To use a cat scarer

[neeenor]

So my question in short is, AIBU / will my neighbours hate me if I use one of those ultrasonic car scarers in my front garden?

Here's the situation

I want to start by saying that I love cats, and had my own until I lost him a couple of years ago. I only didn't get another as I was expecting my now nearly 2 year old DS and I thought a kitten / new cat and a very young child wasn't a great idea.

Anyway we now have an issue whereby a (or several) of the neighbourhood cats are using our front lawn and driveway as a toilet and it's covered in cat poo daily.

Aside from it being gross and the walkway to our front door it's obviously a risk with a young toddler and I'm constantly having to micromanage him into the house to avoid it. We obviously clean it up.

The day is going to come where I've got my hands full and DS runs off to play on the lawn (I've always let him) and I can't grab him in time and he stands in it or worse.

The only solution I can think of is to get one of those cat scarer devices to stop them but I'm worried the neighbours will think I'm a total cat hating dickhead.

I wouldn't like to use a spray or anything incase the cat (or our dog) ate it as I wouldn't want to risk any harm.

I've thought about another cat (presume our old boy kept other cats at a distance) but to be honest our dog is elderly and health is starting to decline, I've got an active 1 year old, I work full time as does DH and I don't think a new pet is right for our family at the moment.

Thoughts?

Any other suggestions also welcome. Have no issues with the cats in general just their poo!

My husband can hear them and they drive him crazy. Your toddler may hear it too.

I'm 56 and can still hear the fucking things. I had to have a word with my neighbour and she is older and could hear it. Her dickhead boyfriend had fiddled with it

Your toddler will hear it and hate it.

There's a house on our school run that has one. It gets all of us every time. It's worst though for my 2 year old. She covers her ears as we get close to the house.

My dad has had a problem with cats for years and tried all sorts of methods. In the past year he has started using white vinegar and swears by it. He orders it in huge bottles and put it on a rag near where they go. Good luck

Cats hate citrus scents. Try scattering orange peels in the garden to deter them. Those cat deterrents can be heard by some humans , me included and the noise drives me bananas. So maybe try other means first before the scarrer

We have 2 on our front lawn to cover the full area. They are motion activated and all we can hear when they go off is a clicking sound. Not one cat shit since we put them in at the beginning of the year. We actually watched the offending cat hissing at it from the pavement. The neighbors don't mind because once it stopped shitting in our garden it started doing it in everyone else's so now they all have one too

Get them! I have one in the front and back. Had them for years since my youngest was a baby and my kids never complained about hearing anything. None of the neighbours will even know you have them unless in view!

We have a street full of these. It's the only way to not have a garden full of cat shit.

Other things that may work:
Chilli powder
Citrus peel
Holly leaves
Pine needles

I wouldn’t get one. As noted above, it’s not just cats who can hear them and, in any event, cats get used to them. My brother tried one and it worked for a couple of weeks. Then the poo was back - in fact, he even saw one of them pee on it. Unclear whether it was just a convenient place to urinate or some kind of dirty protest and/or “f you”.

@Iamacatslave

Get another cat 😻

This doesn't work lol. Our new cat is terrified of the other cats that use our garden. She wanders far and wide now to toilet....

I've tried everything, the only thing that works is once a week getting my son to wee in the garden he finds it hilarious, the neighborhood cat find it offensive!

I was so hoping this thread contained some holy grail solution.

My mil has one of these machines to protect her utterly vile precious astroturf.

It is earsplitting and i am in my mid 30s
Your toddler will utterly hate it.

Cats are total arseholes though so you have my sympathy.
We have 3 of the bastards that come round despite us owning a dog, shooing them and liberally sprinkling those lion pee nuts everywhere 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️

Well it would seem these machines arnt the answer on balance.

Something to spray water wouldn't work, it's a relatively large area so the cat would just avoid it.

I'm at a loss of what else to try 😪

@Lillipops

We have 2 on our front lawn to cover the full area. They are motion activated and all we can hear when they go off is a clicking sound. Not one cat shit since we put them in at the beginning of the year. We actually watched the offending cat hissing at it from the pavement. The neighbors don't mind because once it stopped shitting in our garden it started doing it in everyone else's so now they all have one too

Any visiting babies, any children walking past, are in a lot of pain in your road. I'm guessing nobody who lives there is under 30 either.

Get toddler to wee in garden. Or DH.

Are you sure its cats and not foxes?!

@Lillipops

We have 2 on our front lawn to cover the full area. They are motion activated and all we can hear when they go off is a clicking sound. Not one cat shit since we put them in at the beginning of the year. We actually watched the offending cat hissing at it from the pavement. The neighbors don't mind because once it stopped shitting in our garden it started doing it in everyone else's so now they all have one too

Unless I've misunderstood in my pre-coffee state and there is only a clicking sound, and the cats can't hear anything high-pitched

@AffableApple our neighbours next door have 2 young children, the adults are under 30. They happily walk past our garden with no complaints. Couple the other side are in their 20s. Everyone is sick of the constant cat shitting. We can hear it clicking but I think the cats hear the high pitched noise. We also have a teenager who is unbothered by the cat zappers. Would just like to say I am a cat lover and had 2 of my own until they passed a couple of years ago.

I have bengal cats and the older ones go out and play in neighbours garden when they have sprinkler on and as I have a dog he's not scared of them and my youngest is autistic so use to kids screaming and shouting. I do have cat litter boxes that he sometimes uses. Never see or noticed him using gardens. You could try netting sorry not got any suggestions