To break into new neighbours house *serious question, NOT trolling*

[Catsos]

Name change as I don’t want neighbours to recognise me😭

I have a cat who has a bit of a reputation on our street for forcing his way into neighbours homes by breaking open their cat-flaps to steal their pets food. He’s been doing it for years, not much I can do about it besides keeping him in which he would hate. Anyway….

Here is the problem..

This afternoon I realised I hadn’t seen him for nearly 24 hours (very unusual for him). I went out into the street to look for him when I spotted the bloody buggar in the window of the house two doors down!!!
This house was recently bought by a couple who are living elsewhere while they are renovating it. I have briefly spoken to this couple once, and they mentioned they have cats, so I assumed they have already had a cat-flap installed which he has broken into.

I was really confused why he hadn’t come back out, so I peered through their front window and spotted the catflap which he must have entered through. It’s one of those “smart” catflap brands which only opens if the cat has the right microchip. So he’s managed to get in, but now he can’t get out as his microchip isn’t unlocking it. I can see his muddy scratch marks on their newly painted wall besides the catflap, so he’s obviously been trying to get back out 😩😩

So here’s the even bigger problem…

As i’ve said, the couple who own the house are living elsewhere while renovating it. So there is nobody here to let him back out. I usually see them visit the house every week or so but I don’t know when they will be here next and he has already been inside for around 24 hours.

I’ve already spoken to all of the neighbours and nobody has contact details for them. I did think I could contact the estate agents who their house was on the market with to try and get their contact details but as it is the bank holiday they won’t be open until Tuesday - which means he will have been trapped for 72 hours inside their house.

What should I do?! Do I try and break in, get my cat and then secure the property as best I can and explain what happened when they are next here? That sounds like a really bad start to a relationship with them but then my cats trapped inside, presumably without water?!

nevermind I just saw previous update! Do you or the other neighbours possibly have the contact details for the previous owner? They may have the contact details for the new buyers

I am cracking the fuck up.

Crab sticks????? 😂😂😂😂

@WhoPutCrabsticksInMyBedroom 🤣🤣 excellent NC!

Try contact someone from the estate agent on linked in?

Post on local fb page, one of them might live local and see it?

WhoPutCrabsticksInMyBedroom · Today 20:29
Thank you OP for the best thread I've read for years.

Ditto

Christ pipe down and stop frothing what exactly do you expect the op to do?

"Relax, " said the night man
"We are programmed to receive
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave!"
Hotel Catifornia

So how would you resolve a situation like this?

utterly engrossed in this...

So on MNetters advice I called the police. They said they do not have the authority to break into a house to rescue a cat. They weren’t very helpful, they just said “try to entice him out with food”…..it’s not lack of motivation from my cat - he is stuck!!! Then they just said try to find the owner of the property. Which is easier said than done when it is new house owners and a bank holiday.

I’m going to see if there’s an RSPCA emergency help available.

For now he has his crabsticks I put through the window gap and icecubes, but he hasn’t found them yet. I pray they don’t melt and damage the paint 😪

We had a cat trapped in our shed once for at least several days, I think actually the best part of a week, before we realised. There was definitely no food or water available and the cat did survive. We had to get the RSPCA out to lure the poor thing out because it was obviously quite traumatized, but as soon as it came out it ran away immediately, hopefully straight home. There was lots of wee and poo to clean up but it was all in one place and thankfully on top of something that could be thrown out.

There's obviously no guarantee that your cat will survive that long, but if it's been less than 48 hours I don't think he's in massive danger just yet. The fact that he's still climbing up onto windowsills to watch your efforts to rescue him is encouraging. If you stop seeing him that would be worrying. I'd still be frantically trying to get him out in your shoes, but I thought it might be reassuring to hear about a cat surviving several days in similar circumstances. There'll be water in the crab sticks so if he eats those that will help.

Either the owners will be nice about it or they won't, but that is out of your hands. I was really upset thinking we'd caused the poor thing to suffer and gave DH a massive lecture on not leaving the shed door open for days at a time. Be extremely apologetic and pay for all cleaning and damage and get them a nice present. If they would genuinely prefer to come home to a dead cat than a bit of damage that someone's paying to fix then they're really not very nice people.

I hope he's okay.

What about an emergency locksmith? Could s/he gain access, retrieve the cat and crab sticks then secure the property?

Could you break the latch on the bedroom window so your cat could get out @Catsos ? Much easier to replace than a window.

@Catsos your only option is to smash a window

Enlist the whole street - many minds are better than one to solve a problem. If the bend in the tunnel is thr problem maybe a youngster/shorter adult could get their wrist round and winkle the flap open (luke your cat did). Maybe slide the end of a paper clip round the flap door edge.
Good luck!
Crabsticks lololololol amazing!

This. Pry open catflap with freshly cooked chicken in hand to entice out...

Because he has been in there for over 24 hours and google says cats can only live 3-4 days without water. It’s bank holiday and if I just hope they turn up on Tuesday then that’s already on his Day 3 and it’ll be a very desperate situation with hours left to save him. I’m trying RSPCA now xx

Lol no but the owners should take responsibility and stop the cats entering random homes.

I don't know how it took you 24 hours to notice your cat was missing!

The conversation in my house goes on a 15 min loop of where's the cat! 🤣

Oh blimey op this sounds very stressful!

I hope you get your cat back, and I hope there's not too much damage that you'll need to pay for too 😬

Is the bedroom downstairs?!

Pool noodle or length of foam pipe lagging or similar could possibly be flexible enough to go round the bendy bit.

No, because they need proof of ownership before gaining entry

Oh fuck this is a problem! If all else fails I would call a lock smith tbh. Explain the situation. Say the cats there as proof. Drill the lock, get them to change it. Leave a note on the door. 🤷‍♀️ can’t think of anything else.

So that's the bedroom OP? Upstairs? With a white tiled floor? What unusual decor.