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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask why cats roaming is acceptable?

537 replies

PengAly · 16/12/2018 23:05

Just want to hear opinions on this. Firstly i should be honest, i am a dog person, 100% love dogs and i really dont understand how people like cats (seems like they are a tad selfish of a pet) but i am an animal lover so obviously wish no harm to any cat and will play with one given the opportunity. This is JUST my opinion. But back to my original question...

Why does it seem universally accepted that cats can roam on other peoples properties and poop in the garden- even digging up flowers?! Now Im certain mainy people would get up in arms if a dog on a lead stepped one paw on their front garden or god forbid came within 3 feet of them or their child(I've seen many dog hating threads on MN) yet cat owners get a free pass for their cats doing as they please?

Im honestly not trying to start an argument i just dont understand it Confused

OP posts:
Purplepinkpurple · 16/12/2018 23:45

You don't actually own a cat. They are free spirits and choose where they go. I have 3 and they all bury their poo and aren't too bothered about flowers .

Lovingbenidorm · 16/12/2018 23:47

Peng have you ever tried to TAME a cat?!😂
Horses are ‘broken’
Dogs are desperate for our approval
Hamsters need to be in cages because they are not in their natural environment and would be eaten by something in a blink
Cats........well

RagingWhoreBag · 16/12/2018 23:47

Good luck trying to keep a determined cat indoors! They sit and look out of the window watching the birds and the minute a door is left ajar they’ll sneak out. It’s in their nature.

Sure some cats will learn to live as indoor cats, but my cats -who were born in a rescue centre and had never seen the outdoors - caught sight of some birds outside the window and went crazy trying to get outside. They are hunters and enjoy being outside.

WaxOnFeckOff · 16/12/2018 23:47

Wild fox shit doesn't bother me because no person is responsible for that fox

That's totally illogical. The shit is the shit, whether a fox has an owner or not doesn't make it smell like perfume.

HolesinTheSoles · 16/12/2018 23:47

I guess for the same reason you can't stop foxes or hedgehogs pooing in your garden.

angelikacpickles · 16/12/2018 23:47

@LovingBenidorm

Don't keep cats as pets is surely a better option than any of yours.

YerAuntFanny · 16/12/2018 23:47

Personally I'm all for nuking the buggers (maybe a bit extreme admittedly).

They are harmful to me because my allergies can be bloody annoying and painful when they flare up and I'd rather not have to deal with it because someone 3 doors down chooses to have a pet that they can't/won't keep in their own property.

We've tried deterrents and even bringing my Mum's dog over every now and again but they don't stay away so yes I'd happily see them extinct if I'm honest.

HildaZelda · 16/12/2018 23:48

Cats have the good manners to bury their shit, unlike dogs (and often their owners) who expect someone else to clean it up after them.

GreenMeerkat · 16/12/2018 23:48

Firstly, why do people have to be 'cat' or 'dog' people and insist on hating the other. I love both cats and dogs but currently have a pet cat as I am not in a position to keep a dog.

My cat is allowed to roam as i would find it cruel to keep him shut in the house as he would not be displaying his natural behaviour. Cats tend to poo in bushes and bury it so it's less of a bother than when dogs do it I suppose. I have never once seen or stepped in cat poo in my garden and there are many cats in my neighbourhood and I have my own! I think if you are finding cat poo it's likely it's one particular cat doing it and you are probably just unlucky. There are various cat deterrents you can use in your garden that should hopefully help keep them out.

On the flip side, you could ask the same if dog owners and why some think it's acceptable to allow their dogs to bark continuously...

pawsies · 16/12/2018 23:49

Cats can be trained. Of course they can.

Just because people don't know how to train them doesn't mean the species is untrainable.

If you spent £300 on a purebred cat I'm sure you'd be more likely to keep it in for the cat's safety yet regular moggies don't generally get this attitude.

The options are:
Keep cat in and provide plenty of toys and stimulation, maybe a bird feeder window so they can watch birds without harming them

Build a catio in the garden so they can go outside and experience the outdoors without harming anyone

Cat proof your garden so they can't get out

However most owners would never consider doing any of those options and instead expect the rest of us to deal with it.

