To Tell My Elderly neighbours about their cat shitting in garden.

[thesagarollson]

I will start off by saying I love cats before anyone bashes me as a cat hater .

I live next door to an elderly and frail couple who have always had cats but after their last one passed away I thought there were too old (80’s) to take on a new one.

I noticed a couple of weeks ago they seem to have a new one which also coincided with shit appearing on my front lawn. Every morning I pick up at least one 🤢.

I have CCTV and had a look just in case a fox but no it was their cat.

I have spent money on various deterrents but to date nothing works and tbh I really don’t want to spend more money to try and resolve it .

People have suggested throw water but it always shits at night ffs and we also now have our bins emptied every 3 weeks and the amount of flies and the smell is awful.

The wife is extremely frail and has just come out of hospital and has carers coming in so I really don’t want to give them more grief, but I chose not to have pets and it really pisses me off spending time , money and the smell especially in this heat.

As extra information I have always generally got on well with them but I need advice on how to approach this. Do I just accept it or try and discuss and tbh can they as cat owners really stop the cat?

Thanks

Do I just accept it or try and discuss and tbh can they as cat owners really stop the cat?

You have kinda answered your own question, unless they convert it to a housecat what can they realistically do?

Cats can't be controlled unfortunately so telling them won't do anything. I got one of those cat deterrent devices from amazon which has worked pretty well. It takes a couple of weeks to work but it does seem to stop them. It makes a noise that that don't like. It was making me so angry as well and the smell was horrendous as soon as I opened my front door every morning there would be a fresh turd or 5. The machine worked well and I'd recommend one.

They can't do anything. Pointless mentioning it. Accept that while it annoys you, the cat brings your elderly neighbours some joy and forget about it.

There's always shit on my property somewhere each morning, from the local cats, foxes and other wildlife. Just one of those things.

The worst was at my old house, my neighbour over the road used to let his labra-cunting-doodle roam and shit everywhere. That I used to pick up with a trowel and launch at his house xx

There is nothing a cat's "owner" can do to stop it shitting wherever it chooses. Cats are effectively wild animals who come back to the house where they know they will get fed, but you don't control them. Your garden is also going to be shat in by various birds, foxes and other wildlife and you have no more or less reason to object to those either. Do not speak to the neighbours about it.

Cats defecate on the edge of their territory so what you find on your lawn is only 50% from your neighbours cat and is 50% from a different cat who lives in the opposite direction. The best way to deter these cats is to get a cat of your own, then your back garden will be your own cat's territory and the borders will shift to someone else's garden.

What would you like them to do about it?

you can flush it down the loo if you don’t want it sitting in the bin

Tell the cat . It is just as ineffective as telling the owner and means you don't fall out with your neighbour.

The cat likes to annoy you, you must learn to submit to its will, it may then decide to move on. Otherwise, no, tough, that’s cats for you.

I like the idea of getting your own cat to be next door cat's arch nemesis. Potentially more cat shit though, obvs.

Why are you ok with cat shit but not dog? What's the major difference that means ones owner is ok to let it go on your lawn but the other is not.

OP YANBU but you can't post anything against cats on MN as they'll eat you alive for it.
They should keep their cat in as should all cat owners and no I don't believe millions of Americans and Australians are cruelly mistreating their cats by keeping them indoors they're just responsible owners willing to put effort into their animals.

Next doors cat poos in our garden. Tries me batty but I'd never dream of saying anything. What can they do? The cat seems to have kept the mice at bay in both houses at least.

They could keep it in at night and provide it with a litter tray. The OP says it mostly poos at night.

I am just about to tuck into dinner but I will come back to you to discuss the laws around animals and shit when I have finished eating.

There was a story in the paper yesterday about a man who had a cat repeatedly coming into his house and terrorising his 2 cats. He asked neighbours, no one knew who's it was. He (bizarrely) catnapped it one day and drove it 5 miles away and left it in a woods. Owner found out and took him to Court as it never came back. I'm not advising that obviously, but thought a solidarity post might help. It clearly happens a lot. Only advice I can give is to get a dog...

Could you get a tray of soil and put it in their garden? Ive never had cats that poop on grass but have always had earthy areas for our outdoor ones to use instead of the neighbours gardens.

I bought Pet Shield from Direct Retail Outlet. Been using it for about three weeks now and touch wood, not a single poo on the front or rear lawn

Just deal with it. It’s about 3 seconds out of your day and cat poo isn’t usually that unpleasant. The cat presumably gives them joy.

My friend had a cat that was a total escape artist and liked to poo on her neighbour’s conservatory roof. Now that was awkward.

Next doors cat kept shitting in our garden and it could t be scared away it then decided it owned our garden and would attack dd every time she tried to play , our other neighbours were having similar issues it had even gone into their house through a window and attacked their dc ! They told us they were going to use jeyes fluid on their patio and path and that we should do the same as it repels cats ? It was amazing the cat didn’t even shit in the garden anymore ! They must hate the smell

Just deal with it. It’s about 3 seconds out of your day and cat poo isn’t usually that unpleasant.

Yes it bloody is.
Why do cat owners always expect me to clean up my garden, without complaint, after their horrible pets?

Having a Jack Russell terrier has alleviated the catshit problem in my garden somewhat but I dislike the attitude of cat owners who maintain that cats are free to roam and defaecate where they like. In deference to your neighbours' age and frailty I would bag up the droppings and leave them tidily on their doorstep . They can then put them in their own bin.

Batshit

I thought you aren't supposed to flush animal poo down the loo? )in response to pp)

This is the third cat shit post in as many days

Odd

Just get a motion activated sprinkler. Don’t stress out your poor and sick elderly neighbours who probably got a cat for a tiny bit of joy and company in their small lives.

Complain continually to the council about the smelly bins.

I would chuck the poo over the fence to their garden for them to deal with but not much else

Yes, tell them. Elderly people do t need any more protection from the consequence of their choices than anyone else. I would chuck all the poo straight back onto their side of the garden. It needs to be their problem to clean up, not yours.