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?

@CrotchBurn

I cant believe how uptight some posters are.

Clearly this comes from the frustration of not being able to entirely control things: because it's the natural world. I can imagine if youre a complete control freak cats would give you the rage - because they go where they like and resist your arbitrary rules which might apply inside your house but cant in your garden.

Cat shit, slugs, weeds - these arent things I fight and I think it's sad that people do just because they want to grow petunias or whatever

Cats are part of the domesticated human sphere.

If you think they’re just “the natural world”, how about we treat them like any other natural vermin and put down traps or poison to deal with them?

@MasterBeth I agree with you completely, domesticated cats are not wild or part of local wildlife the are pets. Crotchburn's logic is bizzare and all about abdicating responsibility.

Oh believe me cats do shit in other people’s gardens 😡. You can’t just shrug your shoulder and say ‘it’s a cat’. You bought the cat and introduced it into your neighbourhood. The electronic cat scarers are very good and you can certainly tell when the batteries have died because the cat shut appears again 😡.

I'm a cat owner. I don't "make other people's lives difficult" whatsoever by owning a cat.

@FrankieDoyle

I'm a cat owner. I don't "make other people's lives difficult" whatsoever by owning a cat.

If you have at least one neighbour, let your animals outside and your garden isn’t catproof then yes you do.

If you think they’re just “the natural world”, how about we treat them like any other natural vermin and put down traps or poison to deal with them?

I am a cat owner but I understand if people run a cat over, there's no obligation to do anything (beyond a moral one). Does this also mean they have no protections against ideas like the above (traps or poisons)? Or is it actually illegal to put traps and poison down for animals full stop?

Can't see if anyone else has recommende dit, but apparently you need lion poo.

You can order it online, sprinkle on the areas in her garden that your cat is shitting on, it will move on.

Thank you, I had to resist the urge to eat it if I'm absolutely honest.

@emilyfrost

Thanks for that but I discussed getting my cat with my neighbour before getting her. (Shared garden)
Cat has a private litter tray on balcony which I clean every day.
Neighbour loves her to bits and doesn't mind picking up her mess in the garden when it (rarely) happens. We both do.

and the basic problem with cat shit is this (and I speak as a cat owner)

Cats are territorial. In their own territory, they tend to dig and bury their shit (although lazy cats just don't care!) as they don't like shitting in their territory. (hence burying it in a litter tray)

In neutral territory they will shit in the open to scent mark.

If your neighbours are all cat owners, the gardens will be divided up in some invisible cat logic - this flower bed is MINE, the veg patch is YOURS, the wall down the side is neutral, lawn belongs to next door's kitten etc etc.

Which means that the poor neighbour who has no cats has a neutral garden. Where do cats like to shit? Off their own territory on neutral space. So, lion poo, sound deterent or tell them to get theior own cat

We are lucky, dogs in 3 neighbours to either side and then a huge field behind us. Cat uses our garden or the field. (or the nice gravel in our front garden when it is wet and he is lazy) so we don't bother any neighbours.

I'm a cat owner. I don't "make other people's lives difficult" whatsoever by owning a cat.

So you prevent your cat from defaecating in other people's gardens then? Maybe you can help OP to achieve the same so that she can also ensure she isn't negatively impacting other people with her lifestyle choices, since that's what she is asking.

We have a huge cat problem in our garden. Every cat in the village visits it, they shit everywhere and rake my flower beds! We have done everything to try and stop this but 3 years on we still have the problem. In March we are having our garden done and are having special wire fitted to all fences and trees to hopefully finally stop them entering!

Cats are not pets if owners don’t take responsibility for them as far as I’m concerned, if it was a dog ruining peoples gardens then then would be uproar!

Daisyflowers
my friend had this, so when she pruned her redcurrant she stuck all the prunings into the flower bed, so lots of spiky sticks, and the cats were put off.

Only thing was, all the recurrant sticks rooted and she then had 20 mini redcurrant bushes more than she needed!

@steppemum

Daisyflowers my friend had this, so when she pruned her redcurrant she stuck all the prunings into the flower bed, so lots of spiky sticks, and the cats were put off.

Only thing was, all the recurrant sticks rooted and she then had 20 mini redcurrant bushes more than she needed!

