Neighbor complaining about cat noise

[Soledad]

Last night my downstairs neighbor complained about the noise of cat paws running back and forth.

Bettie and Boo LOVE to chase each other. Boo is no lightweight, so this is a legitimate complaint. But I have no idea how to stop them!!!

For now, I've placed Bettie in the bathroom at night. We are going to get more rugs to hopefully dull the sound, but are there any real ways of stopping the cats from this noisy play?

I'm so crushed. The last thing I want is for the neighbor to stir up trouble and to be ordered to give up the cats (which I won't). :( :(

[ScantyNebula]

:( I feel your pain .. I am in the same position - only my neighbour hasn't complained YET. For me, it is impossible to separate them because they will claw up the carpet trying to get at each other and will keep us up all night!

One thing you can try is feeding them twice a day .. morning and night .. so at night feed them before you go to bed and hopefully they will be ready for a long night's rest after eating. And also try and play with them a while before you go to bed to tire them out.

You can try it .. I have too ... It doesn't really work for me thought - I don't know what it is with my two! They will not get along well, they don't snuggle, all they want to do is wrestle and bite each other!

[emily_the_spoiled]

I know that there have been posts on this issue before. If I remember correctly a couple of the suggestions were to feed them right before going to bed (since cats will sleep immediately after eating). The other option was to have a long active play session before going to bed (at a reasonable hour) and this will help decrease the issue of the "running herd".

Besides some of this will just calm down as they get older. But good luck!!

[Soledad]

I feed them at night and in the morning as it is. :(

This lady seems VERY upset and I don't doubt that she will go to management soon. I totally understand that it must SUCK to hear two animals chasing after each other above you, but I'm at a loss as to how to stop it.

I guess my only real solution is to keep Bettie in the bathroom at night. The problem with this is that Boo will not stop meowing for her and then WE get no sleep. Argh.

This is really the worst time for this to be happening.:( :(

[moosmom]

Soledad,

I can TOTALLY relate to what is happening to you!!!

When I lived in CT, I lived on the second floor. My neighbor downstairs was a miserable b$%^# when it came to my cats as well as any regular, everday noise I made. I'm not a party person, nor do I play my stereo loud (the music I listen to is piano, classical and stuff like that, unlike her 16 y.o. daughter who listens to Eminem).

She was relentless too. She'd bang on the walls at all hours of the night. At the time I had 6 cats, Casey (RB 2002) was no lightweight either. Indoor cats have to release energy somehow.

Well, this lady was would go to my landlord's house and complain, leave nasty notes, come to my apt and rip me a new a-hole. I offered to give her a room side piece of carpeting (she had no carpeting in her apt, only hardwood floors). I got a nasty note back from her saying it's not the acoustics in her apartment but MY lack of sensitivity to her. What a bunch of bull!!! SHe said I purposely instigated my cats to make noise at 3 a.m. and I played my stereo loud at that time as well. I worked nights for God's sake!! I'm not about to sit up till 3 a.m. just to crank my stereo up to piss her off. One time she banged on the wall at 3 p.m. cuz the cover to the litter box hit the wall as I was cleaning it!!

I tried everything to keep my cats from jumping and running. Nothing helped. She was just plain miserable. Her daughter said "I would like to be able to sleep till at LEAST 10 a.m.!!"

Once I found out I was getting the hell outta there, I made their lives even worse than they thought I could. I would purposely vacuumed the bedroom over her daughter's room at 7:30 a.m. I slammed doors, drawers, cranked up the stereo. I figured she ain't heard NOTHIN yet!!! :mad: :mad:

My landlord had just about had it with her too. She harassed the hell out of him.

I now live in a nice quiet 1200 sq. ft. apartment with NO ONE under me. My cats can run, jump and do whatever they please without some a-hole complaining over every little noise that's made.

I hope you can work it out with your neighbor. Mine was hopeless.

[ScantyNebula]

Originally posted by Soledad

I guess my only real solution is to keep Bettie in the bathroom at night. The problem with this is that Boo will not stop meowing for her and then WE get no sleep. Argh.


