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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:
ClenchedBottom · 16/02/2011 21:33

I just can't think of another example where people would choose to own something and then wonder why people keep moaning on about the poo it leaves on the other people's property and expect them to just accept it. Simply cannot understand it.

DreamsInBinary · 16/02/2011 21:33

Last post to MrsSparkle

anonandlikeit · 16/02/2011 21:34

Wild cats would not take over. Don't see why you think that would be the result of fewer cats as pets.

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:35

Would you prefer it then if wild cats came pooing in your garden? Who would you blame then?

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:36

Wild cats would not take over.

You would have more wild cats then you ever would pet cats.

DrNortherner · 16/02/2011 21:36

You can't control a cat. Be reasonable.

The feral cat population is huge in the UK, this poses a big threat to wildlife and the only way to cull this is to destroy them. Responsible cat ownership and neutered cats is the best way forward.

roadtrain · 16/02/2011 21:36

All this talk of wild cats, if indeed it did come to that - they would be dealt with by the authorities. Just as wasps have to be dealt with. It is not a good excuse to own an animal that causes filth and expense to others.

anonandlikeit · 16/02/2011 21:36

Why do you believe that Mrs Sparkle?

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:37

DreamsInBinary that is not the same is it.

Do you suggest i take my cat out on a lead for a walk to do it's poo then?

BlingLoving · 16/02/2011 21:38

How are supposed to keep your cat out of other people's property? I spatula massively, but don't have any way to prevent my cat going elsewhere. I would encourage people Ro chase him out if he turns up though - certainly, before we got our cat I always chased random cats away. The best deterrent seems to be a cat of your own. Grin

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:38

Believe what?

DreamsInBinary · 16/02/2011 21:40

DrNortherner - having a pet that shits regularly in someone else's garden is not responsible pet ownership, imo

MrsSparkle - it is exactly the same. Why is it OK for a cat to do it but not a dog?

anonandlikeit · 16/02/2011 21:40

That we would suddenly be overun with wild cats just cos fewer suburban households have cats as pets

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:42

DreamsInBinary really? Come on. A dog is not the same as a cat and you know this, so i am not even going to respond.

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:43

Because cats that don't have owners aren't neutured. Cats have several kittens at a time. You do the maths.

outnumbered2to1 · 16/02/2011 21:45

toeragsnotriches i actually hand her the bag of poo and say quite breezily "here you are this belongs to your cat"

its an on-going battle which will end up in tears the first time one of my boys or the neighbours kids get cat shit on their hands.

DreamsInBinary · 16/02/2011 21:46

Really, really MrsSparkle Smile

There is very little difference to my mind whether I have dog poo or cat poo on my lawn. Both are disgusting.

MrsSparkle · 16/02/2011 21:47

Can your dog jump over 6 ft fences then? Wow.

anonandlikeit · 16/02/2011 21:48

SO people not buying cats in the first place would make no difference. A large numner of domestic cats does not therefore reduce the amount of wild cats. NO YOU do the maths!

I'm not suggesting everyone suddenly throws their pussy out into the street to suddenly reproduce... just don't buy the bloody things in the first place if you live in a built up area.

Original poster
WoTmania · 16/02/2011 21:48

Mrs Sparkle - without lots of food and vets they don't survive long

My main problem is that I have 3 children - 5, 3 and 2 who play in the garden and tend to have a dig. ShouldI ban them from my back garden instead?

OP posts:
DreamsInBinary · 16/02/2011 21:48

I think you are missing the point. Why is it OK for your cat to shit where it likes but not my dog?

DrNortherner · 16/02/2011 21:49

A cat is effectively a wild animal. We never really own them. We can choose to take responsibility for their welfare and make sure it has food, water, a warm safe bed and access to a vet when it needs one, we can neuter it and vaccinate it. What we can not do is keep it indoors 24/7, we can not stop it from pooing outside. So yes, we are being responsible by providing an animal with all of the above. Cats would still be around in their millions without us taking responsibility for them. Only then they wold not be neutered (they breed quicker than rabbits) and they would not be healthy.

And the cat V dog debate is not even an argument. It is an offence to not have a dog on a lead in a residential area. There are no such rules concerning cats.

ClenchedBottom · 16/02/2011 21:50

People get a cat and seem to develop a sense of entitlement too - that is, they are entitled to have everyone else put up with their cat's poo. Lovely.

DrNortherner · 16/02/2011 21:51

And really not many people actually buy a cat. The reason they are free is there are so bloody many of them around.

DreamsInBinary · 16/02/2011 21:51

But you can't have it both ways! You can't claim an animal to be your pet and then say "Oh, but he's wild deep down" whenever it does something antisocial.

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