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Original poster

To ask you if this is illegal? Cat related.

173 replies

Mummydayandnightcare · 05/12/2010 21:28

Won't bore you with all the details but my friend (yes really my friend lol) has, following months of problems with cats shitting in his garden, placed a hundred or so wooden kebab sticks into his garden to deter them (genuinely not to hurt them, well, so he says!)

Is this illegal? He has been told it maybe based on fact you can't put glass on top of your fence panels to deter burglars etc.

Thoughts please.

OP posts:
CarGirl · 05/12/2010 22:42

Generously sized slate "chips" on top of the soil may work, they love small stones but larger bits of slate just don't dig in the same way.

MeMudmagnet · 05/12/2010 22:43

If it was as simple as chucking water at them and they never came back, there wouldn't be a market for all the other deterents around.
I had a problem with a pita cat a while ago, I chucked water at it, tried bark chippings, I also have a large, lively dog. Nothing worked.

Rather than half the neighbourhood spending a fortune on useless deterents. Is it not possible for cat owners to fence their own gardens so that their cats stay put? Surely there must be some way?

bumpybecky · 05/12/2010 22:49

how can it be cruel?! the cat chooses whether or not to go into the flowerbed - no one is forcing it to go where there are spiky things

We've got cats with litter trays, they still prefer to go outdoors unless it's really raining / snowing. Lots of neighbours have cats and next door has 5 or 6 cats who live outdoors all day. We've got a dog who loves cleaning up what's left behind by the cats Shock

Sticks are non-chemical, cheap and easy to use. They do seem to help in out case.

CarGirl · 05/12/2010 22:51

MeMudmagner, having lost #2 cat to a RTA I would love to fence in my garden and seriously looked into it. It is virtually impossible if you have an escapologist which I reckon 50% of the cat population is.

We tried to keep our current 2 as house cats. The female (known as the brains) used to go into hiding when I approached the coat cupboard so she could make a run for it when I went out, she also has leapt from 1st floor windows after carefully considering it for all of 20 seconds.........

She has more recently ripped the cat flap off the back door one night (they are shut in) and spend a further 5 nights trying to rip off the repaired and improved cat flap Angry

Some of them are very determined.........

Worst of all she only ever goes out for an hour max at any one time, she's a home girl tbh and uses the litter tray at 6.20am 10 mintes before our alarm goes off and the cat flap is opened Grin

CoventryCarole · 05/12/2010 22:54

Tyres it is then, curly! Joking (sort of). My cat is actually too lazy to go out of my garden, so not likely to be a problem.

The sticks would have to be quite stout otherwise the cat would knock them down. And you would have to space them about every 10cm all over the beds to make it work. So your flowerbeds would look shit anyway.

Original poster
Mummydayandnightcare · 05/12/2010 23:04

Having seen it CoventryCarole I would have to say it looks a damn sight better than numerous piles of cat shit all over it.

OP posts:
ApocalypseCheeseToastie · 05/12/2010 23:07

It's fine, cats arent stupid and won't risk arse kebab.

Leave the poor bloke alone, it's not as if it's glass shards !

CarGirl · 05/12/2010 23:08

There is of course a risk that cat views kebab steaks as a wonderful gift for owner and digs the wretched things up, one by one, of course........... Grin

MeMudmagnet · 05/12/2010 23:11

CarGirl, how about a foot or so of fencing, fixed to the top of the fence panel, that leans in towards the garden, so the cat couldn't climb over it?

I was thinking about this problem back in the summer, when I took dd2 round to a friend to play. They had a cat in the their back garden, on a extending lead that was fixed to a stake in the lawn! They didn't want it getting out, as they live on a main road. I'm not a lover of cats, but I couldn't help thinking, that was no way for the poor animal to live.

A1980 · 05/12/2010 23:59

It isn't illegal but he could get sued in negligence if someone has an accident because of it.

It would be covered under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1957.

It would also be covered under the Occupiers' Liability Act 1984 and case law hold that occupiers owe a duty to trespassers. Under section 1(3) of the Act, the duty is owed when the occupier is aware of the danger, or has reasonable grounds to believe it exist, knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that the trespasser is near or may come to be near the danger and the risk is one which an occupier may reasonably be expected to protect visitors from.

So if you spread broken glass on your wall to deter trespassers and a trespasser gets injured on it you can be sued even if they're trespassing or trying to break in.

I'm prety sure cats aren't covered by the acts, just people.

AphraBen · 06/12/2010 00:00

It would be illegal if they hunted and shot or stabbed other people's cats. Its not illegal to put kebab sticks / egg shells / lion poo in your garden.

newwave · 06/12/2010 00:07

Tin hat on.

