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.

OP, where is this mythical country where cats obediently only ever poop in the litter trays their owners have provided? Are cats normally kept inside there?

We have 2 cats and 2 litter trays. They barely use them, maybe once every few weeks. We keep them inside from dusk to dawn, so short of making them indoor only cats, I fail to see how we would prevent them from toileting outside.

Its absolutely outrageous to have to live close to other people and their pets behaving entirely within the law

@millymolls

Remind me to tell the fox and hedgehogs that crap in my garden to find somewhere else

This, green spaces are not sterile. They are places with all kinds of animals poo in them!

And again: unless you are living in some sort of wildlife paradise which most of the uk us definitely not, then the population density of hedgehogs, foxes, badgers etc is absolutely nowhere near that of cats in just about any urban suburban setting. Just like the number of dogs being walked on the local woodland is far higher than the number of wolves you'd find in the same area in nature so you still need to pick up their shit.

We have a cat litter tray, our cats al sd o poo in our garden and then hide it.

I don’t have cats, but surely most owners have a litter tray and cats use both the tray and poo outside (unless they are indoor cats?). Having a litter tray doesn’t stop cats pooing outside too. I imagine they go when the need strikes, just like we do?

@toconclude, it's not 'celtic exceptionalism', we have our own legal system, in matters of private and civil law. Someone referred to the situation in, inter alia, Scotland, I corrected them. You are, my dear, a div A chippy, and I'll-informed div.

You don't have to like them but why not try to accept that they are as much a part of the planet as you or I and you can't just eradicate something because it annoys you.

Just catching up, did someone honestly write that?!? Nice one. Learn some ecology.

We have two cats. An indoor litter tray and a large enclosed garden that they also use. Do my cats poo in the neighbours gardens? I cannot 100% say yes or no, however they are terrified of the dog who lives next door so never cross that boundary. They sometimes go for a wander the other side but I normally see them use their own garden.
Should I pop round all my neighbours to check just in case?

A cat that's permitted to roam outdoors will poop where it wants outdoors, whether its owners have a litter tray for it indoors or not. Your husband may be from a country where it's not considered socially acceptable for pet cats to roam outdoors, but he's not from a country where everyone's magically trained their free-roaming cats to come home when they want to poop.

Maybe we should return to 1386 Norman legalisation whereby we could put animals on trial then hang them for ' misdemeanors ' ?

Not sure if my two shit in other people's gardens but they definitely shit in mine because I sometimes see them doing it from the kitchen window. I have to pretend to not look at them, natch, because it puts them off.

@toconclude
A few posts above your post critising me for mentioning 'cat haters' was this

YANBU. I despise them, they’re vermin. Not an issue for me as I have an extremely cat aggressive dog. They’re not stupid enough to set foot in my garden, there’s a very good chance they wouldn’t leave in one piece.

Wow OP, you’re a bit grumpy today!

I have three cats. All go outside. I have a litter tray. Two of them use it, or they use my garden (I’ve seen them; they never travel much beyond my boundary. The third cat who doesn’t use the tray also uses my garden.

I do however have a large garden, which is kept overgrown and wild in places which seems to encourage them to use my garden. Lots of dirt they can go in. So owners could encourage them to use their own garden in some ways. Regularly digging up a patch of dirt they can use; they love fresh earth.

But it’s acceptable because it is inhumane to keep cats indoors. That’s what it comes down to.

@IReallyLikeCrows

Not sure if my two shit in other people's gardens but they definitely shit in mine because I sometimes see them doing it from the kitchen window. I have to pretend to not look at them, natch, because it puts them off.

I do that too, I have to look away as otherwise they won’t go. Reminds me of potty training.

The previous owner of our house installed cat proof fencing so no cat shit for us.

The furry sociopaths can shit elsewhere.

@Shade17

YANBU. I despise them, they’re vermin. Not an issue for me as I have an extremely cat aggressive dog. They’re not stupid enough to set foot in my garden, there’s a very good chance they wouldn’t leave in one piece.

So angry.....

We have indoor cats. I don't think cats should roam due to their impact on wildlife. It isn't natural as they are an introduced species. We have a catio so they do get to go outside.

Do you know how many times I have rolled through dog shit with the buggy?

Many

Know how many times I have rolled through cat shit....

Never

YANBU, it's miserable not being able to use your garden before having to pick up mountains of cat poop to avoid your kids stepping/falling in it. Our dog was a great deterrent, she roamed free in our (secured) garden, a cat coming in to poop wouldn't have made it out, she hated them.
You could keep a bucket of cold water beside the door if you catch them in the act, sonic deterrents have worked for us too. Not many houses have cats around here, but the ones that are nearby make so much mess a lot of people can't stand the things.

It's not ok for my dog to crap in someone else's garden. I'm not talking about wild animals, I'm taking about pet cats

OK, if cats are the same as dogs, why do you need to report killing a dog with your car to the police but if you kill a cat, you just can just drive on.

@bumblefeline

English people hating has moved on to English cat hating. I hope my cat doesn't read this he's a very clean boy who always poops in his tray.

So is mine. He sometimes has a wee outside, but more often than not will go up to his tray.

Unlike his pal from along the street who shits in everyone's gardens! Bang on the window and she just stares at you whilst she's doing it.

Not being funny but spending time and money to have a nice garden and growing my own veg isnt cheap. Nothing worse than seeing it all destroyed by cats.

I'm now imagining huge cat gangs roaming suburbia searching for vegetable gardens to ransack.

@coogee also why do dogs have to be on a lead in public places but can't don't? The comparison is idiotic.

To the disgusting poster who proudly claims a cat wouldn't leave their garden in one piece....you are very damaged and deranged if you think that a dumb animal with no concept of wrongdoing deserves to be harmed because of this. Quite honestly you are a bigger piece of shit than any my cat may leave behind. Get help.