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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

1000 replies

Catsos · 29/08/2023 15:44

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
11
Zapzep · 29/08/2023 20:26

They sound like CRATS and they just see this as an opportunity to rinse you.

SusiePevensie · 29/08/2023 20:27

I don't see how you owe them anything. They left their cat flap unsecured and an animal got in. If anything they're lucky you called the builders and there wasn't more damage done.

Procrastinatingbecauseithelps · 29/08/2023 20:27

Flower35214 · 29/08/2023 20:20

@Procrastinatingbecauseithelps nah, the neighbours shouldn't leave the cat flap on the setting in only meaning the cat can access the house but then can't get out. That's pretty irresponsible.

OP has said her cat has a habit of breaking into cat flaps.

Who is to say that it wasn’t secured and the cat has pushed his way through into it?

The OP has confirmed that her cat breaks in. Breaking in doesn’t mean walking through open car flaps.

She had the audacity to say that she will continue letting him push his way into private residences at the end of yesterday.

She deserves everything that’s coming to her and more.

Also.. what idiot pushes crab sticks and ham and ice cubes into an empty property?! She didn’t even know if her cat liked crab sticks as it was on her Google search image that she shared. Then she detailed the damage she left. Grind and thought they’d have a good laugh about it. Such a moron.

AliceOlive · 29/08/2023 20:27

Zapzep · 29/08/2023 20:25

With regards to the £800 rug what fellow cat owner would pay £800 for a rug, I would ask to see the rug that was damaged and would only replace like for like. You are not going to replace and ikea rug with a john lewis one!

They don’t need a new vent, just remove the existing vent take the stale ham out and put it back again.

The wall can be wiped clean. The laminate can be cleaned.

Write them a cheque for £200 + what ever the actual cost of the rug is and tell them you’ll see them in court if they want more.

Meh, 800 for a rug is nothing.

We have quite a few very nice rugs which we could easily sell today for much more than that. If you know rugs you can often find them used at a bargain online and have them cleaned.

SoupDragon · 29/08/2023 20:28

Why are people blaming the neighbours when the OP clearly stated in her very first post: 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.

a cat that breaks open other people's cat flaps.

how has that magically changed into a cat flap that they've left set to "in only" ?

Procrastinatingbecauseithelps · 29/08/2023 20:28

*Joked, not grind 🤦🏻‍♀️

WanderinStar · 29/08/2023 20:28

This is insane. Tell them to eff off.

Procrastinatingbecauseithelps · 29/08/2023 20:30

SusiePevensie · 29/08/2023 20:27

I don't see how you owe them anything. They left their cat flap unsecured and an animal got in. If anything they're lucky you called the builders and there wasn't more damage done.

They didn’t necessarily leave it unsecured. Her cat has a habit for smashing his way into secured cat flaps to steal food… hence the damaged hinges

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 29/08/2023 20:30

Id be tempted to point out that none of this would have happened if their cat flap was working properly

Nor if OP didn't allow her cat to roam wherever he pleases.

I get that cats like to wander around public/outside areas, but surely it must be possible to train them out of invading other people's homes when you know for a fact that they frequently do this and make a huge nuisance of themselves in the neighbourhood?

Even if it just involves following them and shooting them with a super soaker every time they try to enter an unwilling person's house, so that they associate intruding with unpleasant consequences?

But then that would take a little bit of effort, conscientiousness and responsible pet ownership, which an awful lot of cat owners do seem to assume is clearly beneath them.

Zapzep · 29/08/2023 20:31

AliceOlive · 29/08/2023 20:27

Meh, 800 for a rug is nothing.

We have quite a few very nice rugs which we could easily sell today for much more than that. If you know rugs you can often find them used at a bargain online and have them cleaned.

Edited
Show quote history

I’ve got a rug that cost £50, yes they could of paid £800 or £8000 for a rug but they should on replace like for like

oneleggedspider · 29/08/2023 20:31

SoupDragon · 29/08/2023 20:28

Why are people blaming the neighbours when the OP clearly stated in her very first post: 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.

a cat that breaks open other people's cat flaps.

how has that magically changed into a cat flap that they've left set to "in only" ?

Because it's weird that it couldn't then get out again. If it broke it how did it end up trapped? Seems more likely they had it set to only allow entry. But then the OP did say that the hinges were broken as its part of their estimated damage costs. 🤷‍♀️ We need more info on this, but the OPs gone silent.

Wouldyouguess · 29/08/2023 20:33

This is why I hate cats and cat owners, she should charge you £3000 and maybe next time you will take care of your pet.