I know! Toby will tear the carpet, Meow like crazy and will not stop until Lily is out of the room. .. its hard I know...I hope my neighbour doesn't mind too much because I really like the place I'm in right now ...

I really have no advice cause I have the same problem .. I wish there was an easy answer. They should make kitty sleeping pills! LOL

[Karen]

Would a nice thick pad underneath the carpet muffle the noise for her somewhat? And, of course, wearing them out some before bedtime!

[catlover4ever]

My suggestion would actually make a little noise at first with tiring them out. One of my kids favorite toys is a toy called DA BIRD. I got it from Drs. Foster and Smith. it is a feather tied to the end of a pole and when it flies through the air it sounds just like a bird flapping it's wings. After a 10 minute play session with this toy they are plum tuckered out and sleep all through the night.

[catmandu]

I had trouble too in the one apartment that I was first living in , when Smokey , Orange Blossom were making noise. they wer Big Toms and occasionally would scrap. that was noisy so eventually i got a place in a boarding house where they wer welcome as they were ace mousers. It is a shame that cats are night creatures and we are day people!

[Randi]

I think a carpet would make a really big difference. ;) Locking them in the bathroom won't solve the problem, I'm sure. Your neighbor should be happy you don't have 2-3 small children, they'd make far more noise!

I hope you find a solution. Good luck!! :)

[Uabassoon]

I'm thankful I've made good friends with my downstairs neighbor. One night I saw him and as I was walking up the stairs and he asked me "who won" and I was like what are you talking about? Then he said "weren't you and your friend wrestling last night" I started to laugh, I guess Tibby and Corkscrew can be pretty loud. I'm just so very thankful that my neighbor doesn't mind too much, because I'm sure with my tile floor everything sounds so much louder.

[gini]

Soledad, is it possible to get to know this woman a bit better? You haven't lived there too long. My hope is that she likes cats. Could you invite her to your home to meet your cats - say how sorry you are they are bothering her......etc. etc. Then say you haven't had the time to invest in carpets, but as soon as you do you are sure that will cut down on the noise?

I guess I was thinking that honey goes so much further than vinegar.

Two cats - how much noise could they make? It seems a bit picky to me - but you may find out she is the neighborhood complainer. I can't imagine that your cats are running around for hours at a time.

I would be upset too.

[Uabassoon]

Two cats - how much noise could they make? It seems a bit picky to me - but you may find out she is the neighborhood complainer

They can be louder than you can imagine. A few nights ago I was going out with my downstairs neighbor and I was in his apartment waiting for him to get ready and I could hear Tibby and Corkscrew wrestling, now I can understand why he confused it for two people wrestling. But I agree with Gini see if you can make friends with her. I know my downstairs neighbor was a little bothered by the noise until I made friends with him. He really softened up after the first time he met my cats, he saw Corkscrew and just fell in love with him. He said he was a very manly cat and he really liked him. And now occasionaly he's even mentioned that when he gets enough money he'd be interested in getting a cat himself.

I agree completely with Gini here!! Sometimes it is far much better to be nice and kind, and talk about things, instead of going into defence...! Is NOT the easiest way of course, so I wish you all the luck!!

[Cataholic]

As to how much noise two cats can make...it is alot...I had this problem with Tex when I lived in Mass. The guy was nice about it, but, he did tell me how noisy it was. I got into the habit of removing my shoes as soon as I walked in the door..at least I could eliminate my noise.

Soledad- I think the best thing to do is talk to the lady. Let her see your problem. Everyone is more tolerant of people they like. I would try the carpet runners, and in time, they will settle down....maybe in a year! Good luck.

Maybe you can begin looking for a new apartment?

