AIBU to be feeling cat-related rage?

[IntoTheMystics]

We’ve been living in our home for 4 years and during that time, on and off, a neighbourhood cat has been using our front garden as a toilet.

I’ve used repelling methods from the internet- chilli powder and cocktail sticks, but it didn’t really work. I also used this green gel that you can get in pet shops which gives off a smell cats don’t like, but the cat keeps coming back.

I like gardening and keep the borders looking smart. The children play in the garden too, so the 💩 that we come across is just revolting and dangerous.

I had a suspicion as to which cat it was (there’s a few in our estate) and caught it in the act this morning, so I now know which neighbour owns the cat.

If it was a dog, I’d have no problem approaching the neighbour about the problem, but with a cat I feel unsure about it. I’m not sure why, but I suppose it’s because I thought cats used litter trays in the home, but maybe not all do. And if the neighbours cat doesn’t, how can she control where he does his business?

Not a pet owner so fully prepared to be educated here. What would you do?

@seaandsandcastles

I'm a cat owner of two cats, they do their business outside and I am unable to control where!

@GermioneHranger Of course you can control it. Catproof your garden. Why do you think others should have to deal with your dirty animals?

Because cats have a right to roam in the UK.

Birds, foxes, hedgehogs etc all shit in your garden also. I suggest you get a flat if you can't deal with the reality of nature.

I have a cat, and yes he roams. He does however poo in our garden, he digs a hole to Australia and then covers it with the Himalayas, so it never really interferes with our gardening. He keeps other cats out .

The worst issue in my garden is fox poo on the drive. We also have lots of hedgehogs, for which we are blessed, and they leave poo all over the patio and the grass. I don't mind a bit, the fox poo gets scooped up and thrown in the field opposite, and the hedgehog poo gets left to dry out. It's just nature.

@ThesecondLEM

There is a very simple answer to this.

Get your own cat! Said cat will not want to mess in its own yard and will chase away others.

You're welcome

DON'T DO THIS! I have Two cats and neither of them shit in my garden because the local alley cats/toms do instead. My Two would go into NDN and use their veg patch so now I have no cat flap and they wait until they've used the litter tray before they're allowed out.

I still have to clear my garden of stinky shit every morning as shithead Tomcats/allycats come in the nighttime (i fear I may have trained them to this by throwing water at them every time I saw them). The presence of my two makes no difference

Agree with the op. It's gross. Don't know what else to suggest that's already been said.

@catsandhens ah fair enough. It's the owner's responsibility ofc!

Are you in the UK?

For some reason in the UK it's considered totally fine for a cat to wander around the whole neighbourhood shitting everywhere and killing the local wildlife and other people's pets, and if you expect the owners to take any responsibility for it then you just don't understand cats.

I totally understand as we have had the same problem. Local neighbours cat loved to shit outside our front door and also in our front flowerbed despite us having a cat hating dog and using various deterrents. I must admit it makes me absolutely furious even though I know its not the cats fault. I clean up after my dog on all occasions yet I've got someone else's pet wandering onto my property and using it as toilet at any time it wants and I'm the one bagging up and getting rid of its shit. I've just changed the flowerbed at the front and changed it to a slate surface with pots which is uncomfortable to walk on and hard to dig which seems to have helped. The door step shitting was the worse, it absolutely stank and knowing it was next doors cat we had a word and the cat is now only in their back garden. Ironically they themselves had one of those cat deterrent alarms by their own front door so must have known how fucking annoying it was

Totally irresponsible cat owners on this thread. Of course it's possible to catproof a garden/area. There are companies that do it for you. Look it up. No wonder so many cats get killed in road traffic accidents when their owners don't think it's their responsibility to keep their pets safe.

Urgh I feel your pain! I detest cats for this reason, they’re pests.

Our next door neighbours cat shits all over our garden and honestly I want to machine gun the bastard!!

I did start shooting the little twat with a super soaker water gun which stopped it for a bit but unfortunately it’s come back.

I wish I could bag up the shit and throw it back into the neighbours garden 🤬

maybe their frequent visits are deterring rats in your garden?
what are you going to do about any fox poo?

YANBU.

Cat owners should have to pay to cover the cost of how much misery they deliberately bring to neighbourhoods letting their animals out.
If you can't keep it in your own property you shouldn't be buying it.

I'm getting a dog and I'm going to allow him to chase the neighbors disgusting cats out of my garden.

@seaandsandcastles

Just bag up all the shit and give it back to her. If she has a problem with that then she’s being a hypocrite allowing her animal to ruin other people’s gardens but not willing to deal with it herself.

