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

It would be interesting if cats were given the same laws about dogs pooing (although you wouldn't think there was a law.)

I imagine if people who owned a cat didn't have a garden or despite efforts to keep their cat indoors or cat proof their garden the cat "escaped " anyway because it's that kind of cat, they would have to get rid of it or risk fines.

I'd then imagine many cats being put to sleep because people will only want to buy the breeds of cats who have typical traits of being more homely indoor cats. Or some cats would probably just be dumped somewhere to disappear if they just won't understand the cat proofing of the garden etc.

I'm guessing some cats would then just become wildlife, like foxes, who would roam freely.

Welcome to MN, GoldenPineapples

GoldenPineapples

Fine. Bring in laws to stop dogs weeing and pooing in public spaces - service dogs are trained to go on command so it can be done.

It's already an offence to not clean up dog poo.

So let's bring in equal laws for cats first and then we shall move on to stricter laws for dog owners.

So let's bring in equal laws for cats first and then we shall move on to stricter laws for dog owners.

Now that I can agree with, wholeheartedly.

I'm guessing some cats would then just become wildlife, like foxes, who would roam freely

That is exactly the status of cats in the UK right now.

www.pets4homes.co.uk/pet-advice/cats-and-the-law.html

Do try and keep up, why don't you?

I almost took a photo of a huge dog poo when we went to the beach yesterday because it made me think of this thread! It was on the steps leading down to the prom where the steps bend round to a right angle so if you are walking up the steps and turn the corner there's a chance you wouldn't have seen it straight away due to the corner being "blind". It was HUGE!

When you're trying to enjoy a walk and take in the views, you don't really want to be staring down at your feet constantly do you.

I'm talking over many years I have encountered lots of dog poo, sometimes having to push a pram out into the road to avoid it if the pavement was narrow.

So why didn't you pick it up, if you're so bothered?

Ok, thank you for some good points about dogs re: restricting poo to your garden or never off leads.

I wouldn't go into my diatribe if the thread consisted of only giving advice/sharing similar experience, to a cat owner and/or the neighbour, and politely.
But people who go on about "disgusting" cats and their hideous bahaviour and add aggression and insults do overstep the mark. That's why I reminded about the dog situation which does not get such exagerrated negative response.

Not all onus is on a cat owner though: a neighbour is within his wits to try to protect the garden too. Why the hell should he? Well, he might chose not to, but then will be his own idiot.

So let's bring in equal laws for cats first and then we shall move on to stricter laws for dog owners

Agree. Hitting a cat by a cat and not taking it to the vet should be the same offense as in case of the dog. Dogs are required to save, cats are not. Perhaps because they
are such nasty shitters who should be allowed to die?

That would be fine to have equal laws, it wouldn't effect me personally but it might be a good idea.

In my post below I was pondering on what may happen if that was enforced and I think cats would possibly become like foxes in the sense they roam freely but without an owner. They would still poo in your garden though.

by a car.

Shouldn't the question be "I wonder why the owner of the dog pick it up?"

Perhaps because they are such nasty shitters who should be allowed to die?

It's more of a function of their right to roam, presumably under their own recognisance.

Was I just welcomed to mn I've been here for around 12 years

Shouldn't the question be "I wonder why the owner of the dog pick it up?"

No, I pick up all dog shit I see, my dog or no. I move it away from other walkers/prams/ dog walkers. I think it's the decent thing to do.

Haven't read whole thread but I
use a cat repellent from hardware shop or Amazon. It smells strongly of garlic and cats won't go near it. It needs redoing after wet weather so you could offer to
replenish it now and then.

Hitting a cat by a cat and not taking it to the vet should be the same offense as in case of the dog. Dogs are required to save, cats are not. Perhaps because they
are such nasty shitters who should be allowed to die?

I would take any animal to a vet if it were injured. I could never leave an injured act by the roadside. I don't think the law has anything to do with them being hated.

Dogs are required to be on leads on roads and a dog owner can be fined if their dog causes an accident.

Cats hide under parked cars and then dart out or fly out from over garden walls and dash into the road. I had it a few years ago. Without any warning a cat chased a squirrel from underneath a parked car literally level with my front wheels. I had no notice of them even being there. It was awful and the squirrel was killed. The cat was completely unhurt. If that had been a second or 2 earlier I might have reacted and swerved and hit another car. Do you think I could have sued the cat owner for it's pet causing an accident?

The decent thing to do would be for the owner to pick it up.

The same argument applies, some people don't like picking up cat shit when they don't have a cat ( which is the argument of the thread) but some don't like picking up dog shit (especially that huge) when they don't own a dog.

You can't argue that it's the responsible thing to do to pick it up even if you don't own a dog (and not holding the dogs owner to account) then moan about cat owners not picking up poo.

On that logic, people should just pick up poo if they see if even it's not their pet, because it's the responsible thing to do.

On that logic, people should just pick up poo if they see if even it's not their pet, because it's the responsible thing to do

That's what I do.

In my post below I was pondering on what may happen if that was enforced and I think cats would possibly become like foxes in the sense they roam freely but without an owner. They would still poo in your garden though.

I should think that stray and feral cats would be caught and removed.

As for the dog poo you saw at the beach - that's disgusting.

Do find me a dog owner who says it's fine. That's the difference between cat and dog owners on here - I doubt anyone will defend dog poo not being cleared up but all the cat owners on here are actively defending their cat's right to poo in someone else's garden.

GoldenPineapples

How often do you have to pick up dog poo from dog belonging to someone else, from your own garden?

In public - dog poo is disgusting and owners are required to pick it up and that should be enforced.

See the difference in attitude between dog and cat owners on this thread?

I doubt anyone will defend dog poo not being cleared up but all the cat owners on here are actively defending their cat's right to poo in someone else's garden

Not at all. All that had been pointed out is the state of the UK law regarding cats. Options ( cheap and cheerful) are open to the veggie owners, ones I use myself as a cat and veggie patch owner.

echt

But cats on the veg patch is only one problem of cats pooing in gardens. They don't just poo on a vegetable patch. We have a gravel garden. Our neighbour's cats see it as a giant litter box - they poo everywhere. What's a cheap and easy solution for that?

I was only providing solution to the OP's problem.

I've had stony garden and took the advice not to turn it into a litter tray, so chose larger stones.

That was an interesting link to the law about cats and the reason the legal status is slightly different to that of dogs.

Cases of cats causing damage or harm to people are far and few between according to the article but for dogs they aren't. That is why dogs are required to be on leads in public whereas a cat isn't.

"But in practice, cases involving damage to property or injury to people by cats are few and far between. Whereas dogs have been known to bite people and do considerable damage, this very rarely happens in the case of cats."

It also highlights the reasons for the laws surrounding pets "including the freedom to exhibit normal and natural behaviour patterns,"

I watched a programme years ago about what would happen if humans just one day died out. Domestic dogs, according to them, would be one of the first to die out. Cats, due to their natural behaviour patterns, would survive for a long time.

After reading that article, it explains what cat owners are trying to say.