Actually Hubie if you check the Road Traffic Act 1988 cats along with poultry are not covered as they are classed as free roaming animals!!!

The above is true... being a Police Officer i should have known that..

My plants still havent arrived... so went to theg arden centre on my way home and bought some "scent off gel"... used the whole bottle... and then the spray on top of that...

if that doesnt work now.. i don't know what will... so far it's cost me in excess of £50 to try and rid my front garden of the little grey furr ball... i'm not impressed

First of all I have had both cats and dogs in the past and have never let either bother other people. Secondly I have trodden in both cat and dog mess. The first in my back and side garden and the second on the paths on the way to take my kids to school. To the cats I have lost both veg and soil as I also throw away the surounding soil. I have only had one cat fouling this year so far using both plastic spikes on the tops of my fences and hissing wildly at the cats that do manage to get in. The dogs are another matter and I find that the worst offenders are joggers, older people, mothers/fathers with pushchairs and people who walk in groups or with more than one dog. Last week I was cornered by a yellow/golden lab female on my return trip home from walking my oldest three kids to school. I was carrying my 4 month old in my arms. The dog was staring at my baby and issuing a deep low growl. All the stupid owner would do was stand there saying "Tia come here. Here Tia." Note that he had two labs off their leashes and was pushing a stroller. I reported the incident to both the council and the police but didn't have his address as I wasn't about to chase after him after the animal finally listen to him and left. Not happy with the owners of either at this point.

Hi!
I´m a pregnant cat allergic gardener (by profession) from Finland. My mother-in-law has 3 cats (indoor cats) and lives in a neighbourhood full of outdoor cats. As we live in a flat without a garden we would like to spend our time i her garden, especially when the baby arrives, but due to all the neighbouring cats we can´t. A sandbox for the children in the family is also an impossible thought. I think it is pretty sad that you can´t do what you want with your garden just because the cats "are wild spirits". Come on... I have a little terrier and I can tell you he is just as much a wild spirit as any cat (and friendlier than most of the cats here), but I wouldn´t dream of letting him run loose. If he would be running around in the garden of one of the cat owners they would have a fit and report me. Now, I DON´T DISLIKE CATS, quite the contrary, but because of the allergy and now the pregnancy I can´t have them.

What cat owners should understand is that her neighbors are not the ones that want cats, and by letting your cat run loose you are deciding what they and their children can and cannot do in their gardens. And some of us have reasons beyond disliking cats to avoid these animals. Why can´t you respect your neighbours? I´m having a very hard time understanding why one family can make the desicion to have a cat or five for a whole street, don´t anybody else have a say in the matter, especially when it concernes their gardens as well? There is such an easy solutin to this problem, but for some reason no one is allowed to demand respect from cat owners. God knows, dog owners have to justify their choises every day(And yes, I pick up after my dog and it doesn´t bark al everything). And I´m not angry, just sad.

Now for the actual topic, the cat deterring; I have a tiny allotment not far from all the cats and I was scared that all my work would be in vain if the cats kept on treating my vegetable garden as a litter box because of the toxoplasmosis threat. But fortunately my plan against the little devils worked! I planted a few rows of onion and garlic around the vegetable beds and so far I haven´t had any problems! Probably because it´s just easier for the cats to use the neighbouring allotment (sorry, neighbours..), but anyways, it worked!

And lastly a warning to any cat owners. This is what can happen when one of the "garden victims" finally snap;
In our tiny town 6 cats were assaulted in two days, 4 of them died, one might not make it. One was poisoned, the others were beaten, drowned and/or were kicked to death. The cat that will survive came home limping, with a snare around its neck and its face kicked in. And magically, suddenly nobody were of the opinion that cats have to be let out and for a while it was quite quiet on the cat front in the gardens of the town. I think this is very much the wrong way to solve the catproblem, but apparently somebody didn´t think so. If this can happen here, it can happen anywhere. So please please please, keep an eye on your cats because I don´t wish that to happen even to my worst enemy!!!

Have a good summer everybody and try to get along...!

By far the most sensible post so far...