The cat should either be a housecat or the garden catproofed so it doesn’t bother anyone else.

This 100%

My cat stays indoors and this is one of the reasons

This solution is gross but does work..... urinate regularly around the area that you want the cat to keep out of! the cat will then know that its your territory

@Wazzzzzzzup

There is this Doff Super Cat & Dog Repellent 700g (337782) ]]

And bramble branches in the borders. They are smart enough not to injure themselves on them
Also Helichrysum italicum.

Grew up with cats, could cuddle them to death, bit yes. In country where everyon is atuck on rop of each other with tiny gardens (so poop has really nowhere to hide) law should change. Cats should atay in their gardens.

Thank you for this and for the other suggestions. I’m happy to try them all.

I absolutely appreciate that cat is not the same as dog, but I don’t want the cat poo dug into the garden borders and I’m grateful for the advice.

Ahh the ever popular cat shit thread. Some things never change

Unfortunately OP, you'll never be able to stop other people's cats shitting in your garden. Nobody ever could and nobody ever will.

It's an age old problem that has spanned decades, so if you manage to solve it please let me know.

Just chase the cat away!

Cat proof my garden?? Shall I suspend a 10ft wire fence around my acreage to protect some hypothetical neighbours?
We have a higher than six foot wall around our garden and the cats regularly hang out on it, 10 foot might do the trick😅

@PaperhouseLegs

I totally understand as we have had the same problem. Local neighbours cat loved to shit outside our front door and also in our front flowerbed despite us having a cat hating dog and using various deterrents. I must admit it makes me absolutely furious even though I know its not the cats fault. I clean up after my dog on all occasions yet I've got someone else's pet wandering onto my property and using it as toilet at any time it wants and I'm the one bagging up and getting rid of its shit. I've just changed the flowerbed at the front and changed it to a slate surface with pots which is uncomfortable to walk on and hard to dig which seems to have helped. The door step shitting was the worse, it absolutely stank and knowing it was next doors cat we had a word and the cat is now only in their back garden. Ironically they themselves had one of those cat deterrent alarms by their own front door so must have known how fucking annoying it was

I feel your rage! It’s disgusting. And it’s so frustrating that the cat is now attached to our garden. Need to break the cycle.

Of course it's possible to catproof a garden/area. There are companies that do it for you.
Honestly intrigued as to what they do? And the people on this thread giving out are the people who start threads saying their neighbour is cruel as they keep their cats inside all day. I do understand, I used to hate them until we found a cat had brought 3 kittens into our house then brought them back the next day when we returned them to a house where the neighbour admitted their dog was worrying the kittens. It's a tough problem OP but I think chasing them off is the only feasible thing to do.

@Wazzzzzzzup

There is this Doff Super Cat & Dog Repellent 700g (337782) ]]

And bramble branches in the borders. They are smart enough not to injure themselves on them
Also Helichrysum italicum.

Grew up with cats, could cuddle them to death, bit yes. In country where everyon is atuck on rop of each other with tiny gardens (so poop has really nowhere to hide) law should change. Cats should atay in their gardens.

Thanks a mill. Will check this out.

Our cats sometimes come in half drenched (neighbour doesn't like them).

You might gain satisfaction from using a water pistol

As it gets colder and wetter my two prefer to use a litter tray.

@ThinWomansBrain

maybe their frequent visits are deterring rats in your garden? what are you going to do about any fox poo?

😂😂😂 There are 10+ cats on my block. We still had rats and had to put traps down... Ome people overestimated what are normally fed cats willing to do

@seaandsandcastles

I'm a cat owner of two cats, they do their business outside and I am unable to control where!

@GermioneHranger Of course you can control it. Catproof your garden. Why do you think others should have to deal with your dirty animals?

Cats are clean animals actually?

I don't think your a cat lover, are you?

@MitheringMytryl

Are you in the UK?

For some reason in the UK it's considered totally fine for a cat to wander around the whole neighbourhood shitting everywhere and killing the local wildlife and other people's pets, and if you expect the owners to take any responsibility for it then you just don't understand cats.

I’m in Ireland and I don’t mind cats at all. Just don’t want my garden to be their toilet 😬

Get your own cat! Said cat will not want to mess in its own yard and will chase away others
Utter bollocks!
People need to stop spreading this absolute lie.

I had a cat once, she only ever crapped in my front and back garden.
She was also pretty friendly with most of the neighbourhood cats and I would regularly have 3 or 4 different neighbourhood cats socialising in my garden.