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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think local cat owners

239 replies

WoTmania · 14/02/2011 12:39

could make their own gardens more appealing for their cats so said cats don't come and poo in my vegetable garden and use their own instead?

It drives me up the wall. We end up have to put netting everywhere and sticks and upturned crtaes and still the poxy things manage to dig up everything and poo. Angry

So, AIBU

OP posts:
ilovemyhens · 14/02/2011 12:45

Yes you are. This is what cats do. At least they don't usually poo all over the pavements/parks for children to step in.

If you're not happy, then order some lion poo online and that does the trick better than anything else I've heard about.

We have a blackbird and some every year, but that's animals for ya.

ilovemyhens · 14/02/2011 12:45

some woodlice

ilovemyhens · 14/02/2011 12:46

some woodlice that eat our strawberries every year

GrendelsMum · 14/02/2011 12:47

I feel your pain - but as a cat owning veg grower, I'm not sure that there's any way of making a garden more appealing to a cat than a beautifully dug and raked veg patch awaiting seed sowing.

On the other hand, I don't know about you, but I have to have the beds netted against birds anyway, so I keep the cats and birds off in one go, plus give the plants a level of support where necessary.

What I do is to have raised beds, and have stiff plastic netting cut to size, which I drop over each bed as necessary. It's different heights, so I can swop it over as plants get larger or need more support. It was a bit of a hassle to buy and cut to size in the first place, but that was several years ago, and I now just literally drop it on.

ItsMeMo · 14/02/2011 12:47

YANBU I hate them. They keep ruining my garden.

lesley33 · 14/02/2011 12:55

Yes they are a pain but YABU as I don't see how cat owners can stop their cat going into your garden. My neighbours have a lovely garden and their cat still comes into our garden.

raspberryshake · 14/02/2011 13:08

YANBU... I don't see why I should have to clear up cat poo from my own garden before my DD can go out to play. So the comment about cats not doing it where children can step in it is rubbish.

I do appreciate it is hard for cat owners to keep tabs on their pets and actually stop them - but wonder how they would feel if my DD took a shite in the middle of their front lawn. She doesn't actually do this by the way! I would stop her! :)

I read somewhere that sprinkling your own urine on your garden helps keep them away - but I haven't tried that tbh. We have some granules that we sprinkle that are child friendly that seem to do the (short-term) trick.

Laska · 14/02/2011 13:10

YANBU to be frustrated (I like cats but HATE other people's cats and their stinking shitting habits) but I don't think there's much the owners can do to stop them.

BTW - lion poo never worked for us. Neither did any other remedy. Since moving to a new pad, we have only had the problem in the front garden. I let the dog out to chase, roar at and generally terrify the cat that I caught 'in the act' and haven't seen it since Grin. But if we ever have the problem again I'm going to get a water scarecrow.

Flisspaps · 14/02/2011 13:10

And before someone comes on here and says 'cats don't shit on lawns' - they DO, and I know this because someone's cat comes to my garden on a daily basis to do it's business on my grass.

Original poster
WoTmania · 14/02/2011 13:21

Grendelsmum - we have raised beds covered with netting over BIG hoops. The blighters still get in.

ilove - Wasn't really my question. I'm sure the owners could make their garden more appealing. Maybe a nice litter tray with hand basin and bidet Wink.

Laska - If I wasn't a chronic asthmatic how is very allergic to dogs (I'm one of those awful people who will walk into a house start wheezing and find out that a dog lived there for a week 6 years ago. PITA) I would get a GREAT BIG DOG. I don't think I would mind so much if they were my cats in my garden it's the fact that the owners of these cats live 2 doors away and have no flower beds just overgrown grass so off course the cats are going to come into my garden.

OP posts:
Original poster
WoTmania · 14/02/2011 13:22

Vallhala - Yes please, that would be helpful.