Thanks for the recommendation

@IWantT0BreakFree

I'm a cat owner. I don't "make other people's lives difficult" whatsoever by owning a cat.

So you prevent your cat from defaecating in other people's gardens then? Maybe you can help OP to achieve the same so that she can also ensure she isn't negatively impacting other people with her lifestyle choices, since that's what she is asking.

Yes, she doesn't mess in anyone's garden except mine. She uses a litter tray and rarely ventures out. Except on my balcony

Looks like the OPs situation is different from mine, however.

Lions poo purchased

Yes, she doesn't mess in anyone's garden except mine. She uses a litter tray and rarely ventures out. Except on my balcony smile

Looks like the OPs situation is different from mine, however.

How odd that you would make a snarky comment with the sarcastic speech marks trying to belittle people whose lives ARE made difficult by other people's cats shitting in their gardens then 🤔

The birds, the birds!

I used to have them at bird feeders giving me and family great pleasure. Someone bought next door with 7 cats and 1 rescue feral cat.

No birds.

@IWantT0BreakFree

Yes, she doesn't mess in anyone's garden except mine. She uses a litter tray and rarely ventures out. Except on my balcony smile

Looks like the OPs situation is different from mine, however.

How odd that you would make a snarky comment with the sarcastic speech marks trying to belittle people whose lives ARE made difficult by other people's cats shitting in their gardens then 🤔

Not sure where you're getting "snarky" from - I was quoting a poster to respond that I am a responsible cat owner

I've got 2 indoor cats but during the summer they shit anywhere in my garden. Used to live next door to a woman with a cat. Every day she let him out, he would jump over the fence and shit in my garden. I used to pick it up and put in her bin. Felt like chucking it over the fence

I absolutely adore cats, and years of cleaning litter trays has made me immune to the smell of cat poo, but I still would not like it in my garden all the time.

I have always had indoor cats, and when we play in the garden with them they go back in the house to use their litter tray, they never do it outside.

As a cat owner myself I have to agree the type of cat owners (not saying this is you OP) who have outdoor cats that do not have a litter tray in their house at all are being unfair on their neighbours. And you only need one cat to start pooing on someones lawn and they all want to do it.

But I do think that dog owners can be just be as bad at times.

I lived in the UK for years and found the attitude to cats so weird when compared to other pets. Generally speaking the UK is fantastic at animal welfare, when compared to the rest of the world, but the cat thing is where it all falls apart.

It seems that they are treated like normal pets, except they come and go as they please, and whatever they do when they aren't with their owners is fair game because "how could anyone possibly control a cat, they are wild animals". Never understood this at all. If they are wild animals that you can't control then how can they be a pet? Why is it cruel for a cat to only be allowed to freely roam on it's owner's property? And why do people who live in tiny properties with no outside space just get a cat anyway and then let it out to roam? Surely you need to just accept the fact that you simply don't have enough space to give a cat a comfortable life? I would love a pet horse but I don't have one because I'm not equipped for it. I wouldn't just buy one and then let it out my front door to go out into the big wide world and hope for the best.

I do know about the "right to roam" law in the UK, so technically people aren't doing anything wrong, but I just don't get it.

My cat lives in my house, and we have a large, interesting, cat proofed yard for her to play in when she wants some outside time. She's a very happy, well stimulated and loved girl. She doesn't need to be able to go into other people's gardens to shit, possibly be eaten by a dog, kill other people's pets and wildlife, pick up or spread around diseases and parasites, nor does she need to be able to run out into a road and be killed by a car. It's really not in her best interests at all, nor the best interests of my neighbours and the local area.

I just don't understand how you can have a pet that you take no responsibility for?! It's such a strange attitude.

@PeggyHill
It's not a UK thing. Most of Europe allows cats to roam.

[quote CrotchBurn]@PeggyHill
It's not a UK thing. Most of Europe allows cats to roam.[/quote]
I'm not sure what your point is? Are you saying that the UK does not allow cats to roam?

My cats use a litter tray. The older one still does some business outside, although since dh started working from home he does much less outside than he used to as he can come home when he wants.

Unless you live rurally I think cats should be litter trained.