Keep the cat out my garden!

pineapple

Well my 'perspective' is that the garden is my territory and my space. So it can't be compared to a public pavement. As for foxes well fortunately I haven't been attacked (and fortunately I don't keep chickens).
The thing is, people don't collect foxes the way they collect cats and I think if one were to do a poll, more people would have been inconvenienced by cats. Actually it's more than an inconvenience. When one has bought a house to enjoy the wildlife and bird song and the whole space is desolate because of the numpty next door with 5 cats, it's heartbreaking. And if you have to check the garden before the kids play out it can be an expensive and never ending struggle.
A random fox or the 9 cats from the mad woman down the road? No contest.
Yes dogs should be kept under control and their owners should face penalties if they aren't. So should cat owners. Cat owners benefit because the law on cats is woolly. It manages to be both a pet and a wild animal! It should be one or the other. If it's a pet be accountable for it. If it's wild, don't keep it.
I'd like to see the reaction if I kept several foxes as pets then unleashed them on the neighbourhood every night.

mspa

Aries wrote: »

I have had it on my Hands while planting things yuk!!.:eek:

That happened to me the other day, I did have gloves on as I always do but they were nice new ones, its disgusting. I used to like cats but not anymore im afraid:(

jason001

Bring a dog, it'll do whatever you want to the cat.

pineapple

jason001 wrote: »

Bring a dog, it'll do whatever you want to the cat.

Tell that to my hopeless border collie! (though she does her best, bless).

Del_Astra

radiohelen wrote: »

Goodness me! I hope no-one is seriously suggesting you get a gun and shoot cats. It's illegal and a really unpleasant thing to suggest.
It seems that many of you are experiencing problems and I sympathise with your problems. It isn't nice to have cats digging up your garden and pooing. I do not have any answers for you although I would suggest that a bit of perspective might not be a bad thing.
Dogs are just as much of a problem in different ways. They defecate in public areas so rather than getting poo on your shoe in the garden, it happens in the park or on the pavement. I think dog owners should have to get a license again and do a compulsory dog ownership course.
Foxes are a constant pest in our garden and after being attacked by one I wish councils would control them properly either with poison or guns. Unfortunately that isn't going to happen so I'm going to leave the foxes alone... I suggest you leave the cats alone and we'll all sit in our houses grumpy and without answers.

Now this isn't a cat v dog thing, however, I have seen cats that have done it in a park its a public space where children play and these cats didn't bury it. So cats don't always bury it and they don't always do it in private gardens either.

marineville

my own dear mamma just got a new neighbour with five cats and they've started marking their territory with poop so i've been reading up on it, via web.

it seems there is no law preventing cats crapping in your garden, nor an obligation (beyond being neighbourly) for next door to do anything about it as they're deemed to be untrainable and less domestic, unlike dogs.

it IS illegal to sling it back into their garden and, it will probably create ill will too (that said, i've guiltily done it a couple of times but cat owners accept their own cat crap with love...)

my own experience is that it's damned uncomfortable to challenge the neighbours and damned annoying to deal with... chilli powder, citrus juice, human urine all seemed to be suggested to mark or line fences and on the ground where they crap but will need reapplying regularly.

the lion poop is a waste of money and i'm told the ultrasonics are hit and miss. i was going to try fox poop from a wildlife sanctuary but they say it won't bother them... so, a torrent of water seems the order of the day but, unless you have a sensor triggered hose you're reduced to squirting the !!!!!!s and being on permanent duty.. i'm going to try my nilfisk pressure washer from a distance to give me power to frighten the sods out of one of their lives and see how that works. but it amazes me how cats seem to be more important than protecting children from animal faeces and how soiling your garden is protected by law!

cootambear

cat thread sticky?

pineapple

marineville wrote: »

but it amazes me how cats seem to be more important than protecting children from animal faeces and how soiling your garden is protected by law!

It seems to me cats fall between two stools (pun intended ).
They are both a pet and classed as a wild animal. This probably wasn't such a problem when there was just the odd cat. Indeed I can see their value as a companion especially for older people. But now not only are their numbers increasing - many feel obliged to fill their houses with the little critters.
If you are unfortunate enough to live in the neighbourhood of said households then you suffer - as does the wildlife. Next door but one has 5 cats, a few doors up has 6 cats, then there are assorted households with single or two cats. There are only 16 houses in the whole village! It's difficult to tackle neighbours about this and the response is often a shrug and 'That's what cat's do'. Basically it's like it or lump it - in more senses than one.
In view of the increasing proliferation of supposedly 'wild' animals kept as pets, we need a change in the law.

poppysarah

CATS AND TRESPASS

The question of trespass by cats frequently arose and was often a matter for dispute between neighbours.

---

The situation regarding trespass was clarified in 1971 and cats once more became "free spirits" under the law. Cats were excluded from the definitions of "livestock" and of "cattle" under the Animals Act 1971, "they cannot be held guilty of trespass under civil law and, therefore, their owners or keepers cannot be liable for any damage done".

http://www.messybeast.com/retro-legal.htm

pineapple

Interesting poppysarah. High time for this to be re-visited IMO. Not holding my breath though.