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.

Yanbu. It amazes me that people get cats and have no intention of training them to poo in a litter tray in their own homes. I would feel awful knowing my pet was being a nuisance to other people.

@HadaVerde

I’ve trained my cat to only shit in the gardens of miserable cat haters.

😂 👏🏻

I don't understand how your garden can be full of cat shit. I live someone where there are loads of cats. And in the area of my last house there were loads of cats. I'm don't believe I have EVER seen cat shit in my garden. Obviously finding the odd buried poop is not surprising but your garden being full of cat shit I find hard to believe.

YANBU. Cat owners should cat proof their garden, as dog owners have to.

Ultrasonic cat scarer.

btw I find it socially unacceptable that in the UK dogs can run wild pretty much wherever they like off the lead (the on-lead notices are miniscule and not a single person in the country observes or enforces them), owners think it's totally ok for their ddog to run towards people and/or bark at them and there is absolutely no need whatsoever for them to recall them (if the ddog even has recall).
If the ddog is the countryside, times this horrible self-entitled behaviour by 1000, because after all the countryside has been made for dogs and designated just so their poorly-trained and excessively energetic dog can exercise off the lead.

Btw 'd'dog is actually demonic not darling.

I have an indoor cat and would like another but am starting to question pet ownership and think i'll keep to one. They just add to more consumption from food, litter, poo bags, toys, beds, medical care etc. Maybe people need to start reducing the amount of pets they have at anyone time.

@Thelnebriati

YANBU. Cat owners should cat proof their garden, as dog owners have to.

Dogs are 'dangerous domestic animals'

Cats are WILD animals

Might as well tell everyone to keep control of their Foxes and Bats.

I have indoor cats, but if they did venture outside I would give then strict instructions not to crap in anyone else's garden. They are usually good at obeying instructions.

I am not of the persuasion you cannot have a pet. I am of the persuasion you try you very best to clean up after it. But pets are good for some people

Dogs and cats can be the most marvellous thing for people.

Anyone seen the Eddie Izzard thing about cats ?

@ElectAClownLiveInACircus

Ultrasonic cat scarer.

btw I find it socially unacceptable that in the UK dogs can run wild pretty much wherever they like off the lead (the on-lead notices are miniscule and not a single person in the country observes or enforces them), owners think it's totally ok for their ddog to run towards people and/or bark at them and there is absolutely no need whatsoever for them to recall them (if the ddog even has recall).
If the ddog is the countryside, times this horrible self-entitled behaviour by 1000, because after all the countryside has been made for dogs and designated just so their poorly-trained and excessively energetic dog can exercise off the lead.

Btw 'd'dog is actually demonic not darling.

Except that’s nonsense isn’t it?

@HadaVerde

I’ve trained my cat to only shit in the gardens of miserable cat haters.

And what would you response be if I trained my dog to shit in your garden each day for you to pick up?

@HadaVerde

I’ve trained my cat to only shit in the gardens of miserable cat haters.

You must be my next door neighbour

@mam0918

Cats are wild animals - the majority are feral, stray or rural.

Even 'owned' domestic cats are classified semi-wild (or domesticated wild) in this country.

Do you expect pigeon owners to come to clean all the bird crap off your window every time a pigeon shits in case it's one of theirs?

Posters will be demanding pigeons are traced and dealt with! Some on mumsnet seriously WOULD expect it

[quote BeaucoupFish]@SickAndTiredAgain
I found a fox one the other day that had bird bones in it 🤮[/quote]
You looked? Close enough?🤢

@RavingAnnie

I don't understand how your garden can be full of cat shit. I live someone where there are loads of cats. And in the area of my last house there were loads of cats. I'm don't believe I have EVER seen cat shit in my garden. Obviously finding the odd buried poop is not surprising but your garden being full of cat shit I find hard to believe.

It's not

But it makes s nice aggy thread for a Sunday afternoon

I enclosed part of my garden cheaply and effectively for my cats. I don't want them crapping in neighbouring gardens. It's what makes people hate cats.

