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.

Not quite. They have a right to roam but owners still have a duty to prevent their cats from harming property and people.

https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/getting-a-cat/cats-and-the-law#:~:text=The%20law%20recognises%20that%20cats,people%20by%20cats%20are%20rare.

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

Hi,
And breathe…
I would go through insurers for this. I suspect they have some liability here as they left the house empty with no way for any concerned neighbour to get in touch. Suppose there had been a water leak -nothing to do with cat - and no one could access house to stop.
He insurers will take a more measured view and assess damage accurately and assign liability accordingly.
If they balk at this, then you have some negotiating power.
I reckon £250 on your part would be about fair.
I am a huge believer in using the proper channels at all times, takes the heat and personality clashes out of the equation.
Best of luck!

Didn't OP say in her very first post that her cat has form for breaking in to people's homes? So the house was secure, but the cat somehow managed to break the catflap(s).

I'd pay it because if you don't and they take you to court with all the fees they will tack on it will cost a lot more. Besides 1600 is a small price to pay for your beloved kitty to be ok

Haha yeah mixed emotions, kind of do feel like hurling the bird bath through their window now 😅

Counter point - why was their cat flap not secure? If that cat flap allowed your cat in despite it being a chip activated door, then it was faulty and they share blame. THAT is why they should claim on their house insurance.

I think yabu tbh as the damage was all caused by you or your cat. Your pet, your responsibility. You knew he gets into houses and a lot of the damage was you trying to get him food. I'd want you to pay it, why should they have to pay higher premiums for something that wasn't their fault?

As for the rug, I wouldn't want something someone else's cat has pissed all over before I even got to enjoy it.

❤️

Well, I got this wrong. I felt sure that thread 3 would be about the builders.

If they claim on the insurance company, chances the insurance company will come after you.

or they could go to small claims

i would pay the bill and get third party insurance for the cat going forwards

I think it's way too much - they have to share some of the responsibility here as they set their cat flap to trap animals in their house. It could have just as easily been a squirrel or rat or something got in and there would be just as much damage with no owner to come after. It's also not reasonable for her to insist on a new rug rather than a cleaned rug, and to not let you clean the mess rather than going straight to repainting.

Omg you are so right!

You take their old rug. Buy them a new one. Professionally clean the cat piss rug. Flog it on eBay.
"£800 in John Lewis, damaged by cat piss, professionally cleaned. Offers over £400."

Get something back.

I guess the issue is if you don't pay it, you're effectively asking them to take on extra costs for your cat.

Moving is expensive at the best of the times, nevermind adding extra costs because of someone else's pet.

I think you have a responsibility to make things back to the standard they were here.

I think they're being dicks about it but I do think you should pay. I would never charge you for it, but they do have the right to do so if they wish. Make it very clear that you expect to be given the rug your cat peed on since you're buying them a new one to replace it it's rightfully yours. I bet you can get it cleaned up perfectly well and then either you've got yourself a nice rug or it might be worth something on eBay. If you choose to own a cat without insurance you run the risk of having to shell out when they damage other people's property. It's rotten luck, but you have to take responsibility for your cat.

I mean you could argue endlessly over this in court, but it'd cost them both a fortune in legal fees.

Cats do have a right to roam, and owners are 'technically' not responsible for their escapades.
The neighbours should have secured their home - any animal (cat/fox/determined rat) could have got in and done damage.
There are indeed taking it too far with their demands for cash
OP could potentially be liable for the crabsticks/ham as she chose to do it - that wasn't the cat.

But what if the builder hadn't saved your cat? What if you'd got him out today and he was at death's door, dehydrated and starving? That would be one HELL of a vet's bill, if he even survived. And you're not insured... Honestly this was an accident on purpose waiting to happen.

FGS - tell them that is what insurance is for and pay their excess. It would have cost a lot more to have the stench of decomposed pussy cleansed from the house.

Thinly sliced honey roasted ham, I think you mean 🤣

imo:

1. you should pay for the damages you caused
2. the cat flap was clearly already defective (why didn’t it let him leave?) so this is completely unreasonable.
3. did he break the cat flap to get in kr was he able to do so because it was defective? Either way, I’d be surprised if you were liable. Do you have legal defence insurance or some other means of geting legal advice?

HOWEVER! Not paying will clearly cause a lot of upset. I would worry about starting some sort of neighbour war. Or that they might take it out on your cat / ensure that he can’t cause anymore damage…

Agree.

Their numbers are ridiculous and they are responsible for leaving their house open for animals to enter.

A professional cleaner can get the smell out. Ask me how I know? $200 here and our rug was like ... well, it's an antique but the cats don't smell anything.

The vent? Clean it. They don't need a new one because ham touched it.

I understand the issue with the laminate floor but would want to see photo proof + estimates particularly because she is being ridiculous about the rest.

I'd probably give them around 500 pounds max.

I’d expect someone to pay for any damage they caused (by pushing ham through the vents etc. 😂), but not anything relating to the cat.

Their cat flap wasn’t secure which allowed your cat access and to become trapped. I wouldn’t expect a neighbour to pay if I left a window open and their cat got in… this feels the same.

No, it would go through the small claims court and the fees are not that much.

I would ask for pictures of the damage and an itemised quote with actual figures for each thing, also you may be able to claim on your house insurance if you have the right policy.

I am surprised that they won’t do this via their own insurance. They are taking this pretty far imo.

but I would be very worried about future repercussions, not a good way to start with new neighbours. And also worried about the safety of your cat!!