Who Is Easier to Contend With...The Cat or the Neighbour? (Long)

[Knitterly]

I used to know someone with an escapist cat.  The final solution was to put him on a lead with a harness.  They would leave him in the harness most of the time so they didn't have to fight to get it on and off.  In the morning before leaving for work (weather permitting), they would clip him to the lead and let him out. 
Make sure it's a nice long lead (they used a clothesline attached to their deck so he had the full run of the backyard). 

If it works, it should solve the problem of Sam's escaping escapades and train him to the area that is your home, as well as fixing the problem of what the neighbours might think.

We have a lot of chipped cats in the neighbourhood who roam around.  There are two that I've almost hit several times driving late at night.  Even driving slowing, you can knock an animal and break a leg or other limb.

[Secret]

It would be nice if you could harness him and the next time the neigbhour says something you can now be 100% sure it was not Sam doing any of the stuff.  You can tell your neighbour that you've made sam a 100% indoor cat and is harnessed on a leash at all times when outside.

[WillyNilly]

So long as you aren't breaking any rules/laws, I say just politely ignore your neighbor. Humans don't own the earth (although plenty like to act like we do) your cat as every right to go out and live his life like any other creature. Your neighbor likes to complain, its what she does, and it has no bearing on you or your cat, its who she is.

[Miss Tickle]

Sounds like your problem is with your mother not your neighbour.

[EllenS]

Sorry, i am not a pet owner so I do not have any strong opinions about controlling the pet.  It sounds to me like you are trying your best and doing a reasonable job.

Your neighbor is a whackadoo.  If you have your car parked outside, SOMETHING is going to walk on it.  If it is not somebody's cat, it will be a squirrel, or a possum, or a racoon.  Who do you call to complain about that?

Same thing about the burrowing.  Does she not realize that cats are not burrowing animals?  They do not have a digging instinct like dogs.  If your cat was "burrowing" under her house, it was chasing a mouse or a chipmunk, which was the real cause of the damage.  Who is she going to complain to about the rodents?

Whackadoo.  Ignore her.

[Twik]

What is there about cat footprints on a windscreen that cannot be fixed with a squirt of washer fluid and a wipe?  Doesn't sound worth the effort to complain, really.

And yes, I've never seen a cat burrow. Maybe chase something into its burrow, but just digging for the fun of it? Not a cat thing.

[Sharnita]

Sorry, i am not a pet owner so I do not have any strong opinions about controlling the pet.  It sounds to me like you are trying your best and doing a reasonable job.

Your neighbor is a whackadoo.  If you have your car parked outside, SOMETHING is going to walk on it.  If it is not somebody's cat, it will be a squirrel, or a possum, or a racoon.  Who do you call to complain about that?

Same thing about the burrowing.  Does she not realize that cats are not burrowing animals?  They do not have a digging instinct like dogs.  If your cat was "burrowing" under her house, it was chasing a mouse or a chipmunk, which was the real cause of the damage.  Who is she going to complain to about the rodents?

Whackadoo.  Ignore her.

Well, if you are having a problem with a racoon, possum or squirrel yuo might live trap it and relocate or call an exterminator.  There are protocols for hunting those animals as well so I don't know that OP would want Sam viewed in the same light as they are viewed.

[MamaMootz]

What if you could make Sam an enclosed outdoor area in your yard? Kind of like a kitty "campground"? He gets to go outside and you don't have to worry about where he gets to - google some outdoor cat enclosures and see if that might work for you - you could even set it up so he has his own "door" to get out and in - and he may stop trying to escape if he has the option to go out whenever he wants to.

[TootsNYC]

Pet owners better control what their animsls do outside. If a big dog atstacked Sam (or a small child) would the response be to shrug it off and sy "Hey, the dog was outside, can't expect the owners to control what it does there."

If I were Sam's owner, yes, actually that would be my reaction.

