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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Is she BU or are we bad neighbours?

140 replies

TravellingSpoon · 03/06/2019 18:46

We have a cat who is an outdoor cat and who likes to roam but normally within the proximity of our nearest neighbours.

She likes to hunt and is a prolific hunter. At one point we were getting a bird every other day or so. Neighbour mentioned she didnt like her round her bird table as she 'stalks about looking for little birds.' WE got her a collar with a bell, now neighbour is complaining that she can hear the bell tinkling as she runs round the garden, both hers and ours.

She has been round this evening to say that our cat is ruining her enjoyment of the garden and can we keep her in the house or in our garden.

I would say that the cat is out maybe 30% of the day, the rest she is being generally lazy laid out on the sofa.

OP posts:
Purpleartichoke · 04/06/2019 04:20

You should keep your pet on your own property. It may be inconvenient, but it can be done. I say this as a fellow cat owner.

justilou1 · 04/06/2019 04:51

Have you complained about her birds shitting all over your house, garden, laundry and car?

TwinklyMummaLuvsHerBubba89 · 04/06/2019 08:28

@thegreatcrestednewt

As I linked up thread, the RSPB say that cats do not have a negative impact on birds in the UK.

RSPB article : www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

Original poster
TravellingSpoon · 04/06/2019 08:45

But how am I supposed to keep my cat on my property? We dont have a back door, so the cat has to use the front door, which is a drive.

Cat has a litter tray indoors so I dont think she is going in the gardens, and NDN hasnt complained about this, just about the noise from the bell.

OP posts:
Hearthside · 04/06/2019 09:45

UnicornBrexit to poison any animal is illegal and downright bloody sadistic. To make out this is legal is bang out of order.For what it is worth i a much loved family cat a few years ago because some bastard poisoned him .We were bloody heartbroken .Before my DH could get him to the vet he passed away in my DH arms on the way , i was on my way home from work when he came in foaming at the mouth barely able to walk .Vet said it was deliberate poisoning .And he never ever caught a bird.Op your neighbour is being ridiculous you have tried .What more does she expect you to do .Much as i hate though birds being caught it's what cat's do , what are the owner's suppose to do have a chat tell the cat to stop Hmm.

Hearthside · 04/06/2019 09:46

our much loved family cat

Hearthside · 04/06/2019 10:02

Op short of what other's have said , she safely cat proofs her garden you can't keep your cat off her property unless you make your cat a house cat and why should you do that .Times like this makes me be grateful i have lovely neighbours who always make a fuss of my cats .I know they are not everyone's cup of tea and i understand that .Also you probably already thought it but is your cat's collar one that breaks if it get caught. That's the one thing
that worries me about collars.I don't think you will ever please her op so just ignore .

Wereallsquare · 04/06/2019 10:10

YABVU. Your neighbour does not like your cat. It is her garden, not a community garden. She could do something really nasty to your cat. Why not make sure your cat stays in your garden for his/her own safety?

Also, would you let your children roam around other people's gardens uninvited? How would you feel about your neighbour's kids coming into your garden uninvited? Be a good neighbour.

AvocadosBeforeMortgages · 04/06/2019 10:15

But how am I supposed to keep my cat on my property? We dont have a back door, so the cat has to use the front door, which is a drive.

It is entirely possible to have a cat flap installed in the glass of a window - one of my neighbours has one. You could have this done at the rear of your house.

You could also cat proof your garden.

corragswolf · 04/06/2019 10:18

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns, and so we've agreed to take this down now.

Hearthside · 04/06/2019 10:19

Wearallsquare this is not a goady post but please enlighten me how any cat owner physically stops a cat going out of their garden .What do you expect op to do completely cover her garden over.And comparing cats to children 🙄 where do you get that comparison from .Op is a good neighbour she has put a collar with bell on .Are you the neighbour by any chance 🤔.

corragswolf · 04/06/2019 10:21

This reply has been withdrawn

The OP has privacy concerns, and so we've agreed to take this down now.

HouseOfGoldandBones · 04/06/2019 10:24

The law is on your side BUT she is entitles to do what she likes in her garden, that could be putting out antifreeze, poisoned meat, bear traps, getting an air pistol etc etc - which so long as she keeps to the confines of her garden, she wouldn't be prosecuted if your cat came to harm

@UnicornBrexit WTF is wrong with you?

