WIBU to let my chickens in next doors garden?

[ChickenlessHead]

Seeing as their 3 fucking cats spend their days shitting in my dc’s sandpit and digging up my plants?

I’ve tried everything - squirting with water pistol, sonic cat repellant, covering up sandpit (they just shit on the cover then). I had a little nest of robins in my tree earlier this year and one of the cats knocked the nest over then put a baby bird on dc’s slide.

We have a low wall at the end of our garden that extends along the bottom of next doors garden too. My chickens are free range during the day and have recently been hopping up on this wall. Dh mentioned we should probably put up some kind of fencing to stop them walking along it and going into next doors garden. But next door have no problem with their pets shitting all over my garden and I’m inclined to feel the same about them tbh.

Cats are no threat to the chickens btw, the chickens have seen off the cats many a time (one of the reasons I’m quite fond of them). Next door don’t have a dog either so chickens would be quite safe there.

I’m not sure what the laws are regarding chickens on the loose are. If she wants one for the pot though she is very welcome, I’d rather she told me first though so I could dispatch it properly.

fritz I’m really not a cat hater and would never harm an animal, you’re misunderstanding me. And I’m no more sending my chickens next door than she is sending her cat to my garden. I’m just not preventing them getting not her garden.

Domestic cats do not shit in their own gardens, Hot, you must know that's total bollocks??
And it doesn't matter about your cat's provenance, you could still ensure it's kept in your garden and not allowed to piss off the neighbours. It being a poor little abandoned animal and you being it's knight in shining armour doesn't make it any less of a pain in the arse to anyone forced to deal with it's shit.

Your rescue cat's shit still stinks. No one cares about your moral superiority over rescuing it bar you.

I’m not sure what rescue cats have to do with it? She might have rescued them, don’t know. It’s not really relevant surely.

Most domestic cats shit at home. It's probably feral cats that are doing it.

Utter bollocks. Most cats have a territory, they don’t consult the land registry and only shit on their owners’ land. Or no one else would have any shit, unless you’re suggesting the whole country is over run with feral cats?

Rescue cats came up because a poster tried to imply that the poor little creatures right to be rescued overides your DC's right not to play in cat shit.

Most domestic cats shit at home. It's probably feral cats that are doing it.

Utter bollocks. Domesticated cats will shit wherever they like. As NDs domesticated twatcat proved several times.

My domestic cat shits in our garden in a heap of leaves. I watched him doing it yesterday and bury it. I expect the squirrel shits in our garden too, and I know that the foxes do.

Cross posted with JammyDodger81 .

Great minds think alike and all that

jonsnow you’re probably right - the cats would see my garden chicken free and decide it was time for a shitting party.

One of my dearest friends has a rescue dog. Must let her know its okay for her to shit where she likes (that's the dog - not the owner) because = rescued innit.

If you'd RTFT you'd see it's three cats using the OPs garden as a toilet not one.

JonSnowsWife it is just utter bollocks no other way to describe it!

Cats are understood - in law - to have a right to roam. So, like it or not, your neighbour isn't doing anything wrong whereas you might be by letting your chooks roam and not attempting to control their movement.

Having owned both cats and chickens for some years chook poo can be noticeably smellier at a wider range whereas you generally have to be pretty close to the soil to notice cat poo. Not to mention chook poo on the lawn (rather than confined to borders) and the damage chickens can cause to lawns by scratching. I love both cats and chickens, but on that basis I'd rather my neighbours' cats came into my garden than their poultry!

Anyway, why not chat to your neighbour about cat proofing their garden - there are companies that specialise in this - or look on animal rescue websites for advice on more humane cat deterrents? There's all sorts out there so might be something you haven't explored yet.

As a side note, my cats are indoor cats (too many loonies out there to want to let them out), before the cat bashing crew start moaning at me about the usual anti-cat gubbins.

Cats harming chickens?

We have two MASSIVE cats (that kill EVERYTHING in a five mile radius, horrible bastards) and they are terrified of our chickens.

We even had tiny bantams and they could still kick the shit out of the cats when the cats got too close.

One cat has decided he quite likes them and hangs out with them a lot and every couple of days the brainless twerps gang up and give him a kicking. He always owes straight back in to their coop though, I’m not convinced he doesn’t think he’s a chicken himself.

I know chicken poo is really grim, which is why I evilly want them to go next door. The bottom half of the garden is the chickens so we do what we can to keep the poo away from dc’s, but then the cats come and do it for them.

I’m just not preventing them getting not her garden.

You do realise that by making the wall higher/having a barrier that it could also prevent the cats from coming in to your garden?

The cats are just behaving according to their nature - just like foxes.
Even if your neighbour didn't have cats there is no guarantee that you will never get other animals/wildlife shitting in your garden.

I bet your neighbour finds your noisy chickens just as annoying though.....

Cats have a right to roam.Livestock do not

Do you have a cockerel?

And don't your chickens shit in the sandpit too?

Rescue cats came up because a poster tried to imply that the poor little creatures right to be rescued overides your DC's right not to play in cat shit

Hey if you let your kid play in cat shit that is your own affair, I don't. '

One of my dearest friends has a rescue dog. Must let her know its okay for her to shit where she likes (that's the dog - not the owner) because = rescued innit

I don't think you understand that dogs are not cats. Cats roam, dogs do not. Chickens do not.

Cats shit places. It's tough luck, its what they do.

Water pistol, a few direct squirts & most cats will rethink their territory choices. Before anyone jumps at me, we owned a cat for 20+ years in a country where if they were a nuisance they could be shot, so believe me when I say a water pistol is the kinder option!! Sadly i've seen what some people will do to cats that roam into their garden, & I think owners who don't take neighbours' irritation seriously are pushing their luck on their cat's behalf

As a cat owner, I get really annoyed when others say “well, cats roam, what can you do?”

I have two cats. Both are indoors for the most part but they do have access to our garden occasionally. If they do go out, they go out on harnesses. We live on a 60mph road and there’s so much roadkill on there. I’d never let them just roam free. Besides, it’s not fair on the neighbours. If they wanted cat shit in their gardens, they’d have their own cat!

I think letting cats just roam is selfish. Either get indoor only cats, or cat-proof your garden and let them play and shit there. But don’t let them run about wherever they choose and expect your neighbours to be happy that they’re using their gardens as giant litter trays.

Even rescue cats can be confined to cars-proof gardens. They don’t need to be able to wander for miles to be happy.

mustbemad17 the water pistol is suggested as a humane deterrent by several of the animal charities so if it's good enough for them 👍

I tend to agree with you op. Cats are a pest. I say that as someone who used to have a cat. I wouldnt know unless i cat proofed my garden to keep it in. Its not fair on neighbours and the local wildlife also on that cat and the roads.

Cats shit places. It's tough luck, its what they do

Really? And yet here you were a few posts ago saying they mainly shit in their own gardens and if they do shit in a neighbours garden it must be feral.

You may want to make your mind up on that one hot.

OP I think we have found your neighbour!

Exactly NoKidsRwoCats 🙂

It's a brilliant deterrent because it gives them a bloody good shock without causing any physical harm. It honestly doesn't take long for a cat to realise it is better off elsewhere!