cat litter

[person100]

Hello all cat owners.

I live in a suburban area surrounded by many other houses. many of my neighbours own cats. I don't.

As a result, my garden is used as a toilet for various local cats.

I cannot plant anything from seed or sow grass seed, as any area of bare soil is fair game for local cats to dig and poo into.

Does anyone feel a sense of social responsibility,as cat owners, for my situation?

If I buy electronic cat scarers, I may deter the cats, but this is a financial cost to me. Who should bear the cost of this "externality".

Cigarette smokers, alcohol drinkers and petrol burners all pay additional "externality taxes" to pay for the social costs of their activities (NHS, policing, environmental damage).

Should cat owners do the same?

p.s., I am not a cat hater!! I like cats and dogs and seagulls and ants and in fact all animals. I just wondered what cat owners felt about this issue.

Thanks for any ideas.

Joseph

[Lilith]

Hi there, even though I've lived with cats all my life, I still go mad if other people's cats s**t in my garden. My own cats have trays, and use them, and my garden's secured so that they don't wander, for their own safety. They did used to roam but I've always provided trays, which have been used, and if I'd known of them using someone's garden I would have helped, probably by grounding that cat until the required pile appeared in its tray.

I think most responsible cat owners do prefer their cats to use trays, whether or not they roam; it's safer for the cat, out of the way of traffic, hostile humans and dog-chasing, and a decent owner prefers to monitor what comes out of the rear end of the cat, even though it's not the most delightful task in the world. In very rural areas perhaps cats CAN roam the fields and evacuate without causing offence, but here I'm talking aboout your average built-up streets-and gardens area, which is where most of us live.

Trouble is, there are a load of irresponsible cat owners out there and even if the law was changed about responsibility, you wouldn't change the indifferent owners...they'd soon find loopholes and excuses ... or give up on ownership completely and kick the poor cat out.

On here you're preaching to the converted but you're very welcome to air your views.

In your own situation I'd invest in the electronic cat scarer. I've used them myself (they switch off when my own cats are outside) and can recommend them.

I agree it's infuriating, and good luck

[MarySkater]

[Cross-posted with Lilith]

You have my sympathy. In Britain we have a very long culture of letting cats roam free, perhaps dating back to the days when they were kept as vermin control rather than pets. That is beginning to change, with more people keeping cats indoors or in an enclosed garden, but it's going to take a long time. I live in a small, quiet street, but I can recognise at least 6 cats that free-roam around here, evidently not strays but owned cats. I'm not much of a gardener, so they don't cause me inconvenience, but even so I chase off any that come on to my ground.

My own cats have access to part of my garden which is enclosed. They are not allowed to go beyond it. This means that they won't be bothering neighbours, but my real incentive for making the "cat pen" was safety for the cats. They are not going to get lost, run over, attacked by dogs, or meet any of the other hazards which are out there. I don't know how people feel whose cats have been road-killed or (perhaps worse) just disappear and are never seen again. I hope that with time, as people become more aware of the risks that are out there, more will take steps to keep their cats confined on their own property. That may make life less interesting for the cats, but it certainly makes it less dangerous.

I don't see there ever being a "cat tax" to compensate people for the nuisance, so I'm afraid it is down to you to keep the cats out, at your own cost. I know that's not fair. There are various cat repellent products on the market, electronic or biological. Or you could look into cat-proofing your garden. The type of fences designed to keep owners' cats in will also keep strange cats out. Maybe you could put "prickle strips" along the top of your fences. I don't know how effective they are but it might be worth a try. Rather than plant grass seed, you could put down pre-grown turf. That's less attractive for cats to toilet in than loose soil. Maybe put in a lawn sprinkler that you can operate from the house, to give unwanted visitors an unexpected shower. I'm all in favour of cold water as a disincentive to unwanted cat behaviour - it does no harm, but most cats don't like it.

Sorry I can't be more help. In our current society, cat nuisance is just something that happens, like bad weather or traffic noise.

[Lilith]

Lol Mary, I have astroturf, gravel and a little paving in my container garden ... gravel's handy for digging but the overall winner as far as the happy cr*ppers were concerned was the astroturf!

[Kay]

the only practical thing, which would cost nothing, would be to set aside a bit of your garden in the hopes they will poo there - or a small pile of builders sand might do the trick - and sand has the double advantage of draining well and drying out the poo so it isn't too unpleasant to remove

[LittlePenBigHeart]

Like MarySkater, I live in England and most of us pretty much do just accept that this is always going to be a problem. Our cats tend to stick to going to the loo in our garden, as near as I can tell, except for one of them who always, always, come in to do her business. But I have seen other cats trying to use our garden and it is a little frustrating. It's just one of those things.

Most of us just accept it but it would be great if there were a way to ensure your cats didn't go elsewhere, if only because it would keep them out of harm's way. I'm not sure about other cat owners on here but certainly there have been a number of vicious attacks on cats around my area. Some have been shot with air rifles, another one was genuinely shot with a crossbow. It's awful. But at the moment the only way to keep them from using other people's gardens is to keep them in.

[person100]

Thanks for all replies.

I'll see if the electronic device works!

I do like to see cats roaming the neighbourhood, it makes the area seem cozier and more friendly somehow, nice for the kids the stroke etc.

Thanks again

[MarySkater]

I'll see if the electronic device works!

Good luck. Do let us know how you get on.

[MarySkater]

... gravel's handy for digging but the overall winner as far as the happy cr*ppers were concerned was the astroturf!

That's interesting to know, although it surprised me. Most cats I've known prefer something they can dig in. When I first let my cats into the garden pen, I provided them with a sand pit. They liked it, but I didn't like the sand getting tracked into the house, especially on wet days when it stuck to wet paws. (They also have litter trays in the house; they don't have to go out.) I changed the sand for small gravel, which didn't stick to the fur. One of the cats would use it, the other didn't, and started looking for places in the long grass. I decided the gravel was too hard for his delicate paws! So I gave in and gave them a tray of conventional litter, covered to keep the rain off.

[Ruth B]

You might also want to look at various plants that are supposed to deter cats, the 'scaredy cat' plant is named because most cats don't like it. There are also other that have specific scents that cats don't like. If you can't grow them from seed then buying small plants from garden centers or even from online stores might be an option.

I can also sympathise with you, while i do own cats and they do wander I always have trays available inside and make sure the garden is designed with somewhere the cats can go, micro bark chippings seem to be fairly popular and I just keep adding more as they mulch down. It annoys me when I see cat owners who only have a bit of lawn for a garden, no where for the cat to dig and do its business, even when trays are provided some cats prefer to go outside.

My personal gripe is dog walkers with the extending leads which let the dogs run all over my front garden and do their business there, those owners never seem to feel the need to clear up if its done on someone's garden even if they would have to if it was done on the pavement or in the park. Unfortunately there isn't really anything I can do about it unless I decide to fence off my front garden, although defensive planting might be an option again on my part.