Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To not want cats using my garden

267 replies

temporarygate · 06/04/2020 13:18

Our neighbours cats are frequently in my garden. Last summer they kept shitting at the bottom of our slide and killing birds a our bird feeder. We installed plastic fence spikes to deter them and the neighbour knocked on our door complaining his cats might get injured and that cats have the right to roam.

We have left the spikes up which has stopped them running across the fences to catch birds but the cats continue to come in through trees at the back of the garden and now have adopted our new garden sofas. We bought some of those ultrasonic sounders things but they are not making a difference. We spent £90 on sofa covers to prevent the cats sleeping on the garden furniture but every morning when we go out the cats shoot from under the covers - this morning there’s wet cat hair all over the cushions. I bring the throw cushions indoors but not the seat as back cushions as they are huge and there’s loads of them.

I feel pissed off that I’m going to a lot of hassle and expense of buying things and covering things for someone else’s pets to use.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
5
RonnieBarkingMad · 06/04/2020 14:38

@vanillandhoney

Cats have the right to roam. If you don't want them in your garden, then you are perfectly within your rights to take humane measures to stop that. You can cat proof the fences to stop them entering, for example.

Literally in the first paragraph OP says they have done this. It hasn’t worked. So, what next do you suggest?

Freddiefox · 06/04/2020 14:38

Fling the cat shit back to your neighbours everytime

RedRed9 · 06/04/2020 14:41

Have you explained this clearly to the cats? 😂

DingDongDenny · 06/04/2020 14:41

Fortunately @RonnieBarkingMad we have neighbours who are both kind and sane, so we have no issues with letting our cats out. In fact they look after them when we are on holiday

I agree with the super-soaker / water pistol advice and have always told neighbours to do this if our cats are a nuisance. It does work

But for the love of God don't take @RonnieBarkingMad's advice

MargotMouse · 06/04/2020 14:45

I was going to suggest one of those solar-powered alarms that emit a high pitched noise - we have two on our driveway and it’s stopped the neighbour’s cats shitting on our property. However I see you’ve already tried that.

I second a water gun. The cats will hopefully start to associate you & your garden with being sprayed with water, and will avoid. Its so annoying having to spend money on someone else’s pet though, I agree.

Oldestchild90s · 06/04/2020 14:45

Tbh iagree with flinging the cat shit back into their garden. I kind of wish my neighbours did that so i know i can dispose of my cats crap without pissing people off too much.
I once witnessed one of mine crapping under the neighbours trampoline so i knocked on their door and asked if i could go and pick it up.. they were almost gobsmacked.
Unfortunately i cannot always be there to check (working full time and unfortunately one of those NHS workers) but i'd be more than happy to do that, or for them to bag it and fling it back!

MsTSwift · 06/04/2020 14:45

Ours go in their litter tray and are in at night. They do go in the neighbours garden and we got a few raised eyebrows when we told them we getting kittens but told neighbours to feel free to shoo out. We do a lot for these neighbours and are otherwise ideal neighbours v quiet etc so I don’t feel guilty. Plus recently found out these neighbours used to have cats themselves before we moved in so not a leg to stand on really

NoMorePoliticsPlease · 06/04/2020 14:46

I saw photos recently of a cats paws injured and bleeding form plastic spikes.
Those who redeliver shit or ask the neighbours to do something about it are living in cloud cuckoo land

Mintjulia · 06/04/2020 14:49

Legally cats are feral so you can't hold your neighbour responsible for their actions.

You can't stop them roaming, but you can spray them with water, put up deterrents, buy a dog, chase or scare them away. I find a high powered water pistol works best.

My elderly mum got years of entertainment shooting cats with water in her garden.

RonnieBarkingMad · 06/04/2020 14:50

@DingDongDenny

*DingDongDenny

Fortunately @RonnieBarkingMad we have neighbours who are both kind and sane, so we have no issues with letting our cats out. In fact they look after them when we are on holiday*

Yes, good for you. Luckily for you. And as you mentioned, fortunate for you. If you had neighbours that didn’t like cats then the situation would be different, wouldn’t it?

I don’t know how to make it clearer: As much right as you have to own a pet cat is as much right as someone who doesn’t own a pet cat to not want one roaming their property.

Terralee · 06/04/2020 14:51

@Oldestchild90s I know, the stripy one is a Bengal! I wish his owner would get him spayed though as he keeps wandering & going missing, luckily he's chipped.
The other one belongs to next door.
They like to play fight in my garden, it's so funny to watch.
But I had to spray a bit of cat pepper on my plant pots as they kept digging them up. Now they've stopped doing that. Cat pepper spray is about £6 from Stewart's Gardenlands.
The ultimate deterrent to cats is having your own cat - I used to own a semi feral outdoor cat who sadly died. She chased off cats & foxes.
My new rescue cat is terrified of the outdoors bless her.

