Should owners clean up after cats?

[Sillysausage2]

I'm a responsible dog owner and clean up after my dog. Unfortunately I think the scent of my dog attracts cats to my front garden, I watched 2 come and shit in my garden this afternoon! LO plays in the front garden and apparently cat shit is very dangerous, AIBU to be a bit pissed off with this?

Hmmm, FisherQueen - I thought you were posting hypothetically. So I wasn't responding personally!! But you did, in an inflammatory way, state For those that are gungho about your cat's right to roam and then go on to question it further.
One of my cats sometimes kills (very small rodents), but I would suspect she would not be capable of killing a small child. The other cat brings in live creatures, then lets them go for us to rescue (often, in the early hours of the morning) Another story . . .

A dog capable of killing a cat would set my alarm bells ringing, TBH. Domestic cats are not known for killing children, generally speaking.

I feel for your concern for small rodents - I sure hope you don't own a predatory animal that is allowed to roam unsupervised and will hunt small animals...

You are mixing sentiments here. I think we were earlier talking about "hypothetical" domestic rodents that may (or not) have been kept in a garden - unlikely!

I am delighted if and when (hardly ever) my cats catch the wild diseased rodents (mice and rats, of which we have a lot) in this area. I wish they could work for their keep!

Again - no link between predation and human aggression, it is a completely different suite of behaviours. Why is it fine for a cat to exhibit natural predatory behaviour and kill a smaller animal but not a dog? The dog doesn't know it is a pet and therefore has a special meaning to humans.

Gungho was the wring word to choose and I apologise for that. Like I said I am torn on this but it was bloody horrible to experience especially after I had gone to so much trouble to try and stop it from happening. Cat proofing my garden wouldn't work (according to the company I spoke to) as I would be running the risk of a cat getting in but then not being able to get out again.

And I will add the cat came into my house - not just the garden and the dogs are never given unsupervised access to the garden but I refuse to have all the windows closed in summer because of someone else's pet.

No I'm not - in your second message to me you spoke about hedgehogs and squirrels. They aren't domestic pets.

And I should add it isn't and shouldn't be my problem. My dog is safely contained on my property, on a lead or off lead in a safe, appropriate area. She can also be recalled off a chase. However I can't prevent a wandering animal entering the house through an open window when I am upstairs and they are downstairs.

Okay, Fisher, sorry if we appear to be at crossed purposes here. A hedgehog is not a rodent. A squirrel is, and can leap to safety, probably, unless it is ill. I was specifically referring to a previous poster who expressed a strange wish to be able to keep mice and rats in her garden - I thought that was what you were referring to.

I think the difference between a (domestic) cat and a dog being able to display predatory behaviours is because a small cat can only predate a much smaller creature, whereas a dog will go for anything that annoys it.

And this has now drifted far away from the "poo" discussion.

Dogs chase small things that move fast in the same way that cats catch birds and mice. Generally cats can move faster and escape by moving somewhere that the dog can't go. Many cats can give a dog as good as it gets. A free roaming cat is also likely to encounter foxes and cars.

Dogs are territorial and may attack an animal entering their home. However most cats are wary of entering other people's houses, certainly one containing a dog.

Dogs don't generally chase small children who are not threatening and don't move fast. Some dogs are aggressive and this is why the law treats dogs and cats differently.

Toddlers do not have the right to roam and a toddler that will wander unsupervised onto somebody else's property is, unfortunately, entering a whole world of danger that includes traffic, ponds, heights, machinery etc. etc.

My spaniel definitely goes for 'prey'. I don't think he has a concept of being annoyed.

Ah OK - that was a bit confusing!

However a dog will not go for anything that annoys it - they will show predatory behaviour to appropriate species in most cases - there are rare cases where these instincts go wrong but it is very, very rare.

If predation to smaller animals was predictive of human aggression then we would be buggered for most dog breeds. Aside from the toy breeds, almost all of them have had some part of the predatory sequence exaggerated for our purposes. When a collie herds it is using the stalk and chase instinct. When a retriever retrieves it has an exaggerated stalk, chase and grab bite. In reality those with a strong prey drive are usually the most controllable and trainable as you can exploit those instincts.

That cat fence is hilarious! Would people really rather look at that all round their gardens than have a cat or two visit them occasionally?

I have no idea why you think a cat fence is 'hilarious'. My neighbour one side has one. I can't even see her garden or fence - other than the side that is in my garden. Even if I could see the fence her side it wouldn't worry me what it looked like!

Now if the other 3 houses in the street who own cats were as considerate I wouldn't have to spend so much time cleaning up THEIR cat mess from MY garden!