In fact, I *was* Sam's owner, as a child (and his name really was Sam), and he used to come home all scratched and bitten from getting into fights with whoever.

And while I'd have been upset if he'd died (and I was upset when he did die, and he died younger than indoor cats do), I'd have also known that he had the life he wanted.

[Sharnita]

Pet owners better control what their animsls do outside. If a big dog atstacked Sam (or a small child) would the response be to shrug it off and sy "Hey, the dog was outside, can't expect the owners to control what it does there."

If I were Sam's owner, yes, actually that would be my reaction.

In fact, I *was* Sam's owner, as a child (and his name really was Sam), and he used to come home all scratched and bitten from getting into fights with whoever.

And while I'd have been upset if he'd died (and I was upset when he did die, and he died younger than indoor cats do), I'd have also known that he had the life he wanted.

And if your child or grandchild got mauled by a dog?  Would you hold the dog's owner reponsible or would you shrug it off because when animals are outside, owners can't control what they do? 

[TootsNYC]

No, because I would expect an owner to leash a dog that is vicious toward *people.*

Animals have different dynamics of interaction.

And I guess I'm wrong in the "shrug it off" idea because AFTER a dog indicated that it was *vicious* toward other animals, I would expect the owner to keep it from being unleashed.

However, cats don't generally maul people unprompted. Dogs sometimes do; I've never really heard of a cat attacking someone out of the blue. I've seldom heard of a cat attacking someone, period. (When I was a kid, one of ours did, semi-provoked, and we put him down immediately.)

[turnip]

I can't tell you how much time I've spend cleaning cat poo out of my yard, or how much money and time I've spent installing 'cat stoppers' thoughtout my yard to keep them away.  ( the cat stoppers do work, but require frequent battery replacements or elaborate cording to get an electric outlet to them )

So in my opinion, outdoor cats are rude - full stop.   Their feces is known to carry bacteria harmful to humans, and no owner can guarantee what they are doing when they are out of doors.   I know many people let their cats outside anyway, but I don't see how etiquette could ever support it.

[EllenS]

  If your cat was "burrowing" under her house, it was chasing a mouse or a chipmunk, which was the real cause of the damage.  Who is she going to complain to about the rodents?

Well, if you are having a problem with a racoon, possum or squirrel yuo might live trap it and relocate or call an exterminator.  There are protocols for hunting those animals as well so I don't know that OP would want Sam viewed in the same light as they are viewed.

Sharnita, what i meant was, it seems to me that the neighbor just likes to complain, so she has picked OP and Sam as the targets, rather than thinking about what the real problem is. 

[Hmmmmm]

So long as you aren't breaking any rules/laws, I say just politely ignore your neighbor. Humans don't own the earth (although plenty like to act like we do) your cat as every right to go out and live his life like any other creature. Your neighbor likes to complain, its what she does, and it has no bearing on you or your cat, its who she is.

This.  If your city/county/neighborhood doesn't have restrictions on cats being out unleashed, then I don't believe you are obligated to address her concerns. I agree with others that since you alerted her to your cat being out, she is going to blame everything on your cat. Buy her a bottle of cat repellent and suggest she use it to keep all cats away from her yard.

[MindsEye]

I wonder how this thread would be different if it had been started by the OP's neighbor, saying that she didn't like the fact that her neighbor's cat kept coming into her yard, and asking what she could do about it...?

I think that we would have advised her to approach her neighbor directly about the problem, and that if it continued, that she should involve animal control.

OP, your neighbor has approached you about Sam.  And now the ball is in your court.  Find out what the laws in your area are.  And then decide how you want to respond.

You asked who is easier to contend with... your cat or your neighbor?  In my opinion it is easier to deal with the cat, who you have complete control over, than with a neighbor who you say you already have issues with and who might decide to cause you more problems. 

At this point I don't think that it is so much about which of you is "right" as it is about making sure that Sam is safe.

If this neighbor is really such a "wackaloon" then I would worry that she might put out poison or something.