That cat-proofing should become a legal requirement?

[QueenCamilla]

As of June 2024 all pet cats will have to be microchipped by law or risk owners a £500 fine. It's a good start in the right direction, as it would allow the fed-up neighbours to identify the breeders of cat colonies and feeders of the feral populations. If chip-less I'd hope to be assumed owner-less and removed from living on the local streets.

I live in a run of back-to-back garden Victorian terraces and the problems with owned but roaming, feral and also intact cats of all sorts, are driving me mad.
I don't encounter as many dog shits in the streets as I do cat feces in my own garden (and that's just the paths and the patio).
I have spent near on £100 on deterrents. I'll spend another £100 in the summer on motion sprinklers. I'm building a new fence between the worst offending neighbour (who feeds all the neighbourhood cats in his garden and draws dozens of them to visit) at my expense, solely because of the problem with pests and their fouling. I bet the neighbour will try to put a ramp or something against the fence to enable "his" cats to roam.

Meanwhile, I can't take the bins out without clearing the turds and washing the paths first. I can't have builders round, without being out there at the crack of dawn looking for cat poos, so they don't get trod in (again).
I can't open a window downstairs or patio doors without smell of feces wafting in.
No garden or drainage improvements can be done without considering the cat problem first. I dig a trench for pipes and they shit in it. Gravel? That's just a giant litter box. I collect bramble branches to scatter them into flower beds and still a cat curled one out right next to the spikes. I have laid an ugly plastic grid as a walk-way over my lawn as it's impossible to not step into one otherwise.

I'm appalled that someone else's choice of pet is allowed to have such a detrimental effect on my finances and my enjoyment of my property.
Some cat owners dare to call these threads "boring". I'd rather call them a warning! I am growing increasingly angry at the situation and it won't be boring at all if I snap.

Would I be unreasonable to think that with the microchip requirement coming in, it would be a good time to force cat owners to spend money on their own pets and cat-proof their gardens?

I'm sure I could deal with an odd escapee (scan and return), but I'm losing the patience with the situation as it stands.

Not a problem for a fox. I've seen them climb the 7ft fence into my neighbour's garden.

Cats generally cover their poo, so I can understand them using the gravel.

Having said that, I think you have a fox problem.

If you want to keep cats away get a couple of water bottle and half fill them with water - put them in the garden.

Cat poo is not an issue here. Dog shit fucking everywhere though and they are doing that right in front of their owners.

Foxes climb the industrial fences at DHs work, I doubt a domestic fence would stop them.

@AlltheFs
If you opt to live in a densely populated area it is what you get.

Well yeah, hence the thread. That the current laws are outdated and do not take into consideration the ever growing population of cats in the UK. Cat charities themselves call it a "cat population crisis". They also mention urban areas and that the problems (and the related hostilities) are escalating.

What I'm witnessing, is not a pleasant thing for anyone involved and starting to keep cats contained could alleviate many future problems.

If cat owners don't care about ugly viruses finishing off their pets (and yeah, let's hope nothing crosses into humans) then that's their perogative.

I'm sure I'll manage to keep all the cats out with my new fences and the sprinklers. However, it still will be a horrible world for them out there. Out of sight, out of mind I suppose... 🤷

They don't need to be stopped. We don't have foxes here - they are extremely rare to be seen. There are statistics to back it up. I'm in the middle of a city in the North of England that doesn't have a fox population like elsewhere.
I used to live in the South East, where foxes would abound after dark. I used to see them all the time. However, my house there, with an easier access than the current one, had none of this poop problem. Because it's the local massive cat population at work here, not the three foxes of my city all coming to shit up my mid-terraced garden daily.

I have two cats - inherited from someone leaving the country. I agree that cats should be chipped and I think in the future we should have fewer non vegetarian pets. I certainly think that's going to be my choice going forward. Dog and cat faeces are dirty and impact on both the environment and on people who don't get any of the benefits of pet companionship. It's a cost to society.

Cat poo is not an issue here. Dog shit fucking everywhere though and they are doing that right in front of their owners

Maybe we should just chuck the cat shit back over the fence for their owners to pick up.

Sounds like a rather unusual problem. I suggest you speak to your neighbour and / or the local council as this problem is not as widespread as you may think.

You do know that foxes are nocturnal, right?

Not around here they aren't. See them in broad day trotting down the road, and in breeding season the kits playing out {Brother got some beautiful pics of them }- one even entered our house when I was cooking chicken breasts for the dog...enticed in by the smell.

It might not be a widespread problem.... Yet.
But with 10 million owned cats (the microchipping law will help to put a more precise number on it), 150 000 of cats passing through rehoming charities annually (and the number is growing) and hundreds of thousands of unowned cats in urban areas of the UK, it might become a bigger problem soon.

It's also already a significant problem in densely populated and deprived areas that can have a feral cat population 10 times greater than the average.

