My neighbour has asked me to pick up my cat's poo from their garden. Literally she wants to be able to call on me to come and pick it up on an as and when basis.

[pingu2209]

I have 2 cats. They have only just started going outside, about 1 month so far. I still have a litter tray at home and they do use it but they are also beginning to 'go' outside too.

My view is that cats should not be locked in doors. I had to keep them indoors for the first 6th months because I was told by the shelter that they needed their injections, be neutered and micro chipped before they could venture outside and all that wasn't done till they were 6 months old.

I keep my cats up to date with their injections and worm/flee ointment - well they are only 7 months old at the moment, but I fully intend to keep them up to date.

There are other cats in the area. The house behind mine has 2 big cats and we are in a rural area with foxes. Also, my neighbours have a dog. Nice dog, sometimes it barks but it isn't really a problem if I'm honest. I like dogs as much as cats, I'm not anti dogs or anything.

Am I legally obliged to pick up my cats poo?

I've spoken to my mother and she has told me that I should pick up my cat's poo if the neighbour asks. The thing is, I may have to go round there each day or two to do it.

All cat lovers should move next door to me. You'll find my house by searching for 'shit tsunami' on google earth. Or you could just sniff me out. Go north up the M5 and follow yer nose.

lissie compromises on what? The timing of shit patrol? unfortunately if people are requesting cat owners to go around cleaning up all their shit, then the cat owner cannot fit in with everyones schedule. It would just become a designated job to be done at a time the owner can do it inbetween other jobs, work, childcare etc.

ummmm, and why not? I fit clearing up dog shit in with the rest of my household chores. again, its part of having a pet. you clean up after it. dont like it, dont have a pet.

meerkat, paying someone else to clean it up is a good idea. I would pay our neighbours son to walk our dog if we didnt want to or couldnt do it ourselves, that would involve picking up his crap. unfortunately the op thinks that cat shit somehow vapourises and doesnt need to be cleaned up because its clean and smells like roses before it evaporates into the air in the form of sunbeams!

Alistron - probably tastes better and more nutritious than a turkey twizzler.

PrettyMeerkat Cuppacake I don't particularly agree with keeping cats confined to flats either! Not sure where the dog thing came from but dogs get taken for walks and can run around their own garden. Is that really what your enclosure looks like?!

Yes Meerkat very much like that one but with more grass. When we made the decision to get the raggies, DH and I decided to build an enclosure before the first kittens came home. My cats are chipped, spayed, neutered, etc but I dont want them disappearing, getting hurt or worse!

Im not saying its for everyone but it has been the best thing we did. We had made the decision to get the cats and felt it was our responsibility to keep them safe and away from neighbours.

Why the obsession with whether the request is "normal"?

She has asked, which is entirely reasonable.

And again, why the obsession with the law? The reason that the laws relating to dogs and cats is different is because cats are free roaming and an individual cannot be held responsible for something he has no control over and is unaware is happening.

The fact that the law is so does not detract from the fact that a decent person would, on being made aware that their cat was shitting in someone elses garden would feel morally obliged to clean it up.

The fact that a law exists does not negate human responsibility to behave reasonably and with courtesy.

Agree with QOD, it comes down to basic respect and good manners.

In fairness, Cuppa and others have said that they do clear up after their pets, so it's not all owners that lack manners.

And I've got to say, it seems like some people actually enjoy shit a little bit too much!

I am going to go completely off subject as this thread made me think of it.

Why don't the dog owners accept responsibility when their dogs bite someone? Obviously not talking about every dog owner in the land, just the one's whose dogs have bitten me. I have been bitten 5 times throughout my life and not one owner said sorry or even accepted that their dog was in the wrong/said they would take them to doggy training school or ANYTHING! I wasn't poking the dogs with sticks or anything provocative, just doing normal things.

I honestly don't understand!

I don't understand that either meerkat. Did you report them to the police?

meerkat, thats awful I would be mortified. because my dog is a jumper, he is tiny but can jump (as I said) 5ft quite easily, I dont let him approach people, or vice versa, without me being there. it really is about being responsible for your pet and accepting that not everyone thinks they are the precious babies that you think they are. I am entranced by everything benji does (especially when he goes to sleep cradled in my arms, on his back like a baby) but not everyone is.

