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.

Ok, sorry. But you know the nature of this thread? I do and I'm new here. It's a bit rich to tell people they should do that for voicing an opinion you solicited. But if I do see my MP I may bring the subject up now.

OP - really? It's culturally ingrained in you to think it's okay to allow your pets to annoy your neighbour and then blame that neighbour and accuse her of making weird requests to start a feud?

She would be unreasonable to expect you to continue to provide batteries for a repelling device but I still think you should make the offer to provide one, with the message that it is a one-off gesture she would then have to use at her expense and discretion.

But you actually sound like you want this feud as much as she does, so you can go around telling people about it and sounding all shocked and hard done by.

Out of interest, if it did become the law that you had to clean up after your cats or ensure they didn't foul on other people's property, would you?

Would you even keep the cats if it came to that point?

OP - you should clear up after your cat.

I'm contemplating the point made way up the thread about cats having caretakers and not 'owners' in the eyes of the law. And that you can go to prison for stealing a cat. Stealing from whom if it doesn't have an owner?

I'm contemplating this because I have a cat issue which is even more irritating than the shit in the flower borders; my neighbour's cat (one of three that appear to not know where their litter tray is - if it exists at all) keeps trying to get into my bedroom through the window. It's been bloody hot these last few nights but I have to keep the window shut. And believe me if the sodding thing gets in I will risk going to prison. I'll be shoving it in the boot of my car and driving to Scotland with it.

No it is not culturally ingrained to annoy my neighbour. But my neighbour has annoyed me by asking me to do something that is very unusual and in my opinion, unreasonable. Unreasonable because nobody goes round picking up after their cat in the UK, it just doesn't happen.

If the law changed and I had to go round to the neighbours and clean up after my cat I would most likely not have a cat at all. If the law was, say, £1000 fine for not picking up your cat litter, then I would not have a cat.

I have spoken to LOADS of people where I live about this - even on facebook! Nobody has come back with it being a reasonable request. I have even given the arguments that you have given me, and the response has always been the same... "that is bloody rediculous. Who the hell does that?"

Again, perhaps my poll of around 25-35 people (cat, dog and non animal owners) are all culturally biased. Everyone who has been 'with' me seems to use the same argument - that is not what happens in the UK...

A person could keep their cat indoors only with a litter try but I do not believe cats should stay indoors. Perhaps this view is cultural also?! I know that in the US it is far more normal for cat owners to keep their moggies indoors only. However, in the UK it is the other way around.

In terms of wanting a fued, no I don't... I may want to sell my house in a few years and I don't want to have to declare anything like that - may make it harder to sell!

OMG.

I will repeat, cat shit is vile and disgusting, I absolutely hate having to clean the litter tray and finding cat shit in my garden, however, how does any of you know (and the neighbour for that matter) that pingus cat is responisble for all the cat poo in her neighbours garden?????

Pingu, its no point going about the legalities and whether you have to clean it up or not, the thing is she has singles you our as an easy target and hasn;t asked anyone else to clean it up - shes clearly barking mad. I can understand why she's upset but there are products she can buy.

That's not quite right, you said your mum thinks you should do it, so not everyone you have spoken to has agreed with you.

I think we have really gotten to the bottom of this when you say that she has annoyed you. You have made it clear that you feel she looks down on you, understandably that is upsetting and annoying. You really do come across as being pleased that she has given you this opportunity to return the favour and have all your friends calling her ridiculous etc.

But if you really are worried about declaring a feud, and trust me you will have to do so if relations between you and her get any more strained, then buy her the repelling thing and perhaps even one of those fake black cat silhouettes to pop in her garden and try to at least understand that even if she is 'barking mad' she has every right to be annoyed about the unpleasant mess in her garden that she believes is coming from your cats. A mess that is so bad you would rather give up your pets than be legally obliged to clean up or prevent in some way.

Pingu - d'you know what, if I knew you personally as a friend and you put the same question to me I'd probably back you up as a friend and say the neighbour is barking and unreasonable because I could see you were upset by it.

And we have a perfectly lovely neighbour whose cats shit in our garden just about every day - do we make a fuss, no, because in all other respects she is a good neighbour and it's not worth it. Maybe we're just too cowardly to confront it.

But here you're asking people with no emotional investment or personal knowledge of you or your neighbour. They are giving honest opinions, based on their personal experiences, which is probably why on the whole they differ from your personal poll.

Oh and for the avoidance of doubt, the fact that our lovely neighbour's cat uses our garden as a shit pit is really very inconvenient and annoying.

