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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
Truckulent · 06/12/2010 19:58

I don't know why It works but i got this tip from a gardener.

Fill a half-filled with water plastic bottle put in the garden It definitely works i had this problem and it stopped straight away.

Hopefully this will stop people killing or wanting to kill Kittens and cats.

www.doctorgreenfingers.co.uk/Pest_control_Cats_Ants_Dogs_Slugs_Snails_Aphids/Keep_cats_away_cat_deterrents.html

complexnumber · 06/12/2010 20:10

Chocolocolate: 'When I was a child I got a toxoplasmosis infection from cat poo in our garden. I now have markedly reduced sight in one of my eyes.'

I am extremely sorry for your infliction. And you sound amazingly forgiving given your circumstances.

However, I could NEVER be that forgiving should such an 'accident' happen to one of my children.

Please remind me again why everyone recognises dog poo to be a health hazard (esp to children) and the dog ownwers' responsibility. But cats can poo anywhere, including a child's play area.

DitaVonCheese · 06/12/2010 20:12

My guinea pigs used to fall asleep on my lap, so stressed out were they.

spikeycow · 06/12/2010 20:21

Psychopathic knuckle draggers

NinkyNonker · 06/12/2010 20:25

It isn't just the poo-ing (although the poster who suggested just picking it up...how do you suggest I find each turd before stepping in it and how much time should I devote to clearing up after your pet?) it is the digging up of plants...grrrr. I would never harm one of the little sods, but doesn't stop us being annoyed about it!

MeMudmagnet · 06/12/2010 21:01

Our rabbits hop up onto our laps when we're sitting out in the garden They love attention.
My friends cat savages her without warning at any given opportunity. Oddly, she still like her cat, but is now a total dog convert.

pinkhebe · 06/12/2010 21:17

I can understand the annoyance, but they are cats, you can't follow them around as an owner, and I haven't seen any owner who wouldn't like to clear up after them.

but to suggest killing someone else's pet!! Or kidnapping them??? Seriously if that is your attitude I feel sorry for your children having you as a role model

ChickensHaveNoMercyForTurkeys · 06/12/2010 21:27

I have prikka strips on my gate/fence mainly to deter the fox. I do have to display a warning sign for them. They are plastic strips with stubby plastic cones spaced on them. I have considered laying them in the front garden borders to deter my lovely neighbours' cats. Might be worth a look for anyone being tormented by cats.

thefirstMrsDeVere · 06/12/2010 21:29

My son is allergic to grass pollon and such. He has a bit in the garden full of rubber chips and I have gravelled the rest of the garden.

I thought it looked rather cool and mediterrainian (sp). Unfortunately the local cats (there are at least 6 million) think it looks like a mahooosive litter tray.

But least its easy to see the stuff and I can punish the grumpy one by making him 'do the poo'.

Mwah ha haaaaa!

Bunbaker · 06/12/2010 22:28

"They are totally pointless animals and are very antisocial"

It could be argued that people who hate cats are totally pointless humans and are very anti-social Wink

"Please remind me again why everyone recognises dog poo to be a health hazard (esp to children) and the dog ownwers' responsibility. But cats can poo anywhere, including a child's play area"

Because it is easier to momnitor and restrain a dog's movements. Responsible dog owners keep their dogs in their own houses and gardens as it is easy to dog-proof a property.

How do you keep a cat on your own property unless you keep it indoors all the time? It isn't healthy for the cat to keep it inside all the time. I agree that all cat owners should encourage their feline friends to use a litter tray. I have also found that spraying water at unwanted cats is the most humane deterrent.

LaraJade · 06/12/2010 22:47

All pets are fun but cats are easiest to care for if u work fulltime like me. My cat only goes out if im at home, + she wears a collar bell so i roughly know where she is. As i've said, any cat-hating neighbours just need to shout / throw a slipper + she runs home. Luckily she's cute so she gets away with things + she won't poo outside (too many tom cats about). She is lovely: playful, friendly, fierce and attention seeking. I would be lonely without her.
Lots of dog owners round here dont poop scoop but i wouldnt harm their beloved dogs! I think anyone who could kill / harm a large domesticated creature in cold blood is freaky, weird + heartless. (But then part of my job is to clean up, er, human poo so i dont see poo as such a big deal IYKWIM :) )

TheFarSide · 06/12/2010 23:12

I don't think people should be allowed to own any animal unless they can control it and stop it being a nuisance to other people.

