Cat poo

[Sunkist12]

We've got a cat and for the past month someone keeps delivering cat poo in a bag to either our front door or the back garden. This has happened 4 times already. I get this must be annoying, especially if you don't have cats... but is posting the cat poo back really okay?! Also, how does that person know the poo they bagged belongs to our cat? There must be tons of cats roaming in the area. I'm at a loss at what to do and have 3 young dc, so finding bagged up poo around our property is not on. My aibu is what would you do, if a cat frequently visited your garden? Would you take back the offending poo?! If the person who did it was genuinely upset, I'd buy cat deterrent supplies and do what I can. But honestly, he's a cat, I can't police her everyday.

You cannot police them or locke them in your garden

Yes you can. HTH.

Unable to cat proof garden as we have a tiny plot at the front that isn't enclosed

I think jacques must work for one of the companies that sells cat-proofing supplies

I feel for you OP, I have 5 cats who used to be indoor and then I cat proofed the garden and then I finally let them roam free, they have access to a litter tray but since they started going out there's less in it and I'm dreading the day someone knocks on, I think you just might have to suck it up and accept they are annoyed and want to bring it back to you bagged up, I would just accept it and think it must be annoying for your neighbours and maybe offer to go collect it yourself if you find out which neighbour it is

I'd be more than happy for them to spray the cat to deter her!

@SuburbanRhonda

Nope. Just have a neighbour that does it. They’re forever adding new bits - it’s rather fascinating!

And actually seems a really great option for all parties

It is it's really sad it's come to that. Because I'd like to think I'm really understanding and reasonable. If a neighbour told me, I would car proof their garden as much as I can and buy deterrents

If a neighbour told me, I would car proof their garden as much as I can and buy deterrents

In that case I’d try and watch for who it is and start a conversation.

You can tell it's hot when people are extra cunty on MN

Yanbu OP, that's grim.

What's wrong with a knock on the door and a polite "Can we talk about your cat shitting in my garden please?"

Instead, they go to the effort of bagging the shit and physically carrying it to your house. That's some dedication.

You could knock on your neighbours doors and ask?

OP your neighbours are behaving like idiots. It’s a cat ffs! I really don’t know what they expect you to do. It’s good for cats to spend time outdoors if they want to (mine could never be bothered!) and ALL wildlife that spends time in gardens will leave the odd ‘deposit’ here and there.

Personally I’d either ignore it or return the favour by putting the cat shit back in their waste bin once you find out who is responsible.

I can’t stand people with no tolerance of animals.

Catproof your garden or keep them inside. It's totally fine to make a kitten an indoor car. You are very unreasonable not to do either of those options.

How on earth do you cat proof your garden?! I only have a dog but DM has a cat and she jumps on the window sill and then the gate and off she goes!

I agree with confused, cats go where they want, you can't train them like you can a dog, can you?

I actually find all this quite scary, do we now have to be so perfect in everything? OP, I feel for you, I suffer from anxiety and I'd be a nervous wreck if this was happening to me.

Never known a cat just shit in the open, how weird. Cats fastidiously bury their shit. Are they mistaking a fox or something for a cat?

Well with cats next door I don’t seem to have wildlife in my garden anymore, at least not the squirrels and birds we used to see before they moved in. At least the current ones don’t seem to use it as a toilet though.
Not liking cats as pets does not equal not liking animals!

wellBeehived cats shitting in the open even has its own name. Google “middening”.

OP this comes up quite regularly on MN and people get mightily uptight about cat poo.

The fact that there are probably regular deposits of fox poo, hedgehog poo, and certainly bird poo all over their gardens is of no significance it's just the cat poo they get wound up about. And of course they know exactly whose cat it is that is making the mess.

Cats have a right to roam, same as the foxes, badgers, birds etc. If you cannot cope with the fact that animals will sometimes poop or urinate in your garden, don't have one.

It's passive agressive leaving it at your house anonymously, how are you suppose to no who it's annoying? They are cleaning it up and disposing of it themselves, it's more effort than putting it in their own bin, so why not knock on and tell you so that you can try and stop it? More fool them.

I would also be genuinely interested in how you can cat proof your garden.

^ from
happypoobum is why your neighbour hasn’t bothered to come round and have a friendly chat about it.

OP YANBU animals like cats roam it's part of their nature. For some reason not content with contributing to making many animals extinct out of sight, individuals cannot cope with any living creature that does not conform to their petty idea of what animals should/shouldn't do. Cats in an area keep down vermin which are rife, they're good to have around. Foxes, birds, cats, hedgehogs and other animals have a right to exist. I don't have a cat but would not dream of moaning about the many in my area. Dog poo is different, it's high volume and can foul pavements. I've never in my life trodden in cat poo!

I could have kept her inside from.being a kitten, but I took her for a friend and was an outdoor cat by that time. As I've said before I can't get proof my garden, I only have a small plot at the front that doesnt have fencing and street facing.

They do normally bury their waste

They bloody don't . Not in my back yard, anyway ....

'I wish they'd tell me and I'd do what I can'. They have told you by returning your cat shit. Get a litter box. Keep cats in. You are very antisocial.

Ate you sure they are actually cat faeces, and not hedgehog ones?

Bog standard cat lovers answer.

Someone will be on to say it's probably fox shit too.

I did actually used to flick next doors cat shit back into her garden.

Her cats used to dig up the small bit of garden that I have and leave their absolutely stinking shit in my yard.

The day they moved was so good. Never had a cat shit problem since.