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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to throw my neighbour's cat's poo over the fence?

59 replies

MrsMuppett · 25/07/2016 15:48

So , so tired of neighbour's cats. We are surrounded. Today the immediate neighbour's crapped on some newly dug earth. I've used a trowel to pick it and up throw over their side. I thought they were out but don't think they were. Maybe they saw, maybe the just thought it as raining cat poo. A couple of months ago I lost 2 new, small perennials because of their cat- newly planted, £5 each - the cat crapped and dug around them. They died partly due to having leaves destroyed and buried in earth. I've lost count of the cost of seedlings that have had a similar fate.
I am totally fed up with handling stinking cat poo, finding it in the soil when gardening, on my shoes, and having another of their cats spraying my flower tubs.

OP posts:

Missgraeme · 25/07/2016 15:51

If u know the culprit I suggest using a hose to wet them a few times if u can catch them at it -leave the hose in general view at all times and they should stay away!! My neighbour kept an empty washing up liquid bottle on her window sill to wet my cat and keep him out of her yard - got to the point he wouldn't even walk past her window when the bottle was in view!!

BorpBorpBorp · 25/07/2016 15:52

Did doing it make you feel better? Did you want to piss off your neighbours? If so, it was the right thing to do.

But if your intention was to stop the cat crapping in your garden, it won't have done any good. If you were my neighbour it would make me less inclined to care about whether my cat was crapping in your garden, not more.

MidnightAura · 25/07/2016 15:53

Yabu.

Rumpelstiltskin143 · 25/07/2016 16:00

Cats don't like coffee grounds, you can get bags of them free, at Costa or Starbucks, just spread them around your plants.

Fallstar · 25/07/2016 16:06

It's not reasonable to chuck cat poo over their fence, so YABU for that.

There are things you can do to discourage the cats from pooing in your garden, though.

We have a water-spray thing that's triggered by movement. Might work for you. It's worked for us!

They also don't like citrus, so orange peel tucked around the garden can help (apparently - not tried this one).

We've also found the get-off-my-garden cat crystals are effective, although expensive. They have a citrussy smell, so maybe that's how they work.

Vestibul · 25/07/2016 16:12

OP I really feel for you. I dug out my front yard a few weeks ago and planted loads of ground cover, most of which got shat on within a couple of days.

I couldn't spray the cats when they came into the yard because my front yard is about 5 feet below my front window so I'd have to be standing in my window waiting for cats.

I tried citrus fruit which worked a bit but I was having to go and replace it every couple of days which was a pain.

On the advice of a friend, I snapped off plastic cutlery and put it in the ground sharp end up. That didn't work and looked shit.

I then bought a solar powered ultra sonic cat deterrent and that's working really well. this. I've only had one shit in a week in my front yard which is a miracle. I think you'd need a couple if your garden is big. You can get them that shoot out water as well.

My NDN has the same issue with cat shit and she started leaving it on the car bonnet of the cat owner. She picks it up with a bag then turns it inside out on the car bonnet so the shit plops out onto their car. Not sure how that'll go!

Original poster

MrsMuppett · 25/07/2016 16:14

Their cat is immune to all these things. I have soaked it with the hose a million times and it comes back for more. I have thrown cups of water over it, it still comes back. I have spent a fortune on smelly stuff to deter cats and it does no bloody good. We even have an electronic cat scarer and it does not good. I just hate their fucking cats. I know throwing the poo over the fence won't deter the cat but I'd like the neighbours to have to clear up the cat poo for once to see how horrible it is. maybe I ought to invite them round and ask them to do it in future. Why don't pet owners train their cats to use a litter tray? Selfish.

OP posts:

Vestibul · 25/07/2016 16:15

Forgot to say;

On the one hand, legally, YABU because cats are legally classed as 'semi-feral' so entitled to roam and shit where-ever the fuck they please so throwing shit over the fence is actually a completely unrelated point.

On the other hand, as a human being, YADDDNBU because it's fucking horrible to have to clear up someone else's pet's shit.

Scuttle22 · 25/07/2016 16:15

How do you know it's the neighbour's cat? My cat goes to the toilet in my garden but the cat across the road goes next door I see it asleep in the hedge most days.

whois · 25/07/2016 16:16

Chucking it over is U, but discreetly returning it by dropping it over the fence out of sight seems reasonable :-)

Can you get some netting to put on top of the fences to make them harder for a cat to get over?

