The owners of outside cats know that their furry friend can and will range far and wide. Like mischievous little murder fairies, a cat can get almost anywhere it sets its mind to and has a penchant for chaos, knocking things over and just being a weird little guy.

One cat owner turned to the internet for advice when they glanced through a neighbor’s window and came face-to-face with their own pet. The story took a turn for the worse when the neighbors returned and decided to bill OP for the damages caused by their feline. Netizens were in disagreement over who was ultimately responsible. So who really is at fault when a cat breaks things?

Trying to control where a cat roams is like trying to tame the wind

Image credits: Stephen Hanafin (not the actual photo)

One netizen ended up asking the internet if they were in the wrong after their cat broke into a neighbor’s home

Image credits: Underway In Ireland (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Catsos

Image credits: Daviddje (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Catsos

Cats have the physical abilities and curiosity to get in trouble on a daily basis

Owning a cat means taking part in the time-honored tradition of having a pet that generally feels superior to you. Brought in as rat-catchers for the ancient Egyptians, they quickly ended up being revered as holy. The Romans found similar utility for keeping cats around, though they were more of a dog culture. However, there is evidence that the ancient Romans originally kept weasels, and then transitioned to cats, as they were possibly better companions.

So when OP looked through that neighbor’s window and saw their own cat peering back, this was just an echo of the surprise cat owners have been going through for thousands of years. OP does acknowledge that this is a strangely common occurrence, as their cat seems to be a bit of a bandit that raids other’s homes in search of food or out of general curiosity. The term “cat burglar” makes a lot of sense to any long-time cat owner, who often discovers that a feline can get just about anywhere, though often struggles to exit many locations.

The original cat burglars got their name from the ability to scale walls and buildings that people originally thought were safe from theft. Of course, what humans learned to do, cats were achieving way earlier, hence the name. While it might seem pejorative to associate cats with burglary, they are just as adept at theft as the most famous robbers in the world. If you leave some leftovers out, your pet cat will no doubt sample your cooking, hair ties, socks, and really anything else that strikes their fancy. And if given space to roam, they will quickly begin looting everything and anything they can get their furry little mitts on.

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Image credits: Inge Wallumrød (not the actual photo)

Pet owners are generally the ones responsible for their furry friends

Of course, in all this chaos, there is a question about who is ultimately responsible when a cat actually breaks something. Conventional wisdom would suggest that the owner has to take the blame, as we can’t really hold a cat responsible, since they don’t really understand our laws. But an argument can be made that a cat is just a sort of force of nature, force majeure as it’s often called in insurance. Take OP’s cat for example. They clearly live in an area where it’s okay for a cat to roam. While they often can be content just at home, felines do like space to explore and be active. Keeping them cooped up would lead to a decrease in quality of life, which might be cruel to the animal.

At the same time, this cat is breaking into multiple people’s homes. In most cases, we can assume, people are not exactly thrilled to see a strange cat lounging around and eating their food. We don’t know if the cat is misbehaving in other ways, but one can assume that its fur ends up everywhere. While there isn’t exactly a blanket rule on what to do in this situation, we can take a look at how insurance companies approach this. Because a homeowner is ultimately held responsible, many insurance policies now include clauses covering the damage caused by a person’s pet to a third party. Given OP’s annoyance at the “bill” they received, it appears that they do not have this kind of insurance.

Some experts suggest thinking about a pet as a young child. While it’s true that at a certain age, even minors can be held responsible, a pet can never be thought to really understand laws, rules, and behavioral norms. As a result, OP does not have a lot of ground to stand on when “resisting” the bill presented by the neighbors, although the sum does appear to be a bit ridiculous. While the letter of the law would put OP as the one responsible, they do mention that these particular neighbors also have cats. Cat owners should have a bit of understanding towards other cat owners. Who knows, there might be a time when the neighbor’s cat ends up causing some havoc as well. And if you want to read more about people who had to go the extra mile for a cat, check out Bored Panda’s article on a woman who kicked her fiancé’s pregnant daughter out of her house after she attempted to get rid of her cat.

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Image credits: Tranmautritam (not the actual photo)

Most readers wondered how the cat even got in and if you can really hold a cat accountable

Some thought OP was at fault since it was ultimately their cat

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Others saw the damages as way too high

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