[gini]

Or, another idea is to get your cats some big furry slippers - (sorry just had to do this).:D

Originally posted by gini
Or, another idea is to get your cats some big furry slippers - (sorry just had to do this).:D
LOL LOL LOL!!!!

even better: get that lady some ear-plugs!!:p :p

[kimlovescats]

There have been lots of good ideas here ... the only additional thing I could think of is maybe requesting to transfer to a downstairs apartment? Some complexes will charge a transfer fee, but it may be worth it? GOOD LUCK!!!;)

[Russian Blue]

Actually I was the one complaining 2 years ago about the noise problem in the condo we owned. It was really bad, and the owner above us didn't believe the noise until he came down to listen one night. He still did anything about it and we had to put official complaints in to the condo board of directors.

After 8 complaints they legally made him put in carpet, but we were moving out at that point. He had two cats and they sounded like racehorses going back and forth! I'm a major animal lover, but when it comes to my sanity and sleeplessness that's where I draw the line.

Do you rent your apartment or own it? If you own it, you can install carpet. If you rent, maybe you and the landlord can pay 50/50 for installation?

Good luck and I hope something can be worked out. It's not fun being on either side of this problem!

;)

[Kirsten]

I'm so sorry to hear this, what a difficult situation! :(

I know playing cats can be very loud and you can hear it very well downstairs when everything's quiet. When I'm at my neighbor's place downstairs, I can also hear Lily and Luna playing, but luckily I'm friends with my neighbors and they don't complain. I would have a problem if the do!

Seperating them during the night can't be a permanent solution - and I'm sure it breaks your heart to do that - so I hope these rugs will make it better.

Hope you can work things out with your neighbor!

Kirsten

[Soledad]

Well, I've just bought more carpets. They're kind of gross and plain, but if they keep Bettie with me, bring them on!! :)

I rent and I'm on a year long lease (so we can't go anywhere anytime soon). There are three floors and you pay more to be on a top floor because you have decided not to deal with the issue of noise. I chose to live on the top floor after some nasty bouts with my upstairs neighbors in NZ.

This building was built in the 1940s and was done up. Their biggest selling point are the nicely polished hardwood floors and there is no way they will install carpet. The lease requires that 70% of the floor is covered with a rug. My new rugs should meet that requirement.

I know how crap it is to have a noisy upstairs neighbor. I've even had to deal with crazy kittens above me. I don't hate this lady, I just hope she gives me a chance. There is nothing worse than constant, interrupted sleep.

However, I hope she will cooperate with me and not work against me and try to get my cats removed. I know that seems extreme, but after her pissiness last night I don't totally doubt that it's beyond the realm of possibility.

[Kirsten]

I hope so, too! I can understand how worried you are! Maybe you can invite her and let her play with your kitties, once she knows them personally, she might not insist on you giving them away.

I also have hardwood here on the floor which looks great but it sure doesn't dull any sounds. I also prefer living on the top floor because I find sounds coming from above very disturbing, and whenever my landlords' have visitors (they have a guest room in the attic above) I don't get any sleep because they are up all night and walk around - and I swear that's worse than running cats!

Kirsten

[jenluckenbach]

I was just recently wondering how Bettie Blue and Boo were doing, I am sorry that they are causing a bit of ruckus. Since I do not know the layout of the appartments I do not know if this would work, but is there a place that BOTH cats can stay for the night that is NOT above the down stairs neighbor's bedroom. This way they will not pine for each other, they can possibly still play a bit, but most of their running would NOT be over her head. ( I know, this is a lot to hope for)

[ScantyNebula]

If they are anything like my two, they will not settle for staying in a small room by themselves .. they will dig the floor up first! lol

[slick]

Oh boy, I really can't offer any advice. Hearing your stories, I see how lucky I really am. As I have older cats, when I go to bed, they go to bed and don't make any noise until around 7am when I don't get up in time for work or when Speckles decides to play with her mousie from Catmandu at 5am. But I also bought my condo in a cement highrise so that helps. I was on the second floor of a wooden building before and had 3 toddlers above me. Arrrghhhh, try that on for size. I'm sure the rugs will help, if not maybe you could introduce your neighbour to ww.drugs.com....HA HA....just kidding. Good luck!

