Cats killed neighbours budgie!

[ethal80]

My nextdoor neighbour has a budgie whom he thinks the world of, he's a very tame bird and well trained.
Neighbour also has a dog flap installed...
I got a text early this morning asking if my cats were in. (I don't have a cat flap) I said that they'd been in all night, (which I thought they had) just been fed and let them out at 7am.
He told me his birdcage was open and budgie was gone...no windows open or no way of escape.
I helped search for the budgie...no luck. Later on today, I asked my son to brush our longhaired cat...he discovered blue feathers in his fur!! Unbeknown to me, my son had let him out and back in again at 4am this morning! He's killed the bird hasn't he? He's been known to go in the house as he gets along with the neighbours dog so isn't frightened.
Neighbour has been out thus morning, installed a motion camera, gone out and low and behold....my cat has again entered the property! He's sent me the footage of my cat at the cage today along with threatening messages to me and him saying that he's going to kill my f**King cats!
He's a big drinker and is out at the pub now with his brother and I just know that when they return, they're going to kick off. I'm so scared and feel sick at the thought of him harming my cats. I really think he's capable of it too as he hates cats anyway. I've got them both indoors now and filled the litter tray. Will try and keep them indoors until he's calmed down.
Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading if you've got this far but I just don't know what to do??

Cat proof your garden. Make sure your cat can’t get out until it’s done. If he’s drunk and nasty he could hurt your cat. But surely a cat didn’t let the budgie out of the cage??

How can you cat proof your garden? I thought they just roamed?

OP if you think he’s going to come round and drunkenly kick off can you have someone with you?

Just to add...he's aware that my cat goes in uninvited so why not put the lock on the dog flap at night? His dog doesn't even use it. Plus, he's obviously left the cage door unlocked. I know it's nature for the cat to catch a bird if given the opportunity and I feel so bad about it all but is it kind of his own fault? He adored that bird 🐦

terrible thing for all concerned. Poor budgie. Keep your cats indoors, or make them a cat proof run in the garden

@ethal80 you have done nothing wrong here!

Cats are classed as wild animals, they roam. He has caused the issue by allowing the cats access to the house by not locking the dog door and for not keeping the budgie in its cage.

If you are frightened of this man when drunk I would contact the non-emergency number for the police and advise them if his threats. This will mean should he try anything it will flag as a higher priority for attendance.

Protect your self and your son!

Sorry, but I think it is possible that your cat did kill the budgie - the blue feathers are kind of conclusive. How the cat got the cage open is just a red herring.

All you can do is apologise profusely, say you understand why he’s so upset - it was such a great little bird and irreplaceable. He will be as devastated as anyone who loses a favourite pet.
If you show some empathy he might calm down a bit. You could offer to replace the budgie but that’s probably not what he wants to hear right now.

I expect he loved his budgie as much as you love your cats. I expect you would be more careful about your cats entering his house if his dog attacked your cats. I would keep the cats in, they are at risk if they enter his house again.

I highly doubt that the police are going to 'prioritise' rushing over to save OP's cat. OP maybe. OP. You technically didn't do anything wrong. But you can't stop the neighbour from harming your cat in his house.

I say that as a cat owner. Apologise, maybe offer to pay for a new budgie but really if you want to keep your cats safe the only way is to restrict them to your property!

For God’s sake don’t tell him that it’s kind of his own fault. It’s not. Presumably he has a dog flap so the dog can go in and out when it pleases. That’s his right.

I did try and say exactly this to him but there was no reasoning with him. He's aware that my cat goes in unannounced through the flap and he's obviously not locked the cage. Thankyou for response

It’s nature - cats kill birds. Your cat was following its natural instinct. It’s tragic. Think how you would feel if his dog was able to come through your cat flap and had killed your cat in the night. That’s how he feels.

If a budgie can get itself out of a cage I'm sure a cat would have no problem getting one out. In fact, it almost happened to a bird of mine once.

I think you need to completely cat proof your garden and keep your cats on until you do so. The threats from your neighbor aren't on, but he must be incredibly upset.

I've got my partner here, just scared that if he comes over later kicking off that my partner will retaliate. I just don't want it to escalate. Thankyou 😊

Yes, he's had the budgie for sure!
I tried apologising and tried explaining that the problem was the dog flap and cage being open but there was no reasoning with him. Understanbly, he's furious but the threats that he's sent to me are bang out of order. Thankyou 😊

You blamed him for your cat's actions OP. Might be true, but are you really surprised that it inflamed the situation? Your apology would've sounded completely fake ("I'm sorry, but....!") Would you genuinely think that you were being honest if you were him?

Again. He shouldn't have made threats. But you can't protect your cats from being hurt by him. You sound a bit wet too, saying you'll 'try' to keep your cats indoors.

No matter how much your cats screech, scratch and whine to be let outdoors you have to just keep them in until this is resolved. And apologise properly!

The problem was your son letting the cat out overnight. Why did he think that was a good idea?

Dogs kill birds too, in case he didn’t realise. Moronic behaviour to leave a bird cage open with a dog about

Poor budgie, I would keep your cat indoors though so he doesn't come to any harm from your neighbour.

Sadly, those aren’t the problems. It’s his house; he can have dog flaps and open cages if he wants to. Your cat is your responsibility.

I say that as someone who really doesn’t agree with breeding birds as pets, too.

I would possibly phone the non- urgent police number and tell them what has happened, and that threats have been made.

I’d also stop telling him that it’s his fault- it’s not.

Tell him you know how much he loved his bird, and how devastated you are that this has happened. Tell him that although it won’t bring his bird back, whenever he’s ready, you’d like to buy him a new one.

Offer to replace his dog flap with an automatic one that keeps your cat out.

I don't see this as your fault. He obviously knows your cat comes in as he immediately thought of your cat so he should have locked the cage.
Can you continue to deny and say your cat was indoors all night (like you thought).
In any event I think your cats need to be kept indoors at least until you can cat proof your garden (there's special fences etc) because there has to be a risk that he will kill your cat unfortunately.
I don't think you should offer to replace the budgie btw as that's (a) like a confession and (b) tad insensitive.

Horrible. Poor budgie. Keep that thing indoors.

That's so sad. But he should know that if he's going to have the kid of flap that he does, cats will use it. He should have the correct type fitted which opens from the inside but not the outside. Or which is only compatible with a chip fitted to his dog.
It's no one's 'fault' but as well know, cats kill birds and he allows cats to access his property.

It’s his fault but you’re not going to get anywhere telling him that. I think he’s an irresponsible idiot. Any cat could have got in - while it sounds like it was yours in this case it won’t be the only one roaming the neighbourhood.
I have a catflap, my neighbour’s cat came in and pissed in my house. So I changed the cat flap to one operated by my cats’ microchips.

Kind* of

Poor budgie. Your neighbour is obviously very upset. I'd apologise and say what a lovely little budgie it was and you are very angry with your cat and will be keeping it in for a while. Let him think you are punishing your cat. Don't mention the open cage or dog flap because that will enrage him. I'd be keeping the cat in for at least a month to give this man time to calm down.