Hmmm

Am a cat owner myself, but I;d try and work with her.

I;d suggest a weekly clar up if the poo is visible but tbh

A) litter trained cats IME tend to stick to litter anyway

B) there are other cats in the area so offer weekly then suggest she gets the other owners to fill in gaps

C) cats bury their poo so you can;t exactly strip the garden down- ask her how she plans to manage that aspect?

You could suggest ou buy her a cat scarer.

In fairness I was quite horrified when my neighbour, who was also my uni lecturer, started up in a class about how he wished he could shoot the neighbourhopod cats for pooing in his garden; i'd have much preferred he spoke to DH or I about it!

No I didn't report it (more fool me), a couple were when I was little, I went home and told my parents and they did nothing about it. Perhaps because they were very minor wounds although they left me terrified of dogs for approx 20 years!

The others when I was an adult were all owned by friends whose houses I visited so it's not like I was attacked in the street or anything. In each occassion they blamed me. Said I was being too loud (really I'm not) or that the dog is old and grumpy, although no one warned me of that so how was I supposed to know!? Or that I shouldn't have touched the dog, even though I had been stroking the dog 10 mins earlier in front of them when it had it head on my lap and no one had said not to.

Mostly it just scared the crap out of me although one left a scar that you can only see when I have a tan.

Ah ok.

No I agree, those are more examples of pet owners not taking responsibility for their animals behaviours.

I'm not a dog person or a cat person btw. I do actually like both, just don't want to own either (or clear their crap up)

Yes it's all about responsibility.

And those who are fond of saying 'cats are such lovely clean animals' when you don't actually clean up after them is just wrong - come and check out how squeaky clean my veg patch is after your cat has paid a visit.

"longtalljosie, its hardly comparable!"

You're right, it's not. Cat shit has never woken me at 5am

Longtalljosie Sun 03-Jul-11 10:49:18
"longtalljosie, its hardly comparable!"

You're right, it's not. Cat shit has never woken me at 5am

have you spoken to the dog owner about it?

oh, and a dogs bark isnt riddled with disease.

Peachy I have read your idea to my husband and he thinks that is workable.

I will tell my neighbour that I will do a weekly poo collection from her garden for the poo that is clearly visable because her garden (like mine) is large with lots and lots of mature borders. However, ONLY if she gets the other householders who have cats in the streets around here to agree to the exact same weekly collection.

Fair enough. Then the neighbours will have someone in at least 4 or 5 times a week.

If she can get the neighbours with 2 massive black cats who live in the house at the back of both our gardens to do it, I will give her a round of applause!

To be frank the reason I think this idea is the workable one is because she will only speak to me that way, no one else.

How is it a workable idea though if you think she won't ask the other people?

lissie - in the previous house, yes we did.

In this house, it's not the neighbours themselves who do it, it's their grown up children when they stay, possibly because the dog doesn't mix with the grandchildren. Which is fair enough and - as I pointed out upstream - one of the many inconveniences which are hand in glove with living amongst other people. Cats have been hanging out with people for 9,500 years (according to Wikipedia!), you won't stop it now

That's not a workable idea if you think the other neighbours are going to refuse and get you out of it too.

Has she told you why she is so certain that it is your cats? Because if she has seen them or the problem only started when you started to let them out then the other neighbours have nothing at all to do with this and you are just using them as an excuse to get out of cleaning up after your pets.

And you are inviting her to take the sort of action other people on here have spoken about before, the remedies with sharp sticks and pepper etc, which can apparently harm cats.

And if she does that and your cat is hurt or made ill then that will be your own fault because she has asked you for your help in solving the problem and you are not prepared to give it

It is workable because it is fair. Everyone with cats in the area to agree to clear up on a weekly basis.

Why should she think it is only okay for me to clean up.

My neighbour's cats (now dead I think) used to crap all over my raised vegetable beds, scattering carefully sown seed and over lettuce etc. It was extremely annoying.

I have recently bought a kitten and am hoping she takes a liking to their peas (only kidding)

But yes, if the cat craps in their garden I don't think it's unreasonable that you clean it up. Or keep them inside. Or buy them some cat deterrent stuff.