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?

zukiecat - have you ever had a homosapien baby? Isn't it a lot better?

What I mean to say is a real human baby/ child IS a lot better than an animal which may even be an adult.

You can call your cats what you want if you are responsible for them like that, in my book!

I'm sure my neighbours just swore at theirs as they chucked them out of the house into my litter box garden.

I would defo have more cats if I could afford them, They are so lovable and affectionate and never answer back like my kids do.

what would you think of a mouse in your house?

Who is that question aimed at? ponceydog

It's aimed at the op. Just vaguely interested. Would it be worse to have a mouse in teh house or a dead mouse on the patio?

I know I would rather have a dead mouse on the patio, My cat has in 5 years only brought to me 2 dead mice and a few bits of bread as my neighbours throw bread on their shed roofs for the birds and squirrels, our sheds are joined and my cat spends most of his time outside on the shed, I do wish that they wouldnt encourage the squirrels as a squirrel bite can be fatal but I would never dream of asking them to not put bread up there as that is up to them.
If Alfie gets bitten whilst in a fight with a squirrel then its my responsibilty to deal with it.

It would be worse to have a live mouse in my house than a dead one on the patio.

because if I had a live mouse in my house, I'd have to get rid of it (whatever that takes) and it may well mean that eventually I'd have to deal with getting rid of a dead mouse anyway on top of the hassle of having had it in the house.

So a live mouse in the house wins the "worst option" competition hands down.

Who can a squirrels bite kill? You or the cat?

Squirrels are rodents so I'm a bit disgusted that your neighbour encourages them into her garden.

I used a humane mouse trap so I just had to get rid of a live mouse

Obviously don't fancy mice running about my house any more than cats crapping everywhere..

From what ive heard, in a fight between a cat and a squirrel the cat would come off worse, my immediate next door neighbours have only been there for the last year but every morning they throw a whole loaf of bread on their shed, the previous ones did too, also several other neighbours do the same,

I do not feel I cannot tell them to not do this, they are very aware of my cat, the boy next door even hangs out the window squeeking toys and calling my cats name,

If my Alfie does feel the need to give them a present (dead mouse or bird doubt it would be a squirrel) then I feel its their prob as shouldnt have encoureged him.

Maybe they don't know that a squirrel could easily kill a cat? I didn't... I thought it was the other way around actually.

Could you tell them in a roundabout way... such as "Alfie is very brave going after your bread when those squirrels are around. He obviously doesn't know that they are really dangerous to him". Then if they keep encouraging the squirrels, you will

I can't remember who asked, but the procedure of claw-clipping of cats is considered to be extremely cruel.

Cats use their claws to help them get around, tell other cats that they have been by and also for self-defence, as (of course) for attacking any prey that they might catch.

There are some American cat owners who feel it is acceptable to "de-claw" their housecats in order to protect their furniture. I feel that this is a scandalous practice and one which many vets in this country have asked to be (and it may well have been) outlawed.

Cats are living, breathing animals just like many others. I'm afraid you take them as you find them or don't take them at all, and I appreciate that many of you haven't chosen to have a cat but there are many in your neighbourhood. Until the law changes, which I don't think it ever would, there's nothing you can do apart from those various tactics like the water spray/Super-soaker idea to discourage them from coming into your garden. As someone else said, you can't teach a cat the concept of human property boundaries, it only understands its' own species' territorial boundaries.

I know a lot of this has been said, but I got on a roll once I started - sorry!!

i am a cat owner, currently pretty angry with one of them as he came into the house (lives in conservatory very comfortably but is not allowed elsewhere cos of hair, scratching furniture etc) broke into bird cage (its a huge one wth flying space for 2 canaries and one budgie) and ATE said precious budgie. left me gift of head and wings, i know it was him, he was sitting there!

however, i always praise him for gifts of rodents because i used to work with man who is ex pest controller. he told me if you see evidence of a mouse, you dont have A mouse, you probably have TENS of them.

that said, if neighbour came to say about offering, so long as they were not stroppy with me, i would happily clean up remains.

not tried it but have heard that cats hate smell of lemons/ oranges. try some peel in a nearby plantpot

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