Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

to want to cry on hearing my neighbour is going to get another cat..

243 replies

Justonemorecardi · 03/02/2014 13:35

My neighbour had two cats until the summer when they moved out for 3 months while their house was renovated. They came back daily to feed them but one went missing in the trauma of it all and never came back.

The other cat comes for its daily poo in my garden and I've been out gardening this weekend and there is a whole winters worth of poo in my borders and under our kitchen staircase (external spiral thing with plants underneath) - its disgusting.

Last year I told her what was happening and she just listened but said she didn't know what to do about it and her husband just stood their pretending to vomit.

I've just heard they're planning to buy another cat to replace the missing one - I want to cry. Why can't they train the cats to go in a litter tray? Surely if you live in a city its obvious it has to poo in someone's garden, so its antisocial and selfish to not train it?

OP posts:
Mia4 · 03/02/2014 14:36

I expect the cat sees it as his territory, so by trying those repellents he may find somewhere else. If you do it now then their new cat will learn to stay away. It won't poo in the same ares as the current ones does though they tend to find their own patch. By repelling now the new one learns early to avoid you and shit somewhere else.

I doubt new one will be an issue if you start this way. Only the old one will be hard to break the habit of.

musicmadness · 03/02/2014 14:42

if the normal repellents don't work, what about a motion activated sprinkler? I know that worked for a friend who was despairing of the visiting neighbourhood cats. It squirted every time the cats went near. Didn't take long for the problem to stop!

HauntedNoddyCar · 03/02/2014 14:45

Could you enclose the bottom pf your staircase with chicken wire? On the inside obviously. It might break the habit the cat is in.

How does it get in to your garden?

HavantGuard · 03/02/2014 14:49

Cat owners know that their pet will shit in other people's gardens. They don't care.

Original poster
Justonemorecardi · 03/02/2014 14:49

I haven't seen the sprinklers - worth a try (although another £50!) I've just dug out the sonic repeller from the basement, but what I found was that the cat went around the back of it and it wasn't big enough to cover our garden (which isn't huge 50'x30').

We're currently redesigning the garden to get rid of beds down one side and trying to cover on shrubs on the other - all because of the cat. But sort of think whats the point, it'll find somewhere Confused

OP posts:
handcream · 03/02/2014 14:51

I am laughing at this thread - I know its not funny....

Particularly liked the answer from Autumn.

All ideas from water pistols, sprays, lavender etc. I have visions of cats hiding in the bushes until they know you cannot see them and then going in to do the deed.

We have a large dog, surprisingly NO cats come into our garden apart from probably the bravest cat in the world from down the road (dont see her that often) who just stares down our rottie who is now very scared of her indeed...

MidniteScribbler · 03/02/2014 14:51

I love cats, but hate outdoor cats. I have dogs and they aren't allowed to annoy the neighbours, so why should cats?

I've moved to a new house and I'm renovating and will be installing these on my fencelines: oscillot.com.au/. You can improvise with a string with a piece of pipe over it. The idea is that it rolls when the cat tries to jump on the fence. When I moved in to this house the neighbours cats tried their luck a few times, but have quickly learned their lesson about sticking to their own side of the fence.

Original poster
Justonemorecardi · 03/02/2014 14:52

I thought about chicken wire, but it'll look horrible, we have a really pretty victorian walled garden with a wrought iron spiral staircase. I could pay for it to be encased properly, but it'll cost a fortune, sigh

OP posts:
skittycat · 03/02/2014 14:52

YANBU to be fed up with the cat shit, but YABU to be questioning why they should get another cat because current cat shits in your garden.

I would recommend going with the citrus scented plants etc in the areas that he is going in... My three cats absolutely detest citrus and avoid anywhere that has a citrus scent. (and no, my cats do not shit in other people's gardens... because they are indoor cats). Lavender should work as well.

I think there's also a product called... Get off my garden/lawn or something like that that may work, but has mixed reviews on Amazon.

I can't say that i've ever had much success using a squirt gun as a deterrent... it doesn't seem to create a long lasting effect on my cats at all :/

NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 03/02/2014 14:53

We have 2 cats. They know how to use a litter tray but as they spend 75% of their time outside they go to the loo whilst they are out

Floralnomad · 03/02/2014 14:54

I agree that this is your problem ,not your neighbours ,she is entitled to get 10 cats if she wants and not worry about where they crap . We found that the foul smelling green crystal stuff works in small areas and apparently coffee grounds are supposed to be good . I do sympathise ,do you have any friends with cat hating dogs that you could borrow for a couple of hours here and there.

