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?

Postage stamp garden. I live in a 1500 ft terraced house but my garden is only big enough for a tiny shed, a small flower bed and a couple of chairs. No place for a catio and not even sure how I would install against the bi-fold doors. There about 10 cats on my street alone who are always out and about.

And if I COULDN'T POSSIBLY NOT GET A CAT (which, isn't a thing you can always just not get one on the first place)...

I would have factored that in in my house moves: lose the home office or the second loo or room size or central location in exchange for a catioable garden etc..

The ENTITLEMENT to animals, regardless of the set up you can or are willing to offer them, does not sell you as animal lovers AT ALL so the welfare hand wringing is just bollocks.

are dogs part of the ecosystem too? If not then why not?

then don't have a cat

And you couldn't possibly lose the shed and get creative. Or have reconsidered your pet choice in the first place.

Sounds like you would have ample set up for a catio if you were willing to sacrifice your seating area and shed and do a bit of work.

You just "can't" because you can't have a catio as well as your current doors, your shed, your flower beds and your seating area.

In other words, you don't want to.

Weak arguement

Why? There are 10 on my road. Why don’t I get to have one when my neighbours do?

When you have a bunch of cats that are ruining your garden and maybe affecting your health then they should considered vermin and treated as such.

A word to the wise is enough.

my mistake....I was presuming you had more commonsense than they did

There's terraces like you describe a block away from where I live

Maybe we are neighbours 👋

Maybe I'll leave my door open till your cat wanders in then decide to close it

Maybe I'm not the only person at the end of their tether with the increase in selfish pet ownership "BECAUSE WHY SHOULDNT I HAVE ONE TOOOOO".

So maybe that's why you might want to consider how much YOU are willing to sacrifice and adapt for YOUR OWN pet

How's that for a reason?

You're letting your "beloved" pets out into gardens where they are considered vermin

I do consider them vermin.

I'm not alone.

Your cat is at risk of being treated like vermin, but you still don't want to make the personal sacrifices and adjustments to keep your cats away from people like us.

Is that how much you luffs sir shnugs?

Why do you think cats have a right to roam? They are just someone else's property. In Freemantle they are require to be contained by law. It will be like that everywhere eventually. I remember when I was a kid, dogs were allowed to roam freely. No one would draem of allowing that now.

This thread is crazy. Must be the heatwave getting some of you a bit rattled.

I absolutely do not believe that cats should have a right to roam. Did you misunderstand me or post the wrong quote?

Yeah

We are

And your cats might be in the garden of such a lunatic right now.

Why would you want that?

That's not a garden, it's an ecological desert.

And you worry about cats destroying nature.

You need to relax a bit. Stop cleaning, clearing, watering, let the grass grow, leave some weeds, allow piles of leaves to build up. Welcome nature, and cats, into your life. You will feel better for it, and nature will thank you.

It's a strange conclusion to reach that 'cats need to roam - it's in their nature - so I can get one and let it do whatever it likes in my neighbourhood'.

Horses need to run around and exercise and eat a lot of grass - it's in their nature... but people who want horses first make sure that they have a suitable paddock or field for them to act natural in.

You can't just get a horse to keep in your tiny back garden, let it jump fences and freely roam around in everybody's garden, eating all their grass and pooing on their lawns (I know horse poo is good fertiliser and not as nasty as cat poo, but most people still would object to it appearing on their lawn) - then, when people quite understandably complain, tell them that it's just doing what horses naturally do and why do they hate horses?

The question shouldn't be "Why shouldn't cats be allowed to roam naturally?" But rather "Can I offer a suitable location for a cat to live in, without being a nuisance to others?"

Just like, if you're wanting to buy a garden shed, it's worthwhile stopping to think that, if you live in a 5th floor flat, maybe it isn't the right decision for you and your circumstances.

Even roaming livestock is managed and kept within broad confines and away from hazards.

Do you think of the new forest ponies were making their way onto the motorways or into the cities, the owners would go 🤷 what can you do?

Farmers know where their animals are even when they're "free" on the Highlands, they know what they're doing, how they are and where they're going

People are taking "right to roam" as an excuse to get a cat and be a dick about it

Perhaps our local safari park should allow the animals to roam freely? I can’t see any difference between this and allowing your cats to take over a neighbouring garden as their toilet.

Lots of animals roam freely. Foxes, birds, hedgehogs… are you suggesting they should be rounded up and caged?

Cats, as well as the measures that people resort to to DETER cats, are detrimental to that kind of wildlife

Not a harmonious part of it

Just another suggestion....if your neighbour's cats do sh!t in your garden, bag it up and fling it over the fence back into their garden.

When I was a child, our gardens were open plan. A neighbour used to let their dog out for a walk on it's own - and it always ended up using our front lawn as a toilet.

It stopped very quickly after my father scooped it up a few times and flung it back on their garden.

I feel your pain OP the last 2 houses I was in both had most of the neighbourhood cats using my garden as a toilet, one particularly nasty lot was of the runny variety which was not pleasant! I don’t have pets as I don’t want to deal with poo so don’t see why I should have to pick up after other peoples choices, I used to run out hissing like a mad woman every time till they got the message even if they were mid poo and no they didn’t bury it.

i now live in a village which is basically rows of houses either side of a busy main road and everyone here had the sense not to have cats as they wouldn’t last long, only cats I see are the 2 farm cats in the fields out the back.

I also don’t think they should have right to roam, either make them indoor cats or have the garden cat proofed so they can be kept contained to their owners property, if you think it looks ugly - don’t get a cat, garden not big enough-don’t get a cat it’s really that simple and I hope the laws change one day

Depends who you ask, I suppose. But at least I’m not rude.

I have lots of wildlife in my garden, but I’d rather not have cat poo. So if it’s a choice, especially with little kids around, I know which I’ll will pick.

Not all animals have a right to roam

But they're wild animals that's is fine and to be expected. We are talking about peopel who let their domestic pets wander about all over, crapping in neighbour's gardens. It isn't ok.

I've just had to stop and let a very frail looking cat walk slowly across the road. I didn't mind waiting but what on earth are the owners thinking letting a cat out in such a state. Felt sorry for it, bet it'll get knocked over it didn't seem to have any road sense and looked ancient.