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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To NOT want the neighbours cats shitting in my garden?

162 replies

legolimb · 18/02/2019 08:47

Newish house - with a large garden.

Our neighbours seem to all have cats which wander where they like.

Just been out to shoo one away and caught it casually squeezing one out whilst staring me in the eye. It couldn't care less.

Obviously IANBU to not want this - so what suggestions does anyone have to keep the dirty little beggars out?

I can still smell it Envy sick, not envy..

OP posts:
Original poster
legolimb · 18/02/2019 12:16

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

I have cleans up the poop and binned it. Splashed over that area with some soapy water.

I think I'll get the electronic deterrent and see how that goes. Our garden is quite spread out so would take a lot of orange peel/lion poo to cover it. Grin

I don't know which neighbour the cat belongs to as they all seem to have at least one. I don't want to confront anyone yet as we only bought this house a few months ago. Not quite sussed them all out yet.

OP posts:
Maelstrop · 18/02/2019 12:17

DISINFECT STABLES: Very useful stuff. Can't be that toxic or it couldn't be sold for these uses.

Bit silly to say that. Drain cleaner, high cocoa chocolate, anti freeze are all potentially fatal to cats but are still sold. I certainly wouldn't use Jeyes in my stable, it's very toxic.

soontobefour4 · 18/02/2019 12:18

Really sympathise with this. Next door's cat used to shit in our garden every day and we've got small children so it's not funny. I tried a lot of the things mentioned on this thread, nothing worked and I gave up. Then all of a sudden the cat stopped crapping in our garden - he still comes in, but he doesn't shit. I mentioned this to someone and they said that cats don't like to shit in their own garden, hence why they tend to find somewhere else to do it. I can only guess that he ended up spending so much time in our garden (he's always bloody in there, usually up on the shed roof or the tarmac drive where it's warm) that he's decided it's his and is probably crapping in someone else's poor garden.

AuntieCJ · 18/02/2019 12:27

sigh>

I specifically said to use Jeyes fluid in the area the cats are using. It disinfects the area, takes their smell away and deters them from coming back.

As I said we have cat proof fence so don't get them in the garden but I would still use Jeyes fluid for everything we use if for now even if cats visited. We have no cats. If you don't want your cat near Jeyes fluid, a very commonly used product in gardens, then keep it in your garden.

We also use rat poison, as do many other people. If you let cats roam that's risk you have to take, along with the chance of them being run over.

Pawtrayt · 18/02/2019 12:28

I can see you're incredibly zen about dog poo or deliberately avoiding the point. @AlaskanOilBaron That was my answer to the point. I can't get too worked up about animal poo. I don't expect dogs, cats or any wild animal to respect my garden. They don't think like humans and see it as our space. The area around my bird feeder is covered in bird poo and far more difficult to clean up than cat or dog poo. Not pleasant but birds are not only beautiful but an important part of the ecosystem so I carry on feeding them and accept I'll have to deal with the poo.

Dogs are not free-roaming so the owners are usually with them and therefore able to clean up after them. If a stray or escaped dog came into my garden I would be concerned about keeping it safe and getting it back to its owner, not worrying about a poo on the grass. That's not zen, I just like animals and don't put human expectations onto them. ( I don't have a dog btw.)

Contraceptionismyfriend · 18/02/2019 12:29

Isn't dog fouling illegal?
So not really comparable at all.

If I caught a dog in my back garden I'd Be calling the shelter.

RiverTam · 18/02/2019 12:36

is Jeyes commonly used in gardens? I've never used it, but I don't tend to use any chemicals in the garden if I can help it, and I have to say I didn't even know it still existed!

And you're not making things any better for yourself with that post, you're making it worse! It's not a deterrent like orange peel, it's a fucking poison!

SoupDragon · 18/02/2019 12:37

You do know that it's illegal to not clean up after your dog, right?

On public property is is, yes. I'm not sure how those bylaws are applied to private ground though.

