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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Who is being unreasonable re dog & cats?

113 replies

LaLyra · 06/04/2015 17:33

My head is pickled thanks to a row with my neighbour (well more neighbour had a go at me and I said I thought he was wrong so he shouted some more until I walked away until he can talk like a civil adult).

I have 3 cats. On sunny days, like today, my cats like to lie in my garden. All morning and most of the afternoon they were on the patio slabs asleep in the sun. Now the sun has moved/mostly gone, one of the cats (who is a sun worshipper) has moved to lie on the wall as it's higher and still in a sunny spot.

My neighbour has 2 dogs. One is a Westie who on his own is fine, doesn't bat an eyelid at the cats. The other is a little yappy thing, no idea of breed. This dog barks at everything especially the cats. It is currently going nuts at the cat, who is on the wall asleep ignoring it, this (as always) has set the Westie off barking as well.

When the cats are low in the garden the dogs can't see them because after the neighbour moved in last year he used to put the dogs out in the garden while he got on with decorating. At that point the noise didn't bother him, but I had a newborn and it drove me mad. So after trying and suggesting various things, including keeping my cats in of a morning and only letting them out after the dogs had had several hours in the garden to which he said I could go fuck myself if I thought I was keeping his dogs in all afternoon (this was the second time I'd ever spoken to him so this is the level of co-operation I've got) we put up fence panels that they can't see though. We're not allowed high fences and the boundary fence is actually his so we built that fence inside our garden. The fence works for most of the day.

Neighbour now works in a school so is about more during the holidays. He stormed out tonight ranting and raving about how he's not listening to my cats tormenting his dogs all holidays. Won't accept at all that his dog (who barks at the postman, us in our garden, anyone walking past, cars driving by, birds flying, trees moving in the wind - i.e. it barks constantly!) is the problem.

Am I missing something? Should I somehow be enforcing a height restriction on my cats or should he actually try and do something with his dog to stop it barking so much?

Apparently he's going to speak to the council noise people. Surely they can't do anything as I/my cats are not making any noise?

OP posts:

TRexingInAsda · 06/04/2015 21:08

I hope you returned his kind invitation extended to you on your second ever meeting (ie told him to go fuck himself). What a complete git.

alrayyan · 06/04/2015 21:16

I love cats! They always find an old lady to feed them don't they? I have a cat so obese I get bollocked when I take him for vaccinations but he isn't really mine, he appeared in my yard one day and pops in about twice a week for a meal. Presumably he has other homes in our compound (am abroad) actually just thought that maybe we all vaccinate him too!!

Alisvolatpropiis · 06/04/2015 21:17

He sounds a prize chump!

I have dogs and my neighbours have cats. My dogs will bark at their cats (who in typical cat fashion don't bat an eyelid), however I call them in. my husband on the other hand has selective deafness which makes me want to murder him

PeppermintCrayon · 06/04/2015 21:25

This thread is brilliant.

My neighbour posts notes through the door whenever my cat is sighted in their garden. With the time on.

TenerifeSea · 06/04/2015 21:28

My dog stands by the front window and barks at the lady across the street because she wears large hats and dog has a 'thing' about hats. Using your neighbour's logic, I may very well knock on her door and ask her to stop tormenting my dog. I shall report back.

PeppermintCrayon · 06/04/2015 21:30

Maybe your dog wants a hat of its own, Tenerife? Have you considered reporting yourself to the council's noise people?

alrayyan · 06/04/2015 21:31

Hat hating dog!

Jackieharris · 06/04/2015 21:32

It's a dog owners responsibility to keep their dogs quiet.

I'd be reporting them.

Oldraver · 06/04/2015 22:22

Ha, this reminds me of a batshit neighbour we had in Married Quarters with only a waist high mesh fence between the gardens. Next but one had GSD and a Dobermann who barked at absolutely anything or anyone who passed along the passageway between the back gardens.

Their speciality was going apeshit when I was hanging my washing out, followed by her leaning out of her bedroom window and going apeshit at me

Mmm now she did have a son......

Pipbin · 06/04/2015 23:06

What do they want you do do with that information peppermint?

SistersOfPercy · 06/04/2015 23:08

Not all terriers bark to be fair. I had a westie, you could have had a cat parade dance by his basket and it would have been too much effort to move. Lazy sod he was bless him.

