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AIBU?

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Original poster

Neighbours, cats and birds.

340 replies

Birdmurderer · 17/05/2020 09:02

NC for this but regular.

We've lived in out house for a year, on a "hello" basis with next door. She's got a voice you can hear 3 streets away and her eldest daughter seems to have inherited it. A few issues but generally ok neighbours.

We have 3 cats - one who is old and never leaves the decking area of our garden, one who seems to have another family a few doors down (other side to neighbour in question), and one who likes to peep through their chain link fence at them but is too much of a mamas boy to leave our garden. (we've had a lot of time during lockdown to confirm our theories about where they go during the day). They made it clear from day one they don't like cats and will talk loudly about how awful our cats are when they know we're within earshot .

DP just went outside to get his bike and the woman is sobbing in the garden. Spots DP and starts shouting at him because apparently one of ours cats has eaten a bird that she was looking after (she has a feeding table in her garden).

DP apologised - for what I'm not sure - and sort of left it there and went off about his day. I was still in bed when all this happened.

He's gone out now and I can hear her sobbing and shouting in the garden about this bird.

There are 2 big cats the other side of her, one of which is horrible and has put my little cat in the vets twice. I think that's the culprit over my fat old one who sleeps 23 hours a day, the deserter, and the little one who can't catch his own tail.

AIBU to think she's massively overreacted? I have quite bad social anxiety and I am not good with confrontation so I'm hiding indoors now.

OP posts:
ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 13:40

Look, your cat will be perfectly safe if you kept her in.

I wouldn't need to chase her away, of indeed to cat proof my garden, as helpfully suggested above, which is all I'm doing.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 13:41

But heaven help her if she ever touched any pet of mine!

Big words them. Grin

ipswichwitch · 17/05/2020 13:41

When our neighbour moved in he was very concerned about our cat going in his garden (she goes along his back fence to get to the field). He likes feeding the birds, and didn’t want her catching them. We spent a fortune on collars with bells on - she manages to get them off within the hour. We told him to just squirt her with water if he saw her and that’d put an end to her going in his garden.

All was well until his bird feeding habits attracted rats, and I saw a massive rat pick up a fat ball and make off with it. I suggested he allow her back into his garden, and told him that throwing whole slices of bread into the garden probably wasn’t the best way to go about feeding birds 🙄. The cat has now taken care of the rat problem and we’ve had none ever since. To this day she has never killed a bird, and the neighbour is happy. She does still kill mice she finds in the field, and eats them - seems to prefer them to her cat food!

ilovesooty · 17/05/2020 13:42

I'm glad my two neighbours are cat lovers. One has a cat and one used to have one. My two go out in the morning, don't seem to go out of calling in range and come in at teatime and don't go out again.

SweetMarmalade · 17/05/2020 13:42

@TinySleepThief we don’t have thousands of feral cats living on our estate, we have lots of domesticated, overweight cats who treat their owners as staff and ‘play’ with our feathered friends.

understandmenow · 17/05/2020 13:43

@ChardonnaysPetDragon just echoing your words, I thought you may be able to understand them! You struggled so much understand I don't have a cat I presumed their was an issue.

MouthBreathingRage · 17/05/2020 13:45

Look, your cat will be perfectly safe if you kept her in.

Funny how cats should be kept in for the sake of a few birds and someone's garden, yet humans are behaving like utter numpties being asked to stay in for a few weeks even though it's proven we have the worst effect on natural world, bar none. Will you keep yourself indoors for the sake of the planet, @ChardonnaysPetDragon?

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 13:49

No, mouthbreather I can roam free!

LST · 17/05/2020 13:49

@Chardonnay nah. My cats are perfectly fine going out.

TinySleepThief · 17/05/2020 13:50

we don’t have thousands of feral cats living on our estate

I never said they were all on your estate but keeping in mr tiddles wont stop the fledglings being taken out. Imagine if they all survived there would be way too may birds.

MouthBreathingRage · 17/05/2020 13:52

@ChardonnaysPetDragon, yes you can. The planet will always be worse for it though, as with every person (even the vegans). I'm merely pointing out that people have really no right to moan about cats roaming when as people we are very much worse.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 13:53

Yeah, I go out every day and make it my mission to kill as many black bird fledglings as a can.