One of them knocked everyone's doors a while ago asking if they had seen her cat that was missing and she thought it had been run over. Nobody had and nobody cared tbh.

I'd just but you one gabby. Problem solved

*buy

One of them knocked everyone's doors a while ago asking if they had seen her cat that was missing and she thought it had been run over. Nobody had and nobody cared tbh

What a fine example of a lovely, caring community
I really wish I could be your neighbour

A person thinks its a great idea to get a cat (or three), and couldn't give a rats backside where the cat wanders off to or where it is crapping. The cat goes missing or has been run over. Who's fault is that? That's a few less turds to pick up a day.

Our neighbours are very friendly - except to the people who see fit to make their neighbours pick up their cat shit!

LST I don't need a fence - they are designed to keep cats in the garden. Cats are not welcome in mine!

I would be so embarassed knocking on my neighbours door and saying "please can you come round and dig up a cat poo from my border?" They would think I was either pathetic or mad or both! I couldn't be bothered to police it either, having better and more pleasant things to get on with. Let the poo rot and fertilize the flowers.

Exactly that's your issue not the cat owners. They are well within their rights letting their cats roam. you're the one with the problem deary.

Look, Evans, you'll feel better if you just say sorry, you know you will then we can all agree to disagree and I will accept the vile piles of merde my adorable neighbour's cat leaves on my deck.
Neighbour is lovely and I am typically English. I would rather sever a limb than complain to her.
That's what mums net's for!
Deep breath and then "Sorry guys, my pet poos up your jar din SOZ!" and then we can all put our hands in the air and walk away from the net of mums (and the blokes who we know are here)

I think some cat owners are getting rights and responsibilities getting mixed up.

They have rights but no responsibility. I'm not mixed up duck.

not only do my dogs understand the difference between a cat (raccoon, possum, especially rats) and people. They also give the chickens a very wide berth which we encourage strongly.

You don't have to have the angled cat fences, I posted about the fence rollers. Not cheap I'm sure, but I would think cats would not be terribly happy about them.

No - cats roam and it would be cruel to keep them in, which is what it would mean.

IT IS NOT "CRUEL" TO KEEP CATS INDOORS.

Some cats adapt to it. Some cats don't. Some cats actively prefer it. Some cats don't. A true animal lover will consider the best circumstances for their individual pet, and that includes not automatically chucking the cat outside because it's easier for the owner or because it's "the done thing".

Can we stop with the sweeping generalisations, both about all cats and all owners? Some owners are inconsiderate arseholes who make unpleasant neighbours because of their disregard for where their cat shits, how much wildlife it kills or how any plants it digs up. Some aren't.

There is no legal responsibility for a cat owner to clean up after their cat, but there should be a moral obligation not to knowingly make life unpleasant for those around you, and that goes for everything - acknowledging and minimising the effect cat shit has on your neighbours, not playing loud music, not letting your dog bark, not revving your car unnecessarily, not lighting bonfires or BBQs when your neighbour has their washing out. A little less "I have the right to..." and a little more "I should take responsibility for..." and the world would be a nicer place all round.

Look, MrsJavier - as it is not my cat leaving vile piles of merde on your decking, I honestly have nothing to apologise for. Surely this is an argument you should be taking up with your neighbour. If you know for sure it is his/her cat leaving the vile piles.

We have cats, yes, we do. But most of our neighbours also have cats. They all use our garden as a toilet. I've seen Harry next door, Limping Milly, from the house at the end of the garden, Cleo from up the road, plus several others - they all do it, regardless of the fact that we have our own cats and it is their "territory". It would be an almost impossible task to match a poo with it's depositor. So I just clean it up, regardless of who might have left it. As I do with the foxes, hedgehogs, etc. (Fox poo is particularly vile). But it's not hard. If you have a garden, then expect animal visitors. If you don't want any animal visitors, then perhaps you should be the one to "animal-proof" your own garden. Even if cats don't visit, other creatures will! Would you then send a complaint to your local Council, or Wildlife Trusts, because wild animals are visiting your garden and making unwelcome deposits?

No pet poos in our garden but the domestic cat. I am hardly going to kick off about a fox!

I just wish cat owners would more generally say:

"We want cats and you have to deal with their poo because they need to roam. Thanks for your indulgence of us in this respect, we silently appreciate your cooperation by quietly putting up with it. It is nasty for you as you are not getting any pleasure from our pets. It is very generous of you. Thank you."

"Except for those of you who do get a lot of pleasure from a visiting cat, in which case, you're welcome".