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??

Apologise profusely
Do not blame him

I can't believe anyone has read the OP and think she should bend over backwards to the neighbour and shouldn't be surprised at his reaction. The man sounds like a fucking psycho- to be avoided at all costs.

Loads of companies will cat proof your garden. They can either have a catio or special fencing they can't get over.

Keep your cats inside until you get a catio.

MN can be so funny sometimes. Alternative OP:

Hi I'm an unpredictable, angry man who is prone to threats of violence. Especially after a good drink ;)
I want to keep birds in my house but I have a cat flap. The flap is redundant for my own uses but hey, there you go, it's there. Not secure or like I said, tailored to my own needs. It works perfectly well as far as cat flaps go.
AIBU to expect all the local cat owners and stray cats to just know that I fail to safeguard my own pets and therefore avoid my property?
AIBU to think all the local cats should be held hostage in their own homes and have their way of lives curtailed and their very nature quashed because I cba to set up my home as adequate for my pets, in particular my bird? I cba to safeguard it, you see. Why should I? When alllllllll my neighbours and the cats they do or don't belong to should change Their ways?

Hmmm.

But the guy’s door flap isn’t redundant. It’s for his dog. Which is his pet. Which lives in his home. It’s not just a random feature he’s installed.

Mine will take something out of the cat flap again if hey are being pursued by a) me who wants to free whatever they have brought in or b) the dog. Who wants to finish off whatever they have caught. My cats sometimes consume all and other times leave a little left for everyone to enjoy 🤮 so there may or may not be evidence left.

My husband catproofed our garden and because of the shape of our garden it was quite easy to do. It was mainly to stop the little shits with catapults getting out cat when he was sunbathing as he wasn't a roamer but it gave us peace of mind as he got older that other cats couldn't get him either. He wasn't much of a hunter either but a couple of birds must have landed in his mouth when he yawned.

It annoyed me having to cat proof because of a bunch of yobs but needs must and I'd do it (or build a catio) in OP's situation as well as I'd want to protect my cat. We haven't heard of any injured wildlife for a while so hopefully the little bastards fell into the river and drowned but will keep the cat proofing for our next cat.

I'm not grieving the field mouse I was gifted this week. They aren't endangered.

This would make sense for a wolf animal Lorna fox dating a mouse. There is no sense in a cat killing a mouse. Nobody is grieving, just maybe a bit of acknowledgment of the damage cats cause.

And I'm someone who likes cats, but I wouldn't get one because I wouldn't want to keep it indoors, and I wouldn't want it killing wildlife.

This is a set of circumstances that just unfortunately collided in a horrible result. It's not really any one person's fault. Nobody thought that their individual actions (letting the cat out, having an unlocked dog flap etc) would do any harm. That's what an accident is - a series of seemingly inconsequential actions combining to have an unfortunate outcome.

I would offer to get your neighbour a dog flap that can only be accessed by his dog, because if you are going to own a cat, I do think you have to do everything in your power to not let it negatively impact on other people. The endgame has to be protecting your cat's safety and the best way to do this is to be sincerely apologetic to your neighbour (who loves his pet as much as you love yours) and who has been harmed, even though you didn't do anything purposely damaging. They are your cats and you do have to take ownership of what they do because it's your decision to have them, knowing they are virtually uncontrollable.

Bring sincerely sorry and doing what you can to help, does go a long way to reducing anger in those who've been wronged.

I'm not grieving the field mouse I was gifted this week. They aren't endangered

Said 12 million cat owners.

Are you aware that domestic cats kill over 200 million animal every year?? Does that not mean anything to you??

This is the issue here, its owners selfishly putting the freedom of their non-native pet over the right of another animals right to live. What about the endangered, struggling species that feed on that mouse? They lose another opportunity to eat because your cat killed in mindlessly. Does your cat wear a bell and collar? It’s a basic first step to reduce cats killing wild animals. Cat owners selfishness on this thread is absolutely astounding. The damage cats do is out of control and it’s having significant impact on wildlife. The fact that people can be so blasé because their pets are ‘just being themselves’ is crazy.

