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?

I’m a dog owner and a cat granny - IMO people should only be allowed cats if they have cat proofed their garden so that the cat can go no further . This would also be beneficial for the numerous cats that get killed on the roads every year .

YANBU

We used to have free roaming cats many years ago. I am rather ashamed really to think back on it. We never, ever had cat shit in our own garden and I think they were routinely using our neighbour's garden instead. The neighbours were always a little frosty with us and with the benefit of hindsight I think this is why, and I can't blame them tbh.

We now have an indoor only cat, for the sake of both our neighbours' flowerbeds and the local wildlife. I know some people disagree with keeping cats indoors, and that is absolutely their prerogative. But if that is the case then you shouldn't have a cat, unless you genuinely live very remotely.

To me its a bit like smoking in public. Everyone used to blather on about how it was their right to smoke in pubs etc but looking back on it now the generally consensus is that cigarette smoke is a vile thing to inflict on someone else. Same with cat shit.

@Pissyduck

Some cats are a pain the ass and will shit in flower beds and generally be a pest.

Just like some dog owners let their dogs shit all over pavements, cause a noise nuisciance, run off lead in unnapropriate places and attack people/children etc.

If you wanted a ban on cat owners letting their cats leave their own gardens, then you'd also have the ban people walking dogs on the street (in case they leave the shit there) or letting them outside at all incase they cause anti social noise.

Point rushing over your head here. I'm not saying dog owners are never irresponsible but the point is this is recognised to be a problem, dog owners can be fined, asbo'd or even prosecuted if they don't clean up after or control their pet, and no one would ever argue it's reasonable to let your dog be a danger or a nuisance. None of this applies to cat owners, who can do all of this with impunity and then claim it's the neighbours who are being unreasonable for not loving cleaning up their pet's shit.

Cats absolutely can be controlled - owners need to cat proof their properties or keep them indoors.

I have severe anaphylaxis to cats - our neighbours have now cat proofed their property but only after the little fucker put me in intensive care for the second time.

Protectapet works wonders - yet cat owners (well many) won't spend money on securing their property in the ways that dog owners are expected to.

Not only is the shit an issue - lots of cats get hit by cars - totally unacceptable to allow that to happen as well.

If it smells so much you’ll be able to locate it easily, so get a scoop and move on with your life. You’re unlikely to change the legal position and you’d have to spend a lot more time and energy trying to deter the cat. Choose your battles in life.

I would let the dog out as I agree that’s not fair. Cats are typically much faster than dogs so it’s unlikely he will kill a cat.

Fwiw I have indoor cats and I think that’s the best and safest option

@gingerscot

People who allow pet cats out to roam are anti social and entitled. It’s is disgusting to have to clear the shit up from a “pet” I didn’t choose. If a cat wanders into my garden, it can take its chances. It might have a right to roam, I have a right to a cat shit free garden.

Keep your goddam cats inside or don’t have one.

NO!!

OP dogs and cats are not the same, as you well know.

This is such a silly thing to moan about.

We have fox/badger poo in our garden. There may well be cat poo around somewhere too - who knows, I don't wander all over my garden trying to find excrement. My car gets bird poo on it which is a pain to get off.

If it's a 4kg dog and it buries it then I'd be a lot less annoyed than if it's a 40kg dog and goes on the path outside of my house for me to step in.

People who allow pet cats out to roam are anti social and entitled. It’s is disgusting to have to clear the shit up from a “pet” I didn’t choose

Oooh can I say this about the way my quality of life is negatively affected by other peoples' decisions to have dogs then?

I don't have pets but I can categorically say that dogs are far more of a nuisance than cats will ever be.

I think the OP must be having a bad day. Have a cuppa and give your dog a snuggle. You’re being very aggressive and OTT.

cat owners (well many) won't spend money on securing their property in the ways that dog owners are expected to

are they? Where I am you can't secure your garden anyway because of the badgers, there has to be a way through.

Motion sensor sprinkler done the job for us. Bonus points if you have a ring camera and get the watch the goings on in the morning. 👍🏻

What a ridiculous thing to say! Cats are hunters, that's what they do, they have a high prey drive. You can make any alterations you like to a garden but a cat will always find a way out. If the cat is an outdoor one, It's impossible to control where they poo.

This is such a ridiculous argument. Cats aren't unique in liking to wander and having a prey drive, so do dogs. But as dog owners we're required by law to control them, and if we don't, we face penalities and would quite rightly be recognised as anti-social and irresponsible. Dogs can escape gardens too, but as a dog owner it's my responsibility to make the fences escape-proof, no one would expect my neighbour to have to pay to modify their own fences to keep my dog out. But there's people on this thread suggesting I spend £500 for a cat-proof fence to control my neighbours' pet, and apparently I'm the unreasonable one!

And no, it isn't "impossible" to control where they poo, you just won't take responsibility for it by actually controlling and supervising them.

My cat shits in next doors garden.
Their dog wakes the whole street up when they let it out yapping at 7am.

Swings and roundabouts.

(and it's also in your interests to leave a gap because the badgers just hammer a hole in the fence if you don't - so both cats and small dogs can get through if they're so minded)

@yellowsuninthesky yep - dogs aren't allowed to roam and must be under the owner's control. That means secure gardens when they are outside.

1. Instead of bitching on here try getting the law changed if you feel that strongly. It is legal for cats to roam, its not legal for dogs.

1. Arevyou 100% certain it is cats pooing in your garden? Not a neighbours dog or even a fox? They can jump fences etc.

as dog owners we're required by law to control them

yes, that's because dogs can kill people. You don't tend to hear stories about cats jumping up and killing a toddler or attacking them in the park.

Automated sprinklers may work? Or orange peel?

@MotherOfDragon20

Motion sensor sprinkler done the job for us. Bonus points if you have a ring camera and get the watch the goings on in the morning. 👍🏻

So again, I'm the one who should have to spend a fortune, and make my garden less usable for myself, my family, and my pets in the process.

Any cat owner who can't see how unreasonable that is needs to give their head a wobble.

NRTFT but these worked for us (took a little while and you may have to tweek the settings).
www.amazon.co.uk/PestBye-Ultrasonic-Operated-Activated-Repellent/dp/B00FXSU2WK/ref=sr_1_5?crid=CR3AS8W5EU1D&keywords=pestbye+cat+repellent&sprefix=pestb%2Caps%2C102&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1649941431&sr=8-5
You can put an upturned bucket over them when dogs/kids are out so it doesn't affect them. Also, your dog is unlikely to catch a cat, so just let it out when it suits you - will also deter cats.

YABU for the twee reverse.

I don’t have any pets but dog owners are more annoying than cat owners.

OP, you are making a drama about your use of the garden when you could simply wear gloves and also cat poo won’t kill your flowers. If you leave your dog in the garden, cats won’t come in so no need to worry about dead cats.

I’m sick of seeing dog shit around my town, I don’t see cats shitting in the street.

Chilli flakes keep my cats off my raised beds, so they usually go in the woodchips and leaf litter under shrubs. They don't harm pets, they smell them and keep away.

Zzzzzz another cat hating thread. So boring.

I haven't read the full thread as they're all the same but op your comparison of dogs and cats is irrelevant and frankly quite dense. Two completely different animals with different laws suited to them.

There are many many cheap, effective and natural ways to deter cats from defecting on your flower beds. Why not spend your time looking them up instead of bitching about it on MN? Cats have a right to exist as do we all.

@yellowsuninthesky are you so insensitive when you didn't read my post that said I've nearly died (twice) because of our neighbours cat??

Cats can also be fatal to people - and actually their bites and scratches are far worse than dog bites for infection risk.