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?

I don't think most people are shooting rabbits because of where they poo sunna which is how you couched your argument. I think someone who shot rats, rabbits and foxes just because they poo in their garden would be deranged. Hunting for non pooing related pleasures is a whole other kettle of fish.

Not sure why you've mentioned paedophiles.

I asked why it's ethically ok to shoot rabbits in the UK but not shoot cats when both a bloody nuisances in my garden.

No, this is what you said:

Legally I could shoot rats, rabbits and foxes making a mess of my garden but I'm supposed to stand there and let cats shit and dig. What's so special about cats?

Hunting animals and the right and wrongs of hunting is an entirely different debate from shooting animals for messing in your garden. Which is what you posted.

Still not sure why paedophiles were mentioned.

But why is it ok (legally if not ethically) to shoot so-called vermin in our gardens but not shoot cats. That's what I'm asking.

My last couple of cats have been house cats and my impending kittens will be brought up as house cats so I'm confident I haven't added to the burden of my neighbours for many years, nor am I planning to.

However, it is very hard to train a cat to only go in a litter tray if they are allowed outdoor access. My first two cats were sisters and both litter tray trained. One would come back into the house to use the tray every time; the other would go wherever she was. They'd grown up together, had the same training, the same access to in- and outdoors at the same time but behaved in very different ways due to differences in character, confidence, response to instinct and training etc.

I hate cat shit in my garden as much as a non-cat owner, so I have sympathy and that's just one of the many reasons why I choose to have indoor cats now - I can be confident they are not being a nuisance to my neighbours or having an adverse impact on the wildlife round about.

Maybe the peedos are pooing in the gardens and the cats are getting the bad press
They deserve shooting for that

But why is it ok (legally if not ethically) to shoot so-called vermin in our gardens but not shoot cats. That's what I'm asking.

Legally I don't know why killing a cat (even a wild one) is animal cruelty whilst killing a rabbit or fox is okay but I believe that is the case. If the cat is owned then it would be criminal damage to shoot and kill the cat in the same way it would be illegal to kill somebody's pet rabbit.

To my mind morally the difference between killing a cat and killing a wild animal is that the cats are somebody's pet, even if one decides that it is morally okay to kill an animal which is being a nuisance on your property whether it's okay to kill an animal which is loved by it's owners and who would be deeply upset to find it killed I an entirely different moral question.

I think even most people who hate cats wouldn't like the idea of killing somebody else's pets. Most people have owned pets in their lifetimes and know the close bond that can be developed between pet owner and pet and the upset when that pet dies so I think morally the idea of killing a pet cat is much worse than killing a wild animal. Even if you don't see animals as things which need to be protected killing another person's pet is not a victimless crime and will deeply effect the owner, and their ability to feel safe, happy and secure in their neighbourhood. There is no human victim if killing a wild animal and I feel that is the moral difference.

If I loved an animal that much I wouldn't let it wander in case it got run over, chester. Owners are responsible for keeping their pets safe. If they choose to take risks they have to accept the consequences.

If you think it is cruel not to walk a dog then you can't expect owners to keep their cats inside as you obviously can't take cats for a walk like you can with dogs.

I agree cat owners are responsible for keeping their pets safe, however I think owning a pet is similar to raising a child - you can't protect them from all risks so it's about measuring up the risk against the benefit.

If I lived on a very busy road I would probably decide that it was not worth the risk of letting my cat outside in case she got run over. However in a quiet area without busy roads I would determine the likelihood of my cat being run over was small and the benefit of her being able to go outside would outweigh the risk.

If my cat then got run over of course I would have to accept that was a consequence of my decision to let her outside as being run over is a very real risk and is usually caused by the cat's lack of road sense rather than dangerous driving. However I don't think being shot/killed is a reasonable consequence to expect from letting a cat outside, any person who kills another person's cat is behaving both unreasonably and illegally and should take sole responsibility for their actions.

I wouldn't blame a cat owner for their cat being shot by an unhinged person even if they had let it free roam any more than I would blame a parent for their teenager being harmed by an unhinged person after they had let him/her walk to school unsupervised.

Build a bloody cat run.

