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?

Three days of throwing the shits our neighbours’ cat did in our veg patch back over the hedge onto their car soon stopped the cat shitting on my lettuces. Weird how that worked!

[quote maybeimamazed456]@Coffeeandcocopops cats are amazing, loving and smart animals. Strange to think they are disgusting. [/quote]
Cats might be but you @maybeimamazed456 are not.
You have a cat and you have not provided it anywhere to shit. You just presume it doesn't happen because it doesn't happen to you to deal with.

If your unnecessary lifestyle accessory (your cat if can't figure it out) is causing an inconvenience to others then you should be constraining it to the confines of your house or your garden. The cost of which you should have considered before getting a cat.
As you claim you can't afford to car proof your garden then you should keep it as a house cat so it isn't bothering others.
Frankly i'd happily see cat owners like you getting ASBO's for what you let your cars do. The law should be changed to treat cats as per other pets and get rid of this freedom to roam nonsense. In plenty of other countries cats are kept as house pets often simply because they wouldn't last long outside.

[quote maybeimamazed456]@Indecisive12 sorry a litter tray in the house? Why would I keep a litter tray in the house? That's half the point of making him an outside cat. [/quote]
🤦🏻‍♀️ So your intention was for it to shit elsewhere so you didn’t have to deal with it. By having a litter tray it’s less likely to shit everywhere else causing a nuisance.

Didn’t take long for your true charming self to shine through there OP despite all the pretence of giving a fuck about your neighbour. Sounds like you and your delightful pet are well matched

Nice.

I love how cat owners think everyone must love their little fluffykinsas much as they do... and also tolerate their shite when the owners won’t even do that themselves.

If my dog shits outside I have to go pick it up. If I don’t want my dog shitting in my neighbours garden then I train it where to shit. The same can be done with a cat (litter tray - yes I have done this with my cats before developing a severe cat allergy) if the owner can be arsed. The litter tray doesn’t need to be in the house but it’s a bit unfair for the neighbours to have to put up with their garden being used as the litter tray because the owner can’t be arsed training their cat.

I don’t think being rude to @user1471447863 helps your case. You must be an absolute joy to have as a neighbour. You’re lucky the neighbours haven’t thrown it at your windows if that’s how you react to people who disagree with you and fluffikins

Ignoring that horrible reply...

We also had a problem with at least three cats shitting in the garden. (Definitely not foxes as there are none in this country). It was bloody awful. We tried everything (pepper, water sensors and loud noises) but the only thing that worked was getting a dog. He shits in the same place every time, behind a tree. Dogs are much more considerate!

Getting a fucking barrage of abuse off absolute strangers when I held my hands up and said I didn't realise and what I was going to do to rectify the situation and determine a solution yet most of you can't help yourself, you still pile on. You'd get me an ASBO? Get a grip. Honest to god, I hate mumsnet, most of the posters on here are vicious bullies, doesn't matter how nice someone is, they all just pile on. Don't know why I bother.

YABVU. You absolutely should have a litter tray in your house. Presumably you don’t want one because you don’t like the thought of your cats shit - newsflash, neither does anyone else.

You’re the one that chose to have an animal so you should be the one dealing with its literal crap.

If you want to let it go outside then you should catproof your garden so your choices don’t inconvenience everyone else, and if you say you can’t afford to catproof then you can’t afford to own a cat.

[quote maybeimamazed456]@Indecisive12 sorry a litter tray in the house? Why would I keep a litter tray in the house? That's half the point of making him an outside cat. [/quote]
It's a good idea to have a litter tray in the house if purely to keep an eye on your cats health. Knowing that it's gone regularly and the consistency of it's poop is actually quite important. We've had several times where we might not have spotted soon enough that something was wrong with our cat if it wasn't for doing his litter tray every day.