OP posts:
jasminetom · 14/02/2011 13:24

Get a water pistol and squirt them, they hate it! Also, borrow a big dog for a few days, they soon learn a place isn't safe. For the record I love cats and have 3 myself but I agree that they should not be inflicted on people who don't want them. I have no problem with my vcats racing in through the catflap having clearly been hosed down.

jasminetom · 14/02/2011 13:26

or get an adult cat from a rescue centre. at least then it's your own cat shit and he will keep others out.

Vallhala · 14/02/2011 13:26

I'll make some specially for you, WoT. :o

GrendelsMum · 14/02/2011 13:29

I do sympathise - I've just been ranting to a colleague about pigeons, and how I'd like to shoot them all and turn them into a pie.

I think your neighbours are being unreasonable by having no flowerbeds.

Have you tried stiff netting rather than floppy netting? (Don't know how to describe it properly) Our cats just don't have the ability to move it.

Oh, this is evil but works for me - have you been pruning any roses lately? Rose clippings all over the beds keeps cats off.

But I do have to have sacrifice my flower beds to the cat, to keep her off my veg.

ibbydibby · 14/02/2011 13:29

We used to have this problem, but a friend recommended sprinkling the garden with Olbas Oil, and it really worked. I think the idea is that the strong smell confuses the cat into thinking this is another animal's territory (ie another cat's territory) and so will go elsewhere.

Have also heard the human urine suggestion - in fact I heard on the radio that you should store it for 3 days(!) and then sprinkle on the garden.

Presumably it is the strong smell of Olbas Oil/saved urine that confuses the cat so lion poo works on this basis too (but a bit more difficult to obtain I should think!). Guess there are other things too that the cat will smell, and decide to go elsewhere.

WoT, I really sympathise, as when we had this problem I used to do a "poo check" on the garden every morning. Gross!! Good luck!

PS don't think it's a case of cat owners needing to make garden more interesting, as cats will always explore. Hence (unfortunately) non-cat owners need to make their gardens less appealing to cats.

Original poster
WoTmania · 14/02/2011 13:29

Thank you - I'll make some nice @No Pooing in the Beds' signs for my garden and we'll be sorted :)

OP posts:
GrendelsMum · 14/02/2011 13:30

p.s. My cat is supposed to stay in my garden, but I've definitely heard my neighbour's kids trying to persuade her over the wall for a visit.

Original poster
WoTmania · 14/02/2011 13:31

Olbas oil sounds like a nice one.

OP posts:
NeatFreak · 14/02/2011 13:34

I don't actually know where my cat does the toilet... we have a section of the garden that is just dug up earth and gravel purely for her to use and a litter tray indoors but I rarely see her in our garden and she never uses the tray. I would rather my neighbours chased her away with whatever non-cruel methods work best as I don't see why other people should have to clean up after my animal.
I don't know how to make our garden more appealing- she has plenty of places she can use as well as a tray indoors... I would happily take advice and change things though!

fannyfoghorn · 14/02/2011 13:35

Spray them with a hose (RSPCA man's advice). My anti social bastard neighbours have 5 cats in a small house. They were shitting all over our garden and the kids kept falling in it. Neighbours didn't want to know. A few squirts of the hose and those cats HATE us and our garden with a passion. No more shits ever again (2 years on). As a bonus our neighbours now hate us too and avoid us whilst giving us the evils. This too is excellent as they were always calling round at 11pm to ask DH to fix their computer Grin.

NerdyFace · 14/02/2011 13:37

Dress up yourself like a cat, and go take a shit in the neighbours Garden.

Fair is fair right?

KnittedBreast · 14/02/2011 13:38

but why should you have to protect your garden from a cat, the owner should be expected to keep it out of your property.

I really dont like cats shitting in the garden.

JarethTheGoblinKing · 14/02/2011 13:44

shredded orange peel apparently does the same thing.

We have the same problem, though we do have an open bed out the front of the house that's covered in bark chippings, so it's no wonder the bastards cats think it's an enormous litter tray.

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