AIBU - my neighbour's flower bed is my dog's toilet

[SevenWaystoLeave]

I routinely let my dog wander unsupervised around the neighbourhood and he's taken to going into my neighbour's garden, digging up their flower bed and taking a massive stinking dump there. It's his favourite spot to go. This has become a daily occurrence, but I can't stop him, he's an animal and needs his freedom, and I'm not going to clean up after him either because they can't technically prove it's my dog, and not someone else's free-roaming unsupervised dog.

...Yes this would be really fucking unreasonable wouldn't it and people would be quite rightly calling the authories on me and I'd get fined and a control order slapped on my dog. So why why why the ever living fuck is it considered okay and normal when cat owners do this?!? It's absolutely disgusting and I am so so sick of cleaning cat shit out my garden on a daily basis. AIBU?

@MajorCarolDanvers

Cats are not the same as dogs - as an animal person how can you not know something as simple as this.

Pet owners have a responsibility to keep their pets safe and to prevent them causing a nuisance. If you can't do this, you're irresponsible pet owner and an anti-social neighbour. This is extremely basic and obvious and with no other type of pet would it be considered okay. Cat owners aren't special or different, they're just entitled and irresponsible.

Totally agree OP

Because cats are more akin to wild animals and cannot be controlled in the way that dogs can. You will have to find cat repellent devices and substances to try and deter the cats from using your flower beds.

@yourestandingonmyneck

Well, i mean, dogs are allowed in pubs and on trains etc. cats aren't.

You may find cat shit in your garden. I'm forever stepping over dog shit on the pavement on my way to work.

You can't legally just knock a dog down and leave it for dead. You can with a cat.

Some dogs bark and make a hell of a racket wakening neighbours up in the early hours of the morning. Cats generally don't.

Some dogs maul young children to death. Cats don't.

They are just entirely different species of animals and behave accordingly 🤷‍♀️ I'm not sure trying to draw comparisons like that is a helpful way to think of it.

Completely agree. I love cats and dogs and I find cat haters particularly tedious.

My old cat loved to go outside exploring and would come and go as she pleased. It would seem cruel to have kept her inside whining just for your convenience. Cats and dogs are very different creatures and the same rules don't apply. How can you differentiate between cat poo or fox poo (or any other animal)?

I am fed up of dog owners allowing their precious dog coming up to me and jumping up with the phrase its ok they are friendly being yelled in my general direction.

See - dog owners can be irresponsible and entitled too.

Completely agree OP. Thankfully my neighbour has a cat hating dog which seems to have sorted the problem here.

Incidentally, never get the "yawn" comments. This is a chat forum for advice and support about people's current lives, not a wiki with historical information for new posters to read and then bugger off.

[quote wanttomarryamillionaire]@rosesarebluey protectapet.com/products/protectapet-cat-fence-barrier-kit?variant=37756016820401&gclid=Cj0KCQjwjN-SBhCkARIsACsrBz5BFd70D-4Bzq9jGxEmaW5wZ-Y831EUcIjlSHWyHLhFqEtob0Pk1G8aAvTWEALw_wcB[/quote]
So I should have to spend hundreds of pounds to keep other people's cats out of my garden?

This is so bizarre, I can't understand why some of you entitled cat owners can't see how unreasonable it is to expect other people to have to take all these measures to control your pet because you won't do it yourself. It's like owning a cat just switches off the part of your brain that understands reasonableness and responsibility and having a social conscience.

When my kids were little this happened a lot where they played in the garden. I used pepper or chilli flakes and it worked really well
Then we got a terrier and he sees them off!

Cats are disgusting filthy creatures. The link between cat poo and psychosis would be enough to make me take drastic action to keep them off my property.

Dog shit on pavements is a much bigger problem than cat poo buried in a garden. Don’t often hear of children getting killed by cats either.

Cats rule the world. Get over it

We have similar in my estate. Big German-shepherd-but-not looking dog lives in a house near open green area (imagine clumps of trees on a hill side with various mud/gravel type path routes around) maintained by the management company (bins, mowing of grass etc) and is let out to wander.

Occasional comments made on local groups about a dog spotted wandering and if anyone has lost one. Someone puts them right that the owners let it wander on its own. Long time residents have mentioned dog warden/RSPCA have been contacted several times and no action can be taken and that any comments made directly to the owners results in abuse.

