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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To leave neighbour who stole my cat a note

256 replies

MrsHoodwink · 09/09/2018 00:35

Ok “stole” is a strong word but they are trying to coax my boy to live with them and were just caught by my ex picking the cat up and taking it in their house

It’s a very friendly cat but is like that with everyone that walks past, they told my ex he even has a food bowl in their house Angry He said they started calling of him as soon as they got out their car

Now I know cats chose their homes but I don’t think you should take them on purpose Blush

I wanted to knock but it’s past midnight, aibu to post a note saying he has food allergies and to please leave him alone? They were concerned about him being out at night but I have a catflap he’s just hunting/wandering Hmm They also called my other cat “skinny” but she’s perfect weight Blush

OP posts:
Bullnoway · 09/09/2018 22:57

I'd make up a costly illness which a vet is currently treating your cat for, and ask if they'd like to takeover the bills. My guess is, they won't.

Original poster
MrsHoodwink · 10/09/2018 04:12

I know this sounds daft but even though he’s here in bed with me I can’t sleep because I’m just so frustrated that they won’t discuss this with me

I genuinely can’t get my head around how they think this is acceptable Sad I keep wondering how much everyone would hit the roof if someone was to pick up a dog on the way past and carry it into their house and lock it in and how these people can’t see it’s no different Angry

OP posts:
Batmanwearspants · 10/09/2018 04:52

This would make my blood boil

SalemBlackCat · 10/09/2018 06:49

Our cats go outside during the day but come in around 5pm every afternoon. Cats hunt at night and are more likely to wander, and killing wildlife is not good. In Australia, you can be fined and your cat taken to the pound if they wander. I've noticed that in the UK they seem to just let their cat wander with no care in the world for the wildlife or if the cat is poisoned/trapped/run over by a car. It is really important to be a responsible pet owner and that means keeping your cat indoors only or if they must go out, during the day (when they sleep the most). Or walking on harnesses, which has become more common. We lost a cat who got hit by a car in the early hours of the night/morning, and since then we don't allow them out of the yard and the flap is blocked off at night. Here, the council can impound your cat and you have a massive fine to get the cat back. One of the things cat haters go on about is that cats kill wildlife, and it is bad that cats do that even if it's their instinct. So with cars, killing wildlife, and cat haters ready to trap your cat the minute it goes on their property and take it directly to the pound, it is not worth the chances of letting your cat roam unrestricted. Best to only have a cat if you have a high fence that can have anti-climbing/cat-proof ad ons, or else take the cat out with a leash if it is only a short fence/inner city.

SalemBlackCat · 10/09/2018 06:52

As for the neighbour (haven't RTFT) a good idea might be to call the police and get them to speak to her. If there was such a thing as a restraining order preventing her access to your cat/property (don't think there is such a thing though) that would also be a good idea.

DireStraights · 10/09/2018 06:59

Say he is on a special diet and has to have his medication before bed otherwise he gets severe diarrhoea ...

TittyGolightly · 10/09/2018 07:07

Only read the first and last pages but you can not compare a cat to a dog. The law is different - cats are entitled to roam. If you choose to allow them that right, enabling them to kill other animals, disturb others and shit on their property then you have to be prepared that other people might behave differently towards them than you want them to.

SoupDragon · 10/09/2018 07:13

The law is different

Not insofar as stealing the animal it isn’t. Which is the only relevant thing.

TittyGolightly · 10/09/2018 07:33

It’s a lot harder to steal a dog though, given they aren’t wandering the streets.

AshenFaced · 10/09/2018 07:37

They must know they shouldn't be doing it underneath, or they wouldn't be avoiding you. They can't avoid you forever. You're doing the right thing speaking to them directly.

Batmanwearspants · 10/09/2018 08:18

But you shouldn’t steal anyone’s property regardless. You wouldn’t steal someone’s plant pot just because it’s outside a house, and a cat usually comes with more emotional significance than a plant pot!

cobwebsinthebelfry · 10/09/2018 08:44

Are the cat-stealers renting by any chance? Because if the terms of their lease do not allow pets then a quick phone call to the letting agent might help your problem. NDNs of mine a while back 'borrowed' someone else's cat, but because of the No Pets rule they couldn't install a cat flap so it would cry to be let in at midnight - waking us all up. Angry

MsHomeSlice · 10/09/2018 09:06

my cat is one that goes visiting! ..neighbour lady doesn't feed him, she just calls him her Virtual Pet. He likes to sit with her in her garden in the summer, and as he has nice manners is allowed into her kitchen and sitting room.

