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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Returning cat poo to owners garden

67 replies

Slicedpineapple · 11/05/2019 09:24

Can't tell if this is U or not.

There is a cat that lives in a nearby house that is a serial garden pooper and nothing will stop it. 99% of households surrounding us own at least one dog so most cats are deterred, except this one.
This particular cat is a nuisance. You can't open upstairs windows more than half an inch because it will come in. Many a time I have found it staring at the small furry we have in our house. So now we don't open those windows as I also don't want it going in to our LOs room.

A few people have moaned about constant cat shit in their gardens despite owning several dogs (which are trained to toilet in a certain area rather than all over). I know from experience the general deterrents don't seem to work with this cat as I have tried. Nobody around seems to have the electric things because they annoy dogs also.

DP got chatting to a neighbour who mentioned that he just throws it over to the neighbour's garden as he is sick of cleaning up after somebody else's pet when he has young children that play in the garden. He has also found the cat in his house in the past.

Is this U? I think it is, because to me (unfortunately) that is part of having neighbours. Cats seem to come with living near other people, and perhaps some others don't like the amount of dogs that live nearby (obviously they don't clean up after them but they have to deal with some barking).
But the other household do not see this as U at all.
Not really my business as such but I am curious. I just bag up the poo and deal with it.

OP posts:
Twillow · 11/05/2019 09:31

It's neither the neighbour nor the cat's fault really, where it poos - no malice in it. If you're going to scoop it up you have a choice of heaving it over the fence if it makes you feel better - although I think it would be unreasonable to, say, aim it onto the lawn or patio! As you say, it's as easy to bag or bin.
Barky dogs do annoy me more.

WhiteDust · 11/05/2019 09:34

Cat poo is absolutely disgusting. The smell is vile.
Thankfully the neighbours we had with a load of cats have moved and we haven't had a problem since but yes, DH shovelled it up and chucked it over the fence for them to enjoy.

JE17 · 11/05/2019 09:36

I don't think I'd throw it back over. My neighbours have installed a motion sensor water shooter which is working at keeping the cats away. Makes me jump out of my skin every time I get too close

madcatladyforever · 11/05/2019 09:37

Quite honestly I have two male neighbours who don't garden and my fences ate constantly covered in ivy bindweed and sundry annoyances. I'm a proud gardener and it annoys the hell out of me that they can't sort it out. However I am a good neighbour and I just clear it, bag it up and dispose of it. It simply isn't worth creating an atmosphere about when they are great neighbours in other ways. Same goes for cat poo.

Neverender · 11/05/2019 09:37

No. Why would you pick it all up and then throw it into anyone's garden when you can just put it in the bin?

DavidBowiesBulge · 11/05/2019 09:37

Have you tried spraying your own pee around the garden?
Collected in a spray bottle obviously.

Original poster
Slicedpineapple · 11/05/2019 09:47

Have you tried spraying your own pee around the garden?

I just bag and bin the poo so doesn't bother me, but I wouldn't want to spray my own pee around. It would stink and we have kids that use the garden to play.

If it's not put off by my dog, I don't think it would care about me.

No. Why would you pick it all up and then throw it into anyone's garden when you can just put it in the bin?

I'm not sure other than I assume it makes him feel better or that it is making a point. Personally I wouldn't want to cause an awkward atmosphere with people I live near.

OP posts:
NailsNeedDoing · 11/05/2019 09:56

If you're sure where the poo is coming from, I don't think it's unreasonable to return it.

The atmosphere could easily already be a bit awkward considering these neighbours are allowing their pet to shit all over your gardens, which is a pretty selfish thing to do.

Save the plastic and just chuck it back over the fence with a shovel, it's better for the environment.

Duchessgummybuns · 11/05/2019 10:01

Only thing I can think of is to spray the cat with a super soaker if you catch it in your garden.

Blueeyesdarkhair · 11/05/2019 10:03

How do you know it’s that cat in particular shit? It’s pretty grim to be flinging cat shit over fences tbh. If it’s definitely their cats shit i.e. you see it happening I’d be more inclined to put in in their bin (and tell them) or ask them to come and remove it for the sake of good neighbourly relations.

