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

Well at least you have lots of guidance from these threads as to what to do when she does🤣

I would go on the website of the estate agent who sold the house and see if there is an email contact because often people check their inboxes at weekends and you might just get lucky. Failing that, more ice cubes! (But def no more crab sticks)

No she didn’t post a photo of the bend in the cat tunnel in the other thread. She posted a picture of a cat flap in a wall. Which does not show the extent of the bend , which is) needed for valid advice…..options will depend on the severity of the bend. She can take a photo looking through the cat flap which will demonstrate this.

The repair to be window will be less costly / time consuming than trying to remove the smell of cat pee from a newly refurbed house.

Honestly OP, get him out, either via locksmith or a smashed window.

Cats are resourceful and can find ways in and out.
there should be water in the toilet,

I also agree, breaking a small window/ back door might be required, but be sure to secure it to stop others trespassing.

Ok so I’m not legally qualified yet, but I think as far as whether you’d be criminally liable for breaking in goes, I think you might be ok? You’ve made reasonable effort to locate the owners, I’m not even sure that criminal damage would apply because of the intent is for you to rescue your cat? You might find yourself in a civil case if you refused to pay for any repairs to any damages you cause? Again, NOT qualified legal advice here, I’m just saying you might be ok to do something to recover your cat? Might be worth speaking to a solicitor?

Good luck, I hope your cat gets out today.

Ours got stuck in a neighbour's house while they were doing renovations. She set their burglar alarm off so they came to investigate and she got free. Your picture made me laugh, we have a similar one somewhere of our cat looking at us through our neighbour's window. Daft animal.

I know you've had 40 pages of suggestions but are you sure the hole you're looking at is the cat flap? We've got one that goes through a wall but it's just a straight hole, no bends. Maybe there's another way in and out that you haven't found yet?

Or clutching at straws, my parents have a fancy cat flap with a timer so their cat can't get out in the dark, I think between 8pm and 8am. So maybe your cat is free by now?

So long as this cat gets home safely, this will be the best thread I’ve ever seen on here!!!!

I’m wondering if it’s a safety thing so people don’t break in (ironically).

Ridiculously over invested in this thread! Hope you get him out soon.

I've read all your posts on the thread but only slim read the last 30 or so replies so apologies if I'm repeating anything.

To enter the property using powers under the Animal Welfare Act, you'd need to be either a police officer or an RSPCA inspector.

However, you would be on relatively firm ground if you caused minor damage to free your cat. There is a legal defence to criminal damage where it is to protect your own property within (cats count as property in UK law). It's also a defence to commit damage if you believe the owner would reasonably consent if they knew the full circumstances. Given the alternative is likely to cause unnecessary suffering and death of an animal (itself an offence), you could reasonably assume that.

Therefore, if it was me and I'd taken all read steps to identify and contact the owner, I'd either be trying drain rods to force the cat flap (they would be strong enough to force the cat flap open and bendy enough to cope with the curve), or I'd be breaking a small window to get him out.

Good luck!

🤞 you get him out today.

Op, is the house on right move or other estate agent sites? Might there be pics of said house for you to view access options or car flap/ back doors etc?

There was a photo on the previous thread, he is a beautiful cat.

Hope you get him back today OP!

Yes this!

Hoping for a positive update soon OP . What’s your cat called?

Unscrew the cat flap from the outside. It's clear that this is easy to do from your photo of the cat flap.

Patiently awaiting the update.

How on earth would that help us advise better? What you mean is that you’re curious

Maybe you could look for the owners on ABC Street?

She can’t take a photo of the bend looking through the cat flap because it is a bend in the wall and her camera wouldn’t see past the outside bit. It’s a bend!

Another asking for a photo of the inside of the candles, not just the side view. How bent can it be?

How did I miss the original thread yesterday?

The photo is in the first page of the first thread, if signed in -if not it's page 3/4. It's clear that it can be removed by unscrewing the entry flap, which would have been my first job. I've tried to copy and paste the photo but cannot.

Perhaps @Catsos can repost the picture for this thread. Should have already done this for the second thread.

Me and the kids are rooting for you! Must of been a stressful night worrying about him ❤️