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.

KnittedCardi · Today 17:31

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.

And rats...

Mine have never licked my salt lamps either despite the huge warnings on the boxes 😅 They also don’t try and eat my avocado tree either which I’ve read is also toxic.

They do love my other indoor plants though 😩

@QueenCamilla
Definitely report the cat colony to a cat rescue charity. The situation for humans and cats would improve if cats were neutered and microchipped.

Got plenty of those at work, even with to cats that hang around.

We really don't need cats to catch vermin.

DancefloorAcrobatics · Today 18:09

Got plenty of those at work, even with to cats that hang around.

We really don't need cats to catch vermin.

Don't you think we'd be even more overrun if cats weren't keeping the population down?!

We already have a plague of mice. At least 5 of our neighbours have had mice recently even though most of us have cats.
Our cats regularly catch rats and mice outdoors.

How does one cat proof their garden?

Rollers on the tops of fences , inward leaning wire or get a company to do it for you .

This was literally why the actual plague got out of control and killed as many as it did.

Moaning about cats is a bit like moaning about cyclists in my view.

Lets ban cyclists they ride on pavements (while ignoring all the drivers who park on pavements as well as driving badly and killing and injuring thousands every year)

Lets make cats stay indoors because they the foxes poo in my garden (while ignoring that dogs are ubiquitous and poo in a lot more places and also kill people on occasion and injure them on lots of occasions).

You can moan, but please keep a sense of proportion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-42690577

They think now it was largely spread by human fleas and body lice.

Definitely report the cat colony to a cat rescue charity. The situation for humans and cats would improve if cats were neutered and microchipped.

I second this though.

The photo is fox poo. Cats are classed as wild animals, so they roam. I’d love to know how you think owners can ‘cat proof’ their gardens. Do you mean so the cats can’t escape ?

You can install fencing that stops cats leaving your own garden- my brother has done his as he has one blind cat and one with 3 legs.

We can’t do that where we are as the gardens are wrap around with a private lane running through it (hard to explain, it’s old cottages in a non typical layout plus it’s conservation area).

The fencing is very good but expensive and only works with a traditional fenced in back garden layout.

My pet peeve currently is upset people on fb who's cats just been killed on the road cursing the car drivers. Not taking a shred of responsibility for letting the cat on the road. Bonus points to those who complain it's the forth cat they've had killed that way. Now, if you choose to let your cat roam, and if your cat happens to die on the road, the correct response is to think, okay. I chose to let them have freedom in return for the risk and it hasn't paid off. Maybe I made the wrong choice, maybe not. What you don't do is blame the poor sodding drivers who just has a horrid fright and now feel like shit because your unsupervised, uncontrolled pet just died under their wheels.

Clutching at straws....
I don't want your pet in my garden, same as you wouldn't like mine in yours!
(2 lovely dogs, one produces ginormous poos!)

Yours is an extreme case.

I don't think new chipping laws will help much. If a cat isn't chipped how do you suppose the owner would be held accountable? It's certainly not going to be a police matter, except perhaps it might be considered as a factor in extreme cases of neglect.

It must be really frustrating having a tiny yard stinking of cat shit. But the chances of "forcing"people to cat proof their gardens are zero. Perhaps you should cat proof your garden.

Yup fine with that (I'm a cat owner) as long as it becomes a legal requirement for dogs to be muzzled and on short leads at all times - because I find the barking annoying and don't like being harassed by dogs while out for a run.

And while we're at it curfews for children, bans on noisy motorbikes, volume limits on car stereos etc.

Alternatively we have to accept we share this country with 60 million other people (and their pets).

Lavenderosemary · Today 01:26

My pet peeve currently is upset people on fb who's cats just been killed on the road cursing the car drivers. Not taking a shred of responsibility for letting the cat on the road. Bonus points to those who complain it's the forth cat they've had killed that way. Now, if you choose to let your cat roam, and if your cat happens to die on the road, the correct response is to think, okay. I chose to let them have freedom in return for the risk and it hasn't paid off. Maybe I made the wrong choice, maybe not. What you don't do is blame the poor sodding drivers who just has a horrid fright and now feel like shit because your unsupervised, uncontrolled pet just died under their wheels.

I think cat owners are upset because the driver has just driven away leaving the cat for dead, in most cases.