to dislike cats ALOT long rant alert

[snoozealot]

the S**t in the garden is what's really p-ing me off - fine, have a cat; not for me but if it floats your boat - not doing me any harm but THEY DON'T SHIT IN YOUR OWN GARDEN DO THEY??????????? rant extinguished by simple yes they do response.lol.

it bloody stinks- it's in my herb garden, in the lawn, in the borders - i planted a baby plant - one of the last seedlings started from a friends mum who died and guess what - a cat dug it up so they could SHIT in my plant nursery! I feel like I can't take my own two little ones in the garden as it's literally a health hazard. on the one time my daughter did get out lately she managed to step in some poo before I realised - trodden into the carpet - you know just such a pain when you've then got to put everything else on hold to deal with that. I've bought some sort of cat repellent granules - but haven't used them yet because of the rain and I'm wondering about worsening the health hazard to LO's (and basically got guilts re environment, should just read the label - proabably fine but can't find the bloomin thing now.)

seriously though, in a built up urban area - does anyone think iabu to think that it's actually just irresponsible to have cats in terraced streets? esp as ppl seem to have at least 2 now. there are at least 5 that come to our garden regularly - since the wind blew down some of our back fence our garden seemed to become cat M25, we've fixed the fence but we're an established route/cat watford gap now. I don't have a lot of spare time to do anything by myself with a toddling 10mo and busy manic 3yo, and I don't want to spend it picking up cat shit. - esp when i can just smell it but not find it!!quite apart from the impact on the wildlife - I don't have any science to back it up but i reckon there's definitely been a decline in birds in our back gardens since there have been more cats in the area.

I'm not an animal hater. I had pets as a child and my parents always had a dog and still do. I flat and house shared with ppl who had cats - some were cool some were frankly vile. (the cats that is not the owners!) there are a couple of cats that live nearby that are actually really nice in and of themselves - quite friendly (cheeky - have that look of can i come in your kitchen and nick some food) and the daily troop thru the garden entertain my little 10 mo who watches them from her high chair as she eats brekkie. it's just their bad habits as a collective group - i don't get the positives.

aargh sorry too longx

no oh well forget that op

i thought it was only man pee that worked as a deterrent not lady pee :)

my cat poos in our garden too. he is not very bright either, adorable just a little dim

I agree about Fox poo
I have 4 cats, I put a litter tray outside my back door & the cats always poo in that.
Being technical, cat poo in a healthy cat is generally not that big ( on the dry side as cats are not big water drinkers) also not very smelly as cats don't eat all the rubbish foxes ( and some dogs) do. Cats are very fussy eaters & usually just eat cat food.
One of mine likes crisps???
Cats usually poo in the same area each time (habit) and then kick dirt or leaves over it. It is unlikely a cat will poo in an open space, they favour dark quiet corners.
Fox poo is bigger, can be messy, very very smelly sometimes you can see worms in it or lumps of undigested food. I promise I don't make a habit of studying fox poo, it's just we have a nasty fox who keeps going on the lawn ( have caught it in the act twice)
Fox poo is revolting.
OP
Maybe it's fox & cat, cat's do like herbs.
One of mine sleeps in the mint!
Hope you catch your culprit!

worra .

I agree with cote, there are loads of cats round here and I have never once come across cat shit in my flower beds.

When I had a cat it was blamed for shitting in the middle of the shared lawn, now my cat was a total princess and always used the litter tray rather than getting her paws dirty, plus the poo was massive, definitely not a cat poo, more likely fox.

Makes a change fromanti-dog threads I suppose.

Our cats shit in our garden, we watch from the window. I do sympathise with you, it's a bit gross. Also we got them after spotting rats in the garden. Well they're certainly hunting them, cos last week I found a dead baby rat in the kitchen. GROSS! And I'm pregnant so believe me my own cats are pissing me off,especially as they're walking their dirty paws over my kitchen table when I'm not there. I'm a bit stressed about it at the moment, especially as this is a pregnancy after a miscarriage...

how awful to kill an innocent animal.
I think you're right chickydoo - I think there's cats and fox - your description is quite useful i'll be checking more closely! think it's definitely cat poo in my herb garden that's been going on a while - usually I can pick it out fairly easily - dry as you say - and i'm pretty sure it's cats poo i find when i've freshly planted things - do they like the finely raked soil wow my garden SOUNDS really well looked after - really it's not. fox i have no idea it's poo is hiding in long grass and fuller border i think.

sorry x post I meant for the lady who's cat's been killed - ponycongrats on your pregnancy and hope it's going well eek about the rats - I hadn't considered rats but i guess they're everywhere so have to look out for them.

Ok - I don't like the buggers either but they're everywhere so I just have to live with it. Get some of those green sticks they sell for propping up plants, break them in half and stick them in the ground a couple of inches apart. You won't notice them but cats can't lower their arses to have a crap without getting a whole bunch of sticks right up 'em and they do not like that!! Worked for us and haven't had cat shit in the garden for years.

