To wonder what you would say to a neighbour complaining about your cat weeing and pooing their prize vegetable garden?

[Upthepong]

Just that really. I'm a bit non-plussed about it all

Wow. After that rant I can’t even begin to imagine what was deleted.

My nan always used to squirt vegetable oil at them. They hate it because they can't clean it off their fur easily but it doesn't harm them at all. Only one neighbourhood moggy tried it more than once.

I’d probably say OK, thank you I’ll have a word with my cat about it.

As for people growing vegetables.. my sister in law grows them and has a lovely selection. She also protects them with the appropriate netting/sticks etc because animals do eat them if they aren't shielded from them and she's also not arrogant enough to think she can just grow vegetables completely unprotected without the risk of foxes/birds/squirrels plus other wildlife eating them or damaging them or cats going to the toilet on them.

Even if you eradicated cats, someone would still need to protect them from other animals who could be eating or destroying them.

Maybe you could put a sign up saying "cats please keep out?"

That might work according to some people's logic!

Jake that's a good idea! Have a word with the cat if a sign doesn't work!

Oh dear Finnigans your daughters dds had best not leave the house then ever because there's a minefield of shit out there from dogs, foxes, birds.. I come across dog shit every where I go on the pavement/park/beach/grassed areas etc.

Best to be safe than sorry eh!

Oh I feel their pain. Our new next door neighbours moved in with 6 cats and the cat shit situation is out of control.
We bought our house because of the lovely gardens and we have always grown a lot of our own food and encouraged wildlife.
In the 3 years they have been here the cats have annihilated a colony of water shrews, mauled hundreds of songbirds and I pick up about 5 poos a day.
It's just not on.
If I sent my teenage lads round to theirs to take a crap on their tarmac (they tore their garden up and replaced with tarmac) I'm sure they wouldn't be happy.
Cant wait to move.

GoldenPineapples how am I supposed to fence in my veg beds to keep the cat off if the owners can’t apparently fence them into their own property?! I assume you wouldn’t appreciate me surrounding them with pointy sticks or anything they could get tangled in. We have a purpose built fruit cage that required quite a lot of time and money but the veg beds only used to need a net over the peas and beans until they were a decent size before the arrival of this bloody cat. More to the point why should I have to put up defenses in my own property against an animal owned by somebody else??! If the problem was a genuinely wild creature like deer or rabbits then fair enough but someone else’s pet shouldn’t be my problem! Interestingly you are allowed to shoot deer, rabbits and foxes, put down traps for moles or mice but cats have this special status of someone’s property but not their responsibility. BTW before I get totally flamed I have not intention or desire to hurt the fluffy grey fleabag, I’d probably be quite happy for it to sit on my lap at my neighbours house. I just do not want it to be allowed to wander into my garden to poo!!

Today 22:42GoldenPineapples

Oh dearFinnigansyour daughters dds had best not leave the house then ever because there's a minefield of shit out there from dogs, foxes, birds.. I come across dog shit every where I go on the pavement/park/beach/grassed areas etc

Thank you very much for your concern @GoldenPineapples.

My DD doesn't have to leave the house to get an eyeful of shit. Her garden is full of cat shit - Her neighbour has a houseful of cats - Just in case you missed it the first time around. My DD is suffering with PND. Her DH left her just before the baby was born. The last thing she needs is to pick up cat shit, from next doors 7 cats, before she can let her children play in her garden. But don't let that stop you from allowing your cats to crap in your neighbours gardens. After all nobody can stop a cat from roaming. They are free spirits eh? Meanwhile responsible cat owners manage to keep their cats safe and contained within their own property. I guess being a responsible cat owner is too much to ask from you.

Some cat owners are a law unto themselves.. .. They turn a blind eye to the misery they cause to others.

Damntheman,the metal was rounded so no, it could not injure the cat in any manner and in fact, he wasn’t injured.

FTR, my husband loves cats. I am allergic to them, but have no issues with them.

...Suggested that people need to keep their cats under control like they would a dog!

Stuff like this reminds me that most people don't have their neighbours dogs constantly shitting in their garden

I didn't know cats don't like curry plants,this one of my cats favourite for sleeping under.

Please can people stop suggesting the sonar repellents. They CAN be heard by humans with good hearing. Our neighbours had one for a while and my DC could hear it as could dh. I could hear it occasionally, usually when the air was damp. It was ficking annoying.

They eventually had to get rid of it after another neighbour complained ss every time she rode her horse past the house it started shying and becoming distressed by the noise.

Finnigans just in case you missed it the first time, I've said a couple of times that my cats poo in my garden.

Lots and lots of long bamboo food skewers, pointy end down, will stop cats shitting in your veggie patch.

I have veggie beds and a cat, so know it works.

