went into the kitchen and it was eye watering. The fucking cat had sprayed urine all over the kitchen, up the table legs, over the area where my cat eats and worst of all up the fronts of the cream gloss kitchen cabinet fronts, this has etched the gloss off the cabinets so in the light you can see the spray marks up the front. It will not clean off - it’s actually taken the gloss off the surface.

Im absolutely livid! It’s obviously come in during the night. I now need to try and decide either to stop my own cat going out by closing and locking the cat flap or getting a new, expensive flap that only opens for my cat.

I can’t even begin to put into words how annoyed I am, a 20k kitchen with about 5 cabinet fronts now all ruined with white marks up the front of them. FFS!!!!!

OP posts:
Oneday24 · 22/04/2026 22:17

I’m an insurance loss assessor, this wouldn’t be covered under home insurance I’m afraid. I’d be telling your neighbour tbh, if they took it in they should have had it neutered

TheDrswife · 22/04/2026 22:39

How does a microchip cat flap work with multiple cats??

pinkyredrose · 22/04/2026 22:46

That poor cat being abandoned :-(

Pls will you call Cats Protection or a local rescue group to come get him?

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worrisomeasset · 22/04/2026 22:52

pinkyredrose · 22/04/2026 22:46

That poor cat being abandoned :-(

Pls will you call Cats Protection or a local rescue group to come get him?

Why? OP says the cat was abandoned but has since been taken in by a neighbour. The title of the thread refers to it as her neighbour’s cat. It’s not a stray.

worrisomeasset · 22/04/2026 22:54

TheDrswife · 22/04/2026 22:39

How does a microchip cat flap work with multiple cats??

You just register each of them on the device one by one. Mine can keep the details of up to 30 cats, if I remember rightly.

BooneyBeautiful · 22/04/2026 23:23

Mildmag · 21/04/2026 18:42

They categorically are not liable

Correct. In the UK, cats have a legal right to roam.

DiscoBeat · 22/04/2026 23:30

Argh tricky! We put in a microchip catflap in our rental and it was fine for them but our cat would be quite nervous of the click. We also have a big dog so no cat would attempt it.

mjf981 · 22/04/2026 23:53

I love cats, and partly because they are such cheeky bastards who don't give a shit, but this would really piss me off too! I'm sorry this happened.

Happyjoe · Yesterday 00:24

If neighbour has taken the cat on as their own, ask her to get it neutered.
If she doesn't want the responsibility of the cat, get it on a cat waiting list to be rehomed - and still get it neutered.
Cats protection offer vouchers for cheap chip and snip, they are also the ones who would put the cat on their waiting list (and others). Kitten season, so probably be on the list until xmas.

Then.
If your old cat is chipped, buy a chip activated cat flap. These things are an utter godsend keeping out other cats. I bought one when an intact male took a liking to my house and sprayed all over my cats furniture. Annoying as heck, but none of this is the cats fault.

Bunny65 · Yesterday 03:49

If the neighbour is now the cat’s owner they should get it neutered and checked over by a vet and also microchipped if it isn’t already. If they don’t want that responsibility they should hand it to a rescue. It’s disgusting that people move and just abandon a pet.

Bunny65 · Yesterday 03:53

worrisomeasset · 21/04/2026 19:50

I don’t know why so many posters are saying the cat is a stray. OP has said the cat was abandoned but has since been taken in by a kindly neighbour. It looks like it developed a lot of bad habits under its previous neglectful owners and it’s not been able to shake these habits off now that it’s being looked after. Also, a lot of posters are assuming the cat is unneutered. As I’ve said before, OP hasn’t clearly stated that this is the case. An older cat that’s neutered later in life will often continue the behaviour patterns that it developed while intact.

