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

I think you’re confusing people who hate cats (very few) with people who hate cats shitting in their gardens (very many).

Owners who think they have the right to allow their cat to soil others’ gardens and ruin them, especially for children, without any apology or help to stop it - now they are widely despised.

THIS absolutely.

Also, @Bagofworries explains it perfectly for those who have difficulty in understanding what should be obvious.

Whoaa. wait here. Dog shit is equally disgusting but I don't hear people going "I think it's your dog shat on my drive, go and pick it up" to their neighbour. Not every dog shit is picked up and I see hoards of dogs off lead everywhere, including countryside where sheep can just happen, or parks where small children, dog fearing folk may walk - is there a public crucifiction of dog owners? No. Cat people though are expected to shell out £££ on fences, patrol the neighbouring gardens with view of picking random shits, buy sonic panels, plants, and self flagellate regularly.

Yes, some dog owners do leave the poo without picking it up, but this is widely condemned, considered extremely antisocial and there are many signs up stating that fines can be levied for this. If you can get photographic or other proof and report a dog owner, they are liable to be punished.

Why shouldn't cat owners be expected to spend money and make efforts to minimise the antisocial effects of their choice to have a pet? This is the same argument made by parents who don't bother to bring up their children properly and seem amazed that they should be expected to watch their kids or to take measures to rear responsible citizens - and will respond to very valid complaints with "Well, they're kids, aren't they - that's what kids do." If it's a baby crying then, yes, that is what they do. If it's a 7yo throwing stones at neighbours' windows and in no way being disciplined and prevented from doing it then, no, it's a sign that you're choosing to be a neglectful parent and a very antisocial neighbour.

A shit is unpleasant. A shit can happen in a garden (fox, geese, badger, hedgehog, anything). Maybe it;s just a downside of having a garden.

So it's the victim's fault, then? Is burglary just a downside of having a home and something that you merely have to accept as a hazard of having a normal life rather than somebody else's responsibility to not do or otherwise take measures to deal with?

As for the PPs suggesting lion poo, why on earth would you want to solve the problem of having animal poo in your garden by actively putting a lot more animal poo there (and probably having to actually pay to buy the poo)? Where's any modicum of sense in that?

My husband took a slingshot with a piece of metal to the neighbour’s cat when he defecated in husband’s vegetable garden. It’s a short, sharp pain but not in any way permanent. That stopped the cat’s activities in our garden. He just started walking around it.

Just out of interest, if you do own a cat who roams, what would you do if legislation was passed to ensure cat owners were responsible for disposing of their pets faeces? That they were responsible for keeping their pets safe, so they didn't dart out into a road.
What would you do then?

As an aside, cats that are left to roam outside ,particularly at night are responsible for the deaths of huge amounts of native wildlife including birds.
There are over 10 million domestic cats in the UK and estimates shown that on average one cat kills around 10 animals/birds per month.
Cats suck.

It is disgusting. I'm a gardener and cat owner. My cat shits in my garden so doesn't upset the neighbours.🙄
I'd suggest they use a water pistol if they catch cat in the act.

The RSPB has actually stated that there is no evidence cats are responsible for declines in bird population. They say there is in fact evidence that cats tend to take the weak and sickly that would die anyway.

I do not cat proof my garden, although I have laid small sticks in my flower beds which effectively stop animals pooing in them.

My garden, like many others, has poo in it. It is mostly (as I suspect is the case for a lot of people discovering 'cat' poo) badger or fox poo. My kids play in the garden anyway as a bit of poo will not kill them. They now know how to flick the poo aside.

Bushes don't die just from cat poo. There was likely something else wrong with them, potentially getting chewed on by badger/deer which isn't easy to spot on the trunk.

People are so hysterical over nonsense. Neighbour should just cat proof his vege patch it isn't hard! Netting and/or twigs will do the trick. And will keep other wildlife from having at them too. He'll have to keep the birds off his veges anyway so might as well net them.

A piece of metal Halo??! Wtf that is horrific . He could have seriously injured the poor thing. Slingshot if you must but not with anything that would do such damage. A water balloon would have been better..

Dog poo has been the bane of my life at times. There are so many times when I have cursed a dog owner for not picking up their dog's poo and there's a reason there are signs up warning of fines if it's not picked up (although this is rarely enforced.)

I've had it on the wheels of my pram many times, my daughter who was 2 at the time managed to step in it and got it all over my ex dh's shirt when he picked her up not realised her boots had shit on them.

I've stood in many many times throughout my lifetime in woods/the countryside, long grass. It's on the sand on the beach, I've seen it in children's open play areas, I've had it in my own front garden many times! It's been all over the pavement on the school run and actually outside the school gates/fences.

I've had it in my car after stepping in it and not realising until it's all over my car footwell making a stink.

If we go for a walk it's always "look where you're walking in case there's any dog muck."

I've had it walked in my carpets over the years, had it on bike wheels. You can't walk through crisp autumn leaves without fear there's dog poo in them (which happened to my boyfriend as a teen who got his brand new expensive trainers covered in dog poo after kicking the Autumn leaves.)

