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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

AIBU to shoot the shitters

119 replies

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 09:02

We have a small patch of garden right in front of our front door. It's a dirt area with a few plants in it. Currently quite sparse on the plant front (waiting for the ones we've planted to fecking grow!)

There are about 7 cats that live in the two houses either side of us. Every fucking one of them thinks this area is a giant litter tray.

Every fucking morning I'm sifting two or three giant cat turds out of my garden. (And with a baby and a toddler it's not like I don't already deal with more than my fair share of shit in a day.)

I've tried repellent pellets and one of those high pitched noise emitting thingies. Neither works.

Can I now start shooting at them with my DD's water pistol?

I'm at my shits end!!

OP posts:

mummyto2monkeys · 30/08/2016 12:16

This worked for us, our garden was being used as a toilet by two cats next door. I couldn't let our then toddler out in the garden until I had cleared all of the cat poo. We used a water spray bottle/ the hosepipe if we caught them in the act. Our neighbour was upset when my husband told her what we had been doing, but it was worth it! We have had zero cat poos in the garden since we sprayed water at the cats.

Original poster

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 12:21

Ooh, pointy sticks might work Sianihedgehog, and the automatic air freshened is a good idea as it really is quite a small area, probably only around 1.5m square. (Plus it'd have the added bonus of meaning my front door area didn't smell like shit!)

I do like the idea of spiking the hell out of it. (Land-mines would be OTT right?)

OP posts:

LogicallyLost · 30/08/2016 12:26

Oh god no, the chilli sauce wasn't a suggestion. An example of hurting a cat. Please don't do that.

jaketweeneyistooadvancedfor2 · 30/08/2016 12:27

Gravel drive was the local cat toilet - I sprinkled a whole bottle of malt vinegar over it and no problem now for over a year. Not sure it would work on dirt but maybe some scraps of fabric soaked in it and hung around the area would deter them?

AmandaK11 · 30/08/2016 12:27

Yeah, I would say they could use some repellent like this. Possibly don't make your child think it's fun, or better yet don't make them see what is going on.

Original poster

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 12:30

Don't worry Logically, I know it wasn't a suggestion, I was only joking mostly.

OP posts:

HarrietSchulenberg · 30/08/2016 12:37

Chilli powder will be fine. How, exactly, is it supposed to get in a cat's eyes? It will have have a quick sniff, sneeze and bugger off.

I used to use it to deter our neighbour's cat who used to sit on our doorstep and front window ledge to taunt the fat, furry lodger who was our cat. Ours only went out the back so the neighbour's cat used to roll about at the front to annoy him. A thin layer of chilli powder on the doorstep, path and windowledge put a stop to that.

Same neighbour used to supersoak our cat whenever he attempted a revenge ambush via the back gardens. We were both fine with these methods.

ZippyNeedsFeeding · 30/08/2016 12:48

We have fending which keeps our cats in the garden, but more because it also stops them from being killed on the road. I wouldn't expect anyone else to deal with the shit from my cats any more than i would from my dog.

If my cat was shitting in my neighbours' gardens I'd be okay with them shooting water at it.

MoreCoffeeNow · 30/08/2016 12:52

Jeyes fluid round the borders, my Dad swore by it.

Hockeydude · 30/08/2016 13:05

When I said cat owners should be more considerate, I meant they should consider the impact on the people around them before getting a cat. It's antisocial behaviour to buy an animal that you know full well is going to shit on your neighbours' gardens.

fuckingbusyorviceversa · 30/08/2016 13:14

I'm at my shits end!!

and now there's coffee all over my keyboard!

Original poster

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 13:22

Thank you fuckingbusy!! I was starting to think no one had picked up on my amazing pun!

OP posts:

maddiemookins16mum · 30/08/2016 13:22

I have a cat, she poos in her litter tray and sometimes outside in our garden, she nevers goes over the fence. The reality is that of course you can't stop cats going there, but you can drop a note in the neighbours letterbox asking them to clear it up (if indeed you want them to). Otherwise, I'd go with the water pistol, although if on a main road it might freak a cat out so much they dash into the road.

IToldYouIWasFreaky · 30/08/2016 13:34

I agree with prickly bushes over the bare earth, or stick bits of garden cane in. Basically make it as difficult as possible for a cat to squat there.

Also, have you told your neighbours that it's their cats? My old NDN mentioned that she'd seen my cat shitting in her garden and I used to go round and pick it up and then did the prickly stick thing to stop him goind back...my cat, my responsbility.

dietcokeandwine · 30/08/2016 13:48

We have an issue with cats pooing where there is bare soil, but I've noticed that if I spread bark chips (just cheap ones, from local garden centre) over the soil, that seems to deter them too. Might be worth a try.

I get the irrational rage when local cats poo in my garden even though I know logistically their owners can do nothing about it.

RepentAtLeisure · 30/08/2016 14:08

The best way to stop cats shitting in your garden is to get your own cat. Especially if it's a bit of a bruiser. (Large toms are also big soppy love sponges with their humans usually.) It will keep the other cats away, and shit in a neighbours garden. Win win!

girlywhirly · 30/08/2016 14:12

I suggest larger stones, bigger than plums rather than gravel. They will look decorative around your plants until they grow, they will allow rain and water through and prevent moisture evaporating during dry spells, and be too big for cats to dig in.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 30/08/2016 14:21

Another vote for lots of pointy sticks so the cat can't squat. As others have said, it is possible to secure your own property so that your cats don't roam and shit everywhere.

PitchFork · 30/08/2016 14:21

The best way to stop cats shitting in your garden is to get your own cat.
ha bloody ha
I don't have a cat.
can't have a cat. (allergies)
don't want to deal with neighbours shitters.

cooliebrown · 30/08/2016 14:25

got rid of the cats crapping on my garden by spreading a lot (2kg) of ground black pepper around the area - it worked nicely

SuburbanRhonda · 30/08/2016 14:42

Jeyes fluid round the borders, my Dad swore by it.

Please don't take this advice, OP, unless you want to be picking up dead cats from your lawn.

BorpBorpBorp · 30/08/2016 14:55

The best way to stop cats shitting in your garden is to get your own cat.

Hasn't worked for me! Neighbour cat still shits on the front lawn. My cats shit in the back garden, and in the litter tray, and I daresay elsewhere too. Cat shit is an unfortunate consequence of living near other people.

Original poster

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 15:02

The best way to stop cats shitting in your garden is to get your own cat

I have a 1yr old and a 2yr old, I couldn't cope with anything else I had to look after!!

Some brilliant other suggestions though, thanks everyone. I'm off to town this afternoon to stock up on vinegar, pointy sticks, automatic air fresheners and a massive super soaker. maybe some chilli powder

OP posts:

Original poster

Gwenci · 30/08/2016 15:06

have you told your neighbours that it's their cats?

No, I haven't (though I know exactly which cats it is as I watch the bloody things doing it!) But my NDN is disabled and has mobility issues so there's no way I'd ask her to do anything about picking it up.

Do wish she didn't have so many of the fuckers though.

OP posts:

RepentAtLeisure · 30/08/2016 15:11

I foster cats, so they have to stay indoors while they're with me, but whenever I have a tom (and it's grass cutting season, I don't care otherwise) I sprinkle their used litter around the garden boundary and it keeps the local cats away for a while. Maybe the lot around here are just wusses!

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