'Quiet Couple' Get Noise Complaint From Neighbor, Then They Learn the Truth

Newsweek

7 hours ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content.
A couple living in an apartment complex were baffled when their downstairs neighbor accused them of repeatedly dropping weights on the floor.
Abby Haimson, 28, a nanny and grad student living in Charleston, South Carolina, was baffled when her neighbor began issuing noise complaints to her and her partner, insisting they could constantly hear a noise that sounded like a weight being dropped on the floor.
As she told Newsweek: "We're a really quiet couple, so when the neighbor complaints started, we were totally confused.
"We actually joked that the apartment might be haunted because we knew they weren't making it up, but we also couldn't figure out what could possibly sound like a giant weight dropping on the floor!"
Cleo the Bengal cat walks across the door, before dropping down to the floor.
Cleo the Bengal cat walks across the door, before dropping down to the floor.
TikTok @haimabby
But as the couple debated how to tackle the situation, they eventually discovered the source of the noise—their Bengal cat, Cleo.
Haimson shared the story and the moment they caught Cleo red-handed to her TikTok account, @haimabby, on June 16, where it has been liked close to 125,000 times.
In the video, Haimson lies in bed, recording Cleo who has taken a high-up position, walking across the top of the bedroom door.
Suddenly, Cleo appears to get bored of being up high, and jumps from the door to the floor, where she lands with a thud—and the door swings behind her, slamming against the wall.
Haimson wrote over the clip: "We were getting complaints that it sounded like a giant weight was being dropped on the floor. We were so confused until...we realized this is the noise they were talking about."
Haimson added in the caption: "Mystery solved. If you are my downstairs neighbor, I am so sorry! It was just Cleo being an absolute menace."
She described catching Cleo "in the act" to Newsweek, and how it "all finally made sense" when they found her "launching herself off the top of the door."
"We haven't spoken to our neighbors since figuring it out, but we definitely plan to let them know—and maybe show them the video as proof!"
The moment they caught Cleo red-handed was shared to TikTok, where it amassed close to 125,000 likes.
The moment they caught Cleo red-handed was shared to TikTok, where it amassed close to 125,000 likes.
@haimabby
Bengal cats are known to be highly active and inquisitive, and require a high level of enrichment to keep from being bored, according to Purina. The breed will play for hours, and are more interested in exploring and getting up to mischief than curling up on your lap.
TikTok users loved Haimson's clip, viewing it close to 900,000 times, as one commenter admitted they were in a similar predicament with their downstairs neighbor accusing them of running "back and forth all night falling over into the bathroom," but revealed "it's my cats chasing each other."
"We lived in an apt for a short time before our house was ready and I could have sworn the upstairs neighbors were bowling every night," another said. "I figured they must have some kind of animals with night time zoomies."
"I can only imagine what my 20LB cat landing on the floor out of his cat tree sounds like to our downstairs neighbors," another wrote, with one adding: "omg haha my Bengal does the same thing."
And as one put it: "I would not care AT ALL as long as I was welcome to come over and play with the cat."
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