Thank God my cat's a house cat!

My mum likes gardening and never complains about finding poop even though there are loads of cats around. A guy near us used to leave out poisoned cat food and several cats died or had to be put to sleep as a result. Whilst I can understand that he found it annoying having cats in his garden if you'd seen the state of his garden, you'd question whether it even was a garden!

lentilly fart 1st love your nn, 2nd - great idea. but have fears for falling kids - but surely i will find somewhere to put them.

Can't you buy one of those things that emit a sound that keeps the cats away?

A squirt of water with the hose is also effective

Oh dear, another cat thread! I got a pasting in the last one! IMO, if you want a cat as a pet, you should have a cat run. Youd keep a bird in a cage, and a dog on a lead. Why are cats any different? Apart from anything else, it would stop so many of them being knocked down on the roads. They should not be allowed to roam free. They are a threat to wildlife, and they are annoying. They are annoying when they shit in your flower bed. They are annoying when they kill the birds you've spent so long tempting to the bird table. They are very annoying when they get shut in your shed by accident, and piss over everything!
Yes, fox, hedgehog, rabbits and birds can and do crap In gardens. But, they are nature. They arent there purely because some lazy bugger wanted a pet that they disnt have to pick up behind! you are quite within your rights to purchase a trap or gun, and and rid your garden of foxes et al. You are quite within you rights to put down bait for rats. But you have absolutely no choice, as to whether someone else's pet cat enters your property. Yes, their are many so called deterrents, but not many of them work!
IME, the only sure fire deterrent against cats, is a large, scary, slightly hungry cat hating dog!

Snooze & Saggy - the only proper cat deterrent is... getting a cat! I don't get any cats in my garden because my cat tries to kill them all.

She also kindly gave my neighbour's large Collie a panic attack.. & hisses at all the neighbours.

Weirdly the neighbours all still say she's 'beautiful' (well, she is the fluffiest cat around here); even funnier are her adoring group of boy cat stalkers (who are obviously masochists).
She's rubbish at hunting. In her last attempt she ran up to a group of indifferent pigeons with her mouth open; obviously she expected them to just stand there waiting to get eaten.
Re: Fox Poo - in the garden there were huge turds on the lawn - nothing like cat poo - i would not have believed it until i saw it. My Dad (from the countryside) said it was fox poo - there are foxes the size of Alsatians round here.

YANBU. I love cats but I am responsible, don't let them wander, breed willy nilly and kill so much native wildlife that is so precious here in Aus.

No idea why people think it's okay for their pet to infringe on someone elses home. Same rule about dogs roaming should apply to cats IMO.

We have sooo many at the cat shelter because people let them wander. :(

Cats bury their shit - if it is on the lawn it is probably a fox.

Agree, if it's on the lawn it's foxes. We get this a LOT.

Not all cats bury their shit. All of my ex neighbours 4 would shit in the middle of our lawn. It wasn't a fox, we would frequently catch them mid shit.

OP,

I am cat owner, but I do see where you are coming from. I keep my two cats indoors, except for "walks" on a lead. The main thing I fear is the road - but I also worry about the neighbour's dogs, other cats (regularly hear fighting), antifreeze and rodent poisons, bothering the neighbours or being fed by neighbours. Part of me does think it is a bit strange to own a pet, but let it wander the neighbourhood and shit everywhere.

BUT there is no law against this, so you can be annoyed, but you have no recourse.

My best suggestion would be to cat-proof your garden. It would cost a bit of money to set up, but it CAN be done, and would obviously give you piece of mind about your children playing outside and your plants not being dug up!

Not all cats bury their own shit. Not all cats crap in other peoples gardens. Not all cata kill wildlife, invade homes or make themselves a nuisance. But many do. To the people who don't want cats in their lives, they are bloody irritating!

YANBU if it really is cats. I'm not a cat fan (understatement), but I have never had a problem with them dumping on the lawn, only foxes. (I am trying very hard not to start on my What is Disgusting About Cats Rant as I could type for hours!). They have loads of them next door, but to their credit, from the day we moved in, said if you have any problems with our cats in your garden please let us know, and we will sort it out. I would love to know what they will do, but we haven't had any problems extensive enough for me to go round there. I have seen one digging itself a little hole in the front border, but never anywhere else, and since we put chip bark down in them all they don't seem to like it here any more. Cats (I'm led to believe) are creatures of habit, and I've never seen aforementioned cat anywhere except it's apparent favourite spot at the front unless it was just passing through.
Having said all that, I may just retract it all having read takingiteasy's post. Shudder.
OP you have my sympathy.

purity AWESOME!

YANBU really - I did quite want a cat when we lived in a terraced house, but didn't think it was a fair thing to do, to cat or neighbours.

It's a bit daft to say 'hedgehogs shit' - I've never seen a hedgehog ripping out plants, and actually I've never seen any hedgehog shit either.

I do think people should think about where they live, and about the other people who live there, when deciding whether or not it's sensible or fair to keep an animal.