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.

To be fair I've never seen a cat in a supermarket. Not yet

If people want dissuade cats from visiting their garden then that is of course their right (fences, plants that they dislike, and other actions - that doesn't cause harm) - as cats roam it is impossible to prevent them entering gardens. The Uk policy recognises the fact that cats are not controllable - cats get run over frequently as they are free.

And all the people saying, “just secure your garden” ... I’ve already explained that this is not always possible with some cats and for some gardens.

Would you be happy for your neighbour to install a very high chicken wire domed fence on your boundary? Many people understandably would not want this as it makes the garden feel like a prison.

If your neighbour has any large trees next to their fence / wall, even high wire fences on top of walls, spikes on the too of fences and rollers may not work. You can’t always just take trees down, especially large ones.

Bushes as borders - forget it.

My friend who had a straightforward rectangular fenced garden had wooden rollers installed around the entire thing (not visible to the neighbours because the rollers are on their side). Well, it worked with one cat, but the other just took one look at it, jumped up and got over first time and was off on his merry way. Total waste of money.

What works for one cat, will not work for all.

Even the static cat wire boundary fences (which we use for our Ragdoll cat) does not always work with less timid cats or for cats determined to be on their way. We were warned it might not work before we bought it and had it installed.

Unless your neighbours literally build wire domes over their entire properties, there is no fail safe method to cat proof your house.

Also, don’t forget, if you have rollers or wire fence toppers leaning inwards to keep your cats in, if other animals such as foxes or other cats happen to jump down into your garden, they will also be trapped. Trapped cats in a garden which is another cat’s territory may hide and the owners will not know where they are. Foxes may become aggressive.

Please do share exactly how the people in the mystic land where all cats only stay in their own gardens have actually achieved this feat?

I suppose all the people who think it’s fine to put a cat in a bike basket or to “just keep it in the house” are the same people who go to the zoo and clap at the caged lions and tigers and think it’s all absolutely lovely.

Utterly clueless basically,

Would you be happy for your neighbour to install a very high chicken wire domed fence on your boundary? Many people understandably would not want this as it makes the garden feel like a prison.

We put netting up and I don't really care what the neighbours think, my main concern is my cat is safe. When next door was for sale DH heard someone ask the estate agent what the netting on the fence was for but that's the only time it's been mentioned to my knowledge.

IF YOU TAKE A CAT OUT OF ITS FAMILIAR TERRITORY (ON A BIKE, IN SHOPPING TROLLEY OR ON A LEAD DOWN THE STREET, THIS IS VERY TRAUMATIC FOR THEM BECAUSE OF THE UNFAMILIAR SCENTS OF OTHER CATS / ANIMALS. CATS ARE CREATURES IF HABIT, NOT ‘ACCESSORIES’ TO TAKE TO THE SUPERMARKET FFS!

We used to take ours on holiday when MIL had a holiday home. He loved it and definitely wasn't traumatised!

If you’re happy with laws confining cats to flats and houses for your personal convenience (bleurrgh), you’re probably also happy with battery chickens? Or mink farms where baby minks are born in a tiny cage and live in that all their lives and the mothers don’t even have any straw to make a nest for the babies. That is until they are gassed - so humans can show off in their lovely fluffy coats.

Some people have no respect for animals or their instinctive behaviours at all. They think animals should only exist if they conform to human convenience.

Those people are wrong and frankly, I despise that mentality. Absolutely sickening.

@DrawsSword

This thread is hilarious! And the assumptions people seem inclined to jump to is interesting too. At no point did I say I was it furious, not enjoying my new house, my life is being negatively impacted etc. My house is lovely thank you and I'm looking forward to making my garden cat unfriendly with lots of lovely new plants. Challenge accepted. I'm grateful that my biggest non problem is cat poop. Life is good. My favourite leap is that I meant that domestic cats in my dh's country of origin return home to take a dump. I never said that. I said it wasn't socially acceptable for cats to poop in other peoples gardens. Domestic cats stay on their owners property and crap in a litter tray or their own gardens. I will concede that certain conditions in this country mean that cats cannot roam. But also, it's just not ok for them to shit in someone else's garden!! Other point, it's not fox poop. Newsflash, not all cats bury their poop. And I'm actually glad of it, easier to spot. I don't mind wild animal poop, they need all the help they can get. But I do not agree with other peoples pets crapping in my garden. If I lived somewhere with wild horses and they dumped on my garden id be ok with it. If my neighbour's domestic horse came and took a dump on my lawn I wouldn't be impressed. Cat owners tread this interesting tight rope of my pet cat is (legally) allowed to roam, they are wild, cannot be trained, what do you want me to do, I'm helpless, whilst also balancing what lovely attentive pets they are, I love them so much, they sleep in my bed etc. I find it a funny contrast. Is it a wild animal or not? A weird hybrid (and yes, I know in the eyes of law also).