YES, of course she would be prosecuted if she deliberately killed an animal.

Pinkvoid · 04/06/2019 10:26

I think I’d keep my cat in if it was killing so many birds.

anitagreen · 04/06/2019 10:26

She's lucky she doesn't live next door to my mums cat Tony he's overweight struggles to climb fences but managed to break in the elderly lady's house next door through her window and get into bed with her , and then refused to get out my mum had to go and pick him up early hours in the morning Grin

Hearthside · 04/06/2019 10:26

Corragswolf the voice of sense 🙏 i would have no problem someone squirting my cat with water if they were being a nuisance, as far i know they never have been.Some the posts on here are really 😱 .

BossAssBitch · 04/06/2019 10:33

Your neighbour is a loon

HouseOfGoldandBones · 04/06/2019 10:46

I’ve started encouraging the dog to chase them in the garden now, she nearly caught one once. I think it’s fair game if she does, hopefully it’ll be the one that craps on my drive as I keep forgetting to check before I get out the car and keep standing in it (I have CCTV so I know it’s cats)

@PrtScn Hopefully your dog will kill the right cat? What happens if your dog kills the wrong cat? Do you just apologise?

WTF is wrong with some people on MN. Happily proclaiming themselves to be animal lovers & actively encouraging the death of someone else's pet.

I have a cat & a dog. I'd be heartbroken if anything happened to either of them.

I step in dog mess on an, almost, daily basis. I'm not advocating that we got out with guns, poison, bigger animals to kill all the dogs.

cjt110 · 04/06/2019 10:55

I dare you to train the cat to come back to the noise of a cowbell. Let cat out without collar then recall with cowbell lol

Wereallsquare · 04/06/2019 11:05

Hearthside Hello! Haha. I am not the neighbour. I love cats. You might think this is ridiculous, but if my cat (who is snuggled on my lap as I write this) had any interest in going outdoors, I would build an enclosure for her. I believe in protecting my cat and not upsetting neighbours. I cannot even read through this thread because I find the poisoning and abuse stories so upsetting. I can see why you might find my comparison of cats playing in a neighbour's garden to kids doing the same thing strange, but I stand by it. The neighbour has said she does not want the cat in her garden, near her bird table. The bell does not keep the cat away from the bird table, does it? I maintain that OP is BU and needs to build an enclosure.

Damntheman · 04/06/2019 11:07

Cats DON'T kill that many healthy birds. The RSBP has made a formal statement to say so, one that has been linked twice in this thread now already. The cat is not the problem with the birds.

OP your neighbour is being unreasonable; tell her you can either take the bell off or leave it on it's her choice, and then ignore her after that.

People having trouble attracting birds because of cats - you need to put your feeders higher up. I get a TON of birds to my table despite having two very large Norwegian Forest cats. My mum gets a ton to hers despite having four cats of her own, just put the feeders high up :)

thehappyegg · 04/06/2019 11:07

Why do people get so arsey about cats killing birds? The RSPB have said it has no negative effect on wildlife.

I can't imagine anyone moans when they kill mice.

PrtScn · 04/06/2019 11:12

@HouseOfGoldandBones @PrtScn Hopefully your dog will kill the right cat? What happens if your dog kills the wrong cat? Do you just apologise?

I very much doubt my dog would kill any cat, if they stop running she stops. The neighbours cat 2 doors up just swats at her (and once stole her salmon skin roll from under her nose). However I will continue to actively encourage her to chase cats if they are in the garden.
Do you think the cat owners would take responsibility for their cats shit causing potential blindness in my son through toxoplasmosis? I doubt it very fucking much.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 04/06/2019 11:18

Your cat was killing a few birds a week at one point?!!! Does not anyone care about the poor birds? How is that okay?

Um... it's a cat...

MotherOfDragonite · 04/06/2019 11:25

You seem pretty reasonable, in that you have made a change that addresses your cat's ability to stalk birds. Now she doesn't like that either... what did she want you to do?! I don't think there's any way to really restrict cats from roaming. A bell is a great way of reducing the damage they can do to wildlife.