Obviously we don’t know but it’s unlikely that the sort of person who would casually abandon a cat would have bothered to get them neutered.

clamshell24 · Yesterday 06:59

Agree about microchip flap. But before they were available 20 yrs ago this was a common problem. We had a backup tray and locked the flap when not around/night.

autumn1610 · Yesterday 07:05

EvangelicalAboutButteredToast · 21/04/2026 17:55

Nightmare! We had to get rid of our cat flap as other cats were coming in. We also have a feral Tom that sprays over everything in the garden and it’s disgusting. What a nightmare. I would be apocalyptically angry in your position. What can you logically do though apart from get rid of the cat flap and replace the cupboard doors?

Have you tried to seek help for this feral cat? Local charities will likely trap him and scan then rehome if able (not talking about rspca here!) please don’t leave the poor thing fending for himself. These poor street boys have such a tough life

SemiRetiredLoveGoddeess · Yesterday 07:39

dementedpixie · 21/04/2026 17:52

You can get microchip catflaps that dont need a collar as they work using your cats microchip (if your cat has a microchip - if not, can be put in by a vet)

Great idea. Get it sorted asap.
Or that Tom Cat will.return

worrisomeasset · Yesterday 07:57

autumn1610 · Yesterday 07:05

Have you tried to seek help for this feral cat? Local charities will likely trap him and scan then rehome if able (not talking about rspca here!) please don’t leave the poor thing fending for himself. These poor street boys have such a tough life

Replied but made errors so edited as MN won’t allow deletes.

Lisajane47 · Yesterday 08:07

Contact a rescue tell them he's abandoned and a entire tom cat, making a nuisance, they will trap him and castrate him, hopefully get him a new home.
I have a microchip cat flap that I can control for each of my cats, it also stops any other cats entering.

coffeebeansplease · Yesterday 08:25

A cat flap that only opens for your cat is about £70. We have them and they are great. Think the brand is petsafe or petcare. Not allowing your indoor/outdoor cat outside at this stage in its life could cause it distress which could lead to stressed behaviour like peeing everywhere! Definitely worth spending £70!

NoisyViper · Yesterday 09:11

Get a microchip activated cat flap. We have one and we don’t get any unwanted visitors!

JulietteHasAGun · Yesterday 09:25

2dogsandabudgie · 21/04/2026 18:05

Some companies don't pay out for damage caused by pets.

They might if it’s not your pet? Though how you prove which cat did it I have no idea, OP might need to say she caught it in the act.

my mum had her car wiring loom chewed through….i think by her insane dog. Her insurance said it wouldn’t be covered if it was the dog so she said it was definitely a squirrel and they paid out 😂🙈

my bread bin still has cat piss marks on from where the varnish was taken off…..was my bloody cat that did it though.

Piglet89 · Yesterday 11:52

We did a whole home remodel in London. Before we stripped the house back to the brick and built it up again, we didn’t have a cat flap. We installed one discreetly in the corner behind the sofa in the kitchen extension. It’s actually a cat tunnel with two microchip flaps and dividers forming the tunnel through a 40cm back wall. The whole thing came to over £300 as the 8cm width dividers are some ludicrous price like £10.99 each. FFS.

As I had to pay for two flaps, I was annoyed about the expense and toyed with saving money by buying non microchip ones. however, on moving back I’m so glad I didn’t! Several cats (which we don’t own) roam our back garden and I wouldn’t put it past them to come in and fight with our cat.

This post vindicates my decision, even though the cat flap was a huge fucking ball ache to install.

feckingcat · Yesterday 20:14

Sorry, only now updating. When the cat was initially abandoned we contacted the cats protection league and they wouldn’t come out as they said their rescue was full. I suspect this was because we let on he was being fed by another neighbour.

Believe it or not we have a dog, a Jack Russell wouldn’t you know. We’ve never had an issue with a single cat that isn’t ours within 100 feet of the garden until now - dog is 17 so this has confirmed our thoughts that the dog is in fact now stone deaf.

Our cat has a microchip, a microchip cat flap is on order and I’ve booked a local double glazing company to come and fit it. Cat is 18 years old and also won’t stand her ground like she used to.

Kitchen cupboards I’m currently not looking at them 😭😭

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