SweetMarmalade · 17/05/2020 13:59

@TinySleepThief eh? So without Tiddles there would need to be a bird cull because there’d be ‘too many birds’? I would think the decline in habitat, disease etc controls the numbers, unless you have a link you can post to back up your point?

MouthBreathingRage · 17/05/2020 14:00

@ChardonnaysPetDragon, mmm. I'm sure you've never done anything that harms an animal or the environment around you. Another vegan? Feed your dogs meat free food?

TinySleepThief · 17/05/2020 14:03

Yeah, I go out every day and make it my mission to kill as many black bird fledglings as a can.

Well you may not do so yourself but collectively humans are more responsible for the death of birds than cats. As a group we chop down trees, build homes on land they once nested in and pave our gardens cutting off their food supplies.

As the previous poster was alluding too all cats could disappear over night and bird populations would still decline. The cat contribution to the decline in wildlife compared to that of humans is quite honestly minuscule.

TinySleepThief · 17/05/2020 14:07

So without Tiddles there would need to be a bird cull because there’d be ‘too many birds’?

No I was saying imagine if all the fledglings born survived. The reason other animals including cats eat them is to help control the bird population. The animals taking out the fledglings help control the population so we are not over run with birds and like it or not cats are part of that.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 14:12

Seriously, yes, of course humans do more damage to wildlife and the environment, but it's not helpful to go down the all or nothing way. If we did that we would care about any damage that we do, so why not try and prevent whatever we can?

Also, one could argue that the damage that cats do is again because of humans, after all cats are humans' pets.

Whether you like it or not, cats kill birds and cause damage to other people's property. It can be prevented by keeping them and taking your responsibly as a cat owner seriously.

LST · 17/05/2020 14:22

@chardonnay I do. That's why I let them out. Being cats that have always gone out it would be cruel to keep them in. I'm within my rights.

TinySleepThief · 17/05/2020 14:24

Whether you like it or not, cats kill birds and cause damage to other people's property. It can be prevented by keeping them and taking your responsibly as a cat owner seriously

I've asked already but I'll ask again. What about feral cats?

understandmenow · 17/05/2020 14:25

Whether you like it or not, cats kill birds and cause damage to other people's property. It can be prevented by keeping them and taking your responsibly as a cat owner seriously.

Hmmsurely you don't want people keeping them?

Anyway no matter what you think it just won't stop! Simple! 🙅‍♀️

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 14:29

You are deflecting here.

Feral cats have no owner who can prevent them from doing so by keeping them indoors.

I'm within my rights. And you think it's OK that by doing so they kill and shit everywhere?

You cat lovers are really strange.

ChardonnaysPetDragon · 17/05/2020 14:30

Keeping then indoors. Sorry, I missed a word, but I think my message position is clear enough.

TinySleepThief · 17/05/2020 14:33

Feral cats have no owner who can prevent them from doing so by keeping them indoors.

Well that was kind of my point even if every cat owner keeps them inside its no guarantee that it will stop cats shitting in your flowers or killing birds. So if they were all kept inside and the feral cats continued to shit in your flowers what would you do? What ever would be yours solution why not just do that to the cats the currently come in your garden now?

makingmammaries · 17/05/2020 14:42

After our cats moved in, the mouse problem stopped.

Unfortunately, we still have gazillions of birds ruining our cherries, strawberries and even our apples.

So if anyone could point me to a cat that has a serious effect on the bird population...

LST · 17/05/2020 14:44

@chardonnay I currently have 2 cats. One doesn't kill, never has and at 12 I can't see him changing. One does, birds and rodents alike. He has a bell, he manages to lose it at lot so I have a bulk stock in my cupboard. They are both litter trained and I wake up to 2 x poos most mornings.. they aren't over-fed so from that them pooing in other gardens is minimal it they do. My old boy doesn't really leave the top of our wardrobe let alone the wooded area behind our house so again, his damage is minimal. I take responsibility for my cats and tell neighbours if they do cause a nuisance to spray them etc. But I refuse to keep them in.