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.

Under uk law cats are classed as wild animals. It's up to you to keep them out of your garden. Dogs are classed as domesticated and therefore the onus is on the owner.

Most cats bury it. You've been unlucky.

You won’t believe what did a poo in my garden the other day OP - a fox! Cheeky bastard. I complained to the RSPCA, but they told me there was nothing they could do. Outrageous.

@TwinklyBranch

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

Are there? I'm not aware of any

I find the carbon footprint of cat and dog food FAR more upsetting to be honest.

Also, I’d love to know which country you’re specifically referring to - outside of the UK a LOT of countries have huge stray populations; including lots of Western Europe. Where are those cats and dogs meant to poop?

Good point, it isn't something I would actually do. I was just wandering how the PPs who keep saying get over it, I was wandering how they would like it if there cats shit was politely returned to its rightful owner.

No nor me and I live in Wales

@dementedpixie I don’t think that was an entirely serious post…

[quote XelaM]@Myusernameisnotmyusernameno Then don't have a cat!!!!![/quote]
How ridiculous.

@AnkleDeep

It isn't socially acceptable but cat owners are innately selfish and don't care.

And you know that for a fact do you?!

@Rainbowcake88

I have had many cats over the years, they all have peed and pooped discreetly in a bush. No need for litter trays when they are doing something natural in nature. Dogs shit where they like no discrete about it. Foxes go where they like too. Living in the country we are used to all manner of shit, horses, sheep, cows... obviously not in our garden but everywhere else. It's life. move on.

Totally agree

@AnkleDeep

It isn't socially acceptable but cat owners are innately selfish and don't care.

Of course they are! Only selfish people own cats, it's a known criteria!

You can get things that make a noise that only cats can hear to keep them away or sprinkle cayenne pepper (I think it's cayenne) to keep them out your garden. We have had issues in the past, my husband sprinkles pepper and it seems to stop them. We have small children so really don't want them doing their business in our garden.

Our cat has a litter tray, kept pristine and dry and warm inside ... he refused to use it if he can go out.

These threads come up every few days and honestly I just don't care, and can't do anything about it anyway 🤷‍♀️ my cat is a house cat but one day I might have an outdoor cat and I truly will not give one single thought as to whether they shit in peoples gardens.

Oh dear. You do realise it's not YOUR property, but the cats', don't you?

We have neighbours a bit like this. Their garden looks like some sort of Alcatraz with wires and pointy things and everything to keep cats out. But cats get in anyway. And seagulls and other birds fly in and crap all over their garden furniture. As they should.

@mam0918

there are over 900,000 (that's nearly a million) wild/feral/rural/stray cats in the UK, which outnumbers the amount of owned domestic cats... who is expected to train these wild animals to shit in a box.

There are almost 11 million pet cats in the UK! I'd rather have 0.9 million feral cats (obviously we'd have to reintroduce wolves. Although I assume feral cats don't necessarily live very long) than 11 million domestic ones.

People have answered the question and your response was not to get a cat. I guess the answer to that is people like cats. Ultimately there's no objectively right or wrong stance. The options are 1) people have cats and let them go outside, they sometimes poo in other people's gardens 2) people have cats and don't let them outside. In this country most people would think that's pretty cruel as cats like to roam 3) people don't have cats unless they have a big enough house that the cat is happy indoors. So basically only the rich can have a cat. Again most people in this country would think that's unfair.

I also have two litters trays and my cat poos in our garden. He doesn’t poo in anyone else’s though. I can say though since he has started pooing in our garden no other cats enter our garden anymore. You don’t need a cat but it if you have a friend with a cat can I recommend you ask for some poo! The bigger the cat the better as the bigger poo the easier it is to ward off other cats apparently - big poo big cat!

It's disgusting. Our garden constantly smells of cat poo as they do it in flower beds etc and if you don't get every last bit it smells revolting. I don't even use our garden with the kids because it puts me off. But ultimately there's nothing you can really do about it.

True, nothing you can do about it. UK Animals Act 1971: In 1971, cats were ruled as ‘free-spirits’ and, consequently, were given the right to roam wherever they please, more or less. It states under the Animals Act 1971 that they “cannot be held guilty of trespass under civil law and, therefore, their owners or keepers cannot be liable for any damage done”. If neighbours want to strike up a case against a cat owner, they need to prove that the owner has negligently allowed their cat to stray, something which is incredibly difficult to prove.

It’s actually down to the owners of the property to ensure that cats cannot access their land, or prevent them from worrying any animals they keep, such as rabbits and poultry.

So back to water sprays, use of citrus-smelling products, or learning to live with it.

Cat owners being all ‘so what animals poop’ - happy for my dog to take a steaming dump in your garden? Would you just shrug your shoulders and smile ruefully as you clear it up with a plastic bag after your kids have run all over it?

I am a cat and do you not realise, inferior human, that I have enslaved your species and I rule the world? I will poop where I like. Tough luck!

Cats have a legal right to roam under the Animals Act 1971. Complain about that if you will, to the relevant authorities, and I'm sure they will take your views into consideration the next time the Act is up for review.

That's if global warming doesn't put an end to the human race first, of course.

I can't get worked up about it. Got foxes, pheasants and god knows what else shitting in the garden anyway.

If I could have a cat, which I can't, I wouldn't let mine out though. I had one once upon a time that I lost because some asshole wasn't looking where he was driving. I wouldn't want to go through that again.

Yep, both legal and acceptable here OP, so
you’d be better off finding something more worthwhile to froth about. You could always write to your MP I suppose. They wouldn’t do anything, but might help you feel calmer.