To suspect my neighbour killed my cat

[Mani2024]

Three years ago we moved to our new house. Day one we met one of our neighbours and he asks whether we have a cat because he hates them. We didn’t at that point but we had planned to get one as we and our children really wanted one. neighbour begged us not too even though there are many many cat in the area. We reluctantly agreed to keep the peace but after a terrible year with lots of heartache we decided it was non of his business and got two kittens.

When he found out we had cats he made a passive aggressive comment to my six year old child about how one of the cats in particular had been in his garden and on his bird table. Some months later I heard our cats squealing. I thought they found themselves in a fight with another cat so called out to stop it but turned out to be my neighbour doing something to them to get them out of his garden. He said they were stalking his bird house.

We tried to settle things down with him, said feel free to spray them with water if they come over, we would look into a fence with a slope and if they ever mess in his garden (which they doubt they had as they still used litter trays) he could put over the fence with a spade. That conversation went well but he did say he’d killed a cat previously because it had chased a bird and that the killing had been unintentional.

fast forward some weeks and one of our kittens was found at the end of the road dead in the road with a sever head injury. This is the cat that both neighbours had said was the main culprit of jumping on their bird tables. Initially I was extremely upset and couldn’t think clearly but after a week or so I remembered that morning I had heard a cat scream that was worse than you would usually hear and had looked out my window to see what was going on. My husband saw my neighbour around that time walking up the road away from where she was later found and when asked what he was up to today said he was going for a long walk. I saw the neighbour in his garden briefly a week later, when our eyes met he went straight back into his house which is unusual as he usually chats to me. Generally he has been quite friendly apart from the issue with the cats.

i have spoken to my husband and a few friends about this and generally the consensus is that I’m overthinking and that this theory is just generally wild. Im
absolutely convinced he killed her and placed her at the end of the road to make it look like she got run over. Then again, I’m so desperately upset by it all that I’m not sure if the grief is clouding my judgement

Not really bothered if you believe me or not. But you’re giving my colleagues and I a right laugh at your expense it certainly has cheered up our Monday morning.

The next client who believes they know the law because they read it on Mumsnet will be contacting us shortly we’re sure.

This is untrue. Cats can very successfully be kept as house cats and gardens can be cat proofed.

It is an expense to do this, but if you have angled fencing that extends in towards the garden and it is wide enough and not made of sturdy material, the cat will be unable to climb over it.

Plenty of people cat proof their garden to keep in pedigree animals and go on to be able to love those pets for many years. I’m not sure why you think this is not possible?

@henlake7 we didn’t know he killed a cat until long after we got one. Of course we wouldn’t have got cats knowing he was a cat killer!

this neighbour also complains about other things. He didn’t like it when I had the dead wood taken out of one of big trees at the back of the garden, he doesn’t like that we have diesel car, he doesn’t like the fact that we had someone come over to fix a fence because the sound of this disturbed his bird watching even though the broken fence had to be sorted to keep our kids safe (there is a big drop at the end of our garden). He made comments about us going away on holiday more than once a year (I’ll add that these holidays were Uk camping based not overseas by plane before people send venomous comments about that, not that it’s anyone’s business). He’s complained to me about the previous owners dogs.

there was a definite theme going on but at no point did any of this make me think ‘cat killer’ so no I didn’t bring cats into my home thinking they might be harmed by him

It isn’t nature. It’s more environmental damage caused by humans.

We breed huge numbers of domesticated cats and dogs (not nature) and release cats in particular into the wilds of our towns and villages.

Domestic cats are not a natural native species but they do a lot of damage to our natural native species.

So this is environmental damage…but it is humans again.

Sounds like lots of little things that would make me anxious about him if he was my neighbour tbh. And I don't think it's unreasonable in light of all of this as well as him admitting to "accidentally" killing a cat to suspect he might have had something to do with the death of yours (I'm so sorry btw) and want to find out. YANBU

This sort of thing, amongst various other reasons, is exactly why I keep my cats indoors with safe outdoor access (Omlet cat pen or supervised on harness). I don't trust other people and there are so many possibilities for accidents, whether it's cars, dogs or wildlife etc. I hope your other cat stays safe x

Unfortunately these types of neighbours are common. Sad but true

None of what he’s complained about is justified. You have not done anything wrong.

Unfortunately, this type of neighbour will also take a mile if you give him an inch. The trying to be nice to keep the peace approach doesn't work with these people.

Next time he complains about anything you’re doing / have done just stop him abruptly in his tracks and ask him to please put his full complaint in writing to you.

Receiving repeated frivolous complaints like this is a type of harassment.

I really do feel for you, it sounds stressful

I would definitely contact the police about your cat too.

Ok, I take back my apology as you are being daft and over the top.

