To really not understand why people are OK with cats

[Duvetstay]

Full disclosure, I'm allergic to cats and also very much a dog person but I really don't understand how it's acceptable for cats to go round decimating local wildlife and crapping in gardens.

I've lost count of how many times I've had to pick cat poo off the lawn and my daughter came in yesterday with cat sick all over her feet as a local moggie had vommed on our patio. I'm sick of it. It's a health hazard and you shouldn't have to wear a hazmat suit to go in your own garden.

We have tadpoles outside which are about to froglet and I've just seen a fat cat with its head in the water. I'm fuming, a few of the tadpoles are injured and this is the same cat I had to get off a terrified bird last week.

I'm not remotely sentimental about nature, if a hungry creature kills another then that's how life works. However I cannot understand how people can let these cats out knowing that they're injuring animals for no reason and causing health hazards to other people in their own home.

I couldn't take my dog for a shit in your garden so why can your cat do that in mine? They're not even natural predators as they just trot home to get their whiskers.

I DON'T UNDERSTAND!

Ok.

Both foxes and male tom cats shit on lawns and don't bury it!! I have had both unfortunately & seen both scale my over 5ft fences easily.

When male tom cats do it it's called 'Middening' and it's a way of marking their territory.

A cat hating neighbour once accused my lady cat of shitting on his lawn when actually she used her indoor tray, I sent him a very long and informative text about Middening.
Weirdly haven't heard from him again.

You can get Cat Pepper Spray from the garden centres to spray round your plants which puts off the cats from pooing. I've found it really works.
2 more effective ways I've found are making a loud noise eg with a spoon & saucepan lid & shouting; also picking them up (which most cats hate) moving them away and shouting No!!

To deter foxes which are quite common even on my estate, I used an animal friendly fox repellent you can buy on Amazon & watered it on the garden, two goes & the foxes never returned.

But the biggest male tom cat & fox repellent is your own fierce mini tiger obvs!!

I got a cat, three months later I got another - both rescue cats. Then last year I found an itty bitty cutesy kitten dumped by our rubbish bin. I now have three of the things that drive me mad in various ways. One claws our bedroom door from 5am, one claws the lounge carpet for attention, and another who decides to do the occasional poop on the floor of the little loo when the litter tray is about six inches away. They’re all indoor cats - that was the condition of being allowed to adopt by the rescue centre. I often wish I had a dog instead. But we do love them. Most of the time.

Sorry but you just sound ignorant. Cat's are animals that cannot be kept indoors or on leashes. What do you think your dog would do if it were able to roam free? Cuddle other animals and sing Kumbaya?!!

As an aside, cats may poop in random gardens and kill mice but they don't bite and shake kids to death so.......

I can't stand the thought of keeping any animals as pets personally. Fur everywhere. Stinky cat poo in a litter tray stinking the place out. Dog breath. Costs. No thanks. I can't even force myself to like pets. I have accepted I'm just not into animals. I wouldn't wish them harm but they are not for me. Uuurrggh

Its not reasonable to demand all your neighbours spend hundreds of pounds trying to keep your pets out of their garden, instead of you having to keep your pet inside your garden.

Cats 100% can be kept inside perminantly if you are a good owner and provide them with loads of indoor purches and play with them constantly they love laser toys the most. I dont really understand why people have outdoor cats and talk about them being low maintanance. So you feed them and thats it.

@takethegirloutofwales snap you sound just like me. I love my cats but rather we didnt have them. One is dps ex girlfriends cat she left behind. One he got off a friend whos cat had kittens and one was a stray who was in a bad way we took in.

Cats 100% can be kept inside perminantly if you are a good owner and provide them with loads of indoor purches and play with them constantly they love laser toys the most.

I'm a very bad owner then. My cat lived on the streets until she decided to live with me. She's intelligent street smart and loves to be outside though never too far from home.

Humans can be kept inside permanently so can dogs, doesn't mean to say it's the right thing to do. i think some cats want to be inside cats but all should have the opportunity to go out. Our neighbour has Persian cats or whatever the big fluffy pedigree things are, and they are allowed out as well. And no, having a cat that can go outside doesn't mean you have no relationship with it or don't do anything. They are still indoors most of the day, though in nice weather DCat likes to go and sleep in the middle of the lawn.

