Another neighbour one...

[whatstheproblemguys]

We've had a fairly good relationship with our neighbour up to now, so am genuinely curious as to whether my view is skewed or not.

We live in a semi detached and have done for the last 10 years.
There have been occasions over this time where we've helped next door out, usually with things like appliances having broken and pests in the garden or house. We've never asked a thing of next door as we generally get on with our own stuff or hire someone to fix it ourselves.

Now onto my issue.
Next door has rabbits. They are those small rabbits, even though fully grown. They are allowed to run free in the garden over the daytime, even with everyone at work/school.

Recently, a neighbours cat has shown interest in the rabbits, so understandably next door is worried about this and has decided to make the garden 'safe'. The plan, as we were told it, was it put anti cat spikes on their shed and the shed next door (not ours, the other side). I thought it was weird at the time, thinking just having them on the shed wouldn't do anything but didn't say anything.
Next thing I get a message a couple of weeks ago to say the workmen are coming, could they access the shed from my garden. I said no problem, just to tell me when they needed to come in and I'd put the dog inside, as I wasn't working that day. I double checked that they were just going on the shed, and they said yes!
I was putting some stuff away upstairs and looked out the window, and noticed the workmen had put the spikes all round the top of the fence on their other neighbours side, and the back, and that they were now measuring the fence on my side. So I went out, and asked if they were planning to put them on our fence, he said yes, that's what they'd been paid to do. He said 'well that halts my next question, as I was going to ask if we could put them on your side of the fence, as it is the flat side'
I explained that I'd been told they were just going on their shed, not the fences, and as the fence is under our ownership, we weren't happy about them being on there at all, let alone our side, especially as we hadn't been asked.
The workman was fine, said no worries, they'd pack up and let the neighbour know and that as the fence is ours, they couldn't continue.

The neighbour messaged the same day, asking us to reconsider and at least think about it.

Fast forward to this weekend, where after us having reiterated our point that we didn't want them on our fence. We explained that we don't like how they look, don't want the screws coming through to our side, and also don't think that they are actually going to fix the problem. We've now had a barrage of stroppy messages blaming us for the money they spent on materials, that the rabbits now can't run free because it's not safe and that we've ruined their lives.

So, AIBU to think that having rabbits running around the garden, regardless of cat spikes, is a bad idea? That we're not dicks for not wanting spikes on our fence? And that they should have been honest from the start?

Thank you to anyone who got this far 😂

Pictish* *
Oooo, love this response.

I sent a response to their message blaming me, it was polite but firm in that I stated that spikes wouldn't work, there are other predators that will be in line to get the rabbits. Also stating that had they been honest with us about their plans, they wouldn't have wasted the money they couldn't afford.
Also told them to build their own fence up to ours if they were that bothered.

There’s nothing wrong with rabbits being free roam.
Mine are and Iv never had an issue.
My gardens secure though and cats never come into it.

They are crazy though if they think you should have them on your fence. I’d never ask a. Neighbor to do that.

We’ve got outdoor rabbits with a couple of runs & the omlet tunnels suggested above. They’re great, but it’s all in grass as rabbits love grass! They eat it, spend lots of time in and on it! Astroturf seems cruel! We move the runs daily si they have lots of fresh places to eat. They’re like mini sheep! 😂

This is literally what I wrote twice over the course of this conversation.

Once trying to be quite diplomatic by saying g 'maybe we misunderstood', the second time saying 'you clearly said, via written message, they were just going on the shed, and I double checked that with you. Had you been honest about your plans from the start, we'd have said we weren't happy with the plan and saved you the money.'

You're preaching to the choir! 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Those spikes don't even work 😂 the cat will just put its paws in between them, I've observed cats doing this on a fence I can see from my upstairs window!

I know I'm agreeing with you

They do know that foxes are expert diggers and once they get a whiff of those bunnies they'll be digging under the fences. I know that from a neighbour who tried to keep chickens and were just condemning them to their deaths. About 100 dead chickens later she eventually gave up.