Original poster
Justonemorecardi · 03/02/2014 14:54

Doesn't the citrus stuff just wash off in the rain?

OP posts:
Canidae · 03/02/2014 14:57

Gather it up and chuck it in the owners garden? I know it doesn't solve the problem but it might make you feel better!

wyrdyBird · 03/02/2014 14:59

Not much you can do to train a cat. All you can do is provide litter, encourage it to go in your garden by clearing some ground, tell the neighbours to discourage it humanely (water, etc).

If a cat was soiling my garden, I would keep trying cat off sprays, tiger dung etc.

Another suggestion: collect some small twigs and put them close together, end up in the soiled area, creating an obstacle to persistent diggers. Or chicken wire, or something that physically prevents digging.

skittycat · 03/02/2014 15:00

A citrus/lavender plant isn't going to lose it's scent in the rain... the crystal things on amazon claim to be effective in all weathers as well.

I've read that plants like Daphne Odora are lemony scented and grow well in borders and in cities like london.... but depends on whether you want to go down the lemony plant root!

lottieandmia · 03/02/2014 15:01

The best thing is to throw water at the cat. This is an effective, yet humane aversive to use. Cats really hate water. They will go somewhere else.

yonisareforever · 03/02/2014 15:01

I htink you need to put your foot down over it.

I think you need to say , i am really un happy about clearing it up, this is why i dnt have pets i dont like shit.

please would you come and clear it up.

or chuck it back into her garden although you still have to manhandle it.

newyearhere · 03/02/2014 15:02

YANBU. A pet is supposed to be something that stays on its owners' property. If a cat can't do that, it's not a suitable pet.

HansieMom · 03/02/2014 15:03

There is the Scarecrow which we had to scare off deer. Motion activated, it sends out jets of water. Thus you do not have to be concerned about you opening the door and scaring cat off.

No good in freezing temperatures though. But next Spring....

SlimJiminy · 03/02/2014 15:03

I have had cats. I don't currently own one. I wouldn't pick up my cat's sh1t out of someone else's garden, no. My neighbours' cats do sh1t in my garden. It's disgusting. I hate having to pick it up before I mow the lawn. But I wouldn't expect them to clear it up. These things happen.

Bit of a ridiculous comment asking why she needs another. She doesn't need another one. But I wouldn't ask a mother of 1 why she needed another child - as though one should be enough. Okay, a cat isn't on the same scale as a child - but people don't always stop when they have 1 of something.

educatingarti · 03/02/2014 15:05

get loads of pea sticks and stick about 2 inches apart over offending area. Also plant prickly plants in vicinity. Then sprinkle soil surface with cayenne pepper/ chilli powder. Keep renewing powder as it rains. this should all help and are fairly low cost!

catsmother · 03/02/2014 15:05

Some cat owners do care .... accept that others don't, but talk about sweeping generalisations.

I have 5 cats (so shoot me) but in my defence live literally on the outskirts of huge fields/woods and I'm pretty sure at least some of my cats use the field.

However, (and I've said this many times on threads like these before) I do fully understand that my neighbours won't want to be clearing up poo - and even though at last count there were at least 20 cats in our small road - many of whom I've seen in my garden as well as neighbours' so the poo may not always be my cats' anyway .... I've always made a point of explaining to my neighbours that if they are affected by cat poo I will come and collect it. One lovely neighbour actually said "oh no I couldn't possibly ask you to do that" which was pretty decent of her but having made the offer, no-one's taken me up on it in many years .... so either my cats barely use their gardens, or they appreciate me fronting up to the issue and have decided to take it in their stride.

I've also made it clear I have no objection to a hose being pointed in the direction of any of my cats who become a nuisance. In my own garden I keep a clear patch of soil unplanted with the objective of the cats finding it a comfortable place to use as a loo ... I then clear that up as necessary and threaten the kids never to go near it. Also keep a couple of litter trays indoors - which are used on occasion ..... again, the idea is to try and keep them out of the neighbours' way.

If you (understandably) don't want to go to the bother of ground planting, then lots of small twiggy material in between plants is a reasonable deterrent as they can't get to the earth then ..... holly clippings are also good, and will obviously eventually break down and nourish the soil as well.

Shitehawke · 03/02/2014 15:05

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

lottieandmia · 03/02/2014 15:07

I thought that maybe the OP was questioning them getting another cat because they didn't take care of the first two, ie, leaving them alone in the house and one of them disappearing. If cats are unhappy they will generally find another home. I personally would not leave pets in a house that I was not currently living in.

catsmother · 03/02/2014 15:08

That's nice Shite

Swipe left for the next trending thread