Woman Threatens to Take Neighbor's Outdoor Cat to the Pound, Sparks Debate

Two neighbors are at war, and it's all because of a cat. On July 5, 2023, a woman took to the popular "AITA" subreddit to share the drama between her and her neighbor's feline (that the neighbor doesn't even care about, btw).

The original poster, who goes by the handle u/poggyrs, revealed that she threatened to take her neighbor's cat to the pound. Wait, why? Read on for more details. Plus, stick around to hear what the internet has to say!

"Just over a week ago, my husband & I purchased our dream home in a small, wooded neighborhood," she explained, adding that during their first night in their new house, they woke up to their cat "screaming at the window, tail fluffed up" because another cat was outside.

The OP revealed that a few days later, she found a dead blue jay in her backyard. She assumed this was a stray, so she caught the cat and took her to the vet, only to find out the kitty had a chip linking her to the OP's next-door neighbor's house. When the OP brought the cat, Sadie, back home, the owners were "not relieved" because she's an outdoor cat.

The OP explained to her neighbor that Sadie killed a bird in her backyard and requested they put her on a leash when outside because it's the law in their county. The neighbor told the OP she couldn't prove Sadie killed the bird, adding that the leash idea is "ridiculous."

"I asked her to please keep her cat indoors if she is unable to keep her off our property," the OP wrote, noting that the neighbor rejected the idea. "So I elaborated, saying that I will continue leaving out the humane trap on our porch, and she can pick up her cat at the pound when she wanders in again."

In the end, the neighbor told the OP to "f--- off" and slammed the door in her face.

The OP said her husband and friends think the neighbor was out of line, but another neighbor approached the couple and asked if they were "the a------- who just moved in." Ugh, ouch!

Despite the purpose of the "AITA" subreddit — to deem someone the wrongdoer — fellow Redditors determined that everyone sucks in this situation (and we can't help but agree).

One person agreed that it's "irresponsible to have 'outdoor cats'" because it's "bad for the environment, disrespectful to your neighbors, and unsafe for the cat." However, this Reddit user noted that in some areas, "outdoor cats are very much baked into the culture."

"It sounds as if you are new to this community and didn't really bother to get to know your neighbors or ask questions about local norms before you went in imposing your personal values on everyone else," the Redditor added. "It's also not cool to waste your local animal shelter’s resources when you know full well where this cat belongs."

Another user said they "have mixed feelings," claiming that while "cats are an invasive species and shouldn't be left to wander around the neighborhood unchecked," the OP went too far by threatening to take Sadie to the pound.

"A lot of people don't even know about how bad cats are for the ecosystem ... you approached her in an unreasonably hostile way," the Redditor continued. "However, if it is the law in your county to have cats on leashes then she should be following that. But the way you approached the situation was unnecessarily hostile and unkind."

Some told the OP to choose her battles wisely as this is one that's not worth the time or energy, while others deemed the OP an a------ for threatening to take her neighbor's cat to the pound.

Speaking of, the OP updated her viral post and informed the Reddit community that she never intended to have Sadie put down; she simply wanted to force her neighbor to have to pick her cat up and "learn her lesson."

"I see now that it's an easy mistake to make ... if someone insinuated they were going to put down my cat, of course, I'd be upset!" the OP wrote. "I'm going to do what a commenter suggested — buy one of those rainbow collars that warn birds for her, bring her cookies and apologize for the miscommunication."