😳😳 omg! We definitely have foxes in the area, but haven't seen them in the day. The rabbits are put away at night, it's just the daytime.

I had free range rabbits for years. Cats didn’t bother them at all, and actually they’d chase them off - rabbits are quite territorial. But foxes would’ve had them easily. My garden had ten-feet solid brick walls all the way round as it was a Victorian house, so I never saw a fox in it, but I still locked them away at night. A garden close to open fields has a lot of potential for foxes and a spiky fence wouldn’t keep them out. Those rabbits need a run.

Were they planning on sending a memo out to all the local Sparrowhawks as well, just to be safe? 🙄😂

This is entitled, CF batshittery right here!

Don’t back down on this! You’ve given them options and quite rightly reminded them that they’re to blame for wasting their own money!

I said this, and they replied 'that's because the cat is coming in on your side where there aren't any spikes'.

I'm glad I'm not being unreasonable! They did make me question it!

I had rabbits that were often free-roaming in the back garden. It isn't even just the predators that they have to worry about. Mine eventually both went down with miximatosis, despite being vaccinated. We never saw any sign of wild rabbits outside, but somewhere there must have been contact enough for mine to catch it.

It would be the red kites that would get them round here I think

I suggested a run, but was told that they shouldn't have to be in a run, they should be able to make their garden safe.
They could make their entire garden safe / be a run with a few 2 x 4s and some chicken wire. It’s not hard. Christ they’re thick as fuck as well as entitled aren’t they?

I have those.
Very much legal and absofuckinglutely useless.

The neighbour shouldn't be blaming you for her problem or expecting you to agree to her solution.

We had a free range bunny which chose never to go into his hutch. Plenty of shrubs to hide from birds of prey and cats plus a natural grass lawn. He was big enough to fend off the average cat. The vet told me that rabbits can inflict a lot of damage by biting and with claws on their back legs so not to worry about him. An average size rabbit is also fairly weighty and would stand up to a cat. Probably too heavy for a cat to carry.

However, a cat caught a friend's dwarf rabbit and ran off with it. The rabbit died of heart failure and the cat left it on the main road. They are vulnerable.

The neighbour has a few options.

Have her own fence fitted, topped with the spikes.

Plant lots of shrubs for cover for the bunnies.

Make a big run with a mesh over it.

Replace the rabbits as they die with males from a larger breed.

If she kept larger neutered males, there probably wouldn't be the need for astroturf (which gets very hot in the sun), must be awful for bunnies, and as far as I understand, it's the females which make the burrows. Neutered males live very happily together.

PearlWithTheGirlEarring
Just as I thought! The spikes have a terrible reviews on most sites, saying they don't do a thing and that cats just step over them.

They're nuts, and terrible pet owners.
I am a huge animal lover, but even I would refuse the spikes on the fence. They won't even work.

We needed our fences extending to 6ft as we have new youngers cats, and will add something secure onto them to stop them getting out. Next door have extended the fence with mesh and grown flowers and ivy all along it. Because of this we knew they wouldn't want a new fence, or to go halves even though the fence must be 25+ years old by now and deteriorating.

We asked, as expected they said "no, but feel free to build your own next to it, however tall you want". So we are doing this as we want our pets to be safe. So many cats get knocked down by cars every week here.

AstroTurf...hopefully rabbits have had access to an open hutch during the summer where they can get off of the AstroTurf as that stuff can get really hot.

Spikes on a fence don't keep out birds of prey or crows, and they are big enough to attack a rabbit.

They have no foliage at all in their garden. Just their shed, the astroturf grass space, a patio area with an outdoor sofa and table and the rabbit hutch.
I said about them getting a run, which was met with a very negative response. I also said about them building their own fence to put the spikes on, which they haven't responded to.
So either they are taking on board what I said, or I've just really pised them off.

Our fences are 6ft already, the cat is easily clearing the fence in 1 go. They will just start walking along my back fence, or the other neighbours back fence and just over the spikes. There's no spikes on the shed at all, so will easily go over the tiny spikes and get onto the shed.

They just need to build a rabbit run.