FishFingersAndCustard11 · 16/12/2018 23:49

'You cant compare pet cats roaming to wild animals as they arent wild. Its a shame that cat owners seem to think its ok for other people to deal with their cats shit.'

But cats roam though. You can't expect a cat owner to go hopping from garden to garden following their cat incase they shit. You also never see a cat on a lead because it's stupid, they roam. There's no way an owner can pick up the poo after them without following them. Not being funny I would rather pick up a cat dump in my garden then have numerous cat owners hop into my garden following their cat. For the record I'm a dog lover. Can't stand cats. This thread is stupid

WaxOnFeckOff · 16/12/2018 23:50

Yep, the barking does my head in.

Weathermonger · 16/12/2018 23:50

I'm an ardent cat lover - I have 4 - but I appreciate not everyone is and I agree with the OP, I certainly don't want my pets to be the source of damage in a neighbours garden. Fortunately 3 of them are indoor cats, and the 4th although he does go outside occasionally, stays very close to home.

Lovingbenidorm · 16/12/2018 23:50

How is not owning a cat an answer to this debate?!

DeepanKrispanEven · 16/12/2018 23:51

It's pointless objecting to cats roaming in the many, many areas where urban foxes already roam at will.

ErrolTheDragon · 16/12/2018 23:51

a cat wouldn’t run up to someone and bite them.

The cat we had when I was a kid would - it would ambush me in the garden and tear into my legs . DM used to say if he did it again we'd have to rehome him but I always wailed, while dabbing my wounds with TCP that he was only playing...I've no idea wtf he was playing at. The cat that came with a student house my now-DH had used to lurk under furniture waiting randomly attack people.

Chloe84 · 16/12/2018 23:53

So dogs get walked but cats should stay in? Hmm

That's very cruel. You sound a bit psychopathic, OP.

Just get some bloody used coffee beans and distribute around your garden, it will put off the cats.

And dog owners may be required by law to pick up dog shit but judging by the amount of it in the streets, it's not strickly enforced.

Lalliella · 16/12/2018 23:54

I’m pretty sure a cat has never killed a human. Whereas dogs...

TrueCrimeToll · 16/12/2018 23:54

The reason is that cats are only partially domesticated!

They are "pets" but not in the same way as dogs as a result. So they cannot be put on a lead like a dog, as cats are still partly "wild". Cats are however social animals and not solitary (except when they hunt - how the confusion arose).

Cats are animals and should have some freedom to be in nature. Its cruel to keep them indoors all the time.

YerAuntFanny · 16/12/2018 23:54

I'm lucky enough to live in an area which doesn't have too many wild animals roaming about.

If half my bloody street neighbors didn't own the cats I doubt they'd casually be hopping on and out of my garden passing on the trampoline, trying to sneak in my door or shitting in my garden.

YerAuntFanny · 16/12/2018 23:56

@Chloe84, coffee beans are one of the many things we've tried to deter them and it did not work!

brizzledrizzle · 16/12/2018 23:56

If cats bury their shit then what is all over my garden ? We have a lot of cats in the area.

HolesinTheSoles · 16/12/2018 23:57

This thread is making me giggle a bit. I always considered myself fairly misanthropic but mumsnet has made me realise relative to most posters I have the tolerance of Mother Theresa! I am willing to say hello to my neighbours, make time for friends having a rough time and can even put up with a local cat who rudely trespasses on my lawn occasionally. I'll expect the nobel peace prize any day now.

BoebePhuffay · 16/12/2018 23:59

Can you imagine the cat population if people didn’t own cats? Shock it would be huge. No-one neutering then and restricting their movement. And all feral!! I suspect the government would probably have to have wild cat culls every now and again to control the population.

ErrolTheDragon · 17/12/2018 00:00

I’m pretty sure a cat has never killed a human

People have died from septicaemia caused by cat scratches. And then there's toxoplasmosis...