[Fox-Gal]

Originally posted by jenluckenbach
is there a place that BOTH cats can stay for the night that is NOT above the down stairs neighbor's bedroom. This way they will not pine for each other, they can possibly still play a bit, but most of their running would NOT be over her head. ( I know, this is a lot to hope for)

I had to do that years ago, when I rented. I put my 2 guys in the back room at the opposite end of the people downstairs, bedroom. I had a brownstone apt so it too had the hard woodfloors. I got a huge area rug and then put 2 big comforters on top of that at night to help muffle the sound. They said it did help. I also tied some cat toys from the ceiling above the bed so a lot of their playing was on the bed in that room.

I know how hard it is.....you'll try anything to make it work.

I complement you on your understanding of the problem. So many people would just have the attitude that they shouldn't have moved into a place that takes pets if they don't like it. Hopefully they will realize that and that you do understand, so they will give you some time to work the problem out.

Good luck to you.

[Miss Meow]

At this point, I would think about dropping a little note under her door, apologising about the noise, explaining that the cats are young and new to the joy of hardwood floors, but you're sure they'll settle down, and you've bought new rugs, hope it helps. Sorry, sorry, sorry etc. It might help your neighbour realise that the cats aren't causing trouble intentionally.

Hopefully she'll learn to tolerate a bit of a ruckus during the day and early evening, and Boo and Bettie learn to sleep during the night :) The cats will probably settle a bit as they mature and as cooler weather sets in. Good luck :)

[moosmom]

I forgot to mention in my post that I lived in the exact apartment that my bitchy neighbor lived in when I first moved into the complex. It had no carpeting in it, only hardwood floors. Just before I signed my lease, my landlord told me there was a woman and two young children who lived upstairs. Against my better judgment, I signed a one year lease when he ASSURED me that both children go to bed early. "There's a sucker born every minute!!" Not only did they NOT go to bed early, this lady never let her kids play outside in the courtyard. It was always inside. The noise was unbearable. I literally spent 75% of my time away from my apartment till it was time to do to bed. Then she brought in her boyfriend with a pitbull that they tied out on the railing in the hallway!! I called the cops numerous times (at the advice of my landlord). They finally moved out and I moved upstairs into that apartment, thinking the problem had been solved. I swore I would never again live under anyone again. Now that I think about it, almost every single apartment I've lived in had crappy neighbors, both upstairs and downstairs. One was a drunk (downstairs) who played the same Andy Williams record over and over again. Another one was a crack dealer (downstairs) who cranked up his stereo and even went as far as knocking on my door at 2 a.m., in his bathrobe to ask to borrow sugar. I had to get a restraining order against him.

Soledad, I really hope you can work things out with your neighbor. My situation was a hopeless from the very beginning. I hope yours will get better.

[Soledad]

Nicole,

I beat you to it! Last night after she came up the second time I wrote (what I thought to be) a very nice apologetic note. The gist of it was something like this:

"I am very sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you. We are now keeping the cat in the bathroom at night and are going to purchase more rugs first thing tomorrow. We hope that this will alleviate the problem.

I have had the experience of having an inconsiderate upstairs neighbor, and the last thing I wish to do is become like them. My hope is that we can resolve this issue without bitterness or the assistance of the management.

Please feel free to come upstairs if you have any questions or comments."

Turns out that the lady was so mad after the second time she came up that she immediately phoned management and left a nasty message saying that I said "there's nothing I can do." I did not say that, what I said was "I don't know what else I can do just right now" and as I turned around she was already down the stairs.

I understand being enraged, I just hope that when she woke up this morning she understood that I was not trying to make her life hell.

Management called me this afternoon. Again it was suggested that I "put the cat in a cage." When I told her that this was not possible because the cat would need access to its litter she told me I "didn't know cats" and that "it must be a mean cat" should it be forced to defecate/urinate in the kennel.:rolleyes: :mad:

But I stayed polite and sweet and told her all I was doing and that I was aware of the issue and doing my best. I also slipped in that the way this building is, every tenant has to allow for some noise, though I will do my best not to inconvenience anyone.

