Cat Chat Feline Forum

Hi There,
We have 4 well behaved cats that we raised as we found Mama cat as a stray and when we took her to get her neutered found out she was pregnant

They are 1.5 years old and most of the neighbourhood loves them apart from one set of our neighbours. They keep complaining about cat poop even though my cats use litter trays and I'm sure it isn't just our cats that occasionally poop in their garden. I have bought them sonar devices to keep the cats out but I'm sure they don't bother replacing the batteries. Anyway they have threatened to call animal control and yesterday I overhead them talking to who I think was animal control in the garden. I have tried to speak to them but they are so aggressive and end up shouting as us. I have kept them inside today as I'm paranoid that animal control will seize them if called again.

Do you know if animal control are able to seize them if they are in a neighbours yard? I thought cats had right of way but perhaps I am wrong when it comes to other peoples property? We are thinking of moving anyway because we are renting and this is stressing us out. I can deal with a fine but I can't deal with the thought of our cats being terrified and confiscated. Any advice would be appreciated!

So sorry to hear that, how worrying for you. Where are you? In my pre-cat days in England I had a dog and a very precious garden. Every surrounding cat in the neighbourhood used my veg beds as kitty litter, so I can really understand your neighbour's frustration. But it was accepted that that was the nature of cats - they go where they want. Although I would threaten to 'landmine their kitty litter', I knew there was nothing I could do. The 'law' doesn't want to know.

As for the sonic thingies - my friend had two each side the house. The only thing they kept out of the garden was me! I have odd hearing and I could hear one of them squealing every few seconds!

I really hope you can get it sorted. It is awful to have grotty neighbours. If not your cats, they would probably have something else to complain about. It's a shame you might have to move because of them.

As far as I know, although things might have changed, in the UK cats are still classed as 'Free Spirits' in the law, which means their owners only have a certain amount of liability for them, that might protect them from the Animal Control people, but it doesn't mean your cats are safe. Make sure your cats are chipped and the information with the chipping agency is up to date, this will help if your neighbours decide to report the cats as 'strays' in hope of getting them taken away. Agencies should check for chips and when it becomes obvious that the cats live next door the agency might even be able to help with mediation between you and your neighbour.

The best option in my opinion would be if you could look at adding cat proof fencing to your garden to keep the cats in there, I doubt your neighbour would consider cat proofing his to keep them out. You mention you are only renting so it might be worth seeing if there is a type of cat proof fencing that is temporary and you could take it with you when you move. It isn't something I have experiance with but it seems that it is becoming more common and others here might be able to point you in the right direction for it.

Kiwiara, I think a lot of it depends on where you live. As Ruth said, here in the UK cats are classed as free spirits and not a posession which in some ways is great, but in other ways not so much. I doubt very much that animal control would consider seizing your cats, not for soiling in another person's garden. But I'd be concerned your neighbour would do something stupid.

Personally, speak to your landlord and see if they'll agree to your cat proofing your garden. It's probably the only way you can 100% ensure your cats' safety if you have neighbours like yours that really do not like cats. Again I think it would depend on where you live and what type of fencing is common where you live?