'They joke about how she loves us and seems like she thinks she lives here': Homeowner frustrated as neighbor's outdoor cat claims their yard, upsets their furmily, and turns their property into her own kingdom

Author image for Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown • Writer and Editor
Sep 25, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

A homeowner has found themselves in the middle of an unexpected catastrophe, thanks to their neighbor's outdoor feline. This adventurous kitty has turned their property into her personal playground… and their pets are not amused.

Every morning, she scales fences to hiss at the family dog until he barks like he's lost his marbles (and he normally never barks). The indoor cats, who just want to enjoy a little sunrise lounging, are now met with an angry paw-banging visitor on the window glass. So much for peaceful morning sunbeams!

But the chaos doesn't stop there. The neighbor's cat has scared off all the birds, left "presents" in the garden and even under the carport, and regularly invades the cat run to terrorize the resident felines. It's clear this kitty has claimed the whole yard as her kingdom.

Meanwhile, the neighbors laugh it off, insisting their cat just loves them. For the homeowner, though, this daily dose of cattitude is anything but charming and it's turning home sweet home into furustration central.

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  • 01
    'I hate the thought of being on bad terms with neighbours'
    via Irik Bikmukhametov / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Hello, my neighbours outdoor cat has been upsetting my indoor cats and dogs, to the point where I'm now being woken by her every morning. Some of the things happening:
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 03
    1. She will climb over the fence bordering both our properties, onto my own side-access fence then sitting there (on my property) and hissing at my dog until he barks like a maniac (my dog virtually never ever varks, except when this happens and it's happening several times a day now).
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 04
    2. My two indoor cats sit inside on our bedroom and living room window sills in the morning and wait for the sunrise and warmth it brings. These are the only two windows in the house that get morning sunshine.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 05
    Cheezburger Image 10557656576
    via ChristieBechler / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 06
    The neighbour cat now gets on the outside window sill and beats the crop out of my glass windows with her paws, banging and hissing and terrifying my cats. I get up multiple times to yell at her to go away.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 07
    3. She k led a bird and dismantled it on our front lawn. She has scared all the birds away from my property which s ks because I adore watching them.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 08
    4. She uses my front garden bed at my door step exclusively as her kitty litter. It now stinks around my house. Recently when it was rainy fir weeks she started pooping on the concrete ground under my car port at my car door.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 09
    5. She comes up to the side of MY cats outdoor cat run, in MY side yard (she scales the 6 ft fence to get in there) and hisses and shows intense aggression toward my cats. They sometimes get too scared to be out there because of her.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 10
    Cheezburger Image 10557656832
    via Petra Richli / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 11
    They are nice people but IMO irresponsible for leaving their cat outside to annoy us. I've mentioned it light heartedly to them before and they joke about how she loves us and seems like she thinks she lives here. But they've done nothing. I wish they'd keep her inside.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 12
    I know I might have to have a more firm word with them but we both only bought our houses a year ago and I hate the thought of being on bad terms with neighbours.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 13
    So I am looking exclusively for strategies and devices and whatever else I can do to keep their cat off my property. Without having to keep my cats away from enjoying my windows, and with still being able to let my dog. enjoy his back yard. Is there anything I can use or do to keep this cat away myself? Thanks.
    via Ok-Company4574
  • 14
    tearoom442 I would try motion-activated sprinklers. I saw a solar- powered one at Was-Mart for around 35 bucks. It's a common problem, and you can probably find a lot more suggestions if you Google it.
    via tearoom442

  • A little splash of water can work wonders. Cats usually hate it, so a quick spritz or motion-activated sprinkler might be enough to deter her from making those daily, unwanted visits.

  • 15
    Altruistic CableCar Check what laws and regulations you have in your area specifically. A friend of mine lived in a place where she could report the neighbour so they got a fine every single time their cat wrecked havoc in my friend's yard. She got cameras and just kept making reports, every single time. After like ten reports
    via AltruisticCableCar
  • 16
    and fines the neighbour stopped letting the cat out. And just recently I saw an owner on fb who had been reported and fined after their cat kept wandering into other people's houses (that owner was too much of a to think anything other than that whoever reported them was evil though, so that's probably not going to change).
    via AltruisticCableCar
  • 17
    I don't know what it looks like where you are, but it's not a bad idea to investigate.
    via AltruisticCableCar

  • If talking to the neighbors doesn’t work and the cat keeps upsetting your pets and wrecking your yard, you could consider calling animal control as a last resort to handle things properly. 

  • 18
    publius-esquire Definitely try to talk to them first if they seem at all reasonable and you feel safe doing so. Tell them exactly what you've written in this post and ask if they can stop letting the cat out early in the morning at least.
    via publius-esquire
  • 19
    Creative-Mousse Motion-activated sprinklers work reasonably well to keep cats away. Some people have had success with citrus peels or commercial cat-repellent granules to prevent cats pees and pooping. Block the fence with plastic spikes or roller bars.
    via Creative-Mousse
  • 20
    Definitely mention your dog barking, they may even be annoyed because he's suddenly started barking and don't know that their own cat is the cause. Then you can go through the other suggestions here if the behavior continues.
    via publius-esquire

  • Best course of action is to talk to your neighbors directly. Maybe you can come to an agreement or compromise that keeps peace on both sides and makes life easier for everyone.

  • 21
    NeedCatsMeow Call animal control. Usually a fine will entice people to properly care for their animals.
    via NeedCatsMeow

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neighbors drama pets advice cat owners feline pawrents Cats
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