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Original poster

SPike rods on fence to stop cats coming in?

226 replies

Hitmewithit · 22/04/2017 07:46

My garden is lovely, my daughter will love it this summer, but unfortunately the neighbours cat keeps coming and shitting all over my grass. I bought repelant and used it for a week, i thought it worked but then a massive shit in the middle of the lawn followed by a load of sloppy shit by the fence. I only have a small grass area and I'm getting really fucked off with the grass being shat on. It makes me feel like the lawn stinks and full of germs if my daughter wants to crawl around on it or if we sit on it. I feel like I'll need to disinfect it if I want to go out there with her.

I've seen the cat that does it, I've chucked water at it, chased it away etc but it still comes back!!

I'm tempted to go to Homebase today and get some of these spiked rods that I've seen. Is this legal to do?

OP posts:
SleepOhHowIMissYou · 25/04/2017 07:44

Not suggesting it's good SparklingBrook, but this is his nature, he's a killer, no sugar coating it. Cat's are killers too, usually a more tortuous type, which was the comparison I was making. And before you all start jumping up and down, yes, there exist cats and dogs who do not kill, but that's not my one I'm afraid. He is muzzled on walks to protect wild-life (squirrels, rabbits...and cats).

Sparklingbrook · 25/04/2017 07:52

Sounds like the muzzle is wise.

Fl0ellafunbags · 25/04/2017 11:03

that is someone's pst your talking about

Is that pet or pest?

Aroundtheworldandback · 25/04/2017 11:11

I'm a cat lover but even I was a bit Shock when I found next door's on our kitchen work surface yesterday. Whoever' right or wrong though, I would never knowingly hurt a living creature

dataandspot · 25/04/2017 11:18

I use a trowel to throw the poo back in the cat owners garden.

Sparklingbrook · 25/04/2017 11:25

There was a strange person on one of these threads once that claimed to have thrown cat poo over the fence to the cat owner's garden while they were having a barbeque. There are some weird people about....

londonrach · 25/04/2017 11:28

Think pest fi0.

MrsWhiteWash · 25/04/2017 11:32

Found this to be the cheapest deterrent: Wilko Cat Repeller Granules.

Tired the electronic beeping thing - didn't work.
The Motion Activated Cat Scarer good but we started having issue with outdoor tap.

Gel stuff is okay - but doesn't last well and no so great on lawns.

It was definitely cats in our case - saw them it was one of the few gardens with no resident dos or cats in.

Haven't tried the spikes but friends did on their fence and said they helped.

It was annoying to have to keep spending money on this problem.

YANBU.

JacquesHammer · 25/04/2017 12:00

Oh well as long as it's quick with a neck snap that's all good then

It's a sight hound. It's the nature. Much like when people complain about cats killing birds and cat owners flippantly suggest "that's what cats DO".

Your right to have a cat. Previous posters right to have a dog. Ensuring the two don't meet probably wise!

Sparklingbrook · 25/04/2017 12:01

I don't know of any cats that kill other people's pets....

SleepOhHowIMissYou · 25/04/2017 12:59

You know people keep birds in aviaries and guinea pigs and rabbits in outdoor hutches SparklingBrook, not to mention chickens.

Before we adopted our retired greyhound, the kids had guinea pigs in a run on the back lawn and the neighbourhood cats would sit drooling for hours trying to get their paws through the chickenwire. Do you think they just wanted to play?

I assume you're a cat owner SparklingBrook? I muzzle my dog when he's not in his own garden to protect wild-life from his blood-lust. Does your cat have a bell? No an infallible solution, granted, but it does at least give a fighting chance to those birds who are capable of escaping their nest.

Last summer I had the misfortune to listen to squirrels chittering and screeching in distress as a cat in a neighbouring garden killed the babies in their nest one by one. Heartbreaking thing to witness and sadly my hose spray didn't reach the branch they were on so was unable to prevent it.

Fl0ellafunbags · 25/04/2017 13:16

I don't know of any cats that kill other people's pets...

That surprises me.

