Neighbour put up sharp plastic spike strips on her fence to stop cats climbing over

[dottycat123]

My ndn has historically been a challenge to live in harmony with. I have two cats who frequently climb the dividing fence (her fence) and go into her garden. They clearly see this as an extension of our garden. Other neighbourhood cats also move through all the gardens.
The ndn has nailed strips of sharp plastic spikes along the fence, the spikes are sharp enough to draw blood if I push my hand down on them. One cat was limping last night. I am so angry that she would want to try to hurt any animal , there are two stray Tom's who live in the area which wouldn't be able to see a vet easily if injured. Is there anything I can do? For context she is a lady who lives alone, no partner/ children and generally intolerant of normal neighbourhood activity.

I'm with your neighbour. Your cat won't make the same mistake again.

The cats will be pooing all over her garden, not yours, which is why she's done this. I imagine (hope) the cats will very quickly learn not to go there, without being hurt.

God yes, bloody cats shitting in my garden. I'd put it up, too. Sorry, I know that's not what you wanted to hear.

My friends neighbour put wooden gripper rods all over her/ his fence... Cats quickly learned to dodge the spikes. . Just pissed the neighbour off all the more. .
Unfortunately you are powerless so just ignore. .
Dcats will have the last laugh. .
9 lives and all that!!

Good on your neighbour.
Cat shit is horrible. If you don't like it keep them in and use a litter tray. Then you get to clean up after your cats and not someone else.

Is the same ndn that slung a cat back over the fence? Another post that's been removed now.

I've considered those strips - so fed up of having to pick up cat shit from our grass and beds every single day before I can let my kids play in their own garden - and the couple of times I've missed one and they've come in covered in it. And yes it is cats crapping on the grass as I've seen them do it! Two main offenders

I've got a water pistol instead and got an ultrasound thingy. Hoping that works!

I'd never want to see an animal hurt but cats really are antisocial pets. I don't have a pet of my own, I certainly don't want to clean up the shit of other peoples pets

I hate dealing with cat poo. I really don't want cats in my garden at all. I'm allergic to cats, so could never have one as a pet. Why should I tolerate my garden being used as a cat toilet? In fact, I think I might invest in some spikes for my fences...

I don't doubt that the cats shit in the garden at times but they also use mine and a litter tray! Just hope they learn before sustaining an Injury. Luckily my dc are older now as they would easily cut a child who put their hands on them.

Oh that's OK then.

If your animals shit in your garden too Can you ask her where she got it from?

Not sure what her marital/family status has to do with it?

She's being reasonable imho. I don't think there's a thing you can do.

Make a couple of cat latrines in your own garden. Pick a quiet spot near the back of a flowerbed if possible and dig a hole 30x30x30cm and fill in with gravel and then deep sand. One per cat ideally. If your cats use that they might be safer.

Cats are clever; they'll learn fast. Yes, but they are your cats... she hasn't chosen to have cats.

I'm a bit surprised that you think that her garden is fair game for your pets. I'm not sure why you think that she should be happy about animals soiling her property when she hasn't chosen to keep any.

You should have dealt with this yourself long ago.

I'm a cat owner and an quite precious about my cat but don't see a problem with this. Your neighbours are entitled to deter cats and the cats will soon learn not to climb the fence or more likely how to get over the spikes without stepping on them. Not everyone loves cats and the plastic spikes are designed to be uncomfortable rather than dangerous to the cats. One of the risks you take when you let cats roam free is that other people's property may not be cat friendly. There may be things that could injure them or poison them. Slug pellets, lilies, rat poison, sharp things, aggressive dogs etc.

My cat stays on my own property btw. She mainly lives inside and goes out in the garden on a leash.

I'm with your ndn. So many plants pulled up as they use the vegetable patch as a toilet. Not to mention the dead birds (lapwing, wood cock, raven chick, moor hen) voles, field mice, adders. Anti vandal paint works well if you have a wall.

And...?

I don't suppose your NDN particularly wanted to go to the expense and effort of installing the strips, or enjoys looking at them, but felt driven to it after having to deal with YOUR pet's shit.

Why is the context relevant?

My DS got covered in cat shit playing in our garden - even had it on his face after wiping his tears away when he fell over, not realising he'd fallen in our NDN's cat's shit under our swing. Same cat killed the baby fledgling blue tits from the nest box we'd put up and had enjoyed watching being fed by the parent birds. I'm with your NDN on this one and think fence-top spikes are quite restrained. We're cultivating brambles...

Some friends of mine cat-proofed their garden so that a) no unwise tabby would get mugged by their two field-bred dogs and b) (the main reason, this, since cats are good at dodging dogs) to give the bird life a chance.

I have a cat, and I would quite understand if my neighbours wanted to keep him out of their gardens.

Meh.

Cat shit in the garden doesn't bother me, but many people hate it.

Cant really see a problem here.

Yabu. I can see the appeal of owning a cat but they are such an antisocial pet to have - they shit all over other people's gardens and decimate the local wildlife. Keep the cat inside or ensure she stays in your garden if your worried about it getting hurt.

If I had a small cat sized dog that I allowed to roam the streets, shit in peoples gardens and hunt wildlife unchecked I would get a visit from some very annoyed neighbours, the dog warden and maybe even the police. I would be classed as an anti social arsehole who was A. Selfish and B. Cruel for allowing an animal in my care to be at risk of being run over or attacked by larger dogs.

But if I have a cat it's ok?

I am old enough to remember when it was common to see dogs walking around. Not strays but peoples pets just wandering around. Nowadays it's rare. I hope one day the same rules apply to cats.

Don't use anti vandal paint to deter cats. A cat covered in anti-vandal paint can cause a huge amount of damage to property and it won't necessarily confine that damage to its owner's property.