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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Cat faeces - can I ask owner to come and clear it up?

222 replies

HungryHippo11 · 14/08/2021 07:17

There is a new black and white cat in our neighbourhood, I've seen it in our garden once our twice.
We went away for a week and I've come back to find piles of cat shit in the space between our car and bins, covered in flies. Obviously cat has found a nice quiet spot to do his business.
We have a neighbour Facebook page, so I can probably find out who the cat belongs to. WIBU to request that they come and clean up the crap? And is there a way to prevent it happening? Luckily it driveway is a little away from the house so at least its not right by my front door.

OP posts:
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TopBlogger · 14/08/2021 07:48

@VaguelyInteresting

Oh I completely empathise. I don’t have a cat but pretty much every neighbour does, and the amount of cat shit in my garden and outside my gate in by the bin is extraordinary.

Drives me fucking mad. I know which ones do it and where they live, so when I walk past if by happy chance I see cat in garden and door/window open, I talk to the cat, quite loudly, and say something like

“Hello! Are you in your own garden today? Not coming to do poo in mine? That’s considerate of you.”

I dont expect owners to do anything about it, but it gives me a small sense of satisfaction to at least bring it to their attention .

Aware this makes me sound mad. But I have a garden about 20feet by 20feet & in one week picked up a dozen shits from my border. I’m over it.

Aware this makes me sound mad

Yes. Yes it does.

I dont expect owners to do anything about it, but it gives me a small sense of satisfaction to at least bring it to their attention .

Absolutely priceless Grin Grin

Bluebellsinparadise · 14/08/2021 07:49

@VaguelyInteresting you need to get a cat. That’s why they’re all shitting in your garden!

Original poster
HungryHippo11 · 14/08/2021 07:51

I'm not trying to be dramatic. I just think its really gross. I don't have a pet but I have a baby. I wouldn't leave their dirty nappies on someone else's driveway and expect them to clear it up.

OP posts:
HasaDigaEebowai · 14/08/2021 07:51

But the owner hasn’t left it there

onthinice · 14/08/2021 07:52

I have a cat, she's old so mainly stays indoors, when she goes out about once a fortnight she doesn't leave our garden. I am always finding poo on my grass. I pick it up with a dog poo bag, put it in the bin and get on with my life 🤷. Cat poo goes hard very quickly so it's not as disgusting as dog poo (not saying it's pleasant though!) but it's not messy to pick up. I also get loads of foxes in the garden and can't tell the difference to be honest.

rookiemere · 14/08/2021 07:52

I've seen cats shitting on our lawn. It's really not a fox they really don't bury all their poo.
OP get a dog - that will resolve your cat poo problem although brings a few of its own challenges.

McPancreas · 14/08/2021 07:54

There's nothing you can do I'm afraid, just have to clean up others peoples pets.

There is definitely no point in trying to speak to owners about it as we have seen here there are some very simple people who seriously believe it isn't possible for cats to poo on the ground/gravel.

ibbydibby · 14/08/2021 07:55

Ah OP, I feel your pain, we used to suffer terribly from foxes (when we lived in London) and cats elsewhere, and had to check garden every day.

There's a v cheap way of dealing with it...cats/foxes are territorial & mark their territory with urine to put other cats/foxes off. That's how orange peel/jeyes fluid/bought lion poo products all work....it's the smell that is the deterrent. So, we tried the advice of a gardening programme..got DCs to wee in a bottle for 2 or 3 days, and then sprinkled it round edges of garden......I guess it might be ok to wee direct onto garden too, but storing it enhances the smell & therefore the effect. Sounds vile but only need to do it once to be free of poo problem for a few months at least (if not more).

SureBorisKnowsWhatHesDoingNOT · 14/08/2021 07:55

HA! You can ask, I'd tell you what the answer would be if it was me though...

Agree with those saying it's very unlikely to be a cat though. I've lived with cats for over 40 years. I've never seen them poo on a hard surface. They like soft surfaces and places to bury their poo so think it's much more likely to be a fox.

EmeraldShamrock · 14/08/2021 07:55

I don't blame you feeling annoyed.
Buy a large water blaster and squirt it if the cat comes in, also cat proofing the garden, it'll cost you money and inconvenience you but that is okay cats are suppose to roam, shit in gardens, destroy flower beds and local wildlife as they're cats. 😉

MoonlightWanderer · 14/08/2021 07:56

I’d clean it up yourself. You can’t really ask the owner to do it. You can buy ultrasonic cat repellents and also pepper powder to keep cats off your driveway.

