To ask neighbours to keep their cats indoors?

[TwoBucksPizzaSlices]

Recently had new neighbours move in below us (it's a large converted house consisting of a one-up and one-down flat) and they're absolutely lovely. Considerate with their music and tv levels given we have a baby and a toddler, always apologetic if I've had to take in a parcel for them - just generally really nice people.

However, a few weeks ago I noticed two new cats in their garden (the bottom flat has the back garden and we have a spiral staircase leading from our balcony outside our kitchen, in to their garden as a fire escape). Given we've lived here for two and a half years, we know which house has which cats, so I immediately made the link between these two cats and our new neighbours.

I wasn't bothered at all, we're cat people, love them, but it is in our tenancy agreement (and evidently downstairs too!) that no pets are allowed. A few days went past after I first spotted the cats, and the cats started sitting on our balcony by our back door. Again, not a massive issue, they wasn't causing any trouble and our balcony isn't used for anything other than keeping our food bin and recycling bags on.
But then, whenever I tried opening our back door, I had to start fighting away little cat noses and paws that were desperately trying to get in. When I'm cooking of an evening, they're up against our back door meowing!

Fast forward another week or so, and their cats are coming in to our flat! I like to have my kitchen window open to air out the flat as I can't have the lounge or nursery windows open due to small children, but the cats come in through the kitchen window and stroll about my flat. I like to have the kitchen door open in summer too, to get a nice breeze coming in, but now I can't see that I'm going to be able to do that when the weather picks up.

I spoke to neighbour the other day and made him aware what his cats were doing and he said he was going to put some things at the bottom of our fire escape (which can be easily moved by us in an emergency) to block his cats from getting up. He did so, but cats being cats, they just knock it over and stroll on up.

Today, I was making my bed and heard my toddler going 'cat! Cat!' From the baby gate across our lounge door, I turned around and sure enough, there was a cat in our hallway. I only had the kitchen window open maybe a palms width and the bugger still squeezed through!

If I see the cats just as they're about to come in, it's not a huge problem as I can just pick them up and put them back outside. But my issue is that I have to put my baby down for naps throughout the day so can't always see what's going on outside of the nursery, and I don't feel like I should have to have my windows shut to stop other people's pets coming in to my home. If I don't see the cats come in, they could easily make themselves comfy on our bed, our go in to our lounge where our boisterous toddler could potentially antagonise them and end up getting hurt.

I know cats will be cats and there's not a great deal our neighbours can do about it, but (as nice a person as I am, and a cat lover too) I'm reaching my limit and don't believe it's down to me to keep my windows shut to prevent neighbours pets coming in to my home.

What should I do?

My friend has got some sort of machine thingy that sets off a noise that annoys cats when they cross it in her garden. Don't think it was very expensive. Just pop a couple of those near the balcony and windows. I think that is less cruel than water spray.

I wouldn't do that because the noise frequency can be bad for other wildlife. The water pistol is targeted and cats usually realise they have to go away quite quickly.

The pets thing may be by request only or perhaps they didn’t seek permission. Lls cannot Chuck tenants out for moving a pet in. They can of course refuse to renew the tenancy.

The guy told me he knows they're not supposed to have pets so they obviously didn't mention it to the estate agent when they signed the agreement/moved in

I have cats, indoor ones as it happens, but I wouldn't mind you squirting mine with water if they were outdoor and doing this. You can't really ask them to keep them in, though.

They are going to have issues with your LL at some point.

Get a water pistol.

Cats are just part of life.

Don’t feel too bad about the water.

It doesn’t hurt them (obviously). They just don’t like it.

Cats aren’t stupid. They’ll soon learn your flat is off-limits if you make it unpalatable enough for them to stroll in whenever they fancy it.

Lets hope they don't bring fleas in!

Squirty squirty! I'm a cat owner and I'd suggest water pistols all the way.

Soaking them is unnecessary.. but a glass of water, or a water spray should do the trick just fine. Just never EVER use anything that isn't water. My neighbour got one of mine with oil once and I am still raging about it.

I do wish people would keep cats inside rather than let them roam to be killing by cars. Its cruel not keeping a cat within their house and within the garden. My friend has done this for years and never had her cats escape her garden and not had any killed as a result.