It's not factually incorrect at all. Cats can also carry toxoplasmosis - it's why pregnant women are told not to handle cat poo or change litter trays.

It's also why you shouldn't flush animal poo down the loo, as our sewage treatment isn't set up for it.

I have cats and have had them for years and personally don't agree with letting them out to roam - I know that's a really unpopular view on here though

I have three at the moment (all neutered males) and they have access to the entire house as well as a cat-proofed garden. They can be outside, chew grass, roll around in the sun, play, jump and climb to their hearts' content, but they are safe and not a danger to other people's animals or to themselves.

Best of both worlds, IMO.

It's not really anyone's fault. It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances where sadly the budgie has been killed.

Yes he could have secured the dog flap and yes you could keep your cat indoors but sadly what is done can't be changed.

I do think you will now have to be very careful with your cat that he does t retaliate and leave out poison or try and entice the cat in and do away with it.

A very sad situation.

Jesus and I thought a lot of dog lovers/owners were batshit (and I'm a dog owner) but this thread takes the cake.

I cannot believe how many people are like "well it's not the OPs fault, cats will be cats" nobody has this view about dogs and their owners. If my dog was to attack another dog or kill another animal like a cat or a duck (she wouldn't hurt a fly by the way) whose fault would it be? Mine. Nobody would say "well dogs will be dogs" 🤷🏼‍♀️

Why the bloody hell is "cats will cat" a justification for killing wild animals, shitting in peoples garden or entering peoples homes and stealing their food and apparently killing their pets? If your cat is a nuisance then you should cat proof your garden to ensure it's not terrorising other animals and entering/ruining peoples property.

Don't get me started on cat shit. I wouldn't let my dog poo on peoples front garden/driveways and I always pick up my dogs poo on walks because I'm a responsible pet owner, it's seems to be ok though for cats to shit in other gardens. 😡 I had to cat poo patrol my garden before letting my dog out when she was little because it was the only poo she wanted to snack on.

OP I would be absolutely mortified and if I knew my cat was frequently entering other homes then I would have made sure I prevented it from happening by cat proofing the garden. Not just for the safety of other animals but also because I wouldn't want my cat to come to any harm. People can be cruel and if your cat becomes a nuisance to them they could poison it.

I like cats btw, had them growing up but I don't like entitled cat OR dog owners.

Does your cat wear a bell and collar?

Collars are dangerous and it must be tormenting for the cat to have to walk around with a bell around it neck.

It's not really anyone's fault. It's just an unfortunate set of circumstances where sadly the budgie has been killed.

Of course it's someone's fault - the person who allowed their cat to roam with no idea of where it was or what it was doing. If this was a dog who had jumped a wall and got into someone's home, there would be uproar.

He shouldn't have to secure his own dog flap on his own property to stop random cats coming inside his house.

I really hate this attitude of "well, it's just a cat, there's nothing I can do about it".

Well, if OP keeps the cat on her own property, it won't need to be "tormented" with a bell.

Yeah I wouldn't say that to him OP.

You need to keep your cats in and cat proof the garden.

Dogs can't climb fences and will respond to their owner's command. This makes dogs controllable in a way that cats aren't.

I wasn't saying she shouldn't, just pointing out that collars are dangerous 🙄

Imagine if his dog (or even a cat) went into your house and killed your cat. Is that nature? Is that your fault for having a cat flap? Should you not have secured your cat?

Poor guy. I think you need to just keep apologising and staying out his way until he calms down.

You can get quick release collars.

I know that. They don't always quick release though. I take it you've never seen a collar injury (or don't care)?

Dogs can absolutely jump fences and often ignore their owners commands, lol.

Cats are controllable, it's just that controlling them means keeping them inside or cat-proofing your home, not letting them out to do whatever they fancy.