Anyways the dog poos all over the area leaving turds on the paths. It is very frustrating. But some dog owners are very entitled to do as they please

@MapleMay11

Cats are disgusting filthy creatures. The link between cat poo and psychosis would be enough to make me take drastic action to keep them off my property.

They're still a damn sight cleaner than a dog which pisses up your door, your car, you - if you stand still long enough!

@pussycatunpickingcrossesagain

I am fed up of dog owners allowing their precious dog coming up to me and jumping up with the phrase its ok they are friendly being yelled in my general direction.

See - dog owners can be irresponsible and entitled too.

But they get penalities for it - fines, control orders, in serious cases they can even get prosecuted and their dog taken away . Local councils employ a dog warden whose entire job it is to deal with free-roaming dogs and nuisance dog behaviour. I'm not saying irresponsible dog owners don't exist and aren't a problem, but they are at least recognised to be a problem by the law and the community in general, and there are things that can be done if a dog is causing a problem. Cats can cause all the nuisance in the world, but nope, you just have to put up with it, and YABU if you even complain.

@SGChome20

Is this my husband posting? We're having similar issues and it is disgusting. I'm actually nervous about letting DD out in the garden. Cats won't do their business in their own garden either so the neighbours likely unaware. I don't know what the answer is though apart from to have them as house cats. I've looked for repellants but can't find any!

My cats do there business in my garden. They are unusual though. Put some cinnamon through earth as they dislike the smell and get a super soaker to spray at them. They will soon move and stop coming.

Completely different animals, so not comparable. We have far more problems with dogs off leads and dog poo around here than we do cat poo.
Most walks (even countryside) involve us dodging dog poo. The world is full of irresponsible dog owners. It’s off course not the dogs fault but the people who own them.

@MapleMay11

Cats are disgusting filthy creatures. The link between cat poo and psychosis would be enough to make me take drastic action to keep them off my property.

Disgusting filthy creatures because they shit? 😂😂😂 I’m sure you never poo

[quote worriedatthistime]@IncompleteSenten yet people say that can't be done and you proved it can[/quote]
Yup. It's easy to do.
You just need to provide a dedicated area and maintain it well. We were led by her. She chose my strawberry patch. 🤬 So now it's her loo. It's nicely private, we keep the soil well turned and clear it daily and she's happy as Larry.

@LampLighter414

We have similar in my estate. Big German-shepherd-but-not looking dog lives in a house near open green area (imagine clumps of trees on a hill side with various mud/gravel type path routes around) maintained by the management company (bins, mowing of grass etc) and is let out to wander.

Occasional comments made on local groups about a dog spotted wandering and if anyone has lost one. Someone puts them right that the owners let it wander on its own. Long time residents have mentioned dog warden/RSPCA have been contacted several times and no action can be taken and that any comments made directly to the owners results in abuse.

Anyways the dog poos all over the area leaving turds on the paths. It is very frustrating. But some dog owners are very entitled to do as they please

You can call the dog warden or the police in a situation like this, I'm not saying they're always perfect, but there's things that can be done. There is nothing that can be done if your neighbour's cat is trashing your garden and giving you toxoplasmosis, and according to entitled cat owners if you even mention this is a bit unreasonable and a double-standard, you're being an unreasonable bitch.

Cats are actually incredibly clean animals. Why do you think they don’t shit on their own doorstep

The wailing when the precious "free roaming" furball gets hit by a car though
Free to roam and shit on other people's property, free to wander into traffic. shrug

@SevenWaystoLeave Do you ever think about where your shit goes and the affect it has on those it has been forced onto.

I've trained both my cats to do their business in the litter trays, they come inside to use them and they are only let out into the garden when I am home then shut in at night.
Not a single one of my neighbours has every seen either of my cats go in their flower beds.
It is possible to manage your cats but it takes effort and perseverance.
Constant clean trays, reards etc. I don't want them going in my own flowerbeds, I have a lovely garden.

Which reminds me, I need to take down the missing cat poster that's been nailed to the fucking tree outside my house

YANBU at all. I am cat owner and I keep mine indoors. We have litter tray outside our window, so much cat sh*t. I wish I knew whose cats are they so I could pick up all the mess and leave it on dear neighbour's doormat with friendly note. My husband actually thought of peeing there, so testosterone might scare them, but I am not sure if this is going to work.

Disgusting filthy creatures because they shit? 😂😂😂
I’m sure you never poo hmm

The person you replied to might well poo, but what I'm sure they don't do is poo in the neighbour's backyard.