Cat lover here - I have 3! However I don’t want other people’s in my home so definitely recommend the water pistol. You have a toddler and definitely don’t want the cats going in the cot or worse, bringing mice in!

Are they young cats?

Our neighbour's kittens used to make a beeline for our house and let themselves in. As they've got a little older they've become much more wary and rarely try to get in.

If you want to permanently fall out with your lovely sounding neighbours, then yes OP, go for it.

Water pistols work! And you can also buy cat deterrent spray. I'd avoid the anti-cat-noise things. It's an incredibly high frequency that many adult humans can't hear due to natural hearing loss as you get older, but your toddler will probably hear it and be annoyed - they trigger migraines for me so it's not just a harmless deterrent.

If the cats are Maine Coons or Norwegian Forest Cats, they will adore water play, and come in all the more, looking for a game with the water pistol.
My DD was amused to find hers playing in the bathwater and roosting in a full sink! But most other breeds dislike getting wet, so with luck a campaign of regular soaking or squirting will deter them. Accompany each squirt with a loud hiss or growl, to express aggression in cat terms, too - it will get the message across more effectively.
Alternatively, just accept that resistance is futile, and let the cats move in!

Why should OP pay for fly screens when the others are in breach of their tenancy agreement?

Totally agree with this. I am a cat person but this situation is completely unfair on you. I would try the water squirting, if that doesn't work after a week I would ask them to keep the cats inside. If that didn't work I would say something to the letting agent / landlord.

For me the biggest concerns are lack of hygiene - you don't know what the cats will have licked, walked all over, sat on while you haven't noticed, and also them getting in with your toddler and your toddler getting hurt in an unsupervised interaction with them.

I am a bit at the posters saying 'You can't expect outside cats to be kept in'.
That's 100% the problem of the owners who elected to take up a 'no pets' tenancy, not the OP, who has every right to expect fellow tenants not to have moggies invading her home.

My cats keep going into my neighbour's garden and sometimes try to go into his house when he has his back door open. I've apologised a dozen times and volunteered to buy some of the noise-emitting things and put them on the boundary of our garden, but he thought that was unnecessary/cruel. I told him he is more than welcome to chuck a glass of water at them to keep them away.

Your neighbours sound like reasonable people, as do you. Just have a chat with them. Tell them the obstacles they put at the bottom of the stairs aren't working, so you're going to try the waterpistol method next - then at least they know why their cat might turn up at their house soaking wet. If you do go for a meshed screen I think you're totally in your right to ask your neighbour to pay for it / contribute to the cost. At least, I'd be happy to do that if my neighbour suggested it.

If you ask them to keep the cats indoors then you'll offend them.

Get a water pistol and squirt them every single time they come in. They'll get the message pretty quickly.

Water pistol and loud noise, but every time, you can't then let them in when you feel like it
They don't like the smell of orange zest, peel an orange and leave the peel on your steps or balcony, have to keep repeating tho
Get lion poo or dung? From vet or pet shop, there are other deterrents but this works.

I like to leave a window open when the nights are warmer and to keep my cat in, and neighbour cats out, I use a tension rod across the window frame. No permanent fixing necessary and I have a net curtain on the rod which I secure at the bottom with something heavy (flower pot or books) to keep it in place.

Yes spray bottle and shouting to scare them off. They will soon get the message.

@londonrach I agree. I find the UK attitude of letting cats roam everywhere far and wide very weird. I'd prefer it if people kept their cats indoors or at least in the gardens. It's unfair to inflict your cat and its feces, urine, etc on other people's homes, gardens, children, etc.

Lovely people aren't exempt from rules about pets ffs!
You are finding the situation a problem, they are in breach of their tenancy so you should report it.
It's not you who should be finding ways to keep the cats out, it's theirs.

There's a reason why the tenancy agreement states no pets. It's a shame that the tenants feel it's ok to breach the tenancy.

Why can’t you ask them to keep their pets inside?

They wanted cats but they are now your problem.

The only reasonable response to you telling them the cats were coming into your flat would be an apology and them keeping them inside. But they don’t care about any trouble they’re causing you as long as they can continue to do what they want.