Is this all dog owners? No. There are many many dog owners who pick up after their dogs. But there are also many who don't and letting your dog/s poo in parks/on pavements/outside schools/on the beach etc etc is far more antisocial then a cat pooing and covering it in a flower bed and I can't say I've ever had any of the experiences with cat poo in the way I have explained that I have experienced with dog poo in this post.

Dogs are also a nuisance when they constantly bark. That is very antisocial. Or when owners let their dogs shit in their garden and do a mass pick up a few times a week. If the wind is blowing the right way it bloody stinks if you live next door! Thankfully none of my immediate neighbours have dogs now to bark constantly!

I have two cats who go in my garden. They cover it and it's small so if I do come across it gardening I dig it in. I can't say I could just dig in a great dog turd which I found in my front garden.

My kids play in the garden anyway as a bit of poo will not kill them. They now know how to flick the poo aside.

Animal poo is dangerous and they can catch diseases from it.

I had to squirrel proof my pots because they would eat all my crocus bulbs

Many people have to bird proof their new lawns so the seeds aren't eaten!

Sometimes you just have to "animal proof" things you want to grow in your garden.

Or should I have sat there with a shot gun to get any naughty squirrels eating my bulbs..

@Upthepong we had a little dog and no strange cats in our garden (we had 2 very timid ones of our own). After the dog died suddenly loads of other cats started coming in and cutting through, our cats were terrorised. We bought 2 plastic sonic repellent devices and they worked a treat. Expensive but effective. Well expensive if you resent spending £60 on other people's cats.

There’s a simple answer for you @Pineapples - look where you’re putting your feet. I can count the number of times I’ve ever stepped in shit on the fingers of one hand because I look where I’m going.

We had those, and I caught next doors cat sitting in front of one of them meowing at it in total fascination

Thanks Alsohuman I'll bare that in mind

Generally, people who don't have pets- and their guests- shouldn't have to worry about stepping in poo in their garden, though, right??

I'm not sure you could completely eradicate all animals and birds from your garden but I suppose you could give it a try.

I come out this morning to find my car covered in big splats of bird shite so now have to clean my car to be able to go out because my windscreen is covered.

Maybe I need to get a gun to shoot the pigeons because they should know my car is on my property so is exempt from any poo whatsoever.

We never had cats in our garden when we had a dog but since he died we are over run. It isn't helped by our neighbour having so many. It is just really unpleasant to have to keep cleaning up after other people's pets.

I know people are complaining about dog poo and yes that is disgusting and all dog owners should clear up after their dogs. At the same time, cat owners would soon have something to say if that dog poo was in their back gardens wouldn't they? Or, are cat owners not bothered by it?

From a dog chat site - apparently works

"I've had luck with a mixture of 3/4 water, 4 capfulls strong eucalyptus scented disinfectant, some oil (to keep the smell through some rain) and lavender imitation essence (250ml). Shake it about. Sometimes I add lemon. Spray where you want to deter (I just do the perimeter)

Was for dog poop on my nature strip but pleasant side effect of less cat poop."

You could make some up for your neighbour to try.

No one here was originally talking about bird poo, fox poo, etc etc. Of course, these are wild creatures, and as such, shit when-and wherever. That's not the point.

Dog poo in public places - which most people here find disgusting- also wasn't the point.

People were making the very valid, very reasonable point that other people's pets, i.e cats, should not be shitting and pissing in others' gardens. Some cat owners then being so nonchalant and shruggy about it, or outraged that neighbours are upset by having their own private outdoor space ruined, or going off-piste completely by talking about wildlife and dogs is not helpful.
People may or may not dislike cats. I never had strong feelings one way or the other until they started pissing and shitting in my hard-earned garden. I have seen them do this with my own eyes. I have started to hate cats with an intensity I did not know I possessed, and frankly, some of the posts on here by "outraged" cat owners make me want to just go out and buy a slingshot.

Or could take it next level

K1233- I will try this concoction. Thank you!

We catproofed our garden and were very smug about what good, thoughtful cat owners we were - so considerate of our neighbours! So clever to keep our cat safe but also let him have outdoors time!

Then we got a second cat, who basically laughed at the cat proofing and escaped it easily - so we got more, more expensive cat proofing. So he did it again. Turns out Cat1 doesn't actually want to leave the garden (he still doesn't and we've now taken all the cat proofing down) and it's almost impossible to confine a cat who really doesn't want to be confined.

Say you'll go and wash his vegetables for him when they are ready!

And good luck with finding a way ridding salad crops of the bacteria contained in shit without ruining them. Cats shitting on crops is really disgusting, when you think about it.

Cat proof your garden, OP. It's the responsible thing to do.

You could provide an area in your garden or house, for the cat to shit in.

Dog shit is just as bad, yet dog won't climb your walls or fence to shit into a garden. The house behind us has 4 cats, they constantly set off the security light, they do not shit anymore, I spent about 2 months blasting them with DS water gun, it was so disgusting picking up cats poo before the DC played in their back garden.