Cats In Neighbours Garden...advice Please

[Bee35]

I have two adult male (neutered ) cats aged 11 + 14. They are not great roamers. When a neighbour moved in to the end terrace house last summer, she complained (civilly ) that they were poo-ing in her garden as she was worried as she has a small child. Understanding her concerns, i cleaned up a poo that was there and said she should tell me if it happened again. To date she has not . I know cats wander, but as a responsible pet owner I 'trained' one of them to use our garden only. However the younger of the two still jumps the fence into their garden although he does his business in ours first. however; it seems this is not good enough for them as they seem to take exception to another animal even passing through their garden as setting their (ill controlled) noisy dog off barking!?! Short of keeping my animals in all the time - what am I supposed to do??

[DJHawkes]

tell them you're having your cats put to sleep because you cannot guarantee they will not stray into her garden and ask her if she would mind stumping up half the vets fee

[boxtops]

Is she still complaining? You can't do anything - I had a similar problem with one of our neighbours. All you can do is offer to go clean up - but you say yours both poo in their own gardens? Cats are not subject to law as dogs are.

[DSJ]

Can you put Silent Roar or some other deterrent around the perimeter of your garden to keep the cats away from the fence? Otherwise, a band of wire netting slanted inwards on the top of your fence. The cattery that we use for our cat when we go on holiday has the latter to keep other animals out and it seems to work.

[boxtops]

They ought to train their dog not to bark at cats, IMO - but that's like asking it not to breathe.

[Bee35]

Lol. yes,perhaps I should sugg est they take their yappy dog along at the same time??? Seriously though, I tolerate their dog's separation anxiety yapping as he is young. and they work long hours. it would be easier if they actually said something to me , but they don't , just shoothe cat off the (communal , I might add) path. Sadly it seems to be the way - they've turned the area around the house into a veritable fortress as it is. I have been ill with cfs/me for 5months and really don't need the hassle. Im just waiting for them to dig a moat!!! (joking)

[wolf63]

My money is on the cat winning any battle. They are obstinate little rats and will do only what they want to do and when they want to do it.

I have just had a close call - I managed to get my hand out of the way before my little Princess stuck her teeth in it. Lovely animals!!

[Bee35]

Re the fencing -the difficulty there is that the low gate he jumps over leads onto a cmmunal pathway shared by 4 houses so can't be blocked. Im not really worried if the dog barks at the cat - it seems to bother them more.

[boxtops]

I wouldn't worry then, bee - if it doesn't bother the cat, then I'd just live with it. If there is no poo outside your garden, there isn't really an issue.

[Bee35]

Thank you for all your answers; and Boxtops , I think you're right. I'll just have to brazen it out I think . I'm sure they must realise the effort I have made to accommodate their needs. Sadly it seems they don't want anyone or anything to encroach on their Little piece of England. :-(

[wildwood]

Cat fouling and digging up young plants or scratching car bonnets has been the start of many a feud.

Your cat is fouling your neighbour's garden, you make it sound like your neighbour is at fault for wanting to keep their place nice and tidy.

And what are you going to do if their dog gets hold of your cat and hurts it? Also their fault for having a dog, I suppose.

[SpikeyBush]

There are a number of products your neighbour can purchase to keep all cats out of their garden, not just yours. There are sprays and metal cats that I see advertised in the Sunday supplements each week that claim to keep your garden moggy-free.

[ladybirder]

If their dog can't keep the cat away I don't know what will!

[Bee35]

WWildwood- my cats are NOT fooling in their garden. As stated in earlier posts, the one time it occurred I cleaned it immediately . Since then a litier tray is used indoors and the cats foul in a wild patch of my own garden . Keeping your own patch nice is fine - we all want to do that. feeling offended at any animal passing through a (partly communal) space is overkill!

[Bee35]

Typo - fouling not fooling! Sorry.

[Bee35]

Spikeybush - thanksfor your suggestions. I may invest in one of the metal cats . Putting it in the communal area may help(with all neighbour's agreement). Also I had heard orange oil or even peel may work. Thanks again all ! :-)

[BlackRoseThorn]

in my experiance, cats will poo where they want. You can't train them like dogs. It's in their nature. If she really wants to keep her garden tidy, she should just pick up the poo herself. She must be used to picking up poo if she has a dog. She's just being unreasonable in my opinion

[woofgang]

blackthorn rose, why is it different for cats and dogs? If I allowed my dog to go in your garden, or even to roam freely around your garden you'd be justly annoyed, yet cat owners (some) seem to think that they have a god given right to own an animal they can't control.
My garden is cat free. I have never encouraged any of my dogs to chase or attack cats but I expect them to be able to be out on the garden, my garden, without being wound up by cats. happily for my bird population, the local cats agree!

[BlackRoseThorn]

Wolfgang, you couldn't get into my garden without a key because our fence is too high and so is the gate, which we keep locked and has no gaps. This fence does not keep our cat in or the neighbour's cats out because cats have worked out how to climb over it. As far as I know, dogs haven't. Therefore, if you did let your dog into my garden, I'd be more concerned about how he got in than what he was doing to the flowers.