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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

cat poo in garden

185 replies

ac123 · 02/06/2011 22:31

got it sussed. sprinkle a jar of schwartz ceyenne and chilli pepper over lawn or garden, it works. been poo free for a couple of months now.

OP posts:
StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 14:31

So, why can't more people use something like what sausages has posted?

Why go to unnecessary and harmful lengths?

MissVerinder · 03/06/2011 14:32

Pigeons are gross. Rats are gross and you've got them in your garden/barn/stable.
Good luck OP, in A+E when your DC comes in with chilli burns in their eyes/pants (from wiping etc) or whatever; that is going to be one awkward conversation. It would be cheaper long term to buy a proper repellant that's safe.

Flippingebay · 03/06/2011 14:35

catwhiskers10 Birds, mice and rats are wild, they don't have an owner who is responsible for them, cats do - and the owner, by rights, has a responsibility to feed it, look after it etc. That also means that if their cat poos on someone else's garden that's also the owners responsibility. By not taking responsibility for that poo, regardless of the circumstances (can't stop it, won't keep it indoors) then you are effectivly making someone else clean up after your pet.

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 03/06/2011 14:37

StrawberryMewMew - Why should they have to in order to mitigate the effects of someone elses actions? (The anecdotal reports I have heard is that it doesn't work anyway.

Flippingebay · 03/06/2011 14:39

StrawberryMewMew, why should people have to spend £8.80 of 'their' money to stop other people's pets pooing in their gardens? I'm not saying you should buy pepper either, or anything for that matter. If people took responsibility for their cats and ensured they didn't poo in other people's garden then people wouldn't got to any length to stop it.

I wouldn't every expect someone else to pay to take my poo away. (although sometimes I think the water board are almost doing that :o )

StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 14:41

Coalition They don't have to. Legally cat owners don't need to take responsibility for their pets shit. Because most people realise this is almost impossible to do.

But if a person is going to put down a deterrent then they should at least use one which is humane.

Personally, if I found out someone had spiked my cat with cayenne and chilli pepper or Asprin and had cause him any harm, I would be round their door like a shot to cause as much harm to them as they had done to my pet.

berryfreeze · 03/06/2011 14:44

here we go..problem solved

Grin
StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 14:45

And btw, I'm not saying they shouldn't try and take responsibility. Simply that they don't have to.

catwhiskers10 · 03/06/2011 14:45

It's not something I'm ok with (id rather they used a litter box) but as I said before, I feel my cats have the right to live outdoors, not be kept prisoners in the house.
Cat shit in gardens is a fact of life and unless they ban cats getting outdoors it always will be. Even if it wasn't my cat, or the cat next door, there would be another to take it's place.
If you don't like it buy a deterrent.

ddubsgirl · 03/06/2011 14:46

cats by law have the right to roam the land so no its not down to the owner unlike dogs.

StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 14:46

Oh gawd. Berry I taught one of my cats to do this and another person in the house refused to let him continue after a couple of days. :(

DooinMeCleanin · 03/06/2011 14:46

Flippingebay, water is free, it is not harmfull to cats. Cayenne pepper is not free, it is dangerous to cats and other wildlife. People doing this are using their money to cause harm to their neighbours pets.

sausagesandmarmelade · 03/06/2011 14:49

Let's hear it for the wood pidgeon....

All pidgeons are not gross. Wood pidgeons make a lovely sound and are quite entertaining to watch...

berryfreeze · 03/06/2011 14:50

really gosh that must of been a lot of training, actually saying that anything else has to be easier than training my dd, but that is a different thread all together

Peetle · 03/06/2011 14:50

I don't have any real intention of causing harm to anyone's pets. As for toxoplasmosis on the BBQ - having been a vegetarian for about 20 years that isn't going to bother me.

As for rats, mice and foxes I can (and have) killed them in my house or had them shot in the garden. They're an obvious health hazard with noone responsible for them. I'm not advocating destroying people's pets but people should take responsibility for them, all the time.

After all, if one of your DCs went and shat in a neighbours garden you would be mortified (I hope). You're just as responsible for your pets.

catwhiskers10 · 03/06/2011 14:53

What if one of your DC shat in a neighbours garden several streets away and you didn't know where they had done it?