I think there is a campaign to make it law to stop if you run over a cat , same as for dogs.
I also don't want my cats causing accidents, I've seen that happen. I've had to swerve/ brake plenty of times to avoid cats and those owners never even know their pets nearly died that day.
Look up how many cats die on uk roads, it just doesn't seem right. Dog owners wouldn't let their pets die in these numbers.

Op I solved this problem, 6 foot fence around my garden with spiky bushes grown up the side and on top. Stops cats and cat burgelers and their owners annoying kids climbing over my fence. I have a lovely peaceful garden full of birds and no bloody cats. Takes a few years to grow though but worth it 😂😂😂

I think you’ve framed the question backwards OP. Pet dogs are the only animals which have specific rules about pooing in public. And it’s only the disposal of the poo which is controlled. For all other animals it is accepted that they can poo or wee wherever they are, and that if you are outdoors you might encounter animal poo / wee. Dog poo is the exception, so the question is really why is dog poo so different?

Dogs generally are more tightly controlled because they are far more dangerous to humans so regardless of whether they are pooing or weeing it is expected that in public the owners must accompany the dog and have it under control. When the laws around dog poo where brought in it was because dog poo presents a real hazard, particularly to children. And, as the owners are already expected to be present and in control of their dog, clearing up the poo isn’t a particularly difficult extra thing to do.

These things don’t apply to cats (or pet birds for that matter) because they aren’t really dangerous to humans so we don’t expect owners to accompany them outside. Cat poo can present a risk of toxoplasmosis to pregnant women or people with weakened immune systems, but it is very common in wild animal poo so controlling pet cat poo wouldn’t make a significant different to the risk.

We can’t just ban everything we find inconvenient. There needs to be a balance between giving people as much free choice as reasonably practicable whilst keeping everyone else safe.

@Thelnebriati

YANBU. Cat owners should cat proof their garden, as dog owners have to.

Dog owners do not have to do ANYTHING to their gardens!! What a bizarre thing to assume

Dog owners do not have to do ANYTHING to their gardens!! What a bizarre thing to assume

Indeed. They don't even need a garden, let alone a dog proof one.

@OatALot

I have an indoor cat and would like another but am starting to question pet ownership and think i'll keep to one. They just add to more consumption from food, litter, poo bags, toys, beds, medical care etc. Maybe people need to start reducing the amount of pets they have at anyone time.

So the shelters will be full instead?? Yeah....fab idea!

If they are here, on the planet, they will need looking after bu someone so nothing is reduced

@Alwayswonderedwhy

Yanbu. It amazes me that people get cats and have no intention of training them to poo in a litter tray in their own homes. I would feel awful knowing my pet was being a nuisance to other people.

They're usually the owners who lock their poor cats out all day, don't have vaccination / vet plans, don't bother with flea and worming treatments, and generally don't give a fuck in my experience, where I live.

We've now cat-proofed out garden, and the long faces from the neighbours to the (completely patioed) rear when their cats couldn't come in and shit any more was a sight to behold.

Another near neighbour had a moan on as well, being also of a patioed garden and a mindset that 'doesn't believe in vaccinations'.

Apparently the rear neighbours 'can't afford' a litter tray, or any of the necessary things listed above. Those cats are just accessories, thoughtless purchases a couple of Christmases ago. They are stuck out, bored, all day every day - I feel sorry for them but I don't want them shitting in my garden. No Thank You.

Oh good it's been a while since we had one of these.

Not RTFT but unfortunately op, cats are legally allowed to roam in the UK. There really is no way that cat owners with outdoor cats can be expected to keep track of every single location that their cat is crapping in. Just because they do it outdoors it doesn't mean they don't have litter trays inside too, that's an odd assumption.

We share the planet with numerous animals and wildlife. Many of them will be shitting in your garden too and there's really nobody that you can blame for that. It's just one of those things. It's unrealistic and cruel to expect all cats to be kept indoors indefinitely. The same rules of ownership don't apply to dogs so it's a pointless comparison.

But I'm sure all of this has already been said

@bestcattoyintheworld

I have cats and litter trays. I like the litter trays to be kept nice and clean so I send the cats next door to poop in the neighbour's garden

Brilliant!