Neighbour just rung doorbell at 2.30am!

[greywolfie]

I'm now wide awake and fumming. She rung twice so I opened the front bedroom window as I worried it might be an emergency. Women stood there on her phone in tears and I thought - oh, she could need help.
My husband is on his way down to.open the door.
Then she says...."my cat is in your garden"
I mean - FFS!
I said "well your cat will get out of our garden"
"Really?"
"Yes. If your cat is still in our garden in the morning we will bring it back"
Shut window.
Husband then opened the door and she started telling him about the damn cat- I yelled at him to shut it.
He wanted to go out and get it but I said that was mad and would encourage the over protective cat mother to do it again in future.
For reference, we have 2 elderly cats that very rarely scale the fence. One night one got over very late and was struggling to make it back (we have stuff by our fence that would've also helped her bloody cat up, if he cared - but their side is just the bare fence). I was a bit worried but would NEVER have rung their bell in the middle of the night! About an hour later our old lady regained her energy and made it back.
AIBU to go round in the morning and point out you don't ring people's doorbells for this reason? It's batshit right?

Or you could have been kind...

Assuming your garden doesn't also house a rabid cat eating hell hound, yes that's insane.

I agree it’s very annoying but she was clearly upset and once you were already awake I would have let her get the cat and said please not to do it again in future. Assuming there’s nothing wrong with her cat of course - she may have had good reason to have been so worried.

It wouldn’t have been too big a cat-astrophe to just let her in. I’m sure she wouldn’t have pussy-footed around in getting it home.

I am NEVER kind when I've just woken up. Especially at 2.30am!

That’s insane! Is there something wrong with the cat? Someone’s cat is in my garden right now, probably fertilising the place - it wouldn’t occur to me to take it home!

YaNBU to be annoyed that she woke you at 2:30

YABU to boss your DH about, if he was willing to get the cat its not on for you to not let him. As you're thinking of going round today to say not to call again anyway there was no harm while DH was up to get the cat

Would I have been irritated at being woken up?
Yes.

Would I have helped her and the cat?
Yes.

How neighbourly of you.

I would have been nonplussed at why on earth she thought it was ok to ring your doorbell at 230 am for anything less than life or death, eg your house was on fire.

id expect an apology and a promise not to be so ridiculous ever again.

🙄 FFS

I think the op was kind. I'd have given her a few choice words and told her where to go! At that time of night it's crazy. I'm fuming for you op.

To all the people saying op should have got the cat then it would have been sending out the message to this woman that it's okay.

I'm completely with you op, I'd have been fuming if the neighbour was banging on the door for something so silly, I'm not longer a cat owner but they do wander and do whatever they want! Deffo go and knock in the morning and let her know she was being ridiculous

And it's desperate doormat behaviour to #bekind to loons who have no problem being super unkind to you - as the neighbour was. She's a nutter.

Nope, OP was quite right as loony tunes from next door would have definitely been encouraged to harass and bother OP again in future. And they'd have lost more of their own precious sleep time while loony tunes faffed about.

Now she knows she'll be told to eff off and will think twice.

By this time everyone was up and your DH was downstairs with you yelling for him not to go help and now you are on here, the night is ruined lol. I would’ve done it this time, but told her never again.

She was unreasonable, but since he was already down there i wouldn't have stopped him grabbing the cat. She's clearly very anxious to have been that worried about the cat

This.
Cats have the right to roam and frequently do at night (I am not a fan of predatory cars btw). What was she bothered about?

Is it an indoor cat that's escaped, or is it injured? I'd be annoyed but would have let her get the cat.

It's bonkers to knock a neighbour up at 2.30am for any reason other than life or death.

"It's half past 2 in the morning!! Get your cat if you must but please don't knock on my door or wake me up about it again!"

Yanbu she will do it over and over again if you indulge her. Ringing te doorbell is crazy behaviour! Although id check the garden in the morning to see if she broke in. I wouldn't put it past her to try that.

I had a new neighbour who i exchanged WhatsApp numbers with. She asked me literally every other day for about a month if I'd seen her fucking cat at night.

In the end I told her to get a cat flap if she was so worried, since he was clearly an explorer (and he would sit and cry at the door for hours if she went out or was asleep and didnt let him in). I told her I don't really pay attention to cats in my garden to report on it - sorry. Then ignored the next 2 requests for cat stuff. She got the hint and now only messages if its more urgent about something else.

Why didn't she just try coaxing her cat home?🤔

I think it is unreasonable to write 'fumming'. Hence I have voted unreasonable.

Is your neighbour always a bit nuts? Our cats go out every night, and I have no idea where they go. They're cats....

Gosh all the people on the thread telling OP to ‘be kind’. You’d think hardly anyone on mumsnet had a job requiring them to wake up at, say, 6am and maybe drive an hour to work. You know, the sort of normal thing people do in order to pay bills.

I’d be livid if a neighbour knocked on my door at 2.30am because of her cat. Utterly livid.

Nope, not being woken up at 2:30am over a bloody cat.

YANBU op.