Fence spikes to keep cats out?

[Shootingstar2289]

So we live in a village with a huge cat population lol. We don't dislike them but my OH is severely allergic.

Anyway, for a while we have had a HUGE problem with cats pooing in our garden. I have a son with Autism and a crawling baby. Both don't watch where they are walking (crawling). So we are on the constant watch out for poo and picking it up. We cannot relax in our own garden. We cannot even less be our back door open as they often walk in the house!

My partner bought some plastic spikes from Amazon and wants to put them along the fence.

Are we in the right to do this? We tried some kind of cat deterant spray with no luck as well as cat scarers. Neither worked.

We are at the end of our tether.

[Shootingstar2289]

Thank you JayDot500. Hopefully be the same for us. I love cats too.

As said before foursillybeans. The spikes we have bought won't cause a cat harm. Just more likely to put them off. We aren't cruel to animals. Just fed up of my children stepping in cats poo. They poo in our lawn, in our stones, in our hedges, in our flower bed and on the patch or mud we have after my oh dug up a load of old bushes the old owner planted. Found a lump on our front grass today. But that is not fenced off but of course that could also be a dog.

[ApostrophesMatter]

It's ok, I see that now.

[pilates]

Sorry Apostrophes, yes I thought you were poisoning cats.

[ApostrophesMatter]

Ah! I see. No, just rats. As I said, I like animals but not enough to let pests live.

[NotYoda]

Apostrophes

I think she assumed you were poisoning cats

You sometimes get people on threads like this intimating they poison or shoot pet animals

[ApostrophesMatter]

Not sure what your point is, Pilates. Nice?

Do you think I should let my garden be overrun with rats?

[NotYoda]

charleston

You don't have to wait around all the time. If you do a relentless campaign for a period of weeks, they learn to stop

[ElegantDream]

Oops! was that a TAAT.

[ElegantDream]

I always think it's strange that two similar threads get such different viewpoints on

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/the_litter_tray/2654486-AIBU-Neighbour-wars-over-our-cats?msgid=61521984

[NotYoda]

Pump-action water pistol plus Silent Roar pellets have kept cats out of our garden.

I have a cat myself, which doesn't go out anymore - v old and scared of other cats

No poo since I started my water-pistolling

I totally totally get the horror of cat poo in the garden. It is disgusting and it smells disgusting.

If i ever got another cat I'd think very seriously about getting an indoor rescue cat

[pilates]

"I quite like animals but we still put down rat poison".

Nice

[Trumpette]

Apologies if anyone has already posted this but cats hate the smell of moth balls. You can buy super strength ones from Amazon (with Chinese packaging). They do the job without harming the cat and the smell, although not pleasant, is not unbearable.

Just a suggestion!

[JellyBellyKelly]

Pie and jelly belly you're both vile and incredibly cruel. Barbed wire used for that purpose is illegal btw.

Eh???

[bakeoffcake]

Regarding a dog attacking a cat, our ndn cats come into our garden, we have a Jack Russell, luckily our garden is pretty large so the dog hasn't yet noticed the cats before we've scared them off.
God knows what will happen when she does see them, it won't be pretty!
We've warned the neighbours but they say they can't do anything. There's no way we're paying to cat proof our garden so their cats don't get attacked my our dog! And if a vets bill arrived, which I'm sure they wouldnt be stupid enough to send, it would be put straight in the bin!

[StillDrSethHazlittMD]

I love how cat owners say things like "I've never seen a cat shit on a lawn". Well, trust me, they do. Frequently. I've had a problem with cats shitting on my lawn and borders for the last 12 months. Spent a fortune on every possible deterrent including those sonic things (yes, I can hear their noise too). Primarily because of one fucking nightmare neighbour with 22 cats - yes, 22, because they don't get them neutered. We had shit on our wheelie bins, everywhere. I've had property damaged by these cats. Council would do nothing - surely shit on wheelie bins (belonging to them) should be classed as a health hazard. RSPCA would do nothing.

Finally, these people have left and taken all their cats with them. I can enjoy my garden again.

I have friends who have house cats that don't go out at all. Perfectly happy cats. I have friends whose cats who only use litter trays and never shit outside in other people's gardens. Great cats.

I love cats, don't get me wrong, but I don't see why there are no laws against excessive cat problems. In some states in America you can be fined if your cat does its crap in someone else's garden. LOVE that!

[ApostrophesMatter]

I quite like animals but we still put down rat poison.

[Fonzy]

And you state you are animal lovers yet you are planning on installing something which will injure animals? Hmmm. can we say hypocrite?


And do you love children I'm assuming? Yet you are willing to own something than you cannot control, that's poos everywhere and it's poo causes blindness?

[londonrach]

Ill leave this here... catsaway.org/cat-law/

[ApostrophesMatter]

We have roll bars and they work well. The squirrels can still get in but they seem to keep cats out. They were here when we moved in, so not sure how much they cast.

[Nanunanu]

What sort of lawyer clarrrp? I understood cats were classed differently to dogs. So my dog is insured in case she causes an accident and injury to others. Whereas my cat isn't. My cat isn't my property in the way a dog is.

Fwiw my cat stays in my garden.

That roll bar fence looks really interesting

[MissMargie]

The number of cats is ridiculous - I would go for the spiky plastic. Cats are good at self preservation - they will just stay out of your garden.
The black sticky paint would work too but would prob need topping up every year.

[PuppyMonkeyBaby]

I think clarrrp was referring to the poster responding to the person who said they would expect contribution to vet costs from anyone whose dog bit their cat.

[retrorobot2]

clarrp is not a very good lawyer because The Highways Act does not restrict erection of fencing that could potentially cause harm to people or animals.

Section 164(1) of The Highways Act has a limitation on barbed wire as follows: "Where on land adjoining a highway there is a fence made with barbed wire, or having barbed wire in or on it, and the wire is a nuisance to the highway, a competent authority may by notice served on the occupier of the land require him to barbed wire. abate the nuisance within such time, not being less than one month nor more than 6 months from the date of service of the notice, as may be specified in it."

"barbed wire" means wire with spikes or jagged projections, and barbed wire is to be deemed to be a nuisance to a highway if it is likely to be injurious to persons or animals lawfully using the highway.

The problems with what clarrp says:

• The plastic spikes are not barbed wire. First, I don't think anyone could claim that something made out of plastic rather than metal could constitute wire. Secondly, the definition of "barbed wire" refers to wire with spikes, not just spikes themselves.
  

• Even if the plastic spikes are barbed wire, Section 164(1) doesn't stop one putting up barbed wire or make it an offence to do so, it merely gives the local authority (not anybody else) the power to get one to take it down.
  

• Section 164(1) expressly limits its application to land adjoining a highway and its application has been limited to fencing that borders a highway. It wouldn't apply in the case of fencing between your garden and your neighbour's garden except where such fencing comes into contact with a public highway.
  

I really wish people on mumsnet would take more care before pontificating about things of which they know little.

[clarrrp]

Well you can expect it if you want, but there's nothing you can do about it if they say no.

speaking as a lawyer I will say you are wrong. Very wrong.

[clarrrp]

*As for anyone worrying these cats will be hurt. The spikes are plastic and bought off Amazon. I am led to believe they wouldn't cause any real harm. We are animal lovers not cruel lol.

There was a house down the road from my old home and they had put broken glass all around his wall. We would never do that. We are animal lovers! *

Legally you are not allowed to put broken glass on you wall like this anymore - it used to be popular in the 50's and 60's but is not very illegal.

And you state you are animal lovers yet you are planning on installing something which will injure animals? Hmmm. can we say hypocrite?