YANBU, they're completely revolting. I prefer the songbirds uneaten and the garden un shat in. There's no other invasive foreign species harboured in peoples homes, it's like the British are delusional. "Have you nothing else to worry about?" Numpties, why should I have to additionally deal with stinking, filth and toxoplasmosis?

I've been having some lovely walks later. Or they would be lovely if it wasn't for the bags of dog shit left hanging on trees and fences or just shit left on the floor, not even picked up. Now I'm home all day everyday I've also noticed the number of people letting their dogs piss on my front lawn.

I don't think people shouldn't keep dogs though.

@GrolliffetheDragon I'm 100% in agreement. I've got 15 month old who loves to explore the garden. I hate having to worry about cat faeces. Even caught one stinking cat in my freshly turned over soil the other day about to poop. Bloody things

If dogs were allowed to roam free there would be a lot more damage to wildlife, green spaces etc ( and people!).
This is a ridiculous thread and I’m obsessed with dogs (don’t mind cats I think they are cute but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get one as a pet)..
Let cats be cats!

@CarefullyAirbrushedPotato. Tagged wrong person. See above comment

I was confused for a moment there Saraleast!

Funny how every outdoor cat owner on this thread happens to have a cat that never craps in anyone else's garden or eats vulnerable wildlife.

Where are all the owners of the cats who are absolutely, undeniably shitting in other people's gardens and leaving someone else to deal with it? I want to see someone honest come on here and say "yes, I know my cat in all likelihood shits in my neighbours CL gardens, but frankly I like my cat and don't care enough to do anything about it".

Because if someone came on here and openly admitted to letting their dog shit on someone else's front lawn without cleaning it up they would be rightly vilified.

I’ll be honest , I have no idea where my cats shit.
I do know it’s not any of my neighbours gardens as I’ve asked them before .
We have a large car parking bit where our spaces/ garages are and over one side is a huge bush where all the cats seems to congregate so we assume it’s in there that they go or it could be the acres of wood/fields that surround our little part of the housing development.

I also don't have any idea where my cat shits every time. I know she sometimes uses her tray, sometimes used the corner of the garden but she could use other places as well. I've said to neighbours and others in vicinity that if they see my cat shit in their garden I will happily come and clear it up (FB and WhatsApp groups) I've never been asked though. She doesn't catch much anymore but I'd say at certain times of year she would catch a shrew or mouse or bird. I'd say 50% ish were brought in alive and captured and released (appreciate that they might still not survive). I once saw two crows tearing a sparrow to bits. we chased them off but it was too late. Not all predators are cats.

My neighbour's elderly dog shits on my front border when my neighbour's not looking but I don't have the heart to have a go at my neighbour as the dog is so cute.

My other neighbour's cats shit in my garden but I pick it up with dog poo bags.
I don't complain as I like my neighbour's cats to be in my garden they're cute too & luckily one tries but can't catch anything & the other one is too lazy to try.

I think its cruel to keep cats indoors. When we open our door for our cat to go out he's off like a shot. He loves being outside, it's so natural for him to be out. Hes never caught any birds and rarely leaves our garden. Hes got a poo box inside the house but also uses our garden for that.

Why don't you put some netting over your pond to keep the cats out?!

Cats don't kill and shit "for no reason" they do it because they're a) semi-domesticated wild animals and b) alive.

And cat poo is gross but dog poo is 100x worse. No comparison.

I don't understand the appeal of paying to own an animal that restricts your freedom, costs money to feed, stinks, poos, covers all the furniture with Fur, scratches the sofa to shreds.... It's got no appeal to me whatsoever. I get it that old or lonely people want a companion but for families it's just extra work. Please someone convince me as to why anyone would want to own an animal. Sometimes I think it's just to "fit in" or come across as a caring person. I know a few animal lovers that are not nice people. It means nothing.

@Saraleast I like my cat because I love her & she is affectionate towards me all the time, she's sweet, no bother, follows me round the house, rarely scratches the sofa as she has a scratching post. She's very cute with soft long fur doesn't bite or scratch. A good companion when you live alone.