MammyV · 25/07/2016 16:16

Just curious as to what you expect the owner to do? Do you want them to go around cleaning up the poo that may not even have been their cat , or do you think they should keep them indoors? I have 2 cats and my neighbour wanted me to clean up random poo on her drive which turned out to be bloody fox shit, do just make sure it is def their cats

MidnightAura · 25/07/2016 16:17

Cats are allowed to roam. I have cats, my cat comes in from outside to do her business in the box and then she goes out again. Has she been trained this way? Of course not. Cats can't be trained!

Vestibul your ndn is rank.

And I think after this I will be bowing out, I don't post that much but cat shit has been done to death and it always goes the same way.

Moonraker37 · 25/07/2016 16:20

YANBU. Definitely not! We have the same problem. Plus I have two toddlers who love playing in the garden. I'm sick of clearing up other people's cat shit. I have also been known to chuck it back over their fence. Petty, yep! But it makes me feel better. I've tried coffee granules, orange peel, expensive stuff from net. Nothing works. You have my sympathy.

Vestibul · 25/07/2016 16:21

Midnight And so is clearing up the shit of someone else's pet from your garden. I do agree with you though, cat shit has been done to death and the threads are very predictable.

Scuttle22 · 25/07/2016 16:22

If you go to the trouble of picking it up to throw over why not bag and bin it instead!

MidnightAura · 25/07/2016 16:23

I agree Vestibul, I have the dog across the street who wanders over to toilet in my garden!

I just wouldn't smear it on the owners car as annoying as it is!

BorpBorpBorp · 25/07/2016 16:23

"To see how horrible it is"? They probably know how horrible cleaning up cat poo is, they have a cat! Cats can be litter trained and still poo outdoors when the fancy takes them. Cleaning up cat poo from your garden is an unfortunate but unavoidable part of living near other people.

NapQueen · 25/07/2016 16:24

Can't you just speak to the neighbour and ask that they regularly come and rid the garden of poop?

Vestibul · 25/07/2016 16:25

Sorry nothing's worked for you, OP.

I'd chuck it over then. I'd also take photos of their cat doing it so that if your NDN confronts you and asks how you know it was their cat, you have the proof.

Having said that, legally, this proof doesn't give you a leg to stand on. It's just to answer the inevitable questions about how you know whose cat it is. As I said, cats are legally semi-feral so if your NDN decided to report your poo chucking to the police, they'd consider it completely separately from the fact it's their cat shitting in your garden.

Costacoffeeplease · 25/07/2016 16:32

at training a cat to do anything

They may well use a litter tray, as well as going outside

Get a dog - our two find cat poos to be a delicacy, and regularly dig them up (I also have 15 cats so there's a fairly endless supply for them )

happypoobum · 25/07/2016 16:34

YABU. Sorry, but if the NDN decided to take action against you, it would be you who was in trouble.

As PP have stated, cats are legally semi feral and are at liberty to roam and crap where they like. Would you feel the same if it was fox or badger poo? I am trying to think of a way to make you less het up about it as it's clearly affecting you.

I can't see anything changing. If my neighbour asked me to keep my cat in so it didn't crap in her garden, I would just laugh. There are loads of cats where I live, so if it wasn't my cat it would be someone elses, plus all the fox and badger poo we get too.

If it really is bothering you, then I think the only things you can do are to either ask them to come around and remove the poo every time you have actually seen their cat do it ( I would soon tire of this) Or move somewhere where there aren't any animals around.

Botanicbaby · 25/07/2016 16:36

Yabu and really immature too.

If you have neighbours, you have to suck it up within reason. Whether that be noisy children, barking dogs, loud music, cats pooping....it's the way you handle these situations that will enable you to live a stress free life if moving to a detached house is not an option.

Throwing the poo back over the fence achieves nothing other than to perhaps make you feel better momentarily. Perhaps your neighbours understanding of gardening matches your understanding of cats? You could talk to them first.

Tilliebean · 25/07/2016 16:36

As a cat owner, I think YANBU. You didn't take on a cat, your neighbour did. Both our NDN were told they were more then welcome to chase off our cat if he annoyed them and I've offered on more than one occasion to pick up his poo from their yards. If they wanted to fling it over, I'd be ok with that too (although probably would have just agreed a spot for them to dump it). Ultimately he is my responsibility. Luckily they both love the cat and he really just has 3 houses instead of one.

Sparklingbrook · 25/07/2016 16:39

YABU, and no you can't train cats.

These threads always go the same way though. Someone will post a picture of a gun, or recommend bleach or some such.

HughLauriesStubble · 25/07/2016 16:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

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