I do prefer dogs to cats. However, a friend of mine does have a cat, and shares a communal garden. Now I have never seen the cat fouling in the communal garden, it would appear to prefer its litter tray. Unfortunately, one of the neighbours who shares this garden has got a dog, that actually comes over to the part of the garden, outside my friends, and poos there, (and chases the cat). What can my friend plant (or use) that will deter the dog from coming over to their part of the garden?

i have a solution it may work or it may not but its definetly worth doing you will need a plastic carrier bag and a small spade, collect the said poo with the spade and place it into the bag then follow the cat to its home and deliver the poo to its rightful owners.

Depends how many hours you've got spare...

would have to be careful returning the poo back to it's rightful owner... more than one return of the poo could be classed as harrassment...

but hang on... surely the cats harrassing me?

Our neighbour has 8 cats and over the years I must have picked up pounds of poo from my garden. We have recently bought a sprinkler with a movement sensor, and have found that as long as it is placed in the right position it is the only thing that has ever worked, and believe me we've tried everything! Once the cat has had a few surprise soakings they soon give up and find somewhere else to go - our garden has been virtually poo free for the first time ever. The only thing is to remember to turn it off when we are out in the garden......

i have a dog, a cat and 2 kittens, but mine have been taught to go in my own garden and use a litter tray. unfortunately i cant say that they dont EVER go anywhere else as i cant follow them around and stop them. the kittens havent been outside yet as they are too small, but the older cat has always been an indoor sort of cat aswel, as she prefers to stay in or just play in my/her garden.
i understand that ppl dont want cats to do their mess on their gardens but hurting a cat to stop it doing so is just plain nasty. if someone was to hurt any of my 3 then i would do something back just as nasty. and if i was to have someone else's cat do mess in my garden and i knew where it was from then yes i would take it back to the owner of the cat, just as i would expect that to happen if mine go anywhere else.
its the same as dog owners who also dont pick up the mess that their beloved pets leave behind when out walking. some owners think that because no1 is looking then they dont have to pick it up, but that is wrong, they need to think of the children that play and people walking that might stand in it.

Thank you everyone, I have never laughed so much at your tiny little worlds. Get a life, a cat is a cat and a dog is a dog. My cat has dug up my veg so many times this season I give up. Worse, the pigeons keep eating my fruit, cauliflower leaves, broccoli, cherries, pulling up my onions and pecking my strawberries. They are the pest! Bless them, make a lovely pie though.

I just have to add that getting a cat wet is not hurting it in any way - more a case of shock tactics. I would not dream of picking up all the poo and returning it to my neighbour, whats the point as they are not going to be able to stop their cats from coming in our garden. I'd rather prevent the poo getting here in the first place.

Have tried the sonic alarm at £29:99,complete waste of money,all that does is upset the neighbours who can hear the high pitch sound.If I had my way I would kill every cat that uses my garden as their lavatory.Cats are among the cruelest of creatures on this planet,if you ever seen a rabbit that had been caught in a trap after a cat had eaten it's ears off whilst the bunny was still alive,maybe you would not be so keen on the things.Ask any Gamekeeper what he thinks about cats.You cat lovers only see what you want to see with regards to cats,use your own garden as a crap house for your cat stay away from mine.

Stewara, as you said YOUR cat dug up your veg, I have to put up with other peoples cats digging mine up and crapping. Not for long though, your pigeon pie gave me an idea! Thank you... I think that your thread has had the opposite affect to the one that you was trying to put over...GO FOR IT...

I would like to know the most effective way of keeping my neighbours cats from s***ing in my garden. I have read through the various comments on this site and frankly some of you 'cat lovers' have really made me mad. For years now, I have had to put up with my garden being used as the cat toilet. In my street, I seem to be one of the very few who doesn't own a cat, and does not want to. I have tried various methods and products and nothing has really worked (bar getting a shot gun!). This is obviously an issue that affects millions of people and I think enough is enough.

I have read that dog owners are just as bad, letting their animals foul in public places.

I have read that it should be accepted that cats foul in people's gardens and is a fact of life, as it it cruel to keep a cat as a house cat.

I have read the countless messages of people who like myself have a huge problem of my garden being used as a toilet, and the suggestions of how to deal with the problem, but with no real solution.

I think that most people who agree that cats should be able to roam around crapping in other people's gardens should be ashamed of themselves. To even suggest that one should get a cat is also rubbish. Why should I have to buy a cat just to stop others from crapping in my garden? Cat owners should take more responsiblily for their pets. Not only does it stink when you uncover it when gardening, the health implications are very high (and this should not only be true for pregnant women and children!). If I had a dog that I let crap in my neighbours gardens, they would definitely have something to say about it and probably report me to the authorities. What is the difference? NONE!