Antsinyourpanta · 14/08/2021 07:56

Our cats (and our neighbours) do sometimes go on gravel.
We have 2 cats and they crap in our garden (and probably our neighbours garden) our neighbours cat went through a phase of crapping in our house

SchadenfreudePersonified · 14/08/2021 07:58

@eurochick

Cats usually bury their shit. It would be unusual for them to do it on a hard surface. It's more likely to be a fox.
Fox poo reeks, too.

It's even more foul than cat mess. Absolutely honks!

ChocAuVin · 14/08/2021 07:58

I’ve seen the big hairy cat that routinely shits in my garden in the act, several times.

-Yes it leaves huge, gag-inducing stinking turds on the gravel without attempting to bury it
-No it’s not a fox
-Yes I am an odd mix of incensed and completely weary every time I clean up after it
-No I do not think YABU
-No I would not ever complain to the neighbours who own the cat, even though I know exactly which animal is doing it and where they live 😫

SureBorisKnowsWhatHesDoingNOT · 14/08/2021 07:59

Ah sorry, should have RTFT, just saw you said gravel so yeah could be a cat but you will be labelled the neighbour eccentric (putting it politely) if you post on the neighbourhood FB page! You can't be certain it's that cat, as others have said, they wander for miles. You'll just have to clear up unwanted animal faeces from your garden cursing under your breath like the rest of us do.

sylbunny · 14/08/2021 07:59

Not all cats cover it up. My cat has a delightful habit of crapping in the middle of my lawn.

There's loads of cat repellant type things online. I've heard lion poo extract is good.

Vaccinateeverything · 14/08/2021 08:00

Used to have this problem where I live. Started using a slingshot or hose when I see stray cats in our yard to stop them thinking they can poop there. Works a treat.

ParityJ · 14/08/2021 08:00

My mom swore by lavendar scented cleaning stuff to wash down tile and concrete and slabs. She said cats hate the smell and wouldn't come near.
I don't remember exactly what she used, but it was a safe non chemical thing because she used same liquid to wash my muddy feet. So not a bleach or disinfectant but more of a liquid soap maybe?

Catouttahell · 14/08/2021 08:01

Is it this one? Grin If so, you're one of my neighbours... I sympathise- for all those saying that they don't go on hard surfaces or even gravel- this one goes daily under the trees on our road Envy

We've been blighted by cat mess for over a decade now, to the point where I've just spent thousands on paving the whole garden, and one day last week I had to shovel three cat poos out of the remaining 10cm x 1m border.

Cat faeces - can I ask owner to come and clear it up?
CarolinaWeeper · 14/08/2021 08:02

I really feel for you OP, I have the same with next door's cat crapping in our garden. You won't get any sympathy from cat owners, they just don't care. It's disgusting and I want the garden to be a nice space for my children. It also sits under our bird feeder scaring off the birds. So if I see next door's cat I now spray the hosepipe at it. It's started running off when it sees us so hopefully will learn.

newmumwithquestions · 14/08/2021 08:03

As a cat owner I’d come and clean it up. I find my own cats poo rank but just part of having a cat, so I get why you are disgusted, and I wouldn’t see why you have to clean up after my cat.
BUT I’d only do it if you were sure it was my cat. If you want to prove it get one a wildlife motion detection camera.

The Jeyes comment is horrible, so bad for various animals. Please don’t do this.

In terms of deterrence I genuinely don’t know. I’ve tried pepper powder and coffee grounds before but they didn’t seem to do much.

Fox poo is sticky and worse than cat poo. We once had a fox that repeatedly came back to our garden to poo so they can do that, but gravel does sound like a cat.

PoorCatto · 14/08/2021 08:04

As someone who's very recently moved to a new area, with a black and white cat, I wouldn't be offended and would come round to pick it up. I don't have Facebook though so please just knock on my door as I wouldn't want you to think I'm ignoring your Facebook post. Also, sorry. Grin

newmumwithquestions · 14/08/2021 08:05

^^ yes, hosepipes work.
You could camp out near the bins waiting to spray it! (Definitely would look batshit then though!)

sandgrown · 14/08/2021 08:06

A neighbour’s cat poos on my slate chippings regularly. I have a dog ( who will only pop on a walk )and so used to picking up but this poo is sloppy and another level. I am buying a super soaker water pistol and I am going to wait like a sniper until I get it !

EmeraldShamrock · 14/08/2021 08:07

This is a disgusting tip though it solved the problem, DS used a portable potty until he was 5 he has spec needs
Anyway I sprinkled urine around the flower bed, wall they come in by, it worked they haven't been back they'll walk the walls passing but not enter, it was the urine or my shouting.