To break into my new neighbours house *THREAD 3: The Final Conundrum*

[Catsos]

I’m really not trying to drag this out 😩 but I seriously need some advice following on from my posts this weekend where my cat (who has a reputation for breaking cat-flaps in the neighbourhood) broke into my new neighbours vacant house while it is being renovated.

Here is the original post if anyone needs more context:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4881905-to-break-into-new-neighbours-house-serious-question-not-trolling

After not being able to get back out the cat-flap he was stuck in there for 48 hours over the bank holiday weekend and then finally released by the builder after various rescue attempts by me.

During that period however some damage occurred to my new neighbours property. I had hoped they would take it all in good spirits as fellow cat owners and we’d laugh about it and be new cat bessie mates but they we’re absolutely seething!!

They have proposed that I pay £1,600!!! for the following:

£800 to replace the rug my cat wee’d on

£400 to replace an area of laminate flooring as apparently the wee has gone into the underlay

I offered to pay £100 for professional rug cleaning, but the wife (who seems very neurotic) says her cats will still be able to smell my cats urine and they don’t want that to stress their cats out when they move them into the new home

£150 for repainting areas of muddy foot prints on the walls where my cat scratched to get out
(again I offered to just wipe them off but the wife insists it is repainted)

£50 to repaint window sils where the crabsticks & icecubes I dropped through the window has damaged the paint

£200 for a new bathroom window vent as I pushed thinly slice honey roasted ham through it

AIBU to think they are being very over the top? I could personally clean/repaint all of these things myself. Should I refuse to pay this amount? I don’t even have this amount available anyway, I would need to get an overdraft.

If the cat had been able to break the catflap ot would not have been trapped in the house. The catflap was either faulty, or set up to trap cats.

I wonder why they wanted to trap a cat?

Don't pay anything beyond the price of the windowsill paint. Do bill them your vet fees.

Also - the cat isn’t a wild animal 😂 It’s a domesticated animal, with a home, a collar, and a bed

I think they were foolish not to have ensured the cat flap was secure when they were renovating. I would check my household insurance to see if I was covered for the damage

Yes she did.

She knew better than all the people warning her not to!

Seriously, it's a domestic moggy not a lion. A bit of polyfilla and a lick of emulsion should sort it.

Surprised this hasn’t made the papers

Wouldn't that be totes hilaires.

I would also ring their builder and ask if he agrees with some of the quotes.
and if you end up paying for the rug - take it with you.

What @RunDeeEmCee said.
Theres probably a reason they’re not wanting to claim it on their insurance. Perhaps they knew the cat flap was faulty. Or if they haven’t moved in yet would they even have insurance set up yet?

I’d probably offer half of what they’re asking because they’re also partly to blame re cat flap. Such a nightmare OP 😩 you just be feeling so stressed! Good luck!

Exactly this.

Seriously you think that shoving sliced ham and sodding crab sticks into people's houses is NOT going to cause damage? And too right i'd want a new rug if someone's pet had pissed on it. They want the damage put right by professionals, not Mrs Mad Cat Neighbour popping round with some Flash spray and a pot of Dulux.

Your animal caused this damage. Take some responsibility and pay to put it right. You could use all the money you've saved by not having it insured.

Also, I appreciate that you were egged on by MN users who found the whole crab sticks and ham thing hilarious, but I think your actions showed that you didn’t mind increasing the damage to their property. I could maybe forgive damage done by the cat if I was the property owner and if you were apologetic and hadn’t further interfered with their property, but I think you need to own up to your decisions. Sorry, not trying to give you a hard time and I am a cat lover and can understand the worry, but I am also a property owner and I think there needs to be some understanding for both sides

OR when the cat broke the hinges getting in through the cat flap which wasn't faulty, it was unable to function correctly to open because it was off its hinges and broken.

Not in the eyes of the law. Cats have ‘right to roam‘ which means they cannot trespass anywhere.

Are there any grounds they have to sue you, if you ignore them?
Cats are like 'force major' really. Its not as if you told the cat to go vandalise the neighbours 🤣 Let them claim on their own house insurance.

I’d offer £500 which would realistically cover cleaning costs and damage. The amount they are asking for is wildly unreasonable. It’s an unfortunate accident which involves a series of unfortunate circumstances (including them not being contactable by anyone, they could also have had damage from a burst water pipe and no one could have helped them either!).

OR the most common reason that people don't want to claim on their insurance, which is that their premiums will go up.

Another thought - I would definitely ring the builder if she is that highly strung he might have had enough of her and feel sorry for you and do some of this work at cost of materials for you. I mean how long would it take to paint a window sill...

Thing is regardless of this particular situation why should the wronged party be out of pocket their excess and get higher premiums. It’s always claim on your insurance but technically you shouldn’t have to should you because the party who committed the damage should cough up Or go via their insurance.

I do actually think this thread is a wind up. However if someone’s cat got into my house and created damage I would expect the owner to pay for it. I would also ban the owner from coming on my property again even if the cat was trapped.

Cats.org.uk

The Common Law Duty of CareIt is often thought that cats have a right to roam wherever they wish. This idea is based on the fact that dog and livestock owners are obliged by law to keep their animals under control - but these duties do not apply to cat owners. The law recognises that cats are less likely to cause injury to people or damage property than some other animals.
However, cat owners do have a duty at law to take reasonable care to ensure that their cats do not injure people or damage property. Cases involving damage to property or injury to people by cats are rare.

@MumGMT but isn’t that home insurance is for? I get that OP is the owner and should take responsibility for her pets actions and hers (crabsticks and all) but the damage that was caused because the cat was trapped inside was outside her control? It all comes back to locking your damn cat flap properly if you’re going to be away from your property really… I can see both sides.

I'd be furious if someone dropped crab sticks in my house and shoved ham in my vents, I have to say.

But it's not a 'wild' animal.
I don't know how many threads I've seen on here over the years from people complaining that a neighbour has stolen their cat or tries to steal their cat, when the cat starts to prefer to live with the neighbours.

Or I've seen a few people wondering if they can do anything when their pet cat goes into the neighbours and the neighbours won't stop giving it treats ruining their diet 😂

Shark well & truly jumped …

They would never be able to prove it though. How do you take reasonable care?