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.

Cats don't poo on concrete like that. That is fox shit!

All the crazy cat ladies will come at you OP but I agree.

They all want dogs on leads permanently or destroyed but don't care that their cats are roaming, shitting and killing wildlife everywhere.

I'd have all cats to be kept in gardens with catios or fence proofing so they can't shit anywhere except their own garden.

It's disgusting that we have to spend our own money to attempt to keep other people's pets out of our private gardens.

Could you set up a camera to see what's pooing there, OP? No idea how much those are, sorry if it's an expensive idea.

My cat will poo out in the open, but not on concrete.

Cats hide their toilet op, as someone said are you honestly sure they’re all cat poo? Our cat buries her poo (goes to where we have wood chipping an and covers it with wood chippings!) And it’s pretty difficult to cat proof anything- ours is mostly an indoor cat, we let her put after she goes to the toilet and she comes in, but I suspect that’s because she saw our other two cats knocked down by cars

Ignoring the question of whether or not that is cat poo.

1. you say some of them are feral, anything owners are required to do is not going to make any difference to a feral population of cats. Why don't you contact a rescue about trapping, neutering and rehoming the ferals.

2. if you believe cat proofing a garden is effective, why don't you just cat proof your garden to keep them out.

3. it's a garden. Animals will poo in it. You get rid of the cats you'll just have more bird poo

We had the same thing! It was foxes. They were living under a neighbours shed, they would go under and over all sorts of obstacles.

Cats bury their poo and usually need a sheltered hiding place to go.

I really would question if this is cat poo, looks nothing like it

What a horrible threatening post. Looks like fox poo to me and that really stinks.

That’s all very nice but it wouldn’t make any difference at all to all the fox crap in OPs garden.

Do you really think that opening my windows next to the path in the photo would smell like a fresh spring breeze?

There's also the Blue-bottles in summer.. 🤢

I don't hate cats! I had two house cats for 20 years. Would have another two but unfortunately had to return to the charity due to son's asthma.

Here's a beautiful picture of my Bobby 😊

I don't believe it's cats either it just fits your agenda.

I read this and thought hey what a cheek, I'm not a crazy cat lady, and then took a swig of tea from my mug and realised it says 'crazy cat lady' on it. So this is fair.

Just seen an advert for cat food in the middle of this thread 😆 I can understand your frustration OP but I don't think most cat owners will cat proof their gardens. I dont think you should have to, but in your circumstances I would cat proof /net off my entire garden so nothing could come in.

Nice photo, as you're a previous cat owner you should know that isn't cat poo.

Last house we were only house with not a cat/dog or both - so our gardens were used as litter tray in constant territory shifts- back one had 6 floor enclosed fences and frequently saw cat poo and not covering over on lawn. With toddlers it was an expensive nightmare.

Thing is I love cats - have indoor ones due to neighbour dogs and busy roads - and have a catio and are regularly played with for stimulation - but that's an unpopular even vilified choice on here.

If you have a colony being fed sounds like you to look for some kind of trap and release scheme.

https://www.cats.org.uk/maidstone/what-we-do/neutering-your-cat-and-why-its-so-important/trap-neuter-return-tnr

https://www.catchat.org/index.php/about-feral-cats

Or more local ones

https://www.heronbankrescue.co.uk/feral-cat-colonies/

Which with time could stop the problem expanding or continuing.

All the crazy cat ladies will come at you OP but I agree.
They all want dogs on leads permanently or destroyed but don't care that their cats are roaming, shitting and killing wildlife everywhere.

While I may be a crazy cat person, I've never advocated all dogs being on leads permanently or being destroyed, and I haven't seen any similar sentiments expressed in 'the litter tray' section of this site.

Animal Haters are a particularly unpleasant breed alone in my experience.

I’m with you OP .. unfortunately a majority of cat owners give zero fucks about what their cats get up to once they have left the house.
It “cruel” to keep them in, and it’s “natural” they they kill birds and spray all your garden. They have no interest in taking any responsibility at all, yet will be the first to moan when “Tiddles” comes a cropper.
They always try to blame foxes as well, which is Nonsense. I live in a terrace with an 8 foot wall - no foxes are climbing over these.
Cat owners think we all love cats as much as them .. we don’t .. get yourself house cats

This made me audibly laugh

When I say I saw cat poo - I could see cats doing it though kitchen window- but getting though two doors with a soaker with young kids hanging off didn't work.

Wilkos did a cheap power that worked - but your best if you have a outdoor tap is a cheap water scarecrow.

Regardless of whether or not that is cat poo, I do understand your sentiment.

I think that all pet owners should take more of a responsibility for their pets - microchipping, insurance, neutering if cats are roaming etc should be mandatory.
I do wonder what the ripple effect would be if cat owners had to ensure that their gardens were cat proof - wildlife/pests etc. I like cats, would quite like to own one, but already own a dog and don't want to risk them not getting on - but they are little pains in the arses when it comes to pooing in your garden. One took a chicken carcass out of my bin last night, so that was a fun clean up before the waste collectors came 😂

And the 'cat proof your garden so cats stay out' argument just proves what OP is saying...why would it come at a cost to her, and not the actual owner?

Next doors cat shits happily on concrete. Vile thing it is

I suggest you order some lion poo and put it around the boundaries of your garden. It's supposed to deter other wildlife from entering.

That doesn’t look like cat poo and cats usually poo in soil or in sandpits. We have foxes regularly come to our house. They poo on the driveway. They also jump just as high as our cats (I’ve actually watched them jump over a 6 foot fence with ease) and go wherever our cats go so tbh, I think you’re wrong to blame the cats unless you’ve seen them doing this with your own eyes.

You claim to be a cat lover but that's clearly a a picture of a fox.

It's always foxes.

You're probably a fox too.

I’d be tempted to catproof my garden to keep them out in your situation. My friend did it with fishing net cut to size wrap round wooden batons attach to batons to fence/ house. I’d also add a line of prickly stuff to the top of the fence. I do have two cats but live rurally my nearest neighbour is half a mile away. I do think people in urban areas should have some responsibility for their pets.

It's not cat poo. As has been said about a million times.