Simply, I do not think pet cats should be allowed to roam. They should be in their own property. If your house is too small for this then don't have a cat. I wouldn't get a pet alpaca if I didn't have land for it to graze. I wouldn't get a dog if couldn't walk it twice a day and was out all day. I wouldn't get a pet duck if I couldn't provide it with a pond. But because of roaming, cats and their owners get away with it. One person that I saw did admit they don't care where their cat poops. Thanks for the refreshing honesty. Obviously lots of people disagree with you. Such as life.
People taking issue with using the word 'poop', saying things like 'move to your husband's country', grow up and contribute constructively.

Some serious points about the planet and how responsible is it for people to have pets. Interesting points for sure. My post was never intended to be that deep. But I agree with points raised. And yes polluting the seas and rivers is heartbreaking and that is something that upsets me. And yes of course dog shit in public areas is gross.

The unknown mystical country has not be named and I'll annoy some of you by not naming it

Retiring my sword now and going back to my usual username. Thanks for the support all the anti cat POO in gardens people. Thanks for the sport you bunch of crazy cat lovers. May your socks always be damp and your cats puke on your beds.

It’s very hypocritical of you wanting pets cats indoors, taking away their freedom, would you like someone dictating this to you just because you simply just poo? Your waste affects other species, how do you feel about that?

I saw a woman with something that can only be described as a white ferret on a lead. She was walking with it down a busy London high street. People were basically tripping over it and treading in the poor thing.

@paloma2

If you’re happy with laws confining cats to flats and houses for your personal convenience (bleurrgh), you’re probably also happy with battery chickens? Or mink farms where baby minks are born in a tiny cage and live in that all their lives and the mothers don’t even have any straw to make a nest for the babies. That is until they are gassed - so humans can show off in their lovely fluffy coats.

Some people have no respect for animals or their instinctive behaviours at all. They think animals should only exist if they conform to human convenience.

Those people are wrong and frankly, I despise that mentality. Absolutely sickening.

I agree, humans as a race are very selfish. Not to mention the fact we’ve destroyed and taken over millions of animals habitats, we pollute their waters etc, meanwhile we are angry because cats sometimes toilet outside.

You can not reason with the logic on this post. Allergies - take antihistamines. Cats in garden - toothpick Forrest, I mean you couldn't make this up. I would love to see how that garden has been improved. There is some next level cat hating insanity on here. What happened to live and let live or tolerance. Cats are very good company for very many people who suffer from loneliness, depression or are gravelly ill. As are many other kinds of pets.

There are some breeds of cat who are (by and large) more content to be indoor cats than others. For instance, Persians and Ragdolls tend to be more human-focused and just want to have human company in the house. I have a fee of those. All cats are different and you can never tell when until you bring the cat home. It’s true that some cats don’t mind going in cars - but this is rare. All cats are different and yes, unfortunately humans have changed the face of the earth (that is theirs too) with busy roads. So, as a cat owner, you do have to balance their freedom and natural instincts with safety considerations. But that doesn’t mean you should treat the cat as an accessory or expect it not to behave like a cat.

@paloma2

I suppose all the people who think it’s fine to put a cat in a bike basket or to “just keep it in the house” are the same people who go to the zoo and clap at the caged lions and tigers and think it’s all absolutely lovely.

Utterly clueless basically,

So what you're telling me is, like lions are unsuitable pets, so are cats. What I'm learning is they are particularly delicate and unsuitable for domestic life with humans.

Can you not see how bonkers it is to have a pet cat and say it's cruel if I don't let it roam on other people's property because they need to shit in a wide range of places. That's like someone getting a dog and forcing their neighbour to walk it (obviously not possible before some one points it out).

