To tell her to get lost?

[Sportycustard]

Just got home to find a note from my neighbour.

"Hi Sporty, just wanted to let you know that we're rehoming a couple of cats in the next week or two. I can see from our upstairs windows that you have some plants in your garden that are poisonous to cats so I will pop round in the next day or so and point them out so you can remove them in good time for our new arrivals"

I've just done a quick Google and it looks like she is referring to a rhododendron that was a gift from a friend who has now passed away and an azaelia that was a 50th birthday gift. Both are established shrubs and mean a lot to me.

AIBU to tell her my garden will be staying as it is?

As a cat owner myself, this thread is hilarious and your neighbour is NUTS. Well done for standing your ground and I can’t wait to hear what she says next

Use this perfect response and best of luck! X

I’m offended on behalf of the cat. They aren’t stupid.

Send her this

katzecure.com/

If your neighbour is adopting cats from a cat home / rescue place. They are a bit nuts about plants and really put the willies up you.
We had some rescue cats and the cat home lady made me promise to get rid of loads of our houseplants (I just put them up high and explained to the cats not the eat them). Cats are fine btw.

OP, please encourage your rhododendron bush to grow to the size of Shrubzilla here:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cnekgjx19n9o

...Then there'll be no space left in your garden for her new cats!

woah that's a big bush.

I have those shrubs in my garden. My own cat and the multiple random cats that visit my cat in my garden are all alive and well and have been for over a decade. Given that my cat turns their nose up at all but gourmet food, fresh chicken and fish, the idea they'd chew on a poisonous plant seems somewhat unlikely.

I'm a cat lover and have multiple cats. Your neighbour sounds insane!!! Her cats, her responsibility.

If she's so concerned she has multiple options - keep the cats as house cats, invest in a 'catio' or secure her own garden. What she cannot do is dictate to her neighbours or threaten to send them vet bills.

She's batshit and should be treated accordingly. ODFOD as a response should suffice.

You say that. My cat seems to be most attracted to what will do her most harm. But I don't think she was blessed with much intelligence to be fair.

OP: YANBU. It's not your responsibility. It's your garden and if your neighbour wants to keep her cat safe, she can keep it out of your garden. Cats wander. She can't check EVERYONE'S gardens!

Tell her it's up to her to keep the cat out your garden - and that she'll be getting invoices for any plants it digs up/damages/shits all over.

Dear Neighbour

It's lovely that you are rehoming these cats. I hope they will get the same enjoyment from my garden as other passing cats who have come to no harm over the years and have had no interest in my plants.

However, you seem very anxious about the risk to them but I'm afraid this is not something I can help with by uprooting large elements of my garden. There is a modern solution to this so I thought I'd forward on a link. I'm sure there are alternative companies too, but this website seems quite comprehensive.

https://protectapet.com

Yours etc.

She sounds somewhat unhinged. Your neighbourhood WhatsApp is going to have a field day.

Lol. Bless her.
Just respond with something polite but very clear e.g. Hi xxxx, thanks for your message. I have chosen the plants I have for a reason and am not open to making any changes on account of your new pets. I hope their arrival goes smoothly. All the best.

The update re the neighbours greyhound takes it to a completely new level of batshit 😂.

She needs to control her new cats then.

But as I often point out, if I removed anything from my garden that might be poisonous to DS (who is now 6, but didn't really show inclination at the time to pick things) or the dogs, I might as well bloody concrete the lot. Won't be doing that as it's one of the things I actually enjoy, if I ever have the inclination after doing 45 hours pw of it in my job

The strategy was place out of reach and try to train child to only pick things with a grown up. We have cats that come through, from up to half a mile away, their choice, their risk.

Bloody hell she's going to be a NIGHTMARE with those cats.

Make sure you throw any poo back over the fence.

I've just seen the update. Well, at least you'll have something to talk about with your neighbours other than the weather!

LOL same, except he will ONLY eat Sheba Fresh and Fine, then he goes off it for a while and will ONLY eat Felix Cat Soup.

The idea that he'd be interested in a shrub is laughable.

Will eat a mouse though! And drink rain water from the top of the bin.

Cats are great!

I have 12 cats, as my username suggests, and a garden full of rhododendrons and azaleas. Never been a problem.

Tell her you'll sue her for any damage done to your plants by her cats and will be returning their poo via her letter box!

You need a No Trespassers sign. If her dcat enters your property tell her your solicitor will be in touch regarding it's prosecution...

If her cats are going to roam, they will not just roam into your garden, and as PP rightly says, there are roads out there as well........
If they are rescue cats, my instinct is that they are probably canny beasts anyway, but you could offer to take measure such as water pistols to put them off entering your premises. With any luck, she may become too offended to speak to you at all (only joking!)
I speak as the housekeeper for a rescue cat; an animal who apparently managed to live rough for a year before being rounded up. He obviously worked out for himself what not to eat.

She has contacted at least 4 other neighbours and made similar requests. She's even asked our neighbour with a rescue greyhound to only let it in the garden on a lead. He told her to f off in no uncertain terms.*

It’s lovely she adopted rescues, but she sounds mental. She needs to leave neighbours alone and secure her garden to keep the cats in, which is safer for them anyway.

That really is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard 😂! I've got 3 cats and a dog, and a garden full of toxic plants! (And toxic house plants.) They've never touched them! Absolutely batshit!