Applesaarenttheonlyfruit · 29/08/2023 20:33

Layinwait · 29/08/2023 16:34

A contribution?!!!

Op you are responsible for this. You need to pay up in full. They shouldn’t be contributing a penny towards the damage you inflicted on their property

Show quote history

Get real. They fired a faulty cat flap!

TheBarbieEffect · 29/08/2023 20:34

Wouldyouguess · 29/08/2023 20:33

This is why I hate cats and cat owners, she should charge you £3000 and maybe next time you will take care of your pet.

She won’t bother. She confirmed that on the last thread.

She’s content to have a nuisance cat everyone hates and to put it in danger at the same time.

Mammajay · 29/08/2023 20:35

There is a legal aspect to this, and how much if any liability you have.
LBC have a free legal hour. When my dog got out and ran into the road my house insurance dealt with it. One thought crossed my mind which is that as your cat got in and couldn't get out, surely that is down to them anyway. Have they got the cat trap fixed back to front?

SoupDragon · 29/08/2023 20:35

oneleggedspider · 29/08/2023 20:31

Because it's weird that it couldn't then get out again. If it broke it how did it end up trapped? Seems more likely they had it set to only allow entry. But then the OP did say that the hinges were broken as its part of their estimated damage costs. 🤷‍♀️ We need more info on this, but the OPs gone silent.

Show quote history

It's not weird at all. The cat broke the hinges on the cat flap on the way in meaning it wouldn't open to let him out. Hardly rocket science.

Longtimelurkerfinallyposts · 29/08/2023 20:36

Multiple people told you not to put ham through the vent. The crab sticks -and ice-cubes- were a stupid ideas, especially as you didn't even know if he could reach them (or if he ever did eat them in the end?)

Perhaps have a word with the 'nice' builder. If he offered to re-do the laminate flooring, sort out the shelf and repaint the wall for less, then they wouldn't/ couldn't charge you so much for it. You probably will have to cover the costs of a new cat-flap if you broke theirs. And yes, pay for the rug to be professionally cleaned.

If you weren't such an arrogant arse about your cat's misbehaviour (which you admit has been a problem for a long time, affecting other neighbours as well) and insistent that you still aren't willing to install a 'catio' or anything else to stop him straying out of your house/garden, I'd have more sympathy.

I'm unsurprised about your new neighbours' reactions in light of your attitude towards the entire situation. You seriously suggested that they should claim on their household insurance because of damage caused to their property by your uncontrolled pet?!

needtofatoff · 29/08/2023 20:36

Who locked your cat in their house? Unless you shoved her through the cat flap you haven't been negligent so you owe them nothing (except for crab stick and ham damage). Given they have been pricks i wouldn't worry about paying them anythjng - make them sue you for it. They won't. Tell them you will counter claim for the emotional distress caused by their faliure to secure their property. That claim has about as much merit as theirs though.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 29/08/2023 20:36

That's a very relevant point that PP made: any failure to come to an amicable agreement and resulting animosity will all have to be declared when either of you sell your houses.

The impact that would have on the amount you would get a buyer to pay would make £1,800 seem like back-of-the-sofa change.

SoupDragon · 29/08/2023 20:38

needtofatoff · 29/08/2023 20:36

Who locked your cat in their house? Unless you shoved her through the cat flap you haven't been negligent so you owe them nothing (except for crab stick and ham damage). Given they have been pricks i wouldn't worry about paying them anythjng - make them sue you for it. They won't. Tell them you will counter claim for the emotional distress caused by their faliure to secure their property. That claim has about as much merit as theirs though.

How have they failed to secure their property? The cat broke the cat flap to get in. He has done this repeatedly around the neighbourhood.

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 29/08/2023 20:39

She’s content to have a nuisance cat everyone hates and to put it in danger at the same time.

Not even just put it in danger, but she neither has insurance nor personal funds to enable it to recover from whatever danger it gets itself into either.

nonheme · 29/08/2023 20:40

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at the poster's request.

YankeeDad · 29/08/2023 20:40

I’m no legal expert but just from a common sense perspective, if your cat was able to get in it suggests their house was not properly secured against cat ingress and surely that means they deserve at least part of the blame and hence the costs, no?

truthhurts23 · 29/08/2023 20:41

i think OP should be arrested for vandalism, she is taking no accountability , even though her cat is a repeat offender

HerProposal · 29/08/2023 20:42

truthhurts23 · 29/08/2023 20:41

i think OP should be arrested for vandalism, she is taking no accountability , even though her cat is a repeat offender

😂

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