People who shoot vermin aren't unhinged, they are legally dealing with a nuisance, chester. I wouldn't do it but I don't think they are mad.

There is a MASSIVE difference between cat shit and fox / hedgehog etc shit. The cat shit in my garden is there as a direct result of someone deciding to own a cat. I know this is an unpopular view but I think owning a cat which roams outside is a hugely antisocial act.

Animal shit has recently started appearing on the flat roof of our single storey extension. That ain't no fucking hedgehog. I suppose it could conceivably be a fox but, given the number of times I have seen the neighbour's cat up there, it seems unlikely.

I think anybody who shoots somebody's pet cat is unhinged. I don't think it's right to shoot somebody's cat because it's a nuisance any more than it's right to break into someone's house and smash up their stereo system because they play their music too loud. It's criminal damage and a crime which will deeply effect the owners and will likely cause them to feel unsafe and unhappy in their home.

I think if somebody's response to a problem is to cause criminal damage without thinking about how that will cause the owner to feel, both short-term and long-term, then that person is clearly unable to empathise or to manage their anger. Shooting another person's pet for causing a nuisance is certainly not normal or reasonable behaviour and I think anybody who would do so is definitely unhinged.

Add message | Report | Message poster Sunna Sun 14-Sep-14 06:48:14
I've read that they hate the small of Jeyes Fluid, maybe pour that around the areas.

NO! Cats are attracted to Jeyes Fluid and it causes them to die an agonising death if ingested!

Tell that to farmers who shoot dogs worrying sheep. They are certainly not unhinged and are entitled to protect their flocks from other people's out of control pets, no matter what grief it causes the owner.

The answer is fairly simple.

Cat owners pay extra on insurance, it goes into a pot and that pot can be used to pay off the damage that their pets do.

I mentioned paedophiles as I think the argument that you should lock up your cats because they are likely to be killed by someone intent on getting poo revenge is as silly as locking up your children until they are 18 for fear of paedophiles on every corner. It was meant slightly tongue in cheek as I'm sure you realised Sunna. I suspect insancerre is right though and it is the paedophiles crapping on your lawn and not Mr Timbres from two doors down.

Funnily enough I've owned cats all my life, and three since I left home at 19 and I've never had any complaints from neighbours but if I did of course I would do my best to sort that out. I like to get on with my neighbours and always have done so, despite being antisocial, irresponsible and having a special place reserved for me in he'll. Because I own a cat.

Don't be ridiculous! Worrying sheep is a world away from crapping on a lawn. Have you seen the damage a dog can cause sheep?

Tell that to farmers who shoot dogs worrying sheep. They are certainly not unhinged and are entitled to protect their flocks from other people's out of control pets, no matter what grief it causes the owner.

I completely agree, however I would argue in that circumstance the pet is doing more than causing a nuisance (which is what we are originally talking about). Obviously there are circumstances where it is okay to kill another person's pet, an out-of-control pet posing a danger to one's livestock is one of those. In such circumstances where somebody is protecting themselves (or their livestock/children etc) from an imminent danger of course they would not be unhinged to kill the animal posing a danger.

But a cat pooing on someone's lawn, whilst very annoying, is not out of control or posing any real danger and thus, to my mind, is not a reasonable excuse to kill the cat. The nuisance caused to the shooter is not likely to be comparable to the suffering the owner will feel on finding out their cat has been killed. I don't think shooting the cat is a normal response, I think most people would find the idea abhorrent and thus that anybody who did shoot in response to the cat causing a nuisance (but not a danger) would be unhinged.

It is a lot of trouble and expense to go for shooting lessons, obtain a gun licence, then a gun. You would have some serious issues if you went to those lengths because a cat did a poo in your garden.

Cats don't like the smell of citrus or garlic.

If you scatter orange peel in the flower bed they don't like it. You can also mix garlic puree in a watering can and water the plants with it. The plants take up the garlic smell and this keeps cats away (garlic deters greenfly as well!).

Jeyes Fluid is poisonous to cats (as is Dettol - and any other phenols) so that might be a bit drastic!

The best way to deter a cat pooing in your garden, is to get your own cat