Neighbour doesn’t want cats walking on her fence

[Mowyourlawn]

My next door neighbour came round today and said that she’s getting annoyed that our two cats keep walking along the fence in her back garden. She said that it upsets her dog and makes it bark. She has a huge dog that barks at everything.

It took me a bit by surprise as I am not sure what she expects us to do. We still have litter trays that the cats come inside to use and we don’t intend to train that out of them, but that’s not her complaint anyway. She doesn’t want them on the fence or walking in her garden.

We left it as if she can think of anything to let us know but I’m just a bit confused. DP thinks this is the start of bother but I really want to avoid that if I can. Has anyone else had this?

Picture of the main offender, who I don’t think is too concerned…

It's the neighbours fence surely? She can't possibly be demanding the cat cannot walk on its own owners fence? Right?

Why should she do that? Cats have the right to roam so it's tough shit if they walk on a fence. If she doesn't want her dogs to bark then she needs to train them not to when they see a cat.
I've lived next door to the same people for 30 years and in that time they have had various dogs and I've had 2 cats. My cats walk on the fence and go in their garden, they are excellent dog owners( unlike most) and train their dogs very well, only very very rarely has one of their dogs barked for any reason in the garden including when they see my cat in there.
If anyone moved in and asked me to stop my cat walking on the fence I'd just laugh.

This

The dog people for you

Thank you for your replies, some have properly made me laugh. The spikes might be the answer, although I’m not convinced they wouldn’t see it as a challenge. I tried to keep them as house cats but the little menace would jump out of the upstairs window so I gave up.

The neighbour on the other side enjoys their company and nailed a little mouse toy onto his fence for them to paw at.

I don’t want to cause any tension though so if there was anything I could do I am happy to… I just don’t know what would work.

It’s about a sensible as you asking her to stop her yappy dog from barking.

She can fuck off. Team cat.

Cats are free to roam, and that's protected in law. Cat owners are under no legal obligation to contain their cats.

If someone doesn't want a cat coming into their garden or yard or walking along their fence then it's up to them, not the cat, or the human that serves the cat, to ensure a solution is found.

I've told mine countless times to not annoy Janice next door, the cat still goes into Janice's garden to catch the sun in the afternoon!

The neighbour on the other side enjoys their company and nailed a little mouse toy onto his fence for them to paw at.

That’s really lovely.

It does give me a smidge of satisfaction, I have to be honest 😄

Bet she doesn't love the barky dog though

I’ve heard it all 😂

If I own a property that has a garden and have a big dog, I am not going to stop the dog from being in the garden because of Mrs Catlady's babies. If the cats get hurt, that is on the cat and its owner.

And if I were Janice, your cat wouldn't be annoying me again after the first time I super-soaked it.

The fact that cat owners can let their pets disturb a neighbour's enjoyment of their home without legal remedy doesn't mean they are right to do so.

OP, I appreciate that you are looking for solutions. There are products you can use to ensure your cats can't get out of your garden that are a bit more substantial than spikes - I have several friends who.have installed them, and they work.

Suggest to your neighbour that she sellotapes snails along the top of her fence as that will discourage your cat from ealking along it. (unless it is French, it's not is it?)

It is a pain in the arse having cats walking along the back fence...one of my dogs launches himself off the sofa and almost throws himself at the window!

However, I accept there's nothing I can do - it's just part of life.

If my cat, or any cat, is stupid enough to enter the garden of a house with a dog and gets in the way of a bitey dog then that's entirely the fault of the cat! I wouldn't expect neighbours to contain their dogs inside their house if they have a garden, so why should I contain my cat?

I've told Janice to throw water at the cat, or chase him off with a broom. She did in the beginning, now I hear her talking to him most of the time when he ventures in there.

And actually legally because cats can roam freely I am totally in the right letting my cat out. If my cat disturbs a neighbour then it's up to the neighbour to come up with a solution to stop the cat entering their garden.

I don't particularly enjoy listening to neighbours dogs barking, but dogs bark and a dog barking in it's own home or garden is doing nothing wrong. I wouldn't go round telling the dog owning neighbours to stop their dogs barking, and they don't get to come round and tell me to contain my cat.

Cats take orders from no one.
Fact.

Cats have a legal right to roam, don’t they? So not much your neighbour can do. Just can’t imagine asking a neighbour to stop their cats walking on a fence 🤣

Question - which is easier - you have a cat to train not to walk on a fence and an atom to split with a knife and fork?

There is no hope in training your cats - they are The Overlords That Must Be Obeyed. Your neighbours dog however will need training to stop being so reactive.

I'm a dog and cat person. So that's a silly comment

I second other posters. Get some of those spikey red plastic strips. I doubt it will fully stop them though. It's not stopped mine

I think you and I would get on.

I've managed to train a fair few cats to keep out of my garden over the years.

If you could come round to mine and train this cat who doesn't have a magnet yet keeps breaking in through the magnetic cat flap at mine to steal the lick-e-lix tubes that would be great!

Tell her to get rid of her dog as he is upsetting your cats.

Yes it is