Cats in people's gardens really are a pain. We have a cat and a dog. Our cat doesn't leave our garden and doesn't go to the toilet in our garden either. He goes only in his litter box.Sadly however because our garden is large and very green it seems to attract all the neighbourhood cats who come and shit all over it. It's honestly ruined the enjoyment of our garden. I like to grow lots of vegetables. The patches now just get covered in cat shit and I have to try and cover everything with chicken wire which isn't exactly great on the eye. It's just disgusting. Even the totally raised beds were ruined.
We also created a sensory garden for our autistic son. Cats ruined it. A lot of owners really need to think more about how their pets affect other people.
We have a very elderly neighbour with no pets, and cats shit all over her garden as well. We try and pick it up for her if we see it, but again they have really spoilt it for her.
We've tried cat sensors, urine, etc and even our large dog doesn't scare them away. I hate it.

This is a tough one. I don’t think it’s your responsibility to clean it up, cats should be wild and free and just because you “own” the cat part time doesn’t mean you should clean the mess. However, I can understand the frustration from her side but at the end of the day... I don’t think it’s on you to deal with that. It’s a part of living in the animal kingdom, and cats have free reign.

So many cat owners are completely ignorant to how much of an impact their pets have on the neighbours. It's absolutely miserable to not be able to let your kids play outside until you've cleaned up all the shit that someone else's pet has left in your garden. Every single fucking day

This. And they say things like "what am I supposed to do? It's a cat!"

I don't know what you're supposed to do, I just don't want your pet shitting in my garden every day! It's not on me to figure out how to stop it.

Your cat shit shouldn't be anyone else's problem. It might be what cats do but why should someone else have to clean it up? We've had this so many times, it's so grim, especially when you've got kids. Also a danger to people who are pregnant.

@HippoOnMyRoofEatingCake but I'm not saying that at all, I am taking steps to fix the situation so still scratching my head to why posters are making out as if I don't care.

[quote maybeimamazed456]@HippoOnMyRoofEatingCake but I'm not saying that at all, I am taking steps to fix the situation so still scratching my head to why posters are making out as if I don't care. [/quote]
I know, I was just saying in general it's an annoying thing.

I'm guessing others are letting off steam due to having suffered similar experiences. And maybe some are just dicks. This is mumsnet after all, just like you said.

I'm going to get a cat litter that's covered and sit it outside and encourage him to go in there also.

Not sure how practical it would be for your neighbour, but I recommend investing in a cat deterrent water spray motion detector thingymabob. It is battery operated and you attach it to garden hose. I got one as a last resort a few years ago and the cat got the hint within a week or so. Haven’t used it since then and our garden remains a cat poo-free zone.

By having a litter tray it’s less likely to shit everywhere else causing a nuisance.

Not true in my case. My cat has two litter trays and only uses them for wees overnight. Before I used to let her outside she had diarrhoea quite often but now she’s out every day I haven’t had to deal with it at all. I have no idea where she’s going though.

I thought they said cat ladies were bonkers. The anti-cat brigade are something else. Off to search for some grappling hooks so I can scale the walls my cat uses and then launch my personal poo patrol.

Cats do not always go in private places. Our neighbour had two gorgeous white cats that decorated our front lawn with a copious confetti of cat turds; about 20 of them! We asked our neighbour to clear them up, and he did.

If your cat is responsible, then you should clear it up.

Not even 'vicious bullies' irl OP, just a lot of bored women who get a kick out of being condescending bastards to strangers on the internet because presumably they have nothing better to do? It's weird.

Why would I keep a litter tray in the house? That's half the point of making him an outside cat

Where did you think he went to shit if you don't provide him with a litter tray and you don't have shit in your own garden? Did you think he picks it up and bins it himself or did you think your neighbours were delighted at the opportunity to spend their free time picking up your catshit instead of enjoying their own gardens?

I'd love if fines could be imposed on cat owners who allowed their cats roam freely. All it needs is a photo of the cat as evidence.

I squirt them with water guns. If that doesn't deter them, a little squint of vegetable oil at them. Doesnt harm them but makes their fur greasy and they hate it. They usually find somewhere else to shit once they realise that every time they do it they have to spend an age cleaning their coats. Its more convenient just to pick another spot.

ONLY vegetable oil though never olive or sesame as one of them is very bad for cats but I cant remember which so just don't use either.