Also, to compare cats crapping in gardens, to dog owners who do not pick up dogs mess in the street is TOTALLY DIFFERENT. Cats fouling in gardens is on private property and I think there should be laws to support homeowners who have to put up with cat crap.

Maybe all you cat owners out there should consider keeping your cats inside as house cats, or not have them at all? Think of your neighbours and what they have to put up with. Although I suspect you don't give a crap (pardon the pun!)

Growing up, my family always had dogs and we had to pick up it's poo. That is all part of being a responsible dog owner. No?

Well put CraigN37868, I also have a dog and I would NEVER allow her to mess on other people’s property nor would I leave it for other people to clean up or tread in. I am not a goody goody but I do have respect for other people. I think cats are for lazy pet owners, the ones that want to fuss one minute and put out the next, that would be the explanation to all the bowls of feed on peoples door steps that I see as I am walking my dog.

Hi Peeps,

I haven't read this thread for a while, but I'm glad it has re-started, so it can infuriate me again!! Last weekend my other half told me about an advert he had seen about a sprinkler type thing that senses movement and sprays the offending cat...he later regretted it when I asked for it for Christmas!! Does anyone know anything about these, do they work?? He is refusing to buy it, but if they do work I will treat myself for sure!! (they are about £75)

My latest victim was a whole flower bed of spring bulbs I planted, the very next day (they love loose soil don't they??) - didn't eat the caulis I spent months cultivating because of the cat poo...

So unless I can find a deterrant I am giving up gardening - it's just not worth the effort if everything gets dug up, and people with cats couldn't care less, in humans this would be considered vandalism...

Hi, I have one of these sprinkler thingys and it is the best gadget we have ever bought - it really works. I was in exactly the same position as you and was just about ready to give up gardening as my neighbour has around 8 cats and they all used our garden as their own personal toilet! I tried everythig from ultra sonic deterrents to cat repellant plants and lion pellets etc but nothing ever worked- we bought the sprinkler as a last resort. When set up, it goes off briefly whenever movement is detected in the garden so whenever a cat comes down the garden path, they get sprayed unless they can run very fast, which they usually do! It is completely harmless to the cats, well maybe hurts their pride a bit, and eventually they just stop coming over the fence so a result all round! I am definitely not a cat hater and would not want to harm any animal but I just dont want to have to put up with their poo constantly over my flower beds. My other half thinks we bought it from a newspaper Sunday supplement but I'm sure you could find them online somewhere. The only thing you have to remember is that once set up its easy to forget whether its on or off and you may just get a soaking yourself - small price to pay though - good luck!

Thank you, that's really helpful. Now I've got no excuse for spending my pennies on one!!

Hi guys,

Since my last post, I have experinced (and trod in) countless amounts of CAT CRAP in my garden (I am currently making over my garden). I have noticed that some of the crap is not even buried AND there was even one load just outside my back door! I can imagine that cats that crap like that are not litter tray trained? This makes me even more mad at the owners.

This week I went and spent 15 quid on 2 small bottles of Get Off and 2 sachets of Growing Success animal repellent. I have used both bottles of the Get Off. After going to every DIY store and garden center in my area, these were the only products that were available! And I was very frustrated to hear that the get off (which obviously doesn't go very far in a 80ft x 17ft garden) only lasts a short amount of time. I am not even sure if it will work.

I did some more research on the net and apparently Lion Pellets last for up to 3 months and ar very effective. But after reading the reply from UK Stylish, I am now thinking that it may not be worth the money?

I am now considering getting one of those sprinklers (although I have a feeling that this may not be ideal in the winter months as the outside tap needs to be shut off).

At this rate, with all the time, expence and effort trying to get rid of the crap, and effort trying to clean the crap off my gardening gloves and shoes, it would be cheaper, and easier to get a cat myself!

Or invest in an electric fence around the boundary of my garden. Now there's a thought ;o)

I do hope that all you cat lovers out there, who do not litter train you beloved pets, realise what absolute HELL you impose on all your neighbours who do not own a cat and have the decency to actually keep a nice garden.

Electric fence - why didn't I think of that!??