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.

Cats prefer to poo in loose soil or sand, so make sure your flower beds are fully planted, put a cover on your child's sand pit, and ensure that any gravel is pea gravel or larger. That should solve the problem.

If anyone can tell me how to discourage the deer, badgers and foxes that seem to use my garden, that would be very kind.

@JaniieJones

'And you'll be having it again when someone starts the exact same thread in around a week's time'

Yes because it isn't ok or acceptable despite all the lame excuses. Why tf should we put up with manky cats in the garden killing birds let alone digging plants up and shitting. Keep them on your own property.

No

@JaniieJones

'And you'll be having it again when someone starts the exact same thread in around a week's time'

Yes because it isn't ok or acceptable despite all the lame excuses. Why tf should we put up with manky cats in the garden killing birds let alone digging plants up and shitting. Keep them on your own property.

@JaniieJones Do you eat meat? Do you poo in your own garden?

@JaniieJones

'And you'll be having it again when someone starts the exact same thread in around a week's time'

Yes because it isn't ok or acceptable despite all the lame excuses. Why tf should we put up with manky cats in the garden killing birds let alone digging plants up and shitting. Keep them on your own property.

Would you keep your dog in your garden or house and that be it? Still waiting on a response on this. And before you spout cats can be walked on a lead it really isn't a solution to the vast majority of cats

In answer to JaniieJones above and all the other alarmingly angry anti-catters on this thread. The reason you have to put up with it is because it’s perfectly legal in this country. That’s it. You don’t like it. That’s fine. Write to your MP. Also find a relaxing hobby to help with your anger problems.

JaniieJones

My cat says you are a div

@FortunesFavour

In answer to JaniieJones above and all the other alarmingly angry anti-catters on this thread. The reason you have to put up with it is because it’s perfectly legal in this country. That’s it. You don’t like it. That’s fine. Write to your MP. Also find a relaxing hobby to help with your anger problems.

Amen 🙏

Cats 100% do often leave unburied.
The most annoying are not seeing it in the grass or being hard to pick up before mowing
And them going where you are trying to grow veg. Relatives rural are fine grow loads of veg. All we get is stratted up soil that you then dont want to/cant grow veg in without completely covering up!!

@JaniieJones

'And you'll be having it again when someone starts the exact same thread in around a week's time'

Yes because it isn't ok or acceptable despite all the lame excuses. Why tf should we put up with manky cats in the garden killing birds let alone digging plants up and shitting. Keep them on your own property.

It's not going to change anytime soon!

@paloma2

Janiie - the fact is, you can’t train a cat in the same way as you can a dog.

As kittens, cats are kept indoors and yes, they can be ‘trained’ to use a litter tray - in the sense that you put them in it if you see them scrabbling with their paws as if they’re trying to dig to go to the loo.

If this is what you mean by ‘training,’ well, all cat owners do that .

However, once a cat starts to go out, it may well continue to use its litter tray, but beyond that, how can you be sure whether the cat is also pooing elsewhere? How would you know?

How can you tell if a cat is ‘trained’ or not?

I’ve already explained to you that if I balanced along the fences to try to follow my cats, I would

a) break the fence
b) do myself an injury
c) get reported as an intruder

It is cruel to keep most cats indoors, in exactly the same way as it is cruel to keep most dogs indoors.

Would you keep your dog indoors all its life? I think not. So stop talking bs. The only difference is, you can train a dog to go for walk with you in a lead and dogs do not climb. You can’t take a cat out on a lead because they climb. Dogs are pack animals with totally different instincts to cats. I can’t believe I’m even having this ridiculous conversation.

All of this is true. Which is why cats are inappropriate as domestic pets. They are semi-feral animals and should not be kept in peoples homes.

You can hardly talk anyway, your dogs and your shit is much worse for the environment than a cats

Good grief! The lengths some people go to to try to convince themselves that their cats mess in other peoples gardens is not a problem. I’ve heard it all now

“All of this is true. Which is why cats are inappropriate as domestic pets. They are semi-feral animals and should not be kept in peoples homes.”

Where should they be kept then? In a zoo - caged like lions? In a cat safari park?

Or are you arguing they should be extinct?

