I trapped my neighbors cat and now they are angered...how do I correct this?

Question

For the past 4 months, my neighbors cat has wandered the neighborhood...and EVERY MORNING I come out to my car and see a fresh set of paw prints all over my car!!!

Each and every morning, I discover that this cat spent the evening walking all over my car. I can't imagine the havoc this is causing my paint job.

I've talked to them several times, and asked them to keep their cat indoors...all to no avail.

So, I went out and purchased a squirrel trap (the guy told me this is a humane way to trap cats)...I put some tuna fish in the trap and low and behold I found the cat in there yesterday morning.

I knocked on the neighbors door w/ the trap in hand, but they weren't home. So I left the trap w/ detailed instructions on how to open it on their doorstep so when they got home they could get their cat out.

Well, they were ANGERED with me to the point where they threatened physical violence. I didn't want it to come to this, so how can I correct this situation?

Answer 1

Everybody is siding with you, but I feel differently. I know how you feel, but you actually have THEIR CAT in a TRAP! If the table was turned, how would you feel if your pet was in a trap? Of course, if you had mentioned it to them before, this is where I personally would have corrected this(I would have brough the cat inside and kept it there, if I knew it made you mad).. But it seems unreasonable for you to have done this....flat out rude if you ask me. I would have warned them again, Look, if this cat is over here again, I will trap it and take it to the Humane Society. But that's about it. I'm not sure but you may have violated some laws. If they only THREATENED you with physical violence, you got off light. People are sensetive about their pets. I would explain to them in a very nice way they can't be letting their cat do whatever, that you're fed up. I will give you props for not hurting it though, but still, bad move!

Answer 2

I'm not sure I would have left the cat in the trap for them to find whenever they got home. I'm not fond of cats by any stretch of the imagination, but my first thought while reading your story was that the cat could have been in that trap all day, going hungry and thirsty. Even though you caught it with food, that would not have settled me if I was the owner. I presume you were on your way to leave when you went out and found the cat in the trap. I would have let the cat free at that point.

Cat's are generally not conducive to being contained as outdoor cats in the same manner as a dog. With dogs, you can put a fence up to keep your dog in your own yard. Thus, this is a problem with living around other people. Some people have cats as pets. Some of those cats are outdoor cats. They are going to roam as they please.

I would apologize for going to such an extreme measure (you are pandering to them at this point, even if you don't believe it was extreme), but also explain that you are very frustrated by the cat being on your car every night. (As an outdoor cat, it probably has not been declawed, and yes, those claws could scratch your paint job.) Ask for their help. Make it sound like you really need and want their assistance and cat-insight. Do they have any ideas of how to keep the cat off your car during the night?

If they still won't cooperate or cool down, I wouldn't pursue it any further through them. If you live in an apartment, you could file a complaint with the management office. If it is a home-ownership neighborhood, there might be a home owners association (HOA)you could file a complaint with. (Most neighborhoods that have an HOA will also have rules and regulations about pets being on a leash.) The next step I would try would be the city. There is probably a city ordinance on this. If not, they should be able to point you in a better direction.

Oh, and I would get pictures of not only the paw prints all over your car, but if possible, pictures of the actual cat on your car... just in case.

Answer 3

Well this is a sensitive issue because really, there are no laws regarding cats. They can wander wherever they like and there's not really much you can do about it. Depending where you live, the cat could be in danger being outdoors, so you could call the humane society, but it is rather hard to catch a cat (without a trap) and they would end up getting the cat back anyway after paying a hefty bail out fine, which would make them even MORE pissed off. I think what you did is wrong. I mean lets face it, cat's paw prints really don't harm a car!!! If your car is getting ruined over a few paw prints that simply wipe off, then your paint job is not very good and needs a new coat anyway to protect it.
Now the damage is already done with the neighbors. They have every right to be pissed off...I would be too if someone trapped my cat and left it sitting there all day!! However, they do not have the right to threaten you with physical violence. If I were you, I would try to let thier anger die down. They may just forget about the incident after they cool off. If they don't, or they threaten you again, then call the police and report them. First tell them that you would like to forget the incident. That you are protective of your car, but made a mistake in trapping the cat. An apology goes a long way in resolving matters. They may accept your apology, they may not, but at least you tried and it's worth a try if you really fear for your safety.