All the dog shit collectors here: you don't pick up every poop if you let your dog off the lead, ever. So someone might bump into it.

There are more dogs in this mad country, than cats. EVERY fucking dog shits outside. SOME, if not most cats, have a litter tray at home which they use. There are no indoor dogs, but a lot of cats are indoor ones (pedigree, sick ones, or those in flats). So I dare suggest the amount of pet shit outside is skewed towards dogs, not cats.

Not everyone has a garden - let me remind this to some of you who probably forgot about people living in blocks of flats, cramped into hideous urban people kennels, because you tend to live in some wisteria clan village cottages - where they can encounter cat shit. EVERYONE walks on a road and sees dog crap there. Every fucking one encounters it at least once in their lifetime.
Not every garden is covered in cat shit. Mine isn't, my neighbours aren't. Everyone where I live is friendly towards cats.

Dog is a pet either pathologically incapable of shitting at home, like a cat, or it never crosses the mind of their entitled owners to train it to use a litter tray. Well of course, how could you? It's a dog abuse!

So, dog shit is universal and everpresent. Cat shit is localised to some unfortunate gardens. I am sorry it happens to people, if my cats went outside, I'd offer some solution to the distressed neighbour, but please reign in your cat-hate. Use your brain, think critically and see that, given who spreads most shit, the dogs are most offenders yet they are entitled to crap in public places and don't get so much bashing as cats do. So your cat-hate is unfair, like any stupid, bigoted prejudice.

Neighbour vs neighbour is, like everything, a matter of manners and communication skills. People often lack it and express their indignation in an obnoxious way which invites a similar response. Either way, when politely told of the problem, a good person would apologise. That this doesn't happen is probably another half of the problem. That, or far too many cat haters on earth, sadly.

Every pet shits. It's unpleasant but not the end of the world, and cats are no worse than dogs.

This thread is about cats. And their repulsive and hazardous shit. In the gardens of people who do have gardens.

I don’t have an indoor dog, but I do have one that’s never off-lead. There are plenty of them about. Believe me, no shit goes unpicked.

Tbh if they are keen gardeners you might want to find out if they are the chemical kind or not. Some chemicals used for gardening/keeping unwanteds away are hazardous to wildlife that your cat may well eat and they are totally legal to use.

All the dog shit collectors here: you don't pick up every poop if you let your dog off the lead, ever. So someone might bump into it.

In Australia, on-lead is the rule, so off-leash very restricted. And yes, I pick up every single shit my dog does. And all the others I see.

BloodyDisgrace

Firstly there are loads of dogs who don't go out into public spaces and so poo in their own gardens or who only poo in their own gardens despite going out for walks.

Secondly the vast majority of dog owners always pick up after their own dogs and condemn those who don't. That's where dog owners differ from cat owners - cat owners will defend any cat pooing outside of their own gardens because "that's cats".

Thirdly, as disgusting as dog poo outside is it isn't in someone's garden. If cat's only pooed on the streets or in parks that would be disgusting but it would still be better than forcing non cat owners to have to do a poo patrol before using their own gardens.

I'm sick of the damage my neighbour's cats do to my garden by digging up bulbs and treading on plants as well as pooing everywhere. Then they climb into our open upstairs windows or run through the front door if I'm unloading shopping.

How can you defend another person's pet causing such a nuisance? No matter what you say you would not defend a dog doing this.

For the person suggesting bamboo skewers - we tried this but took them up because you couldn't weed the beds without nearly loosing an eye.

I think dogs should be banned from shitting in public spaces. Often even if it's picked up, it still leaves traces of shit, especially on grass, for people to get on the bottom of their shoes and walk that in to carpets. They should also be banned from pissing in public spaces too because it's gross.

Why if I don't have a dog should I be forced to trample in dog poo or traces of dog poo and wee.

Dog owners should be made to make sure their dogs go in their own garden and if they don't have a garden they should not be allowed to get a dog which is too big to used a litter tray.

Why went I don't own a dog should I have to encounter dog poo and wee, sometimes in my own front garden or if a dog has cocked his leg to piss on my front gate. Why should I have to listen to dogs barking when I'm trying to enjoy my garden because dog owners won't muzzle their dogs.

For the person suggesting bamboo skewers - we tried this but took them up because you couldn't weed the beds without nearly loosing an eye

That would be me. That's why I said pointy end down. Don't know about you, but I don't put my face within six inches of the soil to weed.

If you want lash out, try paddle skewers.

Mine is trained to go in the gutter. It’s still not ideal because it’s a public place, but he never pisses on garden gates. I’d hate that myself.

Jesus, this thread gets more absurd every time I open it. Just look where you put your feet @Pineapples. God knows where you see all this dog shit, you seem to see more every day than i’ve seen in the whole of my life.