@Garfunkle
Tell me, what’s worse?
Picking cat shit off the grass, or burying it, or humans polluting the water with their shit?

What should happen with them then @goinggently? Shot on site?

Humans are far worse.

@AllThingsServeTheBeam

What should happen with them then *@goinggently*? Shot on site?

Or even sight

@goinggently
Then we’d be like Cyprus and other countries, where cat ownership is rare and they have millions of unneutered cats roaming the streets and we’d have far more shit in our gardens than we do now.
They are suitable domestic pets because they can be tamed, a semi-feral cat is one who has had little contact with humans. You don’t get to dictate which ones should be domesticated and which shouldn’t based on their inconvenience of doing what every species does, which is shitting.

Lady08

@Garfunkle
Tell me, what’s worse?
Picking cat shit off the grass, or burying it, or humans polluting the water with their shit

Every living being defecates - fact!

Should cats be allowed to roam, making a mess in other peoples properties and causing misery to others. Or should those who want a cat keep it on his/her property and pick it’s mess up? Why do people have cats and expect everyone else to pick up after it and fork out to cat proof their gardens to keep the cats (that they don’t want) out of their property?

This thread shows that cats can be contained within its own property. There are obviously responsible cat owners and those who couldn’t care less about anyone else.

Why have a cat if you’re not willing to look after it? some people CAN take care of their cat(s) without putting the burden on others. It can be done, obviously. Those who don’t want to will keep making petty excuses.

I'd be interested to see my cat's response to being told she's semi feral and isn't suitable to live in our home due to the fact that she might shit in other people's gardens.

Following politics as she does, and not being aware of any appetite outside of mumsnet to unenforceably legislate on the location of cat shit, I'd imagine she'd be minded to ignore it for now.

Yes, never mind that cats, from big to small, have roamed the earth before humans even existed. It’s now been well shown that lions and big cats can be kept in cages. So just do that, surely Yes they may pace up and down a bit and become depressed, but who cares? The poo is contained! Yay!

To those who can’t grasp the concept of the cat species - fear no more. Humans are doing such an amazing job of destroying the planet, every species will be extinct soon enough anyway!

For all the cat owners on here:

Lets say your cat never did anything in your garden. What if you had a neighbours cat(s) come into your garden crap all over it, dig up the flowers you just bought, the veg u planted...are you honestly saying it wouldn't piss you off? That your money and time is being wasted?

You would say oh well never mind, clear it a up, go spend more money on flowers and replant veg....?

Would you be happy to have to check your garden before your kids could play in it?

@Garfunkle

Lady08

@Garfunkle**
Tell me, what’s worse?
Picking cat shit off the grass, or burying it, or humans polluting the water with their shit

Every living being defecates - fact!

Should cats be allowed to roam, making a mess in other peoples properties and causing misery to others. Or should those who want a cat keep it on his/her property and pick it’s mess up? Why do people have cats and expect everyone else to pick up after it and fork out to cat proof their gardens to keep the cats (that they don’t want) out of their property?

This thread shows that cats can be contained within its own property. There are obviously responsible cat owners and those who couldn’t care less about anyone else.

Why have a cat if you’re not willing to look after it? some people CAN take care of their cat(s) without putting the burden on others. It can be done, obviously. Those who don’t want to will keep making petty excuses.

Yes off course every species defecates but you’re focusing on cats shitting on grass, when you’re polluting with your own waste. Do you shit in your own garden, if not you’re a hypocrite. It’s also called co-existence, there will be many inconveniences all species have to accept, whether you like it or not. If they did not have owners, they’d still be shitting in your garden, if not, a lot more.

Are you thick?
Why have a cat if you’re not willing to look after it?
So the owner doesn’t feed it, clean out its litter tray, give water, take to the vets for boosters/health checks, provide love and comfort?

Meanwhile on Fishnet-

MrsCodswallop - “AIBU to not want billions of tonnes of human farces, paper and sanitary products pumped into my ocean every day? AIBU to think humans should put do it in their own boxes and deal with it within their own homes?”

@paloma2 That's one cute cat - thanks for sharing. Made my day.

Then we’d be like Cyprus and other countries, where cat ownership is rare

Oddly enough, the earliest record of a pet cat is in Cyprus 9,500 years ago.