To not want neighbours cats in my garden?

[Rainbow3210]

Our neighbour has cats and they keep coming into our garden. They have also made their way into our house several times through the window and back door. I’m currently pregnant and have two young children. The children get upset when they come in as they don’t understand why they come and go (they want them to stay to play with). We have a lot of songbirds birds that sit in a bush in our garden and the cats are constantly trying to hunt the birds.

The cats are also doing the toilet in the garden which my husband has to clean with a hose. I believe it’s not entirely safe to clean up cat mess when pregnant.

I spoke to the neighbour and asked if they could stop the cats coming into my house and garden. They said there is nothing that can be done.

Is it unreasonable that this is bothering me?

Cats roam, and short of caging them in the garden there's little you can do. Yes, the poo is annoying, but it's just one of those things.

As for the kids wanting them to stay and play, I don't think it's a bad life lesson for them to learn that the cat isn't obliged to.

But a catio or a cat proofed garden doesn’t allow cats to roam. Naturally cats roam over a very large area. I appreciate many people won’t agree with me and believe their cats are perfectly happy living inside or getting a small patch of confined garden but that is not giving them what their nature requires, it’s just a slightly better cage.

Im afraid this is a problem for many sadly.Cats are cats and will do what they do.We have a dog(much better IMO) Annoying I know

Good luck with that. There are dozens of cats in my street, it's cat paradise as it's a quiet street with fields around. We have two cats and a dog and other cats coming into your garden is just part of life unless you live somewhere without a garden or are remote enough not to have neighbours.

I also really like birds and other wildlife in my garden and encourage them. There is no contradiction AFAIC.

https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/cat-repellents/article/cat-repellents-compared-aahw10k56Tc8

Not these cats. They have decided our patio is the street toilet which is a joy when you have young kids running outside in the summer. I reached breaking point when I found it up in my babies nursery and then it scratched all down my arm when I went to lift it out. I had to mention it to me neighbour as I would want someone to let me know if my pet was causing issues. I do like cats, but these ones seem to have no common sense.

My neighbour offered water pistols to us to stop their cat coming into our garden. We had the same problems. I suggest your husband starts actually spraying them, not next to them. We only had to do it a couple of times.

If it's not these particular cats it will be different cats, or other wildlife. It's what animals do.

You might as well ask your neighbours to keep the insects under control.

tell your partner to stop being kind and give the cat a good soaking.

cats are not wildlife.

There is plenty that can be done to prevent cats leaving your own garden, your neighbour is a rude selfish fucker. Cat proofing is a thing that should be made mandatory for all cat owners.

This is just urban life. If you don't like it get a better aim with the water pistol. We have about 10 cats that visit our garden and the occasional one gets in the house. If I see them bothering wildlife I chase them off. When I was pregnant DH scooped the poop or if he was away I was careful and washed my hands very well afterwards.

Insects are not the neighbours chosen pet, unlike the cat who the neighbour is responsible for.

Spray the cats with water, they hate that and its harmless.

I’d get a water pistol: you need to train them out of coming in.

My cat goes out, we did try to keep him in but he was going mental and kept running out/trying to climb out of windows. He doesn’t go far, and still uses his litter tray (unfortunately). The only thing he managed to catch was a rat!

we’ve had birds of prey pick off birds in our garden, they took the neighbours koi carp (they tried to blame cats eventually). There are always predators.

YANBU to not want someone else’s cats in your house/ garden and your neighbour is NBU to do nothing about it . Cats do not all bury their poo , most are lazy and just shit on the top and then scrape a bit and walk away effort made . If you want to keep cats out catproof your own garden , it will keep most cats out , in the same way as it keeps most cats in .

Cats aren’t wildlife though are they? They are a domesticated pet that hunts lots of wildlife for fun. It’s actually the fact that the cat is killing our garden birds that is bothering me, amongst several other things. There isn’t an easy fix but I shouldn’t have cats wondering about my kitchen worktops that I prepare food on. I do actually quite like cats, but it’s the fact I have no choice in the situation that is bothering me.

This thread won't go well for you sadly.

The cat culture in this cointry is absolutely crazy and completely unfair to people that give a shit about wildlife, give a shut about people other than themselves, and simply want to be left alone.

But sadly, the idea that cat owners should take responsibility for their pets is not a popular one and you won't win. They will absolutely point blank refuse to accept perfectly valid points and will eventually just start throwing insults af you about how cruel you are, with no logical argument to give back (literally none whatsoever, I've had this debate for years and I've never seen one)

You will feel like you are hanging your head against a brick wall until you eventually give in and accept that most people are just selfish and want a cute fluffy pet without having to take any responsibility for it whatsoever.

There are some nice normal people that sympathise with you though so please know you're not alone at least

The cat owner should get cat proof fencing or a Catio, but as you can see from these posts convincing people to be responsible for their cats is difficult.

I don't have cats, but it's hardly a case of not caring, cats roam so unless they lock them in the house, what do you expect them to do?

It's no different than any other than other animals that roam the garden, we live in the country and have foxes, badgers etc.

Not entirely. Dogs are kept on the property and generally don’t stray

We have lots of young birds in our garden. There is one cat who if dh sees it he throws a handful of gravel at it. Very rarely hits it but the noise scares it away. It doesn't often come now. I don't 't care if it's cruel, seeing a baby bird played with and mauled to death is cruel too whether it's natural or not.
I don't want it shitting on my plants either.

So they are defecating on your patio, not soil and burying it? What I was going to suggest might not work, then. A product called Silent Roar from garden centres which is actually dried lions' poo, and signals that this place belongs to a very big cat. Does work, also enriches the soil when it breaks down. What didn't was an electric sensor that made an inaudible to us noise when it sensed an interloper. Cat went right up to it.
Is the fence theirs or yours? If yours, put stuff they don't like on it. There's plastic spiky stuff for instance.

@Rainbow3210 I just want to say I fully sympathise and am really annoyed by this issue in my own home.
Just bought my first home, and I can't use my garden at the moment as it absolutely stinks.
The local cats have taken to pooing on my flat roof extension, so the smell as it bakes in the sun is revolting.

Nothing- essential oils, sonic noise boxes, specific plants or working to deter them.
My little boy ends up standing on buried poo and digging it up.

We have a similar problem. A cat got in our wheelie bin when the people cleaning it had left it open to dry. It was dark when I got home and I shut it without noticing. The cat was in there overnight and our neighbours went completely ballistic at me. It broke down our relationship completely.