To think this is a bit bizarre.

[maybeimamazed456]

This afternoon had a knock on the door from my neighbour who I've spoken to once. She said my 8 month old kitten had been shitting all over her garden and there was shit everywhere.

I find this strange as -

1. Cats usually go in private areas and bury their mess.

1. Other than picking up the shit there's not really much I can do.

I of course said to her I would go round tomorrow (working from home today) and pick it up. But I just find it an odd thing to go to someone's door about.

I'm even wondering if it's a fox that's been making the mess because cats wouldn't usually just leave shit at random all over the place. I also said I will look into anything that can be added to her garden so I've found deterrent spray but if that doesn't work, I can't do much more. They're cats.
And I'm not going round to her garden everyday to pick up shit.

AIBU?

I'm going to go round first thing in morning, pick up all the mess then going to get a deterrent spray and ask her if she would be okay with me checking her garden a few times a day to clear any mess and to see if deterrent spray working. If that doesn't work I will get those sensor things. I will give her my number so if there's anything else she can text me.

Does anyone know if filling a big bottle with water puts cats off? I read somewhere they get scared by their reflection or something?

Cats absolutely do shit everywhere. I don't own a cat, but my garden is a toilet for the neighbours cat. It is absolutely disgusting. I can't tell you how annoying it is, if I wanted to pick up cat shit, I'd buy a cat.
Nothing I can do so I just get on with it - but it's infuriating.

I think cat owners are usually oblivious to how much of a pain in the ass cats are. It makes me wonder if I should even bother approaching my neighbour about hers. I hate that I have to scan my lawn for shit before I let my toddler outside, because my neighbour has chosen to own a cat.

My neighbour put a note through the door couple of years ago complaining about cat poo. A few doors down, lots of cats in the neighbourhood, no idea if it was ours or not. But I bought the sound deterrent, with a few spare batteries, and gave it to her for her garden. Appears to have worked, as I haven't heard anything about it since. If financially viable, I would offer this and see if that solves the issue.

@maybeimamazed456

I'm going to go round first thing in morning, pick up all the mess then going to get a deterrent spray and ask her if she would be okay with me checking her garden a few times a day to clear any mess and to see if deterrent spray working. If that doesn't work I will get those sensor things. I will give her my number so if there's anything else she can text me.

Does anyone know if filling a big bottle with water puts cats off? I read somewhere they get scared by their reflection or something?

You're the nicest neighbour ever 😩

Well rather you than me then @CrotchBurn, that is disgusting. Cat shit is completely different to other animals shit. If you want to eat carrots or whatever that you’ve seen carnivore shit all over then crack on.

If my doggie shat in my neighbours garden I would be mortified, and I always clear my dogs shit up wherever it lands
Why is it different for cats ???
Isn’t cat shit more toxic anyway ??!
Yeuk 🤢

@maybeimamazed456

I'm going to go round first thing in morning, pick up all the mess then going to get a deterrent spray and ask her if she would be okay with me checking her garden a few times a day to clear any mess and to see if deterrent spray working. If that doesn't work I will get those sensor things. I will give her my number so if there's anything else she can text me.

Does anyone know if filling a big bottle with water puts cats off? I read somewhere they get scared by their reflection or something?

This sounds like a good approach - I’d be happy with that and I’m not a cat person (and we had a neighbours cat who used our vegetable patch all the time - it was awful!)

For some reason cat shit doesnt bother me at all, whereas dog shit I find completely repulsive

@maybeimamazed456 a sound deterrent would be good but make sure its range is no bigger than their garden and more importantly, that they agree to have it of course. It would be unfair to have it tucked against a fence that borders a cat's own home and having the cat afraid to go near it's own house.

A super soaker is a good alternative providing the neighbours have actually seen your cat doing it. It doesn't harm the cat but it scares them off and makes their garden a hostile environment they don't want to go near.

It's taken me 5 years of living here to discover which of the local cats are the culprits on my garden. I often see the shits but not the cats doing it.
Ask your neighbour's if they have actually seen your cat doing it or are just assuming that it's her because they know you own a cat.

@DinnaeFashSassenach great, I'll look into that, thanks! I did ask if she'd seen him and she said she hadn't actually seen him doing it but that he was in her garden a lot and it's only started since he's started being allowed outside.

Would you eat veg you knew cats had been shitting on?

Well I do. Not sure whether my cats or other people's. But choosing not to eat it is not the same as them destroying it. Now squirrels, they actually destroy my veg garden, dig up the strawberries and herbs.

OP try and encourage your cats to shit in their own garden. Mine do, under a hyacinth bush.

Yes the big bottles of water do put them off. My parents do this to keep the neighbours cats out and it does work. They use a couple of 2 litre size bottles and just lay them on the edge of the garden.

Omg you can’t eat veg that’s had cat shit on it !!!’
Wow

@Minimamame perfect, I'm going to try that and the deterrent spray first

@Updatemate it is destroyed if no one’s going to eat it. Anyone who’s happy to eat veg covered in cat shit feel free to DM me your address and I’ll happily pop it in the post to you rather than see it go to waste. I’m pregnant and have small children and would rather none of us got toxoplasmosis.

OP sounds like you’re a much better neighbour than the majority of cat owners and I’m sure it’s much appreciated. I don’t know why people get cats without doing research though, or being bothered about them being a massive inconvenience to others. This thread has already taught you that your cat will go and shit in other people’s gardens and cause them problems. It’s not difficult to find that out. Great that you’re going to make an effort to limit that inconvenience from now on.

Why hasn’t it got a litter tray?! Because you prefer it to go shitting in someone else’s garden?! Disgusting!
Cats do shit all over. One used to crap right in the middle of one of my favourite plants. Totally ruined it.
Clean up after your animal!

In my experience cats shit anywhere, and they don't bury it.

I'm amazed people aren't expecting you to pick it up? If you're not going to stop your cat going into their garden then of course you should clean it up? If my dog went shitting in the neighbours regularly I imagine they'd be mightily pissed off and rightly so.

Your animal, your responsibility.

Why hasn’t it got a litter tray?!

PinkiOcelot ours have 2 litter trays but they never use them!

They do only shit in our garden though (well, they shit in our garden at least twice a day anyway!).

@PinkiOcelot he's not an 'it'.

@Connelloni you do realise cats shit on supermarket veg right? As well as rats and mice and voles and dogs pissing over it. Just wash it.

@Connelloni

People (cat owners) always spout this about cats being so tidy and burying their shit etc - it’s bollocks. We have more than one neighbourhood cat coming into our garden and shitting, I’ve seen them do it, it’s really fucking annoying and dangerous for my children, destroys our plants, if I could get the owners to do anything about it I would so I don’t blame your neighbour for trying. Can’t you see how disgusting it must be for her?

How bizarre. I have 4 farm cats and I've literally caught them peeing down a drain! Not once have they ever pooed on the yard or a surface that is walked on, and the lawns and grass are verdant (well in summer they are).

You seem really entitled. Ugh I’d hate to have a cat pooing in my garden like that.