Nellietheeuropean · 25/04/2017 13:26

We have had this problem. Some things which have worked for us: keeping the grass short (cats round here some to like long grass but don't poo on short grass), always clearing it away and washing the scent away from that area of garden, putting toy plastic snakes around the garden (sounds weird, but really reduced the number of cats coming into our garden - we bought them on amazon for a couple of pounds.)

We have also used repellent spray which I got from Lakeland. It did work, but washed away with the rain and was expensive. I've also used a bag of out of date cayenne pepper that I found in the kitchen, sprinkling it around the flower beds.

Clearing cat poo used to be a daily occurrence, which I would do first thing before letting the children out. It is now quite rare to find it, and usually when we've been slack at keeping the grass short. And yes it was definitely cats as I have seen them in action.

kali110 · 25/04/2017 13:29

BoneyBackJefferson
Well of our remaining ones 2 are house cats and the other can't venture futher than the garden so yes, but carry on trying to say all cat owners are irresponsible Grin

kali110 · 25/04/2017 13:31

Fl0ellafunbags not all cats will kill small animals. We don't just have cats. We have small animals too, and the cats are terrified of them Grin

Fl0ellafunbags · 25/04/2017 13:36

Surprised twice in one day.

Sparklingbrook · 25/04/2017 17:14

Absolutely nothing surprises me on a cat poo in the garden thread any more. There's been so many of them. Every one the same. Grin

BoneyBackJefferson · 25/04/2017 17:54

kali110

Your two remaining cats are house cats, so the others weren't?

did you do any of these fore the other cats that were outdoor cats?

You pick up it mess?
you stop it from damaging other people's property?
You have paid for the damage caused to other people's property by your cat?
You have paid for people to cat proof their property from your pet?

When your cats were roaming.

They are simple yes/no questions.

CharlieSierra · 25/04/2017 19:09

Absolutely nothing surprises me on a cat poo in the garden thread any more. There's been so many of them. Every one the same

Well that's inevitable given that some people who are cat lovers and owners have what other people think is an unreasonable attitude towards the problem. I can't spend all day chasing cats off my garden and frankly why should I have to? I wouldn't hurt an animal but I think it's appalling that my neighbours can choose to keep a pet and not prevent it from causing a nuisance. I won't have bluetits nesting outside my kitchen this year for the first time in a decade, because I've taken down the nest boxes rather than provide a sitting target for next door's cat. They like their cat, I like my garden birds. Point is it's my fucking garden! You can't be surprised people get pissed off by it.

kali110 · 25/04/2017 19:11

at our old place, they used to be able to go into the garden and to my one neighbour, however due to an illness they aren't allowed outside anymore.
They never messed outside, always on trays for some reason.
No they've never damaged anything, they got next door through a hole in the fence.
No we never paid to catproof their garden seeing as they used to cook food for them every weekend Grin

BoneyBackJefferson · 25/04/2017 20:55

kali110

and the other cats?

EmpressoftheMundane · 25/04/2017 21:08

If spikes are illegal, why does Homebase sell them?

smallchanceofrain · 25/04/2017 22:03

Thought I should pop back to this thread to reassure those who were upset that I was wondering how I would dispose of someone's pet if the speedy hound caught it. I was joking but I do worry that she might catch one some day; luckily it hasn't happened yet. We actually have two cats and in their heads the pecking order is: cats, humans, dog. The dog accepts this and will chase any small furry animal moving at speed (she's hardwired to do so) except our cats. Presumably because they are part of our pack. Of course having a pack means that I have cat shit and dog shit to manage. My choice so my problem but the bloody hedgehog who keeps crapping outside the backdoor might find his days are numbered if I ever catch the little sod. That was a joke - before the hedgehog activists give me a flaming! Smile

kali110 · 25/04/2017 22:30

smallchanceofrain you may find the cats are terrified of the hedgehog! Not sure about the dog though Grin he may get a surprise!

toconclude · 25/04/2017 22:31

secretly confirmed in my feeling that all cat owners are slightly mad and basically just hate other people

They obviously don't mind at all if your child goes blind from toxoplasmosis. And as for all the "aren't humans nasty" jibes - no, but cat owners can be. QED.