We've got young children who play in the garden regularly and are interested in gardening, but we have to police them when they dig in the beds in case they cover themselves in cat shit. Nice.

If you know for certain it is your neighbours cat and no other then mention it to them. Or buy some gadget to repel it.

'Many of the cat prevention devices require regular upkeep - batteries or regular replacing sticks or gells or whatever. I know I will be flamed for this, but hay ho, I also don't want her coming round and asking for yet more batteries or replacements. I don't want anything to do with my snooty neighbour. '

Ah so then you do understand how your neighbour must feel -- you don't want her coming to your house and bothering you for batteries or cells or whatever. You want to have nothing whatsoever to do with her. Just as she wants absolutely nothing to do with your cats' poo in her garden...

There is no real cultural bias against roaming cats in the US. It is a matter of accepting reality, which is that there are far more hazards outdoors to cats in the US than in the UK raccoons, lots of hawks, coyotes occasionally even in urban areas, opossums, snakes. But then keeping cats indoors does them no harm whatsoever in the US, so your belief that cats should stay outdoors has nothing to do with cat welfare perhaps more to do with litter box aversion? And didn't you say you had a litter box anyway?

YABU to refuse to contemplate offering her the cat repeller on the basis that it would need new batteries from you to keep it going. That is just ridiculous. HouseOfBamboo is right in her assessment of your FB poll too.

pingu, I think Houseof Bamboo is right. If you ask on FB or real life everyone will agree with you, because friends back each other up. I'd back someone up in your position in real life, maybe not on here.

Why don't you do what we do and make a nice spot in your own garden for your cat to go. After all, regardless of legalities, you really ought to encourage your own cat to go in your own garden - anything else is unpleasant for your neighbours and a bit irresponsible. It needn't make you any mess to clear up.

When ours first went outside I put some cat litter on some earthy soil under a tree in a corner of our garden. He has always used there. I top it up with new soil now and then, or sand, which cats love. He buries it so I have never had picking up to do and I have a clear conscience about other people's gardens as I see him use it regularly (though I am not allowed to stare at him doing this ). I leave it to the dogs give me the picking up pleasure!

houseofbamboo is correct in her assessment of your poll. and tbh, I dont care if its a culturally ingrained thing (although you are using the law as an excuse to avoid the harsh facts put across on this thread) its still disgusting.

and actually, Im really pissed off about the fact that if you were legally obliged to pick up after your pet you would get rid of it. if you feel so strongly that you shouldnt have to clean up after your pet, well, thats at best irresponsible. why on earth did you get a pet in the first place?

neednewname, the op admits that her cats do go in her neighbours garden, and even if they didnt... they are going in someones garden, somewhere!

Musicposy - its a long thread so you may not have seen that I do this. We have a triangle of flower bed that we dig up and have spread used litter on there. My cats still use their indoor litter tray and we have the area in our own garden. But cats are not fully trainable.

Pingu - Just out of interest, if say you were round at a neighbour's house (who you got on with, obviously) having a cup of tea in the garden and your cat popped over the fence and had a dump in the rose beds, how would you react? Would you expect your friend to clear it up, or would you be embarrassed and offer to do it yourself?

Or if a neighbour you did get on with popped round with a photo of your cat pooing in their garden and said "I'm sorry to ask, but your cat has been doing this for some time and I wondered whether you'd be prepared to either pick it up or buy us one of those cat repeller things" how would you react to that?

According to your argument, it's just not normal for people to be responsible for clearing up after their own cat, so you'd be within your rights not to do anything in either circumstance.

houseofbamboo, good question. doubt the op will answer it though.

You posted on the am I being unreasonable? And yes, YABU! You asked the question? So were strange for not give giving you the answer you wanted? Hum, let's hope you never gain control of a nation then! And as a life long cat owner, I take my responsibility seriously, I'm not required to by law, or culturally, but I do, just because the majority do not clean up after the cats, doesn't make it right! In some inner city areas, it's a majority of teenagers that carry a weapon, so does that make it right?
Do you know what, your nit ever going to get some people to see sense!

Btw? Does anyone know if any of the sonic repellents do work?

I agree with all of you. She posted in AIBU and has seem to taken the huff when a number of people (probably a majority) has said yes she is being unreasonable. It's not about legality it's about respecting your neighbours and their property. The attitude that "well the law says I don't have to so I won't bother" is missing the point completely.