If that doesn't sound like breeding grounds for a new indiscriminate virus, then I don't know what does! The avian flu has already crossed bird-to-cat in Poland, and it's dangerous to humans. With a cat-to-cat transmission it would be an absolute disaster. It would change this country (and the cat ownership) overnight. Then there's the mutating feline coronavirus in Cyprus...

I don't think contain-neuter-insure is asking for much (unreasonable in the views of most though) , I've already done so with every cat I've ever owned. But we shall see. The regret won't be on me in any case.

Op I'm in a city in the North of England. A very naice city actually. We are surrounded by foxes and I most recently saw one crossing a terraced street at 10.30 am. Must have popped out for a bagel.
You have a fox problem (amongst some others I think)

It should really, Australia has a curfew. Its not just whinging neighbours its wildlife. My two bring in a ton of mice and birds last year. They are trained to use the litter box inside and my neighbours say they never crap in their gardens but I do not want to see any more baby birds so they are getting cat proofed in shortly.

I agree, purely because it keeps cats safe.

My issue is with your comment:

I am growing increasingly angry at the situation and it won't be boring at all if I snap.

What exactly are you planning on doing when you 'snap', because that's quite a disturbing turn of phrase & if I found out someone harmed an animal, wild or domesticated, they would absolutely be getting reported to the police & their name shared in animal welfare groups.

I would stop keeping the cats safe from my legal activities on my own property that I've spent 3k to keep them away from. I'll live my life with no consideration for others, just like the cat owners do.

I'll also start flinging the cat poo back over the fences, particularly if nice and diseased. I've already done so actually. Has probably not been discovered or neighbours have decided not to pull me up on it. Clever people.

I'm out of patience, if that's not clear.
I'd love to see someone reporting me for flower-beds of Lillies in my own garden!
They were the favourite of my Grandma and my Grandma was the best human in my life. Lovely memories.

Isn't that because cats are not a native Australian species?

@whenemmafallsinlove

Why foxes, when it could be camera-dodging Unicorns, the neighbour himself or flying pigs.
My bet is on the pigs as that would avoid detection for sure. And the cats are just attending en masse every night to watch the spectacle. We've cracked it.

I've had one passing fox on camera in two years here, at the front of the house, before I had the railings and the silly thing didn't even stop for a shit. What a disappointment.

OP we all understand that it's a bloody disgusting and frustrating situation.

However, you keep going between blaming the owners when from what you are saying, the problem is actually your neighbour putting out food that attracts cats, including from what you describe are many strays.

You don't want to report him until new legislation comes in which is highly unlikely to change the situation. Yes you can trap the cats and if they're chipped they may return to their owners, but what if they are local cats? That won't solve the problem?

The legislation isn't going to stop him putting out food and attracting lots of cats.

I did previously mention reporting him to environmental health as if rats are also becoming a problem, it's more likely that they'll be able to give a warning and then take further action. Probably more effective solution instead of waiting for a law that won't make any difference to your situation.

I also live in a condensed area with lots of cats, as far as I know no one in the area has a problem like this (dog poo on paths is a different story), bar the odd occasional poop. But also, there isn't anyone leaving out food.

@2boyzNosleep
At the moment, if I trap a cat, I have to try and prove it's status by trying to identify owners. The rescues would also not take a cat in reasonable condition, as it can be assumed to have a home.

With the micro-chipping law, no chip=no owner (or a fine). It would be easy to ascertain the number of unowned cats in my vicinity and the size of the feral colony. With an extensive problem, they would be removed.

It seems the right way to go about it for me.
Also, the diseased cats could be traced to their owners and there is a law against keeping cats in bad health condition.

My 2 cats come in and use their litter trays. I scoop at least 2 poos a day from their trays.
It is foxes that poo anywhere. Cats don't usually do it on concrete.

Agree

Someone mentioned lillies. We grow lillies and have 2 cats, never in the years we have been growing them have they decided to lick or eat them 😁

QueenCamilla · Today 10:34

However, if anyone’s cat is harmed on your property due to any of those things you can be taken to court and prosecuted by the owner. Just what the law states.
You are wrong with that statement. Very silly, in fact. All that is needed, is a "lawful excuse" for the property owners actions, and the last time I checked, growing Lillies was not against the law.

Would you really stoop as low as to poison cats? That's pure evil.

It's cat poo that was out in two nights of heavy rain. All lovely colours inside, ranging from brown to yellow. Not sure of the taste 😂

You do realize if we cage up all the cats, we would have a plague of mice. Depends on you what you prefer I suppose. Cat poo, or mice infestation.

I would just use the ultrasonics. Hide them. Disguise them.

If the neighbours complain, just tell them its not you and you can't hear anything.

Wire them into the mains and a net plug. Get them to come on randomly so sometimes off at night and then on for a few hours. The cats won't know whether they are activated or not and will just learn to avoid the area.