Cat faeces - can I ask owner to come and clear it up?

[HungryHippo11]

There is a new black and white cat in our neighbourhood, I've seen it in our garden once our twice.
We went away for a week and I've come back to find piles of cat shit in the space between our car and bins, covered in flies. Obviously cat has found a nice quiet spot to do his business.
We have a neighbour Facebook page, so I can probably find out who the cat belongs to. WIBU to request that they come and clean up the crap? And is there a way to prevent it happening? Luckily it driveway is a little away from the house so at least its not right by my front door.

[LemonFantaGin]

Did you see the cat do it?

If not, then how can you blame the cat and not another roaming cat or a fox?

[DawnFawn]

...

[Quickchangeartiste]

You cannot be sure it was that cat. But you could certainly post on the FB page that you see an increase in cat poo in your garden, and ask for tips on keeping the cats away.
Passive aggressive maybe, but it would drive me nuts.

[HurryUpAndWait23]

You can't prove it's their cat.

[eurochick]

Cats usually bury their shit. It would be unusual for them to do it on a hard surface. It's more likely to be a fox.

[HungryHippo11]

Haha OK fair enough.
I'm pretty sure it's that cat as its the only cat I've ever seen in the neighbourhood. Plus its only appeared in the last couple of weeks and the poo appeared at the same time. It would be a very large coincidence.

Any suggestions how to deter the cat from doing this all the time please?

[rookiemere]

Unfortunately you just clean it up, otherwise you'll look a bit unhinged.Buy some cat repellent gel from Amazon which should stop it.
Agree with you though blinking annoying that cats just go where they want and their owners shrug their shoulders .

[Dizzy1234]

I'm another one for no, pick it up.
I have this with neighbours cats, poo in my flower beds and in the gravel on my drive, really disgusting and irritating but I buy doggy poo bags and pick it up. I put concentrated lemon juice in a spray bottle and spray where I find it, it puts them off for a while, they are definitely winning the war

[HungryHippo11]

@eurochick

Cats usually bury their shit. It would be unusual for them to do it on a hard surface. It's more likely to be a fox.

Thats interesting. I didn't think a fox would come back to the same spot over and over again.

Its not just one or two, more like 10 or more piles of poo.

It's gravel so I thought maybe they thought it was like a litter tray.

[HasaDigaEebowai]

not unless you want to be known as the unhinged person in the neighbourhood.

Move the cat waste and move on.

[VaguelyInteresting]

Oh I completely empathise. I don’t have a cat but pretty much every neighbour does, and the amount of cat shit in my garden and outside my gate in by the bin is extraordinary.

Drives me fucking mad. I know which ones do it and where they live, so when I walk past if by happy chance I see cat in garden and door/window open, I talk to the cat, quite loudly, and say something like

“Hello! Are you in your own garden today? Not coming to do poo in mine? That’s considerate of you.”

I dont expect owners to do anything about it, but it gives me a small sense of satisfaction to at least bring it to their attention .

Aware this makes me sound mad. But I have a garden about 20feet by 20feet & in one week picked up a dozen shits from my border. I’m over it.

[AngeloMysterioso]

What’s unhinged about not wanting to pick up someone else’s pet’s shit?

[tookindforowngood]

Im having the same issues in my garden, next doors cat going all over it and making it impossible to let my 3 year old out without having to 'minesweep' the garden first.
Tried the gel crystals, within 2 hours of them being down and h garden freshly cut a package was left .
Next is a water pistol followed by an automatic motion detected water sprayer ( £22 on amazon).

[RoseAndRose]

You could try cleaning the area with Jeyes fluid.

[Hopeisallineed]

I think it’s unlikely a cat would shit on gravel, snd that sounds like a lot of poo ! But you could try putting down orange peel or strong smelling aromatherapy oils as they don’t like the smell, peppermint or citrus works. Dilute it in a spray and apply liberally!

[HasaDigaEebowai]

What’s unhinged about not wanting to pick up someone else’s pet’s shit?

Err the fact that it’s a fucking cat, cats wander, you can’t control them, the OP isn’t even sure that it’s cat poo and she certainly isn’t sure that its a particular cat.

If someone came to me with the request, I would assume they were joking because it’s ridiculous and there is absolutely no need to make everything in life a drama.

[OnlyMsLonely]

Don't be ridiculous! Cats can wander miles at night, how would you even know it's a local cat? As it happens my own cat does this in MY garden (picks a spot) so I know how annoying it is - but if my neighbour came to me to ask me to 'control' my cat or clean up after her I'd laugh. Ever wondered where the term 'it's like herding cats' comes from ?

In terms of a deterrent - coffee grounds works for me - she hates the smell.

[Pottedpalm]

I have never known a cat to poo without at least attempting to bury it. Pooh on the lawn or patio is more likely to be a fox or a dog. Maybe keep watch; if the animal has been using that spot so regularly, it will be back.
We had an intruder cat who would creep through the cat flap every evening for his supper ( watched by our own cat, with mournful expression) but he never used the garden as a toilet.

[iwishiwasonhol]

I dont think you can ask them ,but i understand your pain, next doors cat likes to poo in my garden and they dont attempt to cover it up ,thought cats were clean animals really makes me want to vom cleaning it up, im also like the above poster who talks to the cat telling it not to poo in my garden when the owners are in the garden

[CornishTiger]

Please don’t use Jeyes fluid it can really harm the cat and other wildlife.

[CornishTiger]

I also don’t think it’s the cat. They hate hard surfaces and gravel to do their business and unlikely to return to same spot.

[Bluebellsinparadise]

Absolutely not. Owners cannot control their cats. They’re not dogs!

[thedarkling]

That's more likely to be a fox. They certainly do come back, we had one that did one just outside our front door every night. Look up deterrents.

[tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz]

So maybe picking up pile upon pile of cat crap is indeed "no drama". It's highly fucking unpleasant though especially knowing there will be more tomorrow. A little empathy wouldn't go amiss.

I feel your pain OP. And cats don't always bury it. I've a pebbled front and have several stinking stacks daily to dispose of.