Original poster
Slicedpineapple · 11/05/2019 10:07

blueeyes it's not us doing it but they have said they've seen it. I've seen it too when I've been upstairs so can't do a lot about it by the time I'm back down.

Like you I'm mindful of keeping the peace, so if it really bothers them that much I agree that asking them to deal with it or for it to go in their bin is a better idea. Might suggest that if it is mentioned again.

OP posts:
Singlenotsingle · 11/05/2019 10:08

You can't control a 🐈. They do what they like, and chucking poo back over the fence isn't going to help. It'll just upset the ndns who will think you're totally U. Maybe a pepper spray or garden hose?

PretendLife · 11/05/2019 10:10

So you are all absolutely sure it is just this one cat? several people complaining would suggest there is more than one cat in the area as one cat unlikely to produce so much poo?! Is it definitely cat poo, because other animals come through gardens at night, foxes etc.

I hope your neighbours throwing cat poo around are quite sure their dogs or kids don't ever disturb anyone because some people find noise a nuisance.

BossAssBitch · 11/05/2019 10:13

What a ridiculously petty and childish thing to do. I would hate to have neighbours like him, luckily mine are civilised and reasonable.

Thecabbageassasin · 11/05/2019 10:15

THe cat is not doing it on purpose and the owners have not trained it to go in your garden.
I have a cat, we have litter tray indoors, but he likes to go outside.
I would love to keep him as an indoor cat , primarily to keep him safe
but it would be the equivalent of never walking a dog.
Chuck it back if you want to create animosity and it makes you feel better, or perhaps speak to the owner. I would gladly go and retrieve poo from neighbours gardens if they spoke to me about it, but tbh would think you where a bit of a twat if you started throwing it over the garden fence.

ItWentInMyEye · 11/05/2019 10:17

Bizarre to throw it in someone garden when you can't be 100% sure it's that cat. Someone recently put a bag of dog shit on my mums doorstep, they clearly thought it belonged to her dog but she religiously picks his up! I was fuming and she was upset someone would do that.

AdoraBell · 11/05/2019 10:19

Have you tried citrus fruit peel with eucalyptus oil? I heard this on the radio years ago, Cat Protection person said it deters them without harming them.

Place a few bits around the garden but make sure DC can’t reach it.

PositiveVibez · 11/05/2019 10:19

Neighbour is nbu at all. Their cat, their shit. Why should someone else bag it up and bin it? They would have to clear up their own dogs shit, so why not their cats 🤷‍♀️

Kaddm · 11/05/2019 10:24

You can’t mention it to them as they cannot do anything about it, other than not to own cats.

I think you need to frighten the cat if it comes into your house. They are supposed to learn not to go back to places they have been frightened and I think this is why people spray them with water. In the house, it’s not practical to spray water so you have to frighten them off maybe by shouting or growling.

I used to have a major cat shit problem. I tried everything and nothing stopped them shitting in my flower beds. So I had my flower beds paved over. I must have picked up cat shit hundreds of times and I got to the end of my tether with it.

NannyRed · 11/05/2019 10:26

Neighbour is nbu at all. Their cat, their shit. neighbour is being an arse, how does said neighbour know it’s their shit? We have a thriving colony of feral cats around here, I’d not appreciate my neighbours throwing the feral cats shit into my garden when my cats both use my garden (too scared to go any further) or their litter tray.

Langrish · 11/05/2019 10:27

Unless you actually saw which cat did it, no.

Planesmistakenforstars · 11/05/2019 10:28

You can't be sure that all the cat poo is from their cat though.

Cats won't shit where they eat, so I leave out a small bowl with some cheap cat food in it, and this seems to work.

Cornettoninja · 11/05/2019 10:33

That’s an awful lot of poo for one cat

notangelinajolie · 11/05/2019 10:33

Wouldn't it be easier to throw a shovel of soul over it?