DooinMeCleanin · 03/06/2011 14:55

Berry t'is quite easy to train your cat to use the loo using this. Mine uses the shower tray [boak], despite having two pertectly good, clean and discrete litter trays. He aims for the plug hole at least.

Peetle a cat owner is not legally required to be responible for their cats shite. I have no idea where my cats shits when he is not in the house. Down storm drains if the nrighbours children are to be believed Hmm.

Most people know what their dc get up to and where they go when they are not at home, so it's a little silly to compare the two.

Flippingebay · 03/06/2011 15:02

DooinMeCleanin I think we've got crossed wires here, i'm not for one moment saying that any living creature should be harmed (unless it's a wasp), by pepper or asprin etc. What I meant is if owners could control their cats (i really don't care how) then people, like me who don't have cats, wouldn't have to splash out hard earned cash to stop animals, which are owned by other people, poo'ing on their gardens.

DooinMeCleanin · 03/06/2011 15:10

Chucking a bucket of water over the cat is free and not harmfull Flipping, as is chucking out citrus zest once you are done with it. No-one has to spend hard earned cash to keep their gardens cat free.

In an ideal world every one would be able to train their cats never to poo outdoors, in reality this is not going to happen.

I understand it's annoying, but there is very little us cat owners can do about it. Personally I would happily pay towards a cruelty free repellent if my neighbours coomplained about my cat, fortunately he does not seem to bother anyone.

Keeping an outdoors cat indoors is not only cruel, but damn near impossible, cats are sneaky little buggers. Mine has to be contained in just one room to keep him in if he needs the vets, otherwise he is out the windows or hiding behind the door waiting for it to open.

StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 15:10

Berry It only took me 3 hours to get him to poo in the toilet the first time. It's surprisingly easy to do since the water hides the smell and they prefer that.

Peetle I think you are a disgusting human being for thinking it's okay to kill a fox. Animals have the right to live to. Humans do not own the world, so animals don't need anyone responsible for them

StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 15:11

too

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 03/06/2011 15:17

StrawberryMewMew - It would be stupid to make cat owners legally responsible for the cat's shit as it would be unenforcable.

That doesn't alter the moral responsibility.

Owning a cat that goes outside imposes costs on other people. Either in deterrents or in having shit in their garden. This is a direct result of the cat owners decision to keep a cat.

DooMeCleanin - Chucking water over cats or putting out citrus peelings is still a cost, even if not a monetary one. There IS something cat owners can do about it - keep cats indoors or don't keep them.

StrawberryMewMew · 03/06/2011 15:20

Coalition You really think that water would be an unreasonable cost to keep cats away?

As has already been said, it is damn near impossible to keep outdoor cats indoors. Infact if you were to go to a cat shelter they wouldn't let you take a cat that has been an outdoor one to keep indoors. Even they believe this to be cruel (fortunately mines are lazy bastards and don't mind being indoors).

TheCoalitionNeedsYou · 03/06/2011 15:35

StrawberyMewMew - the cost is in time and effort not money.

It amazes me how people will not accept that their actions have consequences for other people.

stabiliser15 · 03/06/2011 15:42

We dont own cats, but it seems like all of our neighbours do. Our front garden has stones which seem to operate as a giant litterbox and it is constantly covered in cat poo. It is particularly delightful in the warm weather.

We have tried just about everything going and my DH has been pleading for some time to be allowed to don night vision googles and arm himself with a paintball gun (he'd prefer a shotgun tbh) so we can identify the cats who shit on our property so we can ask their owners to either (a) train their cats to stay away from OUR garden or (b) get the owners round to clear up their cat's poo.

While we dont wish any animals harm, quite frankly, I'll put whatever the hell I like on MY property to keep cats away. If a cat ingests something which does it harm, then that is an unfortunate consequence of its owner's failure to ensure it is not fouling someone's property.

Whoever mentioned the garlic repellent and night time application - you're right about the smell. We applied it and our neighbours got the gas people round because they thought it was a leak! It does seem to have improved the position, although still getting rogue poos.

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