AIBU to find it utterly astounding that it's socially acceptable in England for pet cats to poop in other people's gardens??!

[DrawsSword]

I honestly cannot get my head round this. We've moved into a new house and the garden is full of cat shit. Not a single cat owner I know has a little tray for their cat to use. Where do cat owners think their cats poop? Do you honestly not care that it's in other peoples gardens?
My dh is from in a country where this is not socially acceptable and cat owners have litter trays and the cats bloody use them.

I think you've missed part of the picture there girlcrush, but that's fine.

Why is it socially acceptable?

What is 'socially acceptable'?

It is something that society, people, accept.

Take anything that is considered socially acceptable and ask the same question.

Something is socially acceptable when most people are ok with it.
When enough people get fucked off and make a fuss, what is socially acceptable changes. Many things that inconvenience others are 'socially acceptable'.

Smoking used to be. That's a good example. Now it's not. Why did it used to be? What changed?

I'm not sure what answer you're wanting tbh.
It's socially acceptable because people don't hate it enough to make enough fuss to change attitudes I guess would be as good an answer as anything

If you tell us what country you are on about we could analyse it, compare situations and attitudes and identify whatever it is that has made the difference

"Don't have a cat then"

Don't live in the UK then. HTH

OP I don't think you understand that the cats rule us. They are in charge

If you think this is cute or witty then you are utterly deluded.

I don't have a cat, but I love that they are allowed to roam. I like coming across a random cat on a walk. I think it's unfair and weird to keep them shut in, and encourages barbaric practices like declawing.

I understand how revolting cat shit is-but nothing keeps them out .
A lovely vet who wrote many books on pet owning actually made his garden cat proof to keep his cats in and others out.
He had baffles put on the fences, and it worked.

Maybe try those if your garden is fully enclosed .

The joke

Your head

@ChardonnaysPetDragon

OP I don't think you understand that the cats rule us. They are in charge

If you think this is cute or witty then you are utterly deluded.

I think it's rather witty.

Cats don't have owners anyway, they have staff.

If anyone has managed to get their cat to listen and do as they're told, please let me know.

We have a litter tray. The cat hates it. He will even go outside in a snow storm to poo than do it in the tray.
I can’t keep him in, 95% he is outside it’s just in our garden sleeping. Luckily there are fields behind us so I assume that’s where he goes.

On the other hand there is dog shit on the pavements everywhere these days.

@TwinklyBranch

Quite right. In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland there are laws against this sort of thing.

I have never heard this - what is the law?

I agree with you, OP. I have 2 indoor cats, they poop in the litter tray.
I also wonder why is it acceptable for some humans to poop outside (usually kids) in front of everyone and change babies in public places.

I don't think anyone does think its socially acceptable. Just how do you actually stop them (dont start with all the ridiculous/cruel suggestions).

Do tell us how your husband's home country manages it.

twinkly link and references please

@xxxGirlCrushxxx

Op it's an interesting username.... and interesting first post!!

Actually it reminded me that the poo troll hasn't posted for a while.....

Oh not this clever idea again. It's a namechanging site. People namechange. Not unusual. If you suspect troll, just report.

Smoking used to be. That's a good example. Now it's not. Why did it used to be? What changed?

The law on smoking indoors changed when the risks of passive smoking were studied and verified. It posed a measurable hazard to people who worked in pubs etc and the public / government were convinced that banning indoor smoking would make a significant difference to employees health. I seem to remember at the time there was lots of discussion about whether the passive smoking health risks were enough to justify restricting the business practices of many pubs who claimed patrons would stop going if they weren’t allowed to smoke there.

I have a disabled family member who would investigate cat shit and eat it. It's NOT OK for all you cat lovers to say hard luck. My family have a litter tray it's not hard to train a cat to use it if you can be bothered. Cats shit can contain extremely harmful bacteria. I'm stopping now because people who think this is OK are disgusting and make me so angry.

I feel that way about dogs pooing and weeing in public. Even when the owner picks up the poo, there's still going to be traces of it for people to walk on and pass it round on their shoes. Same with wee, how is it ok for a dog to cock its leg and piss on a tree/bench/someone's garden fence or gate. Gross.

OP, I will try to do my best to answer the question.

It is socially acceptable in the UK for cats to be allowed to poo in other people's gardens because most British people accept that cats should be allowed the freedom to go outside by themselves and behave as cats instinctively do. They have not been domesticated for as many years as dogs, and most cats do respond to the level of training which dogs do. Even if a cat has a litter tray it will not stop it going outside. Many people believe it is cruel and natural to keep a cat contained inside for it's entire life. If you have a dog you can take it outside for walks and exercise and even let it off the lead and it will be obedient (in most cases) and return to you. You cannot give cats this privilege because they are territorial by nature, they are not pack animals and do not see their human as their leader like dogs do. So they only way to allow them outdoor exercise is to allow them to go out in the garden, but of course a cat cannot understand human boundaries, it sets it's own, which may include the neighbouring gardens too.

Hope this helps you OP!

But really, your garden isn't full of cat poo is it?

Don't like to pop your bubble but I've lived in quite a few countries around the world and cats (who are allowed outside) shit where the heck they like. England isn't too bad since there generally stray cats who definitely don't have anyone providing litter boxes for them. Not sure where you think a stray cat in, say, Rome is going to poo?

@Rosewaterblossom do you think animals should be trained to use a toilet then? I am genuinely stumped as to where and how you think animals should defecate?

I don’t have a cat, and tbh I really don’t like cats, but many pet cats roam outside and are not cats that stay in the house 24/7. Comparing them to dogs pooping in other folks gardens is silly because dogs (usually) can’t climb fences and wander about, so if it’s pooping in someone’s garden it’s 99% of the time with its owner and the owner is expected of course to pick it up. However, cats can go in their own garden and then easily go into neighbouring gardens due to their size and speed without owners being able to stop them, so owners aren’t with them when the poop.

@Rosewaterblossom

I feel that way about dogs pooing and weeing in public. Even when the owner picks up the poo, there's still going to be traces of it for people to walk on and pass it round on their shoes. Same with wee, how is it ok for a dog to cock its leg and piss on a tree/bench/someone's garden fence or gate. Gross.

And now imagine that was in your garden!

@Grumpyoldpersonwithcats

Oh great - we haven't had a cat hating thread here for a few days. Wait for the pile on of people suggesting you trap other peoples' cats and dump them miles away or perhaps shoot them. My dh is from in a country where this is not socially acceptable and cat owners have litter trays and the cats bloody use them. Big deal - social customs vary from country to country. And just so you know I, as many people on MN, have cats, and I do have a liiter tray that they use.

Just because we’ve always done something one way doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it another. Social customs can and do change.

Wouldn’t it be nicer for society if it was socially it was expected you provide litter trays for your cats? It’s not a terrible thing to be expected to do. Just like you never used to have to microchip your cats, now you do. Expectations change.