TitusP · 06/04/2020 14:52

@steppemum - have I read that correctly, you drop cats in a bucket full of water?! That’s incredibly cruel if so. By all means use a water pistol but dropping it in a bucket of water is nasty.

FreckledLeopard · 06/04/2020 14:54

You say you've had cats in the past. If you had, then you'd know that comparing them to dogs is ridiculous. Can you put a cat on a lead and take it for a walk? No. Can you train a cat? No. The two are not comparable and surely you ought to know this.

Either spend thousands cat proofing your garden, get a super soaker, move house or suck it up and stop moaning.

MarieQueenofScots · 06/04/2020 14:56

I have discovered the best option was to lob rocks - NOT at the cat but at my metal shed.

I'm a damn good shot and there is never any risk to the cat, but they certainly don't like the noise! I haven't had any issues for a good 18 months since.

Escrima · 06/04/2020 14:56

Some weird and inaccurate statements on here!

Cats do have the right to roam. That's fact. If you don't like it then your avenue of redress is probably petitioning parliament or starting some kind of campaign, not taking it upon yourself to start mistreating cats (who, by the way, are not doing anything wrong).

It is against the law to trap a cat. If you took it to a shelter because it ventured over to your garden, despite knowing whose pet it is and that it isn't being mistreated, they would think you were batshit. You would also be wasting a charity's time.

Cat owners generally care about the welfare of their pets. This includes letting them roam freely and engage in their natural behaviours (their right to which is also protected by law). Most cat owners are fine with them being shooed, scared away, squirted with water, deterred with lavender or any other sane, normal methods. Cat owners will generally not be ok with you trapping or harming them.

Incidentally, cats are actually legally considered the property of the owner. So if you harm a person's cat you have actually caused damage to their property. So are you any better?

There are vast amounts of animals that could be defecating in your garden, other than cats. Have a long think about it and ask yourself whether you're getting so annoyed simply because you've found a scapegoat. Imagine it's a fox. What would you do then?

I speak as a cat owner who has taken steps to make sure my cats don't go over the fence on one side, I have fully supported my neighbour shooing them away, and I have also thrown water on other cats. I am not blind to the impact my cats have on others, but I also think people need to be a lot more tolerant.

RatherBeRiding · 06/04/2020 14:57

I have a greyhound. No cat dares enter my garden.

MarieQueenofScots · 06/04/2020 14:58

I do think it depends on the attitude of the cat owner.

Cat owner to my left, utterly lovely, acknowledges any issues.

Cat owner to my right, utterly batshit over their cats to the point of mindblowing stupidity.

beargrass · 06/04/2020 14:59

Have you explained this clearly to the cats?

Comment of the day Grin

Whattodo62 · 06/04/2020 15:01

@InArrears that tickled me

In all honesty op have you actually spoken to the cats?

JKScot4 · 06/04/2020 15:06

Just trap it OP and give it back once the owner has been worried long enough about where it has gone and why it hasn’t come back
Seriously? That’s fuckin nasty and abusive, RSPCA would be paying you a visit!
@RonnieBarkingMad

Crookshanksthecat · 06/04/2020 15:08

I do understand the annoyance but you just can't expect cat owners to cat proof their garden. You can try to cat proof yours (good luck - v expensive and almost impossible).

I agree with pp just get a super soaker and keep shooting at them, they will learn. We have a cat and a neighbour's cat kept coming in and attacking her so we got a long distance super-soaker and every time we saw it shot icy cold water at it. It soon learnt not to hang around!

danadas · 06/04/2020 15:09

The neighbours six cats stay well away since they discovered our dog is not cat friendly. Best deterrent.

vanillandhoney · 06/04/2020 15:10

Literally in the first paragraph OP says they have done this. It hasn’t worked. So, what next do you suggest?

Plastic fence spikes aren't the only method of cat proofing a fence. You can install mesh that sits at an angle so cats can't in, for example. I'd suggest they try other methods first, as they only appear to have tried one so far!

Wobblywibblywoo · 06/04/2020 15:10

Get a dog Grin

Dances · 06/04/2020 15:11

Do people really lob shit into their cat owning neighbour's gardens? Have to admit to be crying laughing imaging the WTF-ing from the cat owners.

Thank fuck I don't live next door to any shit lobbers. And I don't have a cat.

Mumsnet is really becoming seriously anti social post COVID19