‘Delight’ in my description? There was no description. I’m actually tempted to write a description so you can see the difference, but I’ll refrain.

The rabbit was in its owners garden and later found in a neighbour’s house. It had been brought to a different house by a neighbours cat who had ‘roamed’ into that garden. Pets allowed outside are at risk and this is at the discretion of the owner, and therefore the owner’s responsibility.

Anyone trying to compare a cat killing birds to a monstrous psychopath slaughtering a pet should be avoided at all costs.

Anyone who is not horrified by humans slaughtering beloved pets is not a person who is safe to spend time with.

A vile, terrifying nutcase almost certainly lives next door to you.

That's not an exaggeration. I am not joking when I say you should move house.
And for God's sake keep your cat inside and your kids well, well away from this lunatic.

If he killed your cat - and he probably did - he is definitely capable of harming a human.

https://www.rawstory.com/2015/05/animal-cruelty-is-a-reliable-predictor-of-criminality-which-is-why-the-fbi-is-taking-it-more-seriously/

How horribly stressful for you. I can't even begin to imagine how you are felling. People feel justified when it comes to neighbours cats. I would contact the police.
Many years ago we moved into our new home with our two cats. They used indoor litter trays and seldom set foot outside. Two weeks later I remember the shock of coming home from work and finding cat poo spread all over our door step. A note was placed on top pointing out that cat poo carried toxoplasmosis and warning us to ensure our cats didn't stray to their garden..Pretty difficult when the coward didn't leave a name or address.

So sorry about your cat

There is always a scale to consider.

Throwing a rock at a cat for example to make it leave your garden is abhorrent and a disgusting and inhumane thing to do but is not the same as the deliberate slaughter of animals for pleasure, which is what is associated with psychopaths and very dangerous people.

I doubt there is much chance of the neighbour progressing to murder of the local residents.

He sounds like a cruel bas as far as cats are concerned, but I wouldn’t be panicking about moving house, no and I wouldn’t worry about my own safety. I would however, be concerned for the safety of my remaining cat and would now choose to keep that one in.

Agreed. My neighbour's cat comes into my garden all the time and it's so upsetting when it grabs one of the goldfinches. People should not let their cats go into other people's gardens. I wouldn't let my dog run about pooing elsewhere or killing birds. Why should I have to put up with cats doing the same.

It is horrible to lose a pet and Im very sorry OP but it sounds like practically the first thing this neighbour did on meeting was inform you of how much he hated cats! In fact you state he 'begged you' not to get a cat.

In that case I would find it the responsible thing to do to make sure my cat was never able to set foot on his property or interact with him by cat proofing.
I love cats and have had many in the past. I also understand how annoying it is to have a neighbour like this (my dogs can no longer use our back garden because I cant trust my mentally unstable neighbour).

Its not fair to just expect somebody to put up with sonmebody else pet on their property potentially causing damage, killing wildlife or creating a health hazard by pooing all over their garden.
As I said I am an animal lover but it would be unfair to expect everybody to love my pets just because I do.....and if you allow cats to free roam you have to accept that they can could be injured, tortured, poisoned or killed (its very sad but also a fact of life).

He almost certainly bashed her cat's head in.

He's slaughtered at least one cat before and boasted about it.

You haven't the faintest idea whether he has, in his decades of life, tortured and slaughtered other animals OR humans.

And I absolutely definitely DO know that animal slaughterers are linked to psychopaths.

Feel free to stay next door to lunatics who slaughter beloved pets when you have that option.

You fucking pig.

Reported for being a disgusting piece of filthy shit who minimises pet slaughter.

What a disgusting comment.
They really do walk among us

Every filthy POS on this thread who is in any way trying to minimise the slaughter of this cat should be reported to the police by Mumsnet.

These people are not safe to mix with normal humans, children or animals.

That's absolutely disgusting. I think you should try and get him prosecuted through the RSPCA.
Hell deny it no doubt the disgusting coward.
The police maybe should be informed.
I'm so sorry for your poor little kitten.

The fact that he admits he has killed a cat before makes this quite likely in my opinion. I would ask about the doorbell footage sooner rather than later.

I am glad that callous comment was deleted.

This neighbour sounds fucking bonkers and seems to hate everything so no, I don't have any sympathy for him despite how much he begged and pleaded for OP not to get a cat. He sounds a massive control freak and I often wonder why bell ends like this choose to live in a street next door to others instead of locating themselves in an isolated field away from everyone else.

You beat me to it, well done. It was the shrug emoji that amplified my disgust.

”yeah he may have killed someone else's beloved pet brutally and broke the law but the pet was a nuisance so hey ho ~shrug”

let’s just deal with anything we find to be a nuisance in the same way eh.

Because the cat killer is human and should be held to our standards whereas cats aren’t human and can’t be held to our standards.
Not rocket science.