Cat owners

[back2work]

This isn't exactly an AIBU because I know that I am, but I'd like to know why IABU!

We live in a cul-de-sac and one of our neighbours has cats. They are in everyone else's gardens all the time and they will come into the houses too if the doors aren't closed. Yesterday morning one of the cats left a dead mouse on my patio. Yuk!!!
So why is it my job to clear up this sort of thing? Why shouldn't the person who owns the cat do it?

B2W - Simple, get a long electric cable, strip down the plastic to the wire and plug it in, bingo, high voltage electric fence. Connect to a long piece of wire and run all over your garden, porch, drive, bin area etc. Problem solved!

tell neighbour what the cat did in "Oh guess what your cat did" kind of way and then say how it really turns your stomach having to lift things like that, (btw i can lift any sort of shit but i hate dead animals, my cats don't understand this though, they leave about 3 birds a week for me). if neighbour doesn't offer to do it in future, joke about it and say, I'll just call for you next time "ha ha ha". and then suggest they put a bell on the cat. message should be well and truly received.

Coolfonz - electrocution is an option but I won't be taking it! For a start the same neighbours might be unhappy if their (lovely) children were electrocuted. I wouldn't be thrilled if I forgot to switch it off and my children were electrocuted either!

What are you supposing the owners do? Have stern words with the cat?

FWIW back2work I think your being very strange towards cats. Yes I do have cats, two and I can't decide which one of them brought the mouse/pigeon wing/dead bird onto the patio or into the house, so providing that no other cats live within a mile radius of your house, how can you be sure whos cat it was. I know its not yours as you don't have one, but by the time you've been to every cat owner and said did your cat kill this mouse (probably need dental records etc to compare bites) you've disposed of it in the bin.

GET OVER IT!!!!!!

Actually dead mice are one thing and (however this may read I'm not upset) but a dead bird would have me calling estate agents to put the house up for sale!

Cats and dogs are not comparable. Dogs are supposed to be under their owner's control at all times. Cats are not under their owners' control at all times (if any). The law recognises this difference. Anyone who wants to moan, please feel free to set up your own school to educate moggies in whatever you think they should be doing. Or lobby to change the law. And good luck to you.

Cats poo in gardens, birds poo in gardens, foxes, hedgehogs and LOTS of animals poo in gardens. Even worms excrete. None of them is aware that humans have this concept of private property.

Juneybean - read the thread or even the first post... clean it up (is the answer to your question).

Get the cat and sellotape a funny hat to its head so everyone laughs at it.

Edam - are you responding to a different thread? Cats and dogs are not comparable? we are talking about clearing up after a dead mouse left by a cat.

coolfonz

I was actually wondering what sort of claw cutting options there are?

I mentioned dogs - maybe that was my fault?

Thing is, if you neighbour did come and clean up dead wildlife from your terrace, then there would be 'AIBU to wonder why the hell my neighbour was IN MY GARDEN with a dead rat in her hand'.

To be honest what do you expect the woman to do?

You can't keep cats indoors at all times, that's cruel. You can't walk cats on leads. So what's the solution? Shoot all cats?

back2work - did you ask your neighbours if it was OK for you to have children? They might not want noisy babies/children next door - so working on your theory, you should keep them inside with all the doors and windows closed so you don't annoy the neighbours.

MrsC and Lulu brought up the comparison with dogs.

ChippingIn - there seems to be mutual agreement on the subject of progeny as our DC are almost the same age. However they have girls but I have boys who are developing an interest in playing football in the garden. They ave a well tended garden with expensive plants. So when I think about it, there may be some retribution on the horizon!

LOL

but are you really saying that children = cats?
Do your cats call you "mummy"?

edam - I actually hope that the dog that pooed in my drive was not under the owners control at that time even though it was meant to be. Because for me, it's worse if someone was with their dog, let it poo in my drive way and thought it'd be OK to leave it there.

Has the owner got a crystal ball then?

And maybe, rather than bringing up a comparson between cats and dogs, I should brought up the subject of 'neighbourliness' - because I think this it what it comes down to, doesn't it?

Lol at 'do your cats call you mummy'.

Mine do. I say 'come to mummy for a cuddle'. And call them my little boys.

Oh god. I am going to die alone aren't I (albeit surrounded by 100s of cats )

Do you know 100% that it was her cat that left the gift? Was there a gift card attached?