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.

C'mon now, if the car pushed its way in through the car flap then the OP could have pushed open the car flap and let the cat out. That would have been a bit boring though.

The cat broke the cat flaps hinges 😂and has a reputation for breaking cat flaps so I'm sure OPs cat could get through yours too 😂

Cat*

Actually I wonder how much psychological support the cat will need having been held captive in their house...
Animal cruelty etc, could always counter claim against them 😊

You can't get third party insurance for a cat, because you aren't normally legally liable for damage caused by your cat.

https://www.iibinsurance.co.uk/company-news/can-cat-found-guilty-trespass/

Cats have a right to roam and it is on the neighbours to ensure cats don’t enter their property. Unless the op was negligent (and the bits she did she would be) she is not liable at all.

they left and empty house with a working cat flap that couldn’t then be gotten out of - I think the liability is all theirs.

OP if you broke a cat flap then yes you replace it other than that it is not your responsibility

This is a very good point. And your get out clause.

Ignore the vipers - they are taking the piss.

I actually think it's pretty reasonable – and that's as a pet owner who totally understands why you did what you did. They are doing a renovation and haven't even lived in the house yet, those costs actually sound pretty reasonable and what builders would charge to do the work. It's not really acceptable to just say you will paint over / clean their new house that was damaged by your cat. sorry..

I would counter claim £2000 from them for the trauma your cat was put through due to their faulty cat flap that trapped your cat in their house!

Seriously though, this entire scenario and damage is purely down to their cat flap that failed.

Essentially they kidnapped your cat!

My bathroom extractor vent cost £90 plus then fitting so it all depends on what the neighbour has bought. You can't say I can buy one for £12 here's the money when they may have shelled out £££ for the model they have got.

Best keep encourage the cat to go nowhere near the neighbours from now on.

I think it is fair to say that this will be a difficult relationship from now on. You may think new neighbour’s wife is neurotic but they will definitely have you down as a crazy neighbour with a tendency to trespass on property

Would your own home insurance cover it?

I would also sue M&S because their ham wasn't fine enough to go through the bathroom vents.

Then you'd be a cheeky fucker because the cat broke the cat flaps hinges, and also has a reputation on the street for breaking cat flaps.

The cat flap didn't fail, OPs cat literally broke it off its hinges 😂that's probably why it couldn't open on the way back because the flap wasn't aligned properly

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

You do not have to pay anything, owners are not responsible for damage caused by cats.

😂

Anything you damaged by your actions you should pay for anything the cat damaged should be 50/50 as it’s as much their fault having a cat flap which allows cats to get in that are not their own cats. Cats are cats after all! Technically can they prove it was your cat who did the damage as it is possible some other cat got in. Innocent until proven guilty after all 🤣

I don't see why they should claim on their insurance as that will put their future premiums up.

I would ask for an independent estimate , or ask that you take your own decorator in to assess the damage , or get at least 3 quotes .

I think you have to pay for a replacement rug, if that's what they want but I'd ask for further quotes on the repaint jobs , I can't see it costing that much to repaint a window sill and a wall.

Just ask if you could organise your own quote for their required works and negotiate m that's all you can do under the circs

I can only imagine spending a shit load of money on renovating my house only to find that my neighbour's cat got in and pissed all over my new carpet and damaged newly painted walls and furniture. I would be seething. You are absolutely to blame and completely irresponsible. Yes, you should pay. And keep your pet under control.

Are they not charging you for the bird bath through the window as well? Or is that the only thing you didn't actually do?
I'd love to see how crabstick and a small puddle of water from a few ice cubes left, what, 24 hours max have damaged the paintwork on their windowsill (I thought it was a window seat?).

Ask which way the hinges were broken....if the hinges/door was pushing into their home then obviously was secure and cat broke in....if the hinges/door are pushing out into the tunnel then that proves he was trapped after entering freely and tried to escape.

No advice but, wondering why you didn't drop dry food through the vents instead 😭

If they are renovating the house, they should have specialist renovation insurance for the duration of the works, so the premiums for the standard insurance they will have when they move in won't be affected.

But a compromise needs to be reached... I would want to make it clear that they are partly responsible for not installing the cat flap correctly and ask to see quotes and photographic evidence of damage before agreeing an amount.

Very odd that there was such an expensive rug in there...

You're actually right that it doesn't cover damage - that's my bad.

But if OP's cat had got itself sick or injured as a result of being stuck, her bills could have been in the thousands.