Your home is clearly not suitable for a cat (or five)

@paloma2 animals and their instinctive behaviors are all lovely and fine but when you live in a london suburb where most of the houses have been converted into flats and each flat owns 2-3 cats, thats when I think the complaints start. The vast majority of the complainers on this thread probably live in dense urban spaces and what is ok in a sparsely populated village isn't ok in a city. Its why Hampstead Heath (one of my local parks) set limits on the number of dogs that can be walked at a time. If each family had 1 cat, only some would free roam, others might not be as they are pedigree or old or have feline HIV or just dislike roaming, i think that would be better. Plus hopefully in my neighbourhood, there would be less cars going forward as we are in ULEZ zone and hopefully we would be included in congestion zone one day so there would be less dead cats.

It might be 'natural' for cats to roam outside but i don't think a densely populated london suburb is a cat's ideal surroundings either! IMHO, Londoners/other people in densely populated areas should get ragdolls or British short hairs who like staying inside. Just like how many urban dwellers tend to get smaller dogs.

Completely with you DrawsSword. Absolutely not socially acceptable, it’s disgusting.

@DrawsSword there are cats who do not need to be let outside.

www.ukrcc.co.uk/faqs.shtml

Q: Should I let my Ragdoll cat go outside?

A: Ragdolls should never be allowed to free roam. They are too trusting and do not have great outdoor skills. If left to wander they are at risk of RTA, theft, poisoning etc. Free roaming also puts them at risk of contracting incurable, fatal diseases, such as FIV (similar to HIV in humans) and FeLV (feline infectious leukaemia). Most Ragdolls will live happily indoors, but if you do decide you wish your Ragdoll to have outside access, it should always be supervised and into a secure garden or, better still, into a cat pen or purpose built enclosure.

@DrawsSword

Have you named this country yet?

Domestic cats are suitable for pets, as otherwise millions of people wouldn’t own one

Also please answer my question!

@Sidehustle99

You can not reason with the logic on this post. Allergies - take antihistamines. Cats in garden - toothpick Forrest, I mean you couldn't make this up. I would love to see how that garden has been improved. There is some next level cat hating insanity on here. What happened to live and let live or tolerance. Cats are very good company for very many people who suffer from loneliness, depression or are gravelly ill. As are many other kinds of pets.

How can you say that cats are for the benefit of people's welfare but then say to another poster to take medication so they can go in their garden? Allergies are serious. The taking of long term medication comes with consequences

Er OP - what are you on about with this wild animal analogy?

A domestic cat is a domestic cat. Full stop. No more explanation needed.

Some cats may be happy to be indoors for their entire lives, but obviously, this will not be the case for most.

Cats instinctively will hunt. Again, some more so than others. It’s a survival instinct. If you think this makes them “wild” that’s up to you. Doesn’t matter, a cat is a cat.

Nearly all cats have a basic instinct to roam and all cats will scent their territory and walk around the border of this territory regularly, checking for new scents of ‘intruders’ on a daily basis. Again, if you think this makes them ‘wild’ it’s up to you. To anyone else, that is just a cat being a cat.

If you get a cat you understand this and if you don’t, then you have no business having a cat.

I have a Ragdoll and I explained this is why we had the pet fence wire fitted. Fortunately we have a largish garden by London standards. The Persians just laze about the house mainly. I purposely got these cats as far roaming cats in London terrify me because if the roads and I would be a bag of nerves the whole time.

I have cats and would genuinely love to know how these cat owners in this other country train their cats to not poop in neighbouring gardens.
I need tips

There was a petition to get this discussed in Parliament. The grand total of 76 people signed. Maybe the OP and the other cat haters could try again. It might reach 100 signatures this time.

Copy of petition....

Under current legislation, cats are granted the 'right to roam'. This means that they are allowed to enter any private property they choose, defecate - sometimes digging holes in carefully-tended flower and vegetable plots, and attack and kill wild birds and small mammals at random. Puppies and very small dogs are also at risk of injury.
I believe that the same duty of care should apply to cat owners as that which is applied to those of dogs, i.e. that they must be kept under control at all times and their movements be restricted to owners' properties. I believe that this law is successfully practised in at least one Scandinavian country.

@DrawsSword

If a person is that anaphylactic they would be on regular antihistamines anyway.

Lots of rats where I live, I appreciate the outdoor cats that keep the population down.

And 1000