Answer 4

You were out of line to trap their cat -it's not the animal's fault, it doesn't know any better! You left the animal sitting on their doorstep in a trap, while you didn't know what time they'd come home -did it have food & water, and protection from either rain or sun? What if a lose dog or other cat had threatened it and it was there in the small cage? Leaving it like that is animal abuse! I can understand you're mad at the neighbors for being selfish -my cat goes out too but if any of my neighbors had a complaint I'd work with them on how to solve the situation. However you DO NOT take it out on the animal, there's NO excuse for that, it was only doing whatever animals do with no sense or right or wrong.

I must also say I'm a bit surprised to hear a cat does actual damage to a car; I've been around cats for most of my life, none of them de-clawed (it's illegal where I live, and when I lived in the US all our -many- cats had their claws too). None of them ever did damage to a car... they weren't angels; flower beds, couches and carpet did sometimes get scratched up but a car??? But okay say it's so... there are cat repellant odors, they dislike lemon for instance. If you'd done *any* Googling on cat scratching you'd have come up with lemon spray to try on your car, that might work. Or alu foil, or double-sided tape, they hate the feel of that and once they've figured out that your car isn't so comfy, you can leave it off and more than likely the cat won't return. Why didn't you ask a question how to keep the cat off your car before you went to such an action that's so abusive towards the cat & antagonising towards the neighbors?

Answer 5

sometimes you can't change what you've done, can't take it back. You've labeled yourself already, and if anything should happen to that cat then you'll be singled out. Next time think before you do anything. If the cat is left wandering then check the laws in your community. Usually dogs must be leashed but cats are allowed to wander by law. If there is a law that says both cats and dogs need to be restrained when outdoors then instead of acting you need to call your city/county (whoever put that law into effect and complain about the cat). But, if the law says the cat can wander, then it's up to you to build yourself a garage, cover your car at night, or move. You can apologize to your neighbor, but it will be only in time if you prove yourself to be worthy of their trust again, i.e. if you go out and buy a cover for your vehicle that will show your sincerity.

Answer 6

First, accept that this is not the way to react to cats paw prints on the car !!!!

then tell them you were frustrated, and just did not know how to handle this

a cat may be just a problem to you, but you just cat napped (kidnapped) a member of that family !!!

return the cat, with a gift certificate to a pet store, and a sincere apology.

now, to offer aid to the issue of paw prints, a hood cover should help. however, if your paint is that fragile, perhaps a "clear coat" is in order. then a good quality waxing may make it harder to stay on the car, and provide extra protection.

it is a bet the cat is there for the heat, and view.maybe a cat post w/carpeted "pad" will provide warmth and the view they like.

a cat will climb to a higher warm place if it can

remember, it is against the law to kidnap, and CATNAP is the same thing.

Answer 7

Sorry this happened.

Can you park your car in the garage, on the street, 4-5 houses away from your home? Maybe then the cat won't go on your car.
Can you put a car cover or plastic over it or cat repellant?

Well, you did talk to them several times, and that was nice of you, so there was warning.

Answer 8

We have a neighbor than comes over often saying our cat does the same thing. We aren't the only ones that have a cat, or one that looks the same. Anyway, I don't know why his wife doesn't come over during the day and mention it in a kind manner. He comes stomping over all p/o'd, waves down my daughter as she drives down the street. Our poor cat doesn't go out that often. But, I see your side too. Apologize for going to such extreme measures, ask them nicely to try to keep the cat in at night. Can't keep the poor thing in all the time.

Answer 9

You should get the local PD involved regarding the violence threat. Cats don't stay in their yards. we all know that..but you do have a right to keep the cats off your car etc.. Just don't hurt them.. Personally I would have spoke to the neighbors before purchasing the traps.. If you do have damage to your car or paint job.. you might have some recourse if you can prove it was there cat and there cat only that damaged the paint job. That might be difficult to prove.

Answer 10

They sound so stupid, they need to keep their cat in check. I think you should go out and get some human traps and trap their @sses. You could always put on some muddy boots and hop on top of their car and walk around on it and leave prints.