I have had major grief with neighbours cats in the end I spoke to a couple of owners I knew about keeping their cats out of MY garden or they may end up hurt or dead. They offered all sorts of solutions but when I asked them to pay for them they declined.

Now I have large stones by my back door, I was going to buy an air rifle but that seemed a bit unfair as the cat has a chance with my aim with a stone.

Have had a couple of hits but no "kills" so far.

The moral is keep YOUR fucking cats out of MY/OTHER PEOPLES gardens, simple really.

AphraBen · 06/12/2010 00:25

If you kill someone's cat with your air rifle, it is a crime...

VeryStressedMum · 06/12/2010 00:30

Blimey newwave.

chixinthestix · 06/12/2010 00:31

They won't walk over spiky stuff so replace the kebab sticks with some natural spikes - get some twigs off spiky bushes and push them into the soil around the edges of the areas where the cats go - holly, hawthorn, berberis are all pretty vicious. Check out what the neighbours have growing in their gardens and offer to do a bit of pruning!

newwave · 06/12/2010 00:31

Aphra, try again, I DONT have an air rifle also I would hardly be hanging the body on my front door. Dustbin liner and over Tesco and into the garden refuse skip.

Cat owners make me laugh, just keep your feline plant digging shit machines under control and ther isnt any problem but oh no we want to let our cats run loose and go where they will, well FYI my garden is private property so no cats allowed.

AphraBen · 06/12/2010 00:34

You sound utterly delightful to all and sundry, even those of us who don't own cats - what a charmer.

newwave · 06/12/2010 00:43

Aphra, ok I have had plants dug up, a potted plant knocked of a garden table and cat shit on the lawn, wwyd.

Some owners were warned but chose not to heed the warning and instead offered many solutions including sonic repellers but declined to pay for them so I am expected to pay for devices to keep other peoples cats out of my garden.

I find cat owners selfish regarding their cats as they seem to assume that their cats have the right to cause as much damage and annoyance as they want with no come backs.

auntyfash · 06/12/2010 00:52

I think some people must have very charmed lives if all they have to worry about is a bit of cat shit in their garden.

thelittlestkiwi · 06/12/2010 01:35

is he sure it was real lion poo if it was off of the internet? he could try the local zoo/animal park.

Cadpat · 06/12/2010 02:38

Well, we have a similar problem, but the other way round. We have a neighbour who rototills his garden even fricking week. Of course our cat thinks, hey! giant litterbox!! Cue doddery old neighbour yelling and shouting, waving around sticks etc.

So, we did the next best thing. Kept the cat indoors, and only let him out when we are there to supervise. We've had a couple of coyote related cat deaths as well, so that's enough of a scare.

I also had a look at the local rules here our province in Canada, and you are allowed to trap a cat and take it to the pound if they are found trespassing in your property. Owner has a few days grace to pay up and get them released otherwise they are rehomed or out to sleep. But anybody finding a cat on their property that doesn't belong to them are allowed to do this. So cat or other animal owners run the risk of some unsympathetic curmudgeon person doing just this.

That said, I don't think your friend is being unreasonable here. He's obviously tried everything else, and if the kebab sticks work, well, more power to him. Its not a right to have pets, and if you do you are well responsible for their acts!!

ilovesprouts · 06/12/2010 03:44

omg lots of stuff going on in the world and your going on about cat poo Hmm

beautyspot · 06/12/2010 04:32

People who let their cats out to shit in other peoples' gardens are selfish gits. You would be annoyed if a dog was doing that in your garden...what's the difference??

I've had loads of problems with this. Your friend is not being unreasonable at all. I've tried loads of things - none have worked so far.

I have heard that the smell of anti freeze puts them off ( I think you put some in a tub and they smell it). Haven't tried that yet.

onceamai · 06/12/2010 04:39

orange peel scattered onto "favourite" places is supposed to be a good deterrent.

LaraJade · 06/12/2010 04:54

Avoid antifreeze - this is very poisonous and causes a slow painful death to animals by kidney failure, a cruel thing to do.
My cat has a litter tray but she does go out - the man next door dislikes cats so he shouts at her in a loud voice and she jumps straight back to my garden again, no problem, as do other cats.
I had a problem with an aggressive local cat who tried to attack my cat (and me). It would not back down so I got a pan and a wooden spoon and the noise terrified it so much it didn't come back.
Your friend will soon get to recognise which cats are the worst offenders and I suggest using the loud noise method is best.
However...I did spy on one thuggish neighbour in his back garden 'fronting up' to my cat while he thought no-one was watching and hissing at her while she hissed back. It was hilarious :)