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?

If you put sprinklers on in your garden that would deter the cats.

Hosepipe ban in some places now.

But stand guard with a supersoaker. Or get one of the kids to do so.

I understand your frustration however I cannot get my head around any parent or adult for that matter, teaching children to abuse animals which you are doing. That is just wrong on so many levels. You could also be prosecuted for cruelty to animals which I hope you are. The real lowlife are folk who abuse animals.

I had a six foot fence. All around it I had metal arms sticking out and a mesh overhang. Like this:

protectapet.com/products/protectapet-cat-fence-barrier-kit?variant=37756016820401

The Op hasn’t mentioned hedgehogs

You can get roller things to put on the tops of fences too.

I had a friend who lost too many cats to the road, so had them installed on the tops of her fences. Not had a cat wander off since.

If the cats are female and attracting toms, they haven't been spayed surely. Your neighbours must be complete idiots. (As are the other neighbours who haven't had their toms neutered.) I'd definitely talk to them about that. The yowling and caterwauling noises are bloody annoying too. They wake me up out of my sleep at times.

I’m pregnant, both of us working full time with two young children - so yes we do have a lot on our plate.

Some of those things are irritating though, and if you were regularly being disturbed by them (especially at unreasonable times) then you would also be within your rights to mention that.

Comparison 1: Neighbour has 1 annual BBQ they let you know in advance about, bit more noise later than usual on a Saturday night. You find cat poo in your garden once or twice a year. Sure, no biggie overall.

Comparison 2: Neighbours regularly blast loud music daily until 2am. Neighbours wake you daily too early each morning. You have to pick up cat poo daily in your garden.

I’m at the point of comparison 2 with the cat poo!

You are not unreasonable but your options are limited. Yes, it is unfair that someone’s pets are affecting your life so much but you can’t force your neighbours to cat proof their garden, you can only cat proof yours.
Also I would have a stern word with them reinforced by water pistol. It’s what I did myself when neighbour’s cat tried to get to our house. It worked but you need to be really unwelcoming.

To all of the people who keep on saying that 'cats have a right to roam': we technically have lots of rights that are nevertheless very antisocial.

We have the right to park on a stranger's drive, or to block in their (empty) drive so they can't park on it - all legal.

We have the right to use noisy power tools or play the bagpipes for many daylight hours a day, every single day, if we want to - all legal.

We have the right to submit 100 Freedom of Information requests to our local council every single day, which will probably bankrupt them and prevent them from doing much of their essential work - all legal.

We have the right to call 999 once every single hour, every single day, if we want to and genuinely believe/claim to believe that we have an emergency - all legal.

It isn't a get-out-of-jail free card if you technically have a right to do something - or to continually allow your pet to do something - that you know is a massive ongoing nuisance to other people. Living in a community brings responsibilities as well as rights.

Wish my cats would crap next door but Nooooo, they will wait all day and come inside cross legged to relieve themselves in the litter tray - they won't even use the cat flap we painstakingly put in for them!

Sorry OP but cats go where they like, you can try and make it hostile, but I doubt you'll succeed. My two LOVE dogs - love to tease them and scale a fence or tree just to take the piss! They also love playing "catch the water" from the hosepipe, so super soakers wouldn't deter them either.

The ONLY thing that might keep them out of your garden is if you get a cat. They can be very territorial and if you got a cat that left its scent around, neighbours cats might think twice.

Not foolproof though!

Buy netting online and attached it around a meter high above fence. More or less does the trick. Got sick of cat poo. It stinks

😂😂😂😂😂

I like dogs but they have killed children and adults so making sure they don’t have the right to roam, like cats, is sensible. A cat can’t kill or seriously maim anyone.

@SprayWhiteDung

They’re cats they don’t have a conscience, you can’t sit them down and tell them they’re BU. That’s why they’re legally protected to roam and rightly so

@SprayWhiteDung

They’re cats they don’t have a conscience, you can’t sit them down and tell them they’re BU. That’s why they’re legally protected to roam and rightly so

Pepper works, also garlic. Clear the poo and put the pepper/garlic on the same spot. These and a sprinkler or supersoaker should deter them from coming back into your garden.

Sorry, but that's ridiculous.

You also have a choice not to risk losing anything in a burglary, by not possessing a single thing and living in a completely empty house - presumably without any curtains or blinds, so that hard-working Burglar Bill can see that it isn't worth his valuable time.

You also have a choice to never risk anybody stealing your car, by not owning one in the first place - however essential one may be in your life.

People have a right to live and to use their homes reasonably and normally. How absurd to suggest that you should sit in a baking hot house in summer, with no windows open, just because somebody who lives nearby decided that their unmonitored pet should have more freedoms and rights to your own house than you do.

Any measures we will put in place to deter the cats will be thought through carefully to preserve the existing wildlife we have. We live near woodland so our garden does support a mix of songbirds etc. Due to how many times the cats are coming into our garden we are happy to use deterrents that they would find annoying such as a water spray, deterrent sprays etc. We wouldnt use anything that could cause any harm to the wildlife or the cats.

Obviously not. That's why the responsibility lies with the human owner who decided to get a cat and knowingly let it be a perpetual nuisance.

Exactly the same as, if I were the parent of a 4yo child and looked on fondly as they freely threw stones and smashed people's windows (or indeed threw them at neighbourhood cats), I couldn't just protest that they're far too young to know they're doing anything wrong, so absolutely nothing to do with me, guv.

You can’t train cats. A Japanese university did research into whether cats recognise their own name. It turns out they do recognise their own name but they just don’t care. A dog will have recall if trained properly which it should be if you are out walking off lead in public. A cat just can’t be fucked and will look at you. I even have a treat for my cat in my hand and she will look at me until I bring it to her 😂 as I get bored of the standoff!

You can stop a child doing something by removing the stones or moving them away. Cats just bugger off and you can’t catch them unless you don’t value your arm.

No suggestions but sympathy OP.
Cats wandering into my home belonging to the neighbour would not be welcome at all.
I would find it very annoying.

Cats often kill birds so consider that. Honestly cheapish netting/ battens round the fence - screw them in. Not damaging any wildlife. I tried a lot of other things before this worked. Spray/ other things less effective in my experience.