"I can't control where my cat shits" is not an excuse - unless you live on a farm or way out in the country, it's antisocial to get a cat.

I especially don't think people who live in towns should be allowed to own dogs or cats - apart from the shit everywhere, it's a bit cruel to the animals too TBH.

ApricotWorms · 06/12/2010 23:52

I agree with TheFarSide.

salsmum · 07/12/2010 00:10

Why doesnt he just get in touch with the cats protection league? or cellia Hammond they can surely offer the best humane device to use?

ShoppingDays · 07/12/2010 00:42

Agree with TheFarSide. An animal that doesn't stay on its owner's property is not suitable as a pet.

CostanzaBonanza · 07/12/2010 05:23

The whole 'I can't help where my cat shits' response really winds me up. Just don't get a cat. It's so incredibly anti-social, no-one who has chosen not to have a pet wants to clean up someone elses pets mess. I don't want to look for it, I don't want to be near enough to it to scoop it up, bag it/throw it somewhere.
I choose not to have a pet in order for me not to come into contact with the germy mess that they create, people really should just stop having cats that they can't control

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 07/12/2010 08:27

Cats CAN be kept indoors you know....

Lovecat · 07/12/2010 09:36

There are some really nasty people on this thread, but what really puzzles me is...

What are these cats that can't/don't know how to bury their poo? I have NEVER owned a cat that didn't dig a hole first in the border, crap in it then cover it up afterwards... that's why I've always preferred them to dogs, at least they tidy up after themselves! Perhaps we've just been very lucky?Confused As kittens, do they get taken away from their mums too soon and never learn the behaviour?

"people really should just stop having cats that they can't control" - omfg, you really have NO idea about cats, have you? :o Have you ever tried to control one?? That's part of their joy, imho. And keeping a cat indoors all the time is verging upon cruelty.

We're getting kittens in the new year after our elderly cats died at the ripe old age of 18 last year. I really hope that none of our neighbours have some of the ignorant, hateful attitudes displayed on this thread.

Joolyjoolyjoo · 07/12/2010 09:44

Do all you cat-haters also want to shoot all the birds out of the sky (at least cats don't poop on your clean washing/ car windscreen!), all the foxes, squirrels, badgers?

I would like to get cats again in the near future, but we live backing onto a wood, so hopefully no irate neighbours

LadyBiscuit · 07/12/2010 09:52

My cat has a litter tray so she doesn't shit in anyone's garden.

You don't need to use pointy sticks - any kind of stick will do because them being there will stop cats digging up that bit of the garden. Or get an automated water sprayer - they will soon learn to avoid your garden.

The number of people on this thread happily advocating animal cruelty is shocking. :(

Notevenamouse · 07/12/2010 10:02

Lovecat, I have never known a cat not bury its poo either. I have never seen a cat poo right in the middle of a lawn. They tend to use covered areas or borders. The bottle trick does work, so i hear.

I think this thread is bizzare. Dogs poo around our neighbourhood all the time. 90% of the park is open to dogs and is covered in the stuff except for the small fenced off area that is dog free for small kids. It has never occured to me to want to slaughter the dog population or go up to owners and tell them their pets are "pontless fuckers".

We get fox poo in the garden which is out in the open but I don't want to kill all foxes.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 07/12/2010 10:09

Lovecat - I'll tell the people I know who have house cats that they are being cruel then shall I?

lottiejenkins · 07/12/2010 10:16

I am a bit Shock and Confused at the thought of Lion poo arriving in the post! Poor postman!.........

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 07/12/2010 10:19

I'd quite like to kill all foxes. It would stop people going on and on and on and on a about hunting/not hunting then.

Notevenamouse · 07/12/2010 10:22

Yawn, I cannot be bothered anymore, go on then, go out and slaughter a few animals, have a ball Hmm