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.

Surely their responsibility to have cat proofed their house. If they don’t want to claim on insurance ( who might well say the same to them) then they’d have to take me to small claims court or similar. I think your offer to pay for professional cleaning for the rug is fair and equitable.

Yes, this sums it up for me. Though I wouldn’t bother with the small claims court, I’d just piss the owner off by feeding her cat - see how flippant she is about him wandering off then!

Op you sound like the nightmare neighbour that everyone hates being terrorised by your cat and the air head lady that thinks it's not her responsibility for her cat causing damage to other peoples properties.

Either this is a bloody troll or you are completely stupid.

Where is she dreaming up £200 for the cat flap from? Even the most expensive sure flap, which is the brand I suspect it is, I’d £120.

Add in a handy man’s for fitting it maybe 🤷🏻‍♀️

Haha, I was just thinking this. If you have builders in doing work on your house, why leave an 800 quid rug lying around?!

how dare you call her neurotic, you and your cat caused so much damage to her new home,

it was all fun and games wasnt it? you found it hilarious that your cat is such a a naughty boy causing trouble and now you have to pay up, you have a chip on your shoulder about it !

she is right about the cat pee smell, you need to replace that rug because the smell will linger and be noticeable to her cats and the floor will be ruined

you also need to replace the stinking vent that you stupidly put ham into
i think you are incredibly selfish and you are still letting your cat roam the neighborhood where he can cause more havoc
I cant believe you have the nerve to try to not replace the womans damaged property

If she is replacing like with like then it’s 4 screws. Any able bodied adult could do that.

removal
fitting
new decent one

seems reasonable to me, and if south east - then a bloody bargain

£200 for a cat flap?! My all singing and dancing app controlled microchip cat flap didn't even cost that!

I agree.

The owners are at fault. Completely ridiculous that they would charge OP anything apart from rug cleaning, possibly (or rather, OP would offer to do this to ensure good relations). They are taking the piss. I mean, where was the cat supposed to wee, since THEY TRAPPED HIM IN THERE with an unlocked cat flap that did not allow escape.

I think they are taking the piss. That amount is ridiculous. I would be offering max £500, if not then they would need to claim on insurance. If I was leaving a house empty whilst renovating I would make sure a cat flap was fully secured and not leaving windows open. You should definitely get pet insurance, not doing so is crazy in my opinion. We have an indoor cat with a catio and she is still insured. Hope you get it all sorted OP.

If she is replacing like with like then it’s 4 screws. Any able bodied adult could do that.

Why should the neighbour be put out in any way because of the OP's negligence? Too bloody right I'd want a professional painter and handy man to do the work.

i would say she is completely stupid and selfish, she found it all hilarious before

Meant to add Surely they wouldn't have put an expensive rug down with builders in the house? Well, I wouldn't

Whilst with the amounts they are taking the piss.

There is a lot of victim blaming going on for the neighbours, it's irrelevant if it was insecure cat flap, it's still not their fault that OP takes no responsibility for their cat.

Well obviously you’re being unreasonable. You caused extra damage acting crazy and putting disgusting food items (ham and crab sticks and not dry cat food seriously?!) into their house! Cat urine cannot be easily cleaned out, sometimes the concrete below the flooring needs treatment! You’re being horrible. Wtf should they claim on their house insurance? You also have no idea if your cat did go in via the cat flap and how secure it was do you. Sorry the thread isn’t going how the others went with batshit cat owners supporting you. You should have pet insurance for your animal you proudly say has ‘freedom to roam.’

Why does the vent need replacing? Is the ham wedged in it or something?

Surely it depends if the rug was where the builders were working? If it’s in a different room I don’t see the problem.

well I wouldn’t

no, you wouldn’t.

Nahhhh. When she says, "why should we go through insurers", say "because that's what insurance is for". You haven't said though if the cat broke their secure cat flap this time or if the cat flap was left unsecured?

I mean she can't force you to pay and doesn't sound like someone who would ever be on good terms with you anyway.

Absolutely vile 🤬

Honestly if I was the neighbour I'd be so bloody angry. The costs seem about right to me.

Your cat caused the damage. You are culpable.

And people on here taking about wild animals breaking into houses! JFC in my 51 years on this earth I've never had an animal break into my house....like all of a sudden we need to cat proof our houses.

Batshit.

Maybe broken, maybe faulty, maybe the wrong specifications - there are several reasons things may not be fit for purpose.

Whichever applies in this case, the cat should not have been let enter the house and become trapped there. The home owners' fault.

If they wanted to use their house as an animal trap, they should have put their rug somewhere it wouldn't be damaged.