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

You obviously aren't bothered. I feel for your neighbour. So many pet owners are so entitled these days, leaving their shit lying around everywhere

er. cat fences are, what? around a grand or more? last time I looked. Not everyone has such money; or, if they do, will chose to spend it this way over a holiday.

Pepper, orange peel or lion poo.

The most effective thing MIL used in her garden, which we recommended to our neighbour, was a rather ugly, but effective frog decoration from poundland. It was a motion sensor thing that made a noise when a cat passed it. All the local cats hated it.

I'd say I am so sorry can I help pay for your garden to be cat proofed.

This was happening to me.

It turned my stress relieving enjoyable hobby into a relentless battle to prevent cat defecating daily in my garden.

Neighbours cheerful ' just point water pistol at her' didn't cut it. Funnily enough I don't have the time to be there 24/7.

Cat was lazy and timid so I cat proofed (resent this and all the other money I spent on useless cat deterrents).

Neighbour then admitted HE was now having the catshit to clear up every day and finally realised how I was affected.

I think I would buy them netting or cat repellent while constantly repeating that it might not be your cat, and mention other cats you have seen in the area, and hope they will see someone else's cat in their garden and feel really guilty for blaming yours.
I have just planted an asparagus bed and of course it looks like a lovely big cat toilet, so I intend to net it temporarily to stop mine and all the other cats breaking the young shoots. I have an old piece of chicken wire I will just lay over the top - nothing complicated or permanent.

Cats are being poisoned with antifreeze on allotments around here. Horrible death by all accounts, but I guess you can’t stop cats roaming as they please.

Mumsnet is notoriously anti cat owners OP and people who love complaining about poo. Before I had cats I was picking up fox shit (including a few in my lounge!). I don't particularly like dogs as they wee all over the park grass, but I realise it's irrational and so I wouldn't complain to a dog owner! It's annoying but just part of town/city living.

Since my dog died cats have started pooing in my garden. I’ve tried powders, sonic things, throwing sponges at them and anti-cat strips on the top of the fences but nothing works. I just have to live with the shit because the cat owners don’t care.

Darlings. Please enlighten me, naive prat, what is that reference to a cork ... I'm getting really anxious about my own interpretation. Is it really to shove up the puss's arse? .. If you leave me unanswered, I'll have enormous sense of guilt over my thought.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I owned a cat for 7 years and never had anyone complain before, so it's all new to me. Also, for some reason we've never noticed cat poo in our garden so didn't realise it was a problem. Nice to be judged there, whitesoxx , do you always judge so harshly on such little information?! I get very annoyed about dog poo out the front of our property. I have just never come across this situation before so had no idea that there were even such things as cat deterrents and curry plants and whatnot.

I would tell them to buy a solar-powered pest repellent. I bought some for my recently and they really work.

If you are growing veg to eat cat poo and urine is not what you need. One of my neighbours just uses netting cages, which he makes, says its dual purpose, stops the birds and the cats. All he does is fit a frame over the veg patch, covers the top in netting, then has separate sides which he pins down with hoops so he can lift the sides up to work. I think he has it right.

You can't stop the cats buy you could offer to buy some netting.

“It’s a great form of biological manure which will help them grow! And I won’t even charge for it!”?

It’s not manure if it’s from a carnivore though, is it?

Mumsnet is notoriously anti cat owners
I've found my place for human correction then.

He also told me about cat owners who build huge enclosures for their outdoor cats

Give him a water pistol
And free reign to shoot the cat with it ?

It’s not going to get better and anyway how does he know it’s your cat anyway

Grim! This reminds me of the time MIL announced that our salad she'd made was from their veg patch. The same veg patch I'd seen their cat take a dump in every morning. Oh but don't worry she'd washed it in water. (not envy)

I'll never touch her salad again.

Do what northernbird said.

Lots of little sticks in the area would deter it. A sonic thing would need to be in their garden.

However, cat proofing would keep your cat safe and prevent any further blame.

Spraying might be because another cat has shat there, so if you are sure yours can't you can ignore any further complaints. I have visions of the quivering straight up tail which always looks so cute.

What you should say is sorry
And then make sure you keep your cat inside so it can’t do it again

Get some cat proof fencing or a cat run. Easy solution.

@moomoo, never, ever buy organic vegetables, you’ll have a conniption if you find out what those are grown in!

I think it's repulsive. Cat too is awful, after at that work growing veg and you then can't eat the food because of the potential for parasites.

No I don't, but the cork jokes and rolling eyes about his suggestion you should keep it under control suggest you're not that bothered.

Maybe it's just because I'm seriously sick of animal shit

I could never stop the cat from roaming. It would be the height of cruelty in my opinion. He's had years of roaming at will and infact was a farm cat kitten when we got him from an animal sanctuary. The charity made sure that we would allow him to be an outdoors cat before letting us have him. Having said that, he spending 95% of the time asleep on the sofa So ideas about fencing him in, putting him on a leash etc.. are not going to happen. Plus there are other cats on the street so why should he be the one to lose his liberty?

Anyway, some one up thread mentioned solar power cat repellents. I've had a look on Amazon and they are not too expensive. As a gesture of good will (because I am pretty sure he cannot spray and so is not the guilty party) I'm going to order a couple for the nextdoor neighbour.

So it's not pooing but spraying?

You are v brave to start a thread in AIBU about cats.