A UK resident has shared her exasperation after her upstairs neighbour, whose own late-night video gaming sessions cause significant disturbance, had the audacity to file a formal noise complaint against her.
The double standard of a disruptive neighbour
The woman explained on Reddit that her neighbour's habit of playing video games with a subwoofer until 2am was so intense it vibrated her cutlery and silverware. She described the nightly noise as a major disruption to her peace.
Her astonishment peaked when she discovered this same neighbour had lodged a complaint with the authorities. He accused her of creating loud, thumping noises from her flat during the night.
The feline culprit behind the 'thuds'
In a twist that left online commenters incredulous, the woman revealed the source of the alleged nuisance. The thuds were not from her stomping around, but from her cat simply jumping off the furniture.
She insisted the sounds were merely her pet moving about its own home, likely heading for food or water. To her, this was a minor, everyday occurrence that hardly warranted an official grievance, especially coming from someone causing a much greater disturbance.
A sassy note that silenced the complaint
Deciding to fight fire with fire, the downstairs tenant penned a direct note to her neighbour. She slid it under his door, calling out the hypocrisy of his actions.
"Hey! Filing a noise complaint about my cat is wild, but if you want to trade silence windows, I'm open to negotiate," she wrote. The tactic proved instantly effective. "Suddenly, he decided everything was fine," she reported.
The story, shared on Reddit's 'Neighbours from Hell' forum, sparked a lively debate. Many users were shocked that anyone would complain about a cat's movements. One commenter joked the pet should "be on a diet", while others defended the potential noisiness of felines.
Another cat owner explained that small cats can sometimes create surprisingly loud noises, especially when heard from a different floor. However, the consensus was clear: the neighbour's own 2am bass-boosted gaming sessions represented a far greater nuisance, making his complaint deeply ironic.
The incident highlights the frequent tensions in shared housing and the importance of self-awareness before reporting others. As one user wryly summarised, the neighbour failed to recognise his own apartment was causing "bass-boosted earthquakes" while targeting a cat's tiny parkour.