Now my late Scottie and next doors cat, oh they had a thing. Cat was substantially smarter than jack (not difficult really). Our garden is tiered so the conservatory window is level with first tier. Cat would sit by window, jack would fly at window and hit it with a crash. After composing himself and sneezing from impact he would then be driven batshit by cat who would paw the window safe in the knowledge jack couldn't get him and would probably headbutt it again.
I'm sure cat spent his evenings thinking of new ways to wind up dog. Either way both ndn and I thought it hilarious.

PeppermintCrayon · 06/04/2015 23:23

Pipbin they want us to prevent the cat from appearing, ever. Because cats are so amenable to being trained...

The words box and frogs apply here!

GlitterBelle · 06/04/2015 23:26

Clearly to have a stern discussion with their cats, Pipbin and to wave the evidence under their noses.

Ratfinkandbobo · 07/04/2015 00:06

Catshit over the fence

PeppermintCrayon · 07/04/2015 07:48

I hope this thread ends up in classics.

RudeBarbandCustard · 07/04/2015 11:47

My neighbour's cat's visits to our garden are actually providing me with a great service.

I have a very old, disabled GSD who sometimes needs a bit of encouragement to haul himself up to go outside. If I tell him the Cat is in the garden, he's out there like a bat out of hell (well, in his own slow wobbly way), has a little bark and then has a wee for good measure. Job done!

I feel no qualms about encouraging him to chase the cat, as the cat is 1000 times quicker than him and not bothered at all by the lumbering old lump of a dog, and the neighbours don't seem to mind the odd bark (well I put up with their teenagers smoking and swearing, so I couldn't give a stuff frankly).

I think of the cat as physiotherapy for the dog.

OP perhaps you can suggest that to your NDN - your cat is providing exercise and mental stimulation for his dogs!

Original poster

LaLyra · 07/04/2015 12:31

Well the dog is currently going nuts in his garden...

Cats decided to hold the Kitty Olympics at 3am this morning (do other people's cats do this?) so they are all flaked out inside.

Neighbour on the other side emailed me her "Cat disturbance diary" this morning Apparently she could hear one snoring in the garden yesterday afternoon and thinks one farted as it passed her door on it's way to the old lady's house.

OP posts:

Original poster

LaLyra · 07/04/2015 12:32

peppermint I'd be so tempted to stick a post-it to the cat in reply.

So your cats aren't even supposed to walk through the garden?

Good luck with that one!

OP posts:

OnlyLovers · 07/04/2015 12:35

Your other neighbour sounds ace!

WireCat · 07/04/2015 12:36

Oh my god, how funny!

He's utterly bonkers. Let him complain.

babygiraffe86 · 07/04/2015 13:02

Hahahah this has had me in stitches.

I was told at the weekend that our 2 cats will sit at the neighbors patio doors, just looking in. she said it's quite odd, now and then she will look up and there the 2 of them are - watching her.

then they come home. neighbour has no pets, so they're clearly just nosy buggers.

Original poster

LaLyra · 07/04/2015 13:19

onlylovers Other neighbour is a terror She's stuck at home with 3 kids at various stages of Chicken Pox and has a wicked sense of humour so she'll be bombarding me with various things. She's been a great help though :)

OP posts:

Boutonneux · 07/04/2015 13:19

Oh I am snorting with laughter at "provocative sunbathing" (picturing the cats in skimpy bikinis)

The thing is, it wouldn't matter what your cats were doing, even if they were in his garden, there's nothing he can do about it. The law states that (rightly or wrongly) cat owners do not have to 'control' their cats, they are allowed to roam. I'm not saying it's right, just pointing out that the silly man won't have a leg to stand on legally.

hippymama1 · 07/04/2015 13:38

Your neighbour is clearly a nutcase and if it was me, I would report his yappy dog to the council! They will deal with it as a noise nuisance - they can't / won't do anything to you or your cats... Bloke is clearly unhinged ;-)

NoNameDame · 07/04/2015 13:54

I'm afraid I would be encouraging this provocative behaviour by your cars. Make sure you enable them to make full use of your garden wall.

Think of it as keeping your cats happy and helping to de-sensitise his dog to this kind of cruel cat behaviour.

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