He also goes across the road, and steals the neighbour cat's food...he (neighbourcat) just sits there looking vexed and shamefaced apparently. I have told her to shooosh him out but she is not worried, and I know she isn't trying to steal him. She is more of the cat's friend than mine so I let them get on with it. :o

Severide08 · 10/09/2018 10:42

JustDanceAddict Yeap had same done to us when my now adult DS was little. A now departed neighbour took to feeding his cat ,starting keeping her in and we never ever got her back .Went to the police they said nothing they could do .The neighbour even renamed her and gave me regular updates on how their cat was doing Angry.My DS still remembers the batty neighbour who took his cat,He devasted at the time. Hence the cats we have now are microchipped.

Mrsramsayscat · 10/09/2018 10:49

I had a mixed pedigree cat stolen by a butchers wife on the basis she was skinny. No, she was not. She was of a breed which lose their top coat in the summer, and which have a long slim body. The vet had seen her 8 weeks earlier and pronounced her fit and well. Cat wouldn't come back , though, which upset my children greatly. Bastards.

PoisonousSmurf · 10/09/2018 10:54

I'd go ape sh^t if someone stole my cat!

ChangerChangerson · 10/09/2018 11:02

Unfortunately you just can't level with cat-thieves. Some batshit woman who used to live over the road from me tried to steal my cat once, I ended up knocking on her door and she had every excuse under the sun as to why she was right to take my cat and lock him in including her saying she thought we had moved and left him behind (despite all our cars still being on the drive). He also had a collar on with the message to stop feeding him which repeatedly went ignored.

In the end I told her that as she was poisoning my cat with the food she was feeding him (loosely true as she was giving him what looked like roast dinners from the cat sick we would end up with all over our kitchen floor) he was now going to have to be a house cat and she should feel guilty that she has deprived him of his freedom.

Original poster
MrsHoodwink · 10/09/2018 11:17

As much as I appreciate all replies it’s a bit late 3 years after he was born (in my lap might I add) to advise me not to have a cat because my fences aren’t high enough Hmm I live rurally and we don’t use cat harnesses round here although I can see the value of them in city life. As I’ve already mentioned though I have now begun locking my cat flap in the evening. There is absolutely no traffic where I live at night thankfully, my poor other kitty was hit in the middle of the day when someone called her across the road to stroke her

To me, because I love my cat as much as I love my dog it really is comparable and as someone said I wouldn’t walk off with a plant pot because I liked it Blush

This couple didn’t accidentally get my cat visiting, they picked him up with their bare hands outside my house and took him inside their house. As soon as my ex caught them and they put him down, he ran home Blush

OP posts:
Original poster
MrsHoodwink · 10/09/2018 11:18

I’m off to knock again they can’t ignore me forever and I only want to ask them to stop Confused

OP posts:
TwoBlueShoes · 10/09/2018 11:22

I think you might be better trying to keep your cat in for a while.

Cat thieves are completely bonkers and there's no reasoning with them.

Pepper123123 · 10/09/2018 11:24

I'd definitely say something.

There's no way I'd keep my cats indoors because of my neighbours, so I'd have to have it out with them.

My cats, like most cats are free souls and aren't suited to being kept inside. Makes me feel sad when cats aren't allowed to roam. Unless there's good reason for it of course.

Pepper123123 · 10/09/2018 11:31

I don't mean at night by the way. Makes sense to keep them in at night with weirdo neighbours.

Haireverywhere · 10/09/2018 11:34

Keep him in overnight and talk to them face to face I think.

hammeringinmyhead · 10/09/2018 11:38

I think I'd just keep knocking for a good 15 minutes until they answered!

BackToTheFuschia7 · 10/09/2018 11:42

I wouldn’t post a note. They know it’s wrong and that’s why they’re ignoring you at the door. Keep making a nuisance of yourself, especially as the side effect seems to be that they aren’t coaxing him in.

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