Spraying cat with water

[Skipinthegarden]

I live in a small terraced house. My new next door neighbours have a cat which they have recently allowed out to roam.

The cat is very friendly but keeps coming into my garden. It has dug around freshly planted bulbs and plants and poos in my garden daily.

I have grown lilies for a few years so there are many planted in my garden. I know these are toxic to cats.

AIBU to spray the cat with a hose every time I see it to break its habit of coming into my garden.

Does spraying with water even work? Any other suggestions? I bought some cat repellent from the garden centre and the cat messed in the lawn instead.

Have you tried a sonic repellent device?
My friend has one and says it works well.

I have done in the past and been successful but as this cat lives next door and we have small gardens I thought it may be unfair as it may upset it in its own space.

I think that’s totally reasonable, but I’d start with a decent spray bottle rather than a hose. Apart from anything else by the time you’ve faffed around with the hose, turning the water on etc, the cat will probably have wandered off. (I’m a cat owner and if my cats were in anyone’s gardens who didn’t want them I would hope they’d try this first, I’d even buy them a spray bottle!)
You might want to let the neighbour know your plans and make sure you say (first) about the lilies. I think you’re right about the sonic repellent too.

Whether it works or not I can’t say :( if you’re around a lot so can get it every time it comes in hopefully it will, but if you’re out at work then it will take a lot longer to reinforce (witnessed here in years of futile attempts to stop our cats scratching up the carpets )

More than reasonable, I hate cats in my garden and I hate owners that let them roam even more. Why should you have to put up with it damaging your property? Spray it every time until it gets the message. Its only water.

Yes spray it, and chuck any cat poo back next door. I hate people who just let their cats roam so they shit and dig up other peoples gardens.

I have a cat, if you didn't want him in your garden and you clapped at him or gave him a spray from a water bottle/a quick warning shot from a hose, I think that's all fair.

If you literally hosed him down, I'd be mightily annoyed.

If you told me he kept pooing in your garden , I'd come clean it up and offer to contribute some repellent.

If you flung cat poo into my garden, I would not be impressed.

There are degrees of behaviour!

I have a cat and wouldn't mind if someone sprayed her with water. Only water though.

I’d use water. I had to ask neighbours to not use a sonic device (well I asked if they could change the frequency, they couldn’t so took it out) as I could hear it. It made me being outside in the garden intolerable. I find them really antisocial things.

water works well though!

I think flinging YOUR cat's mess into YOUR garden is entirely reasonable actually.

Why should your neighbours have to deal with it? It is YOUR cat.

Cat owners who don't train their pets to toilet indoors in a litter tray are just as anti-social as dog-owners who don't pick up after their dogs.

Go to a toy shop and buy a giant water gun, ours was under a tenner. Keep it in a big bucket of water right next to your door so that it's always ready. It might take a couple of weeks but pussy will get the message eventually. Much easier than a hose

Cats don't tend to poo in the middle of a pavement though. I get that it's annoying if it's in your flowerbeds but at least they go and hide to do it on dirt/bury it. Can't say I've ever stepped in cat poo or had to clean it off my child's shoe on the way to school.

Use the ultrasonics. They have a motion detector so normally only turn on when something triggers them (the cat hopefully). So the cat won't be in it's own space and triggering the detector at the same time.

After a few weeks it should just learn to avoid the garden completely.

I get cat mess all over my back lawn. Can't let the grandchildren play out there without cleaning up first, which is a horrible job, especially when it comes from someone else's pet.

We're hoping the ultrasonic thing does the trick.

Round here the cats don't bury it and they crap on the roads and verges as well as lawns. There are two I see at it most days. Bloody disgusting for parents with children.

I’ve ordered a water pistol and will have that at the ready.

The cat is not yet confident when trying to jump into the garden or nimble when climbing out so if it’s out there I will be able to spray it.

The car owner has decking and children so I don’t want to just chuck the poo back to them, I drop it over the back fence onto a grass verge.

Cats will poo in the garden where there isn't a resident cat - it's a territorial thing which is why they don't bury their poo (they will bury it in their own garden).

Have you tried the Silent Roar brand of fertiliser? It's pellets which have been soaked in actual lion pee - little cats think a very big cat lives in your garden so will avoid! (Apparently also deters foxes who are well known to poo on lawns and do not bury it because its a territory marker.)

My cat does use an indoor litter tray. They don't need to be trained in the same way dogs do.

Note that I said I would happily clean any poo in a neighbours garden and help them to tackle the issue. No one needs to be throwing shit.

Do whatever you need to. NO OTHER DOMESTIC ANIMAL/PET would be allowed to roam into others' gardens and shit everywhere.

I was about to suggest the water pistol - works much better (I use it for one cat that's been bullying mine)