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Jinn · 11-20-2005, 10:08 AM

No matter the problem, its always easiest to kill the problem at the source. I'm sure your neighbor isn't INTENTIONALLY letting this cat wreak havoc on your house and yard, but doesn't really know how / isn't motivated to do anything about it. Unless you show a person why they should care, they definitely won't. Go over there and have a polite conversation with her. This doesn't mean accusing her or her cat of anything, or getting angry in the least. Take a ripped up screen over there, and show her -- NICELY -- what the cat has done. Tell her exactly what you've told us.. you can't afford to keep replacing plants, screens, etc with a cat around. Likewise, you've tried to keep the cat off your property but it keeps coming back. Ask HER to propose a solution. This gets her involved, and puts her into your shoes for a few moments.

If, after this .. and I must stress again.. POLITE conversation is over, the cat keeps returning to your yard, call Animal Control. You tried the mature response of speaking to her beforehand, and she failed to rectify the situation. Not only does this give you ground to stand on with Animal Control, but she'll recognize it as her failure to act, not you being an "asshole neighbor." You can even apologize to her for having her cat taken away, but stress that it wasnt appropriate for it to be damaging YOUR property.

Cat taken away, civility continues, and neighbor might even respect you a little more for trying to deal with them first.. that's how I'd deal with it. Anyone with an arm strong enough to hold a gun can shoot a cat. Anyone who can speak can get angry and complain about the situation. Only A MATURE INDIVIDUAL can get the problem solved with civil discourse. Take it as you will..

11-20-2005, 10:08 AM	#10 (permalink)
Jinn Lover - Protector - Teacher Location: Seattle, WA	No matter the problem, its always easiest to kill the problem at the source. I'm sure your neighbor isn't INTENTIONALLY letting this cat wreak havoc on your house and yard, but doesn't really know how / isn't motivated to do anything about it. Unless you show a person why they should care, they definitely won't. Go over there and have a polite conversation with her. This doesn't mean accusing her or her cat of anything, or getting angry in the least. Take a ripped up screen over there, and show her -- NICELY -- what the cat has done. Tell her exactly what you've told us.. you can't afford to keep replacing plants, screens, etc with a cat around. Likewise, you've tried to keep the cat off your property but it keeps coming back. Ask HER to propose a solution. This gets her involved, and puts her into your shoes for a few moments. If, after this .. and I must stress again.. POLITE conversation is over, the cat keeps returning to your yard, call Animal Control. You tried the mature response of speaking to her beforehand, and she failed to rectify the situation. Not only does this give you ground to stand on with Animal Control, but she'll recognize it as her failure to act, not you being an "asshole neighbor." You can even apologize to her for having her cat taken away, but stress that it wasnt appropriate for it to be damaging YOUR property. Cat taken away, civility continues, and neighbor might even respect you a little more for trying to deal with them first.. that's how I'd deal with it. Anyone with an arm strong enough to hold a gun can shoot a cat. Anyone who can speak can get angry and complain about the situation. Only A MATURE INDIVIDUAL can get the problem solved with civil discourse. Take it as you will.. __________________ "I'm typing on a computer of science, which is being sent by science wires to a little science server where you can access it. I'm not typing on a computer of philosophy or religion or whatever other thing you think can be used to understand the universe because they're a poor substitute in the role of understanding the universe which exists independent from ourselves." - Willravel Last edited by Jinn; 11-20-2005 at 10:11 AM..