AIBU to be annoyed neighbour put spikes on the fence?

[SunnyLuny]

We’ve lived in this house for nearly 5 years. At first neighbour was very welcoming and friendly. She’s an older lady (late 60s?) who lives on her own. She used to be lovely to our children. The past 3 years though shes just completely changed. She stopped talking to us, actively avoids us and blanks us. If we smile and say hello when we see her she looks down and pretends we aren’t speaking to her. It’s so bizarre. The only thing that has changed is we got a cat. He is an outdoor cat and admittedly probably does go into her garden.

Today she’s been hammering spikes into the fence! No warning or conversation. Infact whenever we go outside she runs into her greenhouse to hide until we go back in! I think this is so passive aggressive and I’m actually upset that she seems to think she can’t even approach us. We’ve always been friendly. She’s never spoken to us about the cat bothering her. I probably wouldn’t be bothered about the spikes if she had told us beforehand or said she had an issue with the cat. DP thinks I should go speak to her and just ask what’s going on but my parents think I should just ignore it. Aibu if I say something?

This!!

If you getting a cat wasn’t a street wide discussion then neither is her preventing your unilaterally decided cat from shitting in her garden.

I wouldn’t approach my neighbour about their outdoor cat either because I totally accept that cats do roam and that’s life, wouldn’t ask or expect them to be kept in, so instead I’ll just protect my own garden from becoming their toilet.

Rubbish, cats have a right to roam
OP who does the fence belong to? if it's you then you can remove it and give it back

She's tolerated your cats shit for years and you're annoyed?

Why would you not want to secure your garden from the start, to keep the cat safe and to stop it bothering other people?
Then the cat won't be at risk of being hit by vehicles, trapped, injured, poisoned, attacked by other roaming animals, lifted by some scummy human, etc.

Maybe she's had bad experiences with previous neighbours, maybe she has anxiety? PTSD?

Who knows but she hasn't been rude or aggressive just antisocial, she can put spikes up if she doesn't want a cat shitting in her garden.

Are these the plastic strips of spikes?
We've put these on our fence close to our drive as we are fed up with the pigeons crapping on our car.

I’ve spent so much money on humane cat deterrents as I’m bloody SICK of the neighbourhood cats crapping in my garden! It stinks and is a pain to pick up as it’s always sloppy!

I have tried cat pellets (didn’t work), citrus stuff, a motion activated water spray…nothing was working.

Finally found a motion activated noise thing. Seems to be working so far.

Cat proof your garden OP…your neighbour should not be inconvenienced by your cat’s shit!

Bonus is that if she has put spikes on the fence without your agreement, she’s claiming it as hers and is responsible for its repair and maintenance from now on. At least you’ll have saved that aggravation

I hardly most cats, kill lots of birds, what next birds eat worms

I would just ignore. Btw I have an outside cat but also a litter tray inside near the backdoor. She never goes to the toilet outside (I know this as if she is having fun in the garden she will run in to use the litter tray and then go out again.) maybe an option if this is what is upsetting her? I have found that often cats would prefer to go in a clean litter tray than go digging in the flowerbeds.

She’s clearly reached the end of her tether picking up your cat’s shit so she has decided to do something about it. You don’t like what she has done because now you have to face up to the fact that your pet is a massive inconvenience and probably very disliked by someone you thought liked you. You probably think yourself a good neighbour but no one who owns a cat and allows it to roam out of their property is a good neighbour!

Your cat will be shitting in her loving cared for plants and she's fuming.

But I think she should have mentioned it like a grown up instead of hiding in the greenhouse! All it would have entailed is her saying 'oh no, your new cat is pooping on my garden, is there anything we can do?'. Seems madness to fall out with a neighbour about it (even if the end point was a spiky fence anyway!).

Ahh, schroedingers cat.

They're a wild animal when they're shitting in my garden, but a pet or worse, like a member of the family when they're drinking my antifreeze.

Who owns the fence? It’s not likely to be a shared fence, someone owns it.

So it’s actually not bizarre- its a simply your cat that is causing her a nuisance in her own garden.

Mystery solved.😒

Is it your fence?

If it is she has no right to put the spikes there

Can they injure your cat (or other wildlife?)

@FixTheBone - wow you'd poison animals, what next, shoot children making noises or kicking a ball in your garden - lovely

Ffs! Yes, they do have a ‘right to roam’ but they never shit in their own garden…it’s always anywhere else BUT!

So…as garden owners with the ‘right to a shit free garden’, we can protect it by any humane means available.

Nobody is saying the cat has to stay inside…but if a cat owner isn’t adding a cat run to their own garden, then garden owners who don’t appreciate the shit can and will ensure that the cats don’t enter it.

Surely you can understand why we don’t want cat shit on our lawn?

You knowingly released an animal you knew would poo in her garden, despite her having been a lovely neighbour, and she's the one who's odd?

Did you discuss getting a cat with her beforehand? So why would she discuss the measures she's been forced to take to keep it out of her garden?

Im a cat person, I have always had cats but can understand why people don't want their poo in their flower beds (obviously) if that is the issue, maybe a litter tray would help op?

Yes that is weird. Some people just can’t handle conflict.

Although I do get it, we have at least 3 cats using our garden as a litter tray and it has absolutely done my head in. Off to research spikes…. (Joking, kind of)

I don't think there's much point in asking, as you know perfectly well what the problem is. She doesn't want your cat in her garden, but she knows that she can't force you to keep the cat indoors. I wouldn't have wanted to raise the issue, either.

You think she's jumped straight to adding spikes, but for all you know, this was the last resort. She may have tried all sorts of other things behind the fence that you never knew about. Personally, I wouldn't bother talking to a neighbour about their cat visiting my garden, because if it's an outside cat, they may apologise, but in the end they can't easily control where the cat goes. It's easier to just deploy deterrents on my own, if I'm bothered by the cat.

@BumbleBeegu - it's law.
Yes by all means use humane ways to keep cats out of the garden but if it's OPs fence the neighbour needs grow up and speak to them if it's causing an issue, you know, like a grown up.

The unwelcome cats in my garden do it on a little patch of gravel under our trampoline - and down the side of our house. Drives me insane :(

Were you courteous enough to have a conversation with her and let you know about the cat before you started letting him out? You’re expecting her to come and talk to you but it doesn’t sound like you reached out to her? If you’re letting a cat out to roam in other people’s gardens you should at least let the immediate neighbours know! I have cats, my garden is cat-proofed but I still let the neighbours know when I started letting them out in case one of them escaped the fencing and managed to get into a neighbours garden.

Is it your fence, Op?