To break into my new neighbours house *THREAD 2*

[Catsos]

Following on from my thread yesterday https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4881905-to-break-into-new-neighbours-house-serious-question-not-trolling

to update all of the lovely people who are trying to help me rescue my cat who has got himself stuck in an unoccupied house.

Updating very shortly

Not read the full thread OP but if you are considering breaking the glass don’t throw a heavy object at double glazing, it won’t work, you need to get something like a screwdriver, place it in the corner and hit the end of the screwdriver hard with a hammer, this will weaken the glass, look on YouTube to see how to do it.

Hope you get him out soon!

I really don’t think you should break any windows or locks.

If you can poke a bendy pipe (like a piece of old cut-up hosepipe) through the catflap, you can then run a little water down it ( a glassful maybe) and there will then be a puddle on the kitchen floor and DCat will be fine.

The cat will be fine until tomorrow, it’s not going to drop dead in the next 24hrs! He doesn’t look in any distress from the photos. Guarantee you he’s drinking from a tap or something.

Even if she could unscrew it, she'd still have to smash the internal cat flap round a 90 degree bend.

I'm just so sorry he's still stuck in there and nobody can help :(

@GasPanic I was only 23, so when they left, my car was all over the driveway. I may have panicked, cried a LOT and phoned my local garage and told them the whole story.

They thankfully took pity on me, they sent a recovery lorry, grabbed the car and all the bits and put it back together for me for free. They were so, so kind. I genuinely thought I was looking at thousands to repair it. They’ve had my business ever since.

Catsos · Today 11:06

It’s called Hepatic Lipidosis (liver), OP. Though it is a danger it seems many cats can and do survive not eating for many days. I think the cats at most risk are overweight to begin with but I could be wrong. I’m a nurse not a vet. None of that makes much difference to the anxiety you are feeling. You are trying your best so take no notice of criticism. I can’t say whether you ‘should’ break a window, it has to be how you feel about it. My main thought about it is will it leave the house exposed to people getting in? If you broke it you could get one of those firms who block broken windows up for security. Cost though? They do emergency services. But you could wait till tomorrow, which would be my last day of waiting. Again you know where he is and he’s safe. Do you have a trusted vet? Are they contactable by phone for advice about how long is safe to leave him (Liver issue)? Yes it’s a BH but my vets always have emergency phone line. Again good luck.

Even if she could unscrew it, she'd still have to smash the internal cat flap round a 90 degree bend.

How thick is that wall to allow a 90 degree bend???

Is the cat flap tunnel too long to get your arm in? We have one (with no bend), but I can reach in and I think I could probably force it open by hand if I really tried. There’s also a gap around the edge where I think you could poke through small bits of food.

I really would be contacting fire and rescue.

If it's like that OP, I would think a long crowbar would do it. Hopefully there would be enough wiggle room to get the crowbar in and they have a 90 degree bend in them. Then just bash. Where I live there are lots of helpful odd and maybe suspicious types who are tooled up and it would just be a question of asking a few people. But then I'm in a rural area and people are quite practical and talkative. I do think the cat flap is your best entry point, since that's where the cat went in.

I can't understand why they would need a 90 degree bend on a straight outside wall, going by the photo the OP posted on the other thread. Outside walls aren't that thick unless you live in a castle.

You’re always going to get mumsnet tw4t c0nts who have nothing better to do than to slate and be adamant that you’re lying. Ignore the stupid flockers

hope you get her back soon, I’d be just as stressed as you and I’d be definitely thinking about the bird bath option. Crazy there are no contact details

I found this online, someone that also had a cat trapped inside an empty house:

https://www.justanswer.com/uk-law/2bz4a-hi-there-cat-stuck-neighbour-s-house-she-s.html

This is really stressful, ypu are doing your best and hopefully this will.be sorted soon 🙏

I've read stories through the years where cats have been locked in places by accident and survived for quite a long time - week or 2? He may be able to access water from a tripping tap or even the loo?

Sorry if this has been suggested/tried. Any way to track down manufacturer of cat flap? Perhaps phoning them could offer advice on getting a master key or way to bypass.

Dear Catsos,
I can really sense your distress and worry over this. Please take a break from this today. Your cat will be fine waiting another 24 hours. It is a fine day. Go somewhere, take a walk, meet a friend, take a nap. And breathe! You have done all you can. Your cat will probably just curl up and sleep. You can update tomorrow, when you have been able to contact someone who can legitimately access house & release cat. All will be well😺

Some of these posts are awful, this is a cat a living thing that is probably in distress about the fact they have been without water and food for over 48 hours.

Have you seen the pictures of the cat? The cat that has been without food/water for 2 days and it's wonder is standing outside? It i not showing any signs of interest in OP let alone distress

Posted this upthread.
RVN of over 15 years here.
Cat is not going to die from hepatic lipidosis in 2 or 3 days.
He look to be a good weight and not already obese, and HL is far far more likely to affect obese cats with anorexia due to illness.

If you KNOW someone is coming tomorrow you can relax right now.

Have you tried a bending metal coat hanger? maybe with something attached to the end to help push it open?

If your cat broke through, is it possible the lock is now broken and you could push something flexible through to open it from the outside?

Like a hosepipe or plastic curtain track? Or polystyrene pipe insulator? Wouldn't have to be particularly strong if the lock is now broken, just enough to let the cat finish pulling it open with his claws?

I was about to say all our servers are down for the entire bank holiday weekend but I see you've found that out for yourself. It's been planned for a while. I'm sorry someone got your hopes up.

This. I appreciate its super stressful OP but try not to worry too much.
Cats can survive earthquakes & all sorts. He will likely be okay until Tuesday.
Once you have him back (& have taken the neighbours flowers / gin etc)
you'll defo have to make a 'catio' for him though, the wee bugger!

A burglar can’t get in through a cat flap.

I know that and you know that. The would-be burglar who wrecked my cat flap trying to break in to a previous house evidently didn’t. He also tried jemmying the door and window - both of which had beefed up security following previous, successful entries. Over £1K of damage, the bastard.