Simple question Pingu. Would you like it if your cat shit in YOUR garden? No? Then why should your neighbour and why should she put up with it?

"If the law changed and I had to go round to the neighbours and clean up after my cat I would most likely not have a cat at all. If the law was, say, £1000 fine for not picking up your cat litter, then I would not have a cat."

What if society says you're being a crap neighbour and that you risk being alienated or worse by the rest of the street? Is that not good enough? Law or not you need to take responsibility for your actions!! Anything less is deplorable. You have chosen to have a cat so either keep it in your house/garden or pick up after it!

This lack of respect for other people and/or property is one of the root causes to today's yob culture. If you take this attitude to your neighbour what message are you sending to your kids?? "Oh, it's ok LO. We don't have to do that because she is snooty" "Don't worry about cleaning up that mess, it's not OUR problem" I think it's shocking.

Manicmummy, good post. Wish all cat owners were like you.
I can ask my best friend what he does as a cat owning landscape gardener.

My dog poos 2-3 times a day. Usually in his run. I clean it up, not because I am legally obliged to, but because leaving it is disgusting. Cat shit is no less disgusting than dog shit. Maybe I will lobby my mp about it. Enough fuss is made about dog fouling.

I have to say, I see the logic of why someone should pick up their own cat's poo, but I agree with the OP that it's just not (usually) expected in the UK. It seems to be quite an MN specific thing.

This thread has put me right off having a cat as I would not be at home during the day to pick up its poo should some neighbour decide to demand that.

Litter trays are all very well but the cat may well prefer to use the outdoors - cats aren't easy to train! (And all the cats I know bury their poo...)

Curly, yep. I'm pretty appalled that someone will get rid of their pet if they had to clean up after it. Why on earth get a pet?!

Minipie, its a shame, but that is a responsible attitude to take.

The neighbours request IS unusual, but I wish I'd thought of it at the old house instead of seething in silence.

to reply to OP original post, it is quite easy to see which cat shits in your garden (unless you have a massive garden) as you can look out of your kitchen window and see them doing it, our neighbours cat has used our garden as a toilet for several years, same bloody area of garden as well, it is a disgrace, and so if your neighbour knows its your cat then yes you should go round and as a gesture of goodwill pick it up, its your cats shit not your neighbours, when its hot in the summer thats all you can smell in my garden!!!

lissielou Dogs shit on the road, that has to be cleared up! and the majority of people do.

And so they should pick up their horse poo too. You going on about how lovely horse poo is, doesn't mean that the dozens of children who play in my street should have to step in it.

so, meerkat. why shouldnt you clean up after your cats? if you have access to the poo, and you are aware that it is causing upset and hindering someones enjoyment of the property they pay for and work hard on? can you answer?

I have said sooooooo many times that I feel in this case that the neighbour is just being vindictive. I have also said that I think if the neighbour wasn't in a habit of making nasty comments to the OP that they should try to come to some arrangement between them. Whether that be poo cleaning rota which the OP has suggested and the neighbour is now blanking her because of, or a cat deterent or something. The point is not the poo it is the neighbour. If I were in the OPs position I would naturally be much less inclined to sort something out then if the request came from a neighbour who treated me in a respectful way.

But in this case I doubt that the poo belongs to the OPs cats so all of that is a moot point. My reason for thinking this are, that the cats poo in their own litter box and their own garden toilet. There is only so much poo that two cats can produce! Add to this the fact that other (at least 3) neighbourhood cats are always in the neighbours garden and the poo is very likely to be from them. The neighbour is looking for a way to get at the OP.

She may also be upset about the poo but won't approach the other cats owers (even though OP suggested she did) because they are wealthy.

MarySueFTW Tell people if they are that passionate about things they should lobby their MP. Reasonableness incarnate.

I think that was actually a serious suggestion and not a bad one. The whole dog poo law thing must have started in a similar way so why not.

CurlyBoy She is not being huffy, she is just fighting her corner, and why wouldn't she!

Would you like it if your cat shit in YOUR garden?

Her cats DO shit in her garden (please read the thread properly) and they also shit in the litter tray that she provides for them. They can not possibly be shitting in the neighbours garden as well. It's cats not an elephant!

I still think in this instance it is about more than the cat poo, otherwise the neighbour would have happily asked all the other local cat owners todo the same, she hasn't

But the horse doesn't come into my garden. How are you not getting that? And that doesn't actually answer my question as to why you and other owners shouldn't clear it up, the feud is a red herring and irrelevant.