mind? what mind?

A thought to live by:

Someone who is about to admonish another must realize within himself five qualities before doing so [that he may be able to say], thus: "In due season will I speak, not out of season. In truth I will speak, not in falsehood. Gently will I speak, not harshly. To his profit will I speak, not to his loss. With kindly intent will I speak, not in anger."

- "Vinaya Pitaka," translated by F.S. Woodward

Over the weekend I received a letter complaining about my cats going into whoever wrote the letter’s yard.  While I found it quite humorous, the letter was “anonymous”, angry, insulting, and quite juvenile in nature.  Whoever sent this letter has obviously never met me.  I would like to think that if he (or she) had ever actually met me, and spoke with me for more than a minute, they would realize that I am a very patient and understanding kind of fellow, not easily angered or insulted, and in general easy to talk with – especially if they had a complaint.

Yes, my two cats spend most of their “awake” time outside, and yes, I know that they stalk through our neighbors’ yards.  By the same token, quite a few of the animals in the neighborhood frequent my yards as well.  It would be helpful to know if the real problem that our “anonymous” neighbor has with my cats is just their’ dislike for cats in general, if it’s just that these particular cats live here with me, or if it’s a more serious issue like children being attacked, dogs being intimidated, cat-fights in their yard, or what?

When I received the letter I immediately jumped to the conclusion that I knew exactly who wrote it.  One of my neighbors – one of those that I have never actually met – strikes me, along with his wife, as not particularly nice.  My wife and kids all say they’re both jerks, but again, I’ve not met either of them.  I’ve heard him speak angrily with other neighbors; he’s yelled and sworn at me (for what I still can only guess); he yells at his children very often for things that, from an outside observer’s view-point, seem to be the little things that children often do.  Again, never having met either of these neighbors, I’ve gotten the impression that they are angry, unhappy people.

After thinking about this letter for a couple of days now, I realize that it was unfair of me to jump to conclusions about who sent the letter.  It seems unlikely to me that the letter could have been written by anyone else, but it is possible.

So my question is – what approach do I take?

1. Ignore it?  I fear for the safety of the cats.
2. Go and talk with the neighbor that I think most likely to have written the letter?  What if I’m wrong, and make that particular situation worse?
3. Reply to this person in a letter?
4. Discuss the issue of my cats with all of my neighbors?
5. Send a letter to all of my neighbors, inviting them to let me know if they see the cats as a problem?

If I do speak with anyone or write any letters, it certainly won’t be with an angry or confrontational tone, as the letter that I received was.  That just isn’t my “style”.  My cats are both “outside” cats, and keeping them locked in the house is going to be difficult, if not cruel.  If I do need to do this, it would be best if it be done during the winter, when it is cold and snowy and the cats don’t want to go out anyway.  By spring, although they’ll both have cabin fever, it will be much easier to keep them inside.

The envelope was addressed to “resident”, and there was no return address, except that it came from someone in our town.  The letter, of course, was not signed.  Here’s the actual text of the letter that I received; read it and then share your’ opinion with me (parental advisory here):

DEAR FAT FUCK AND HIS WIFE:

KEEP YOUR MANGY CATS IN YOUR OWN YARD AND OUT OF OURS OR WE’LL HAVE THEM IMPOUNDED!

IN THE MEAN TIME, WHY NOT CONSIDER MOVING YOUR WHITE TRASH FAT ASS SOMEWHERE ELSE!

NONE OF YOUR NEIGHBORS LIKE YOU!!!!!

Sounds like it was written by some kid in Jr. High, doesn’t it?  Yes, it was written with all caps (the equivalent of SHOUTING).  Hey, I’m not that fat, am I?  The author must not know what “mange” is; my cats do not have mange, although the one with long hair gets mats faster than I can keep up with and has to get shaved twice a year. 

Move?  I would love to move, but it’s not a reasonable request, especially since only one of my neighbors has been living here longer than me, and the rest have not been in the neighborhood half as long.

None of my neighbors like me?  (“So there!  Take that!”)  Even if it were true, it really does not matter to me, or change anything.  With my severe social phobias, I’ve not really gotten to know any of them.

So tell me – how would you handle this?