Do anti-cat spikes work?

[Limth]

My neighbour has a new cat. I want to keep him out of my garden.

Do anti-cat spike like these actually work?

I know all about lemons and pepper to stop cats shitting in the garden. But this isn't what I'm after. I want to stop the cat coming in at all.

I'd prefer cat owners to keep their pets in their own garden.

And just how does that work?

"Now Felix, you must stay in this garden and not go in the neighbours, is that clear?"

Felix looks at owner and understands nothing, or if he does, thinks "well you can fuck right off".

You cat proof your garden fence or build a catio instead of expecting your neighbours to do it; and we don't have to put up with your cat shitting in our garden.

You take responsibility for your pet and make sure it never leaves your property.

Thanks for all your messages. I'm not trying to stop the cat shitting in the garden - when I had a serial shitter in my front garden, I found lemons and oranges worked well to deter them.
And no, the serial front garden shitter didn't bury. Even if it did, pretty grim to come across when I'm putting in my bedding plants.

I don't want new cat in the garden full stop.

I already have a dog, that doesn't deter new cat. At all.

And even if every pet owner did this, you would still get wild animals, ferals and strays in your garden. The only solution is a hermetically sealed glass dome over your property to totally isolate yourself from all non-human creatures (and any uninvited humans)

Probably their shit! It’s vile

Of course - and that’s fine , because none of wild/feral/stray animals actually belong to anyone. Cats are domestic animals and whilst I appreciate the ability to put a pet outside for hours on end and let it wander wherever it chooses is the attraction for many cat owners, you shouldn’t be surprised when people take steps to stop them coming into their gardens if their owners won’t.

Oh well if cats bury their poo then there’s no issue then?! 🙄

It doesn’t matter if kids are playing in their own garden, get cat shit on their hands and it goes it in their eyes and causes blindness. As long as no one tries to deter cats coming in (not harm them, just deter them) who cares about the kids….

Presumably if op wanted her garden full of cats she’d get some herself.

This is probably about the trillionth thread on MM pertaining to cats shitting in gardens and yet again we see the same old tired tropes parroted by entitled cat-owners, my favourite being: ”Why single out cats, when hedgehogs/birds/spiders/aphids/worms also shit in your garden ?” 😂

Cat shit stinks to high fucking heaven. It is disgusting to have to clear the garden before my kids can go outside, and to have to play dodge the turd when digging the borders. Cat owners clearly don’t give a damn about other people.

@NotAVampire

Cat owners clearly don’t give a damn about other people.

Agree - new cat's owner told me that new cat will likely try and come into my house. This is, apparently, hilarious 🙄

Felix can do what he wants but if he gets eaten by one of my three sighthounds I will hear no end of bitching about it so I do everything I can to keep cats out.

I have cat deterrents as much for their own safety as for me just not wanting them in my garden and having to deal with my dogs killing someone's cat.

My husband and daughter also feed birds and have cultivated quite a nice little family of corvids and sparrows, we have rescue pigeons and chickens that we'd prefer not to be stressed by the presence of cats. We have land elsewhere that cats can roam on all they like, I just don't want them in my garden. If cat owners can't take responsibility for keeping their own pets safe that's fine, but I will.

Do chickens count as livestock? Do chicken owners have the right to deal with cats in the same manner that sheep farmers can deal with dogs?

My previous utterly vile neighbours objected to my cat and without asking placed spikes all along my fence. My cat trotted along them quite happily so he could sit on their shed roof and throw shade at them. New neighbours took them off as they love cat visits and cuddles. For the record, he uses his litter tray and not the garden.

My objection is that I don't like cats which is why I don't have one, I don't like them shitting in my garden and I spend a lot of money on making my garden look nice and I don't want someone else's scabby feline friend digging up my plants. If I wanted one in my garden I'd buy one.

https://oscillot.uk/

this is about the only thing that works. But possibly a bit pricey if you’ve got a big garden

This looks like a brilliant solution. I'm also having problems with cats coming into my gardens. I find it a massive nuisance and I've been looking for deterrents. But just making it impossible for them to actually get in is a much better solution!

In my previous house my cat regularly came home with his paws ripped to shreds and pouring with blood - if you're happy to inflict pain and suffering on a sentient animal then go ahead. Echo the PPs who pointed out that you are legally responsible for any injury caused by them, you are effectively setting a trap.

@CassandraProphesying That looks great, thank you.

We used to have two cats. One didn't bury his poo. The other was embarrassed (or offended?) by the unburied poo, and used to go into the litter tray after him and bury it herself.

My goodness - after all that you still let your cat roam? I presume you established what was causing these terrible injuries? Obviously you can’t change the external environment but as a pet owner it’s incumbent upon us to keep them safe.

Are you suggesting people just put up with having their gardens littered with unwanted cat shit? We want to be able to enjoy our gardens – our property – without risk of coming into contact with the disgusting mess. Cat owners on Mumsnet seem to take great offence to this idea, as though it is so unbelievable.

Why don't you poison them then? I suppose you'd think that's the owner's fault too?

Nope. My neighbours cats are not bothered by the cat spikes. Nothing keeps them out. They kill the birds dig up my seedings and shit in every fresh flower bed. One comes in my house if I leave the back door open then won't leave and hisses at me when I try shop it out. I HATE THEM

What??? Are you responding to me?