SoupDragon · 18/02/2019 12:39

is Jeyes commonly used in gardens?

I suspect it is common in the same way foxes are rare.

thefirst48 · 18/02/2019 12:40

Is your garden secure?

MammaSchwifty · 18/02/2019 12:40

Chuck the cat shit back over the fence. Neighbour's cat, neighbour's cat shit.

Damntheman · 18/02/2019 12:51

I'd second the sprinkler, cats hate getting wet - and even more so if it's from an unpredictable source.

To be honest though, I have far more of a problem with fox and badger poo in my garden than cat poo. Badger poo is the nastiest there is!

NameChangeNugget · 18/02/2019 12:55

Chuck the cat shit back over the fence. Neighbour's cat, neighbour's cat shit

I agree. And have one wee per today in the area that the vile fuckers shit in. That’s meant to work apparently

wink1970 · 18/02/2019 12:55

I replaced the batteries on our cat scarers yesterday; they had stopped over winter and the next door cat had rediscovered the joy of pooing under my apple tree.

AuntieCJ · 18/02/2019 12:57

they had stopped over winter and the next door cat had rediscovered the joy of pooing under my apple tree.

music plays -

Don't shit under the apple tree with anyone else but me ...

SoupDragon · 18/02/2019 12:58

Chuck the cat shit back over the fence. Neighbour's cat, neighbour's cat shit

How do you know which shit belongs to which cat and which neighbour?

MammaSchwifty · 18/02/2019 13:03

How do you know which shit belongs to which cat and which neighbour?

Forensic testing WinkWink

I wouldn't really care too much about that, if you know the neighbour's cat shits in your garden, any misplaced shits are just noise. They certainly aren't my shits.

BoneyBackJefferson · 18/02/2019 13:04

HeckinHell

(I caught one of mine squirting my cat with the hose because he walked through her garden...words were had, she’s never done it again).

That is a serious amount of entitlement that you have there.

SoupDragon · 18/02/2019 13:14

I wouldn't really care too much about that, if you know the neighbour's cat shits in your garden, any misplaced shits are just noise

That puts you in the same category as the shitting cats.

charlestonchaplin · 18/02/2019 13:55

Foxes are not rare but the numbers are miniscule compared to the number of pet cats. In urban areas there are roughly 33,000 to 150,000 (highest estimate) whereas the number of pet cats is in the region of 8 million. The figures speak for themselves.

MrsCasares · 18/02/2019 14:01

HeckinHell - keep your cat out of neighbours gardens and it won’t get wet. You do sound very entitled.

MitziK · 18/02/2019 14:15

Start feeding the cats and put new collars on them.

Give it 24 hours and every single one will be kept indoors to shit in their own litter tray for the foreseeable future.

(said as a fully paid up animal lover and cat slave).

Do not bother with the prika strips. I watch the neighbour's cats, foxes, squirrels and any random wildlife waltzing along the neighbour's attempts to keep them out without a care in the world. Mine aren't physically capable of getting up that high (the advantages of being disabled or two damn fluffy between the toes to climb anything bigger than the stairs), but it's entertaining to watch just how much they don't care.

AlaskanOilBaron · 18/02/2019 14:20

(I caught one of mine squirting my cat with the hose because he walked through her garden...words were had, she’s never done it again).

Has it not occurred to you that she absolutely hates you and is plotting an elaborate piece of revenge? I hope she's not as bored and patient as I am when it comes to such things. Wink

charlestonchaplin · 18/02/2019 14:27

I agree, MitziK. It's one of the evil strategies I have considered to punish offending cat owners. I'd lock them in my conservatory for a couple of days. Not sure I can be bothered in reality, but the sheer entitlement and thoughtlessness of many cat owners makes me come up with various inventive schemes.

AlaskanOilBaron · 18/02/2019 14:27

Isn't dog fouling illegal?
So not really comparable at all

Yes, it's perfectly legal to allow your cat to poo anywhere. It's also illegal to smoke pot and sell perfectly good out of date food.

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