To put spikes on my fence!

[IgnoranceNotOk]

Next door’s cat is driving us mad. It’s using our garden constantly as it’s toilet!

We’ve tried chasing it away, when we see it. And I’ve got a spray bottle of citronella and white vinegar I’ve been spraying around the garden (and would love to spray the cat!).

So I’ve seen little plastic strips of spikes you can put on the top of the fence (it’s our fence) and I was wondering what others think about putting them up? I know it’ll look horrible but hopefully it won’t be forever and will put the cat off and then it’ll get in the habit of going somewhere else.

AIBU?

Be careful with that because if a person injured themselves you would be liable. Cat spikes the plastic kind are well seen and possibly expected. Carpet gripper/nails etc are not and you could find yourself in some hot water.

Not my pet, not my problem.

@Terrrence but why should those of us who haven’t chosen to have pets have to clean up after other peoples choices? I don’t have dogs or cats as don’t want to pick up shit so don’t appreciate having it forced on me. Cats have owners; the other examples do not.

If you've got an engineer streak you could always make your own cat repellents. The whole video series is hilarious and none of his contraptions harm the cats😂
1

@SparkieTheSpaniel

I asked if it was your pet how would you feel?

if Sparkie is your Spaniel, how would you feel if someone put these spikes under lawn he walks on?

why are you so cruel? Bad childhood?

@Coincidentally no it's not, it's cruel. Cats will split their paws open on it, as will wild animals

cruelty is totally unnecessary. It's a sign of an unwell mind.

Chilli and curry powder

A similar one to this worked wonders for getting rid of the cats n my garden. The only issue was forgetting I had them and accidentally setting them off myself. In fact I think the cats learned to avoid them before I did 😅

Not that poster but I don't let my dogs walk on lawns either, it's rude and if they got a scratch on their foot they'd learn to stay on the pavement. It's not going to take the cats whole leg off ffs. Outdoor cats are much crueller. They maim fledgelings infront of frantic parents and kill baby rabbits that are already under stress from VHD and myxi and leave half dead animals crippled and ripped apart, why are you cruel enough to let your cat do that? If I let my dog do that to wildlife I'd be in the papers.

@rainymays
🙄🙄 walking on the edge of a lawn that bleeds into the pavement isn't 'walking on the lawn' & it's not rude.

an animal won't get 'a scratch' from a length of carpet gripper , if a cat jump up onto a fence top it'll get ripped paws. If it gets infected it could lose a leg, but I never said anything about losing a leg!

We're not talking about animal behaviour, we're talking about human behaviour!

Cats & dogs are different in law, as well as in reality.

I wouldn't have a pet that shits in other people's gardens, so that emotion would never arise.
Sparkie isn't my spaniel.
My childhood was wonderful in all aspects. Thanks for your concern though. Very touching.

@SparkieTheSpaniel

im sorry sparkle isn't your spaniel, spaniels are THE best.

im glad you had a good childhood

so where had your cruel streak come from?

why would you deliberately hurt cats?

Oh please, stop deflecting that you are a cruel human being that is fine with your pet slaughtering and inflicting suffering upon wildlife because it is protected by law. I would be cruel if I let my dogs loose on a herd of deer, cat owners are cruel to let their pets upon songbirds and rabbits. Outdoor cats are from a time when there were less cars, and the countryside wasn't being hammered by pesticide use and reducing bird numbers. Why would you deliberately let your cat savage wildlife?

And it is rude, dogs will cock their leg and mess the grass up if you let them walk on the edges of people's lawn. And yes, you did not say it would lose a leg. You acted like it would lose a leg. I'm sure tiddles getting a scratch from a carpet gripper isn't the end of the world.

Why do cats want to shit in my garden, or anyone else's for that matter?
Cruel? Nah, cruel would be poisoning or shooting them.
Neither of which I have any intention of doing.
I like cats, I'm quite happy for my mum's cat to curl up on my knee while I feed it treats.
But I wouldn't want it shitting in my garden.

Cruel? Nah, cruel would be poisoning or shooting them.

Cruel is also going to the extremes of purposely using something with the intent to potentially seriously injure living creatures, wildlife and cats.

Barbed wire, broken glass, metal spikes (in carpet trackers). Most people would not consider using these things in their gardens, and there's a lack of forethought and stupidity in using them.

Cruel is also going to the extremes of purposely using something with the intent to potentially seriously injure living creatures, wildlife

Like owning a cat?

Agree. They're all murdering fuckers.

@SparkieTheSpaniel

of course putting carpet gripper on top of a fence is cruel. Try jumping onto it with bare feet!

it's not a warning, like the tall plastic spikes are.

they'll just jump up & rip their paw pads.

I am assuming, maybe incorrectly, that cat problems are more of a city thing? More cats, less space? The thing is, they don't know that your lively green space is not open to all.

Everyone assumes their garden is theirs, and theirs alone. Well yes, you have paid for it, maintain it, and want to use it.

Live in a more rural space though, and your garden is more of a free for all. We have all manner of wildlife living, crossing and shitting in our garden. We have ticks to contend with. Lots of Lyme disease. The biggest decimators of birds are Sparrow Hawks and Magpies, not cats. Cats keep the mice and rats down, good!

I have a cat, and he roams, but he does also shit in my garden. I know because he joins me everytime I dig a bed over. I don't get other cats either because everyone has their own space, or Arthur keeps them away, and we are surrounded by cats. So giving them space is obviously the key.

Doesn’t matter whether people live rurally or in cities cats have owners and therefore should be responsible for them and their shit. Wild animals do not have owners therefore dealing with shit isn’t such a big deal, I resent having someone else’s pet choice forced on me. Cat owners also can’t have it both ways, they complain when people complain about them in others gardens but are then up in arms when they get ran over and the drivers are the devil incarnate why didn’t they stop etc

Bamboo skewers. Snap them smaller. The only way I could keep the fuckers from digging and shitting in my herb garden.

@rainymays

😂😂😂

That actually made me laugh out loud.

This whole thread is pathetic.

Owning a cat is cruel? You're talking about outdoor cars in inner city areas or rural? The owners who let their cats roam in these areas? Even then there are a few measures that can be taken to minimise the impact on birds (feeding, neutering, bells, limiting access to outdoors or cat proofing gardens etc etc) .

Agree they're all murdering fuckers

Not true. I have a Persian cat. She has caught mice by chasing them into a corner but never killed or hurt one. Her instinct has been to chase them, however.

They're bloody hard and sharp those spikes. My cat's paws got punctured in numerous places by one my neighbour put up on a communal wall that he had no right to! I ripped it off and chucked all of the pieces into his garden.

The vet bill was nearly £200!