We'll see how it goes. The worst part is I hadn't gotten around to registering Bettie with management, so technically I only have one cat. You are allowed two pets, so I didn't think it was an issue and I was going to do it eventually. But now I'm afraid they'll reject me if I try to register since there has been a complaint. :( :(

So I guess Bettie is contraband for a while.

[moosmom]

Soledad,

It sounds like you've got the same kind of situation that I had. No amount of apologizing is going to do any good. It also sounds like she hates or is not very fond of cats.

People have to live their lives, and yes there is going to be noise, be it an accidentally banging of a door, something dropping on the floor, etc. That's to be expected. I'm wasn't about to walk on eggshells just to please this miserable person and neither should you. As far as the "contraband kitty", register her immediately.

I feel really bad for your situation and can relate to it. Maybe her lease will be up before yours and she'll move out.

[Soledad]

Do you think they'll let me register her just after they've received a complaint??:confused:

[Soledad]

UPDATE:

Just spoke to the neighbor. I went down to give her my phone number so she can call us instead of having to get dressed and knock on the door. She was very nice and had lots of smiles for me, appreciated my note and had a two page letter waiting for me. :eek:

I'm hopeful that this can be a non-issue eventually. Something makes me still a little anxious (like the date on her letter - something very legal about that) but I think she's happy to know that I'm not TRYING to be mean.

So, some progress.


Now...a scheme to get my girlbaby registered....:confused: :confused:

[Cinder & Smoke]

Originally posted by Soledad
... But now I'm afraid they'll reject me if I
try to register since there has been a complaint. :( :(

So I guess Bettie is contraband for a while.

Now...a scheme to get my girlbaby registered....

Suggestion:

Don't be TOO quick to dash to the office to fill out the "registration"
forms for #2!!

IF you get "caught" with #2 - I'd play the old
not MY cat game...
a) she's a FOSTER Kitty - just living in "temporarily".
b) "just found her outside" (yesterday)??
c) You Heartless Heathens - I just "rescued" her from outside you office!
.. She was half-starved & crying for attention!

Or the Less Than Bright Blonde approach...
OMG! *I* didn't know that EACH Kitty had to be registered! :p

[gini]

Soledad, this sounds like good news. Take it slow and easy....a day at a time. I mean I wouldn't exactly rush to bake her cookies or something:D

If it was me, I think I would wait a bit before registering your new kitty. Let the embers cool a tad. Since she just complained to management, it would be tough for you to approach them right away with another kitty.

Good luck though - you sure are trying.

[Miss Meow]

Oh my god, I was in a panic after reading your next update, but thank goodness for this last one! I hope things keep improving.

The management person seems slightly jaded and cynical. Sounds like she needs a change of career :rolleyes:

[Soledad]

Yeah, I'm gonna take it slow.

I don't think it's a good idea to register the cat. Thankfully, the landlady is a bit of a kook so I'm hoping she'll forget about this by the time I do decide to bring it up.

The lady downstairs referred to herself as an animal lover who has no qualms about the pets. Just the noise. She says it sounds like a bowling ball over head. I can almost hear it myself. :o

She also expressed concern over keeping the cat in the bathroom. So, I don't think she's cold hearted or anything.

And I AM trying hard. Because I love Bettie Blue so much and the thought of not having her with me is just...heartbreaking.:( :(

P.S. Gini- the husband suggested doing what you PMed me about. ;)

[carole]

Phew soledad, this sounds like it might well be resolved, a tricky situation.

It appear's that your neighbour is an animal lover, so that is good new's, believe me I can understand what it is like having sleep deprivation for almost a year due to disgusting neighbour's who had parties nearly every night of the week, It almost drove me insane.

I think your approach was sensible, and gosh it is hard to keep kitties from making noise, and you are doing your best, I really hope this all work's out for you , or maybe you will just have to come on back to lil ole NZ lol.

But seriously I hope you can work something out amicable to both parties.:)