That made me laugh so much this morning Dove, read it just before rushing out to take my lad to college.
I found fresh poop (still steaming lol) where I have been clearing the ground for the hedge this morning. Nearest neighbour's cat was a few yards away and looking guilty to me. I'm pretty sure that it's a female. Not a hope in hell of it covering it over with our sticky clay at this time of year though, I have enough trouble doing anything with it with a spade.
I'm seriously thinking I might put in a sandbox for them somewhere. Would get me less irate about finding it in the open all the time and the water repellents already keep them away from the bird table and veg plot.
I've no doubt you are right Dove Tom's probably do poop in the open on purpose, plenty of animals do, but cutting it down even a bit would be an improvement here.
Do people think an outdoor loo for the neighbour's cats would be a good idea? Would I need to keep emptying it all the time? Something that dissolved the droppings organically could be good.
Or even something that dissolved cats? .......... Smacked wrist for Dove
When we had cats we had a large outdoor sand tray in the log store and our cats used it and left my garden alone - my neighbours said that our cats seemed not to use their garden either, so apparently it worked. Afraid I can't remember how often the sand got changed or what we did with the contents .... I'm talking about when my children were small and anyway, I think the ex dealt with that side of things
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I recently had a nightmare case of cats 5 from one house alone . tried repellent did not work , tried mesh they just did it on top of it even when it was raised . So built a 4 foot picket fence all the way around but lefed the hedges in just trimmed them back a bit put a point to each picket to stop them jumping up . working so far
My daughter has wood fences around her garden, she put longish nails in the top and strung a fine fishing line backwards and forwards, they didnt like stepping over that.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor.
You do realise that cat owners can't control their cats' behaviour and that cats themselves aren't actually aware that you consider a particular space yours?
As fas as they're concerned, it's a place for them to leave a message for other cats- it's not an attack on you/your garden!
It always amazes me that gardeners, who I presume are nature lovers, get angry about an animal's natural behaviour.
Of course the cat owner can control their behaviour - they can keep them indoors.
Or they could provide suitable gardens for cats, rather than having bare lawns so that cats concentrate in gardens specifically designed to attract wildlife.
It may come as a shock, but domestic cats exist in population densities in excess of 500 times what would be considered 'natural'. So it is totally inaccurate to say an animal artificially allowed to exist in this very unnatural state (veterinary treatment, food and warmth provided when required), is 'natural'.
What is really amazing is that it is left to the gardeners to go to considerable expense and effort to control other peoples pets.
And no I don't hate cats, I'm an ex-veterinary nurse and spent years caring for them. The ones I kept as pets never went out and were just fine, in fact they were free of flees, worms and injuries and not one ever got run over..
It is only a fashion in the UK that cats are allowed to free roam at all. In the States they are not and in Australia it is illegal. What other pet animal would you consider it OK to leave to wander about on its own I wonder?
It might only be poo, but when you have 5-6 of your neighbours cats choosing to do it in a small garden - it is actually a huge problem. Been there got the T-shirt
Threads about cats can get quite heated, so I'm taking my courage in both hands here
It may only be poo Catnip, but it's carnivore poo and pretty unpleasant when you plunge your bare hands into a pile of it, and it's more than a little annoying when you find all your seedlings scratched up and scattered across the veg patch. And I'm a cat lover. I've kept cats for most of my life.
Cat owners can control their cat's behaviour to quite a large extent if they are so minded. My son's cat does not poo in gardens, neither does my daughter's - they are both very fit and healthy housecats. Son's cat never has been outside and daughter's cat only goes into their walled garden when daughter is with her because they live in a second floor apartment.
When I lived in the countryside I had cats and provided them with sand trays in my garden log store and my neighbours said that my cats did not poop in their gardens. However, everything changed when a person with 27 cats moved into the cottage behind us. But that's another story ...
It may only be poo - but cat poo can carry toxoplasmosis which can be transferred to babies in the womb and cause horrendous physical and brain damage. I worked with a child who had been damaged in this way - she was incredibly severely disabled, and the lives of the rest of her family were changed for ever.
I don't hate cats - I love them - but if an owner cannot keep their cat indoors (and I acknowledge that to deprive a cat of access to the garden when it had been used to it would not be kind) then they should do all they can to encourage their cats to defecate in their own garden rather than other peoples'.
It's not simply a matter of live and let live - it's a matter of being a responsible pet owner and a kind and considerate neighbour.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I hope it doesn't get heated Dove, I tried to keep my post factual and informed. I would rather see it discussed and common ground found.
I don't think many people would know this, but as an Ecological Consultant it is within my remit to place an outright ban on cat ownership within a new development, if ecological surveys show they may subsequently impact on protected species. This is possible under the legislation of the European Habitat's Directive.
This practice is increasingly becoming almost the norm among my colleagues these days. We have seen the reports and read the figures and believe that cats can and do have very real and measurable impacts on wildlife.
I know a lot of people get a lot out of owning any sort of pet, I do myself, but if cat owners do not take at least some responsibility for their pets this sort of attitude of outright bans on ownership as part of the planning process is going to increase. If it were the fashion to keep cats indoors, and monitored when outside, there would be no need for draconian bans...
Posts
Nah! not big enough - has to be tom cat!
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
That made me laugh so much this morning Dove, read it just before rushing out to take my lad to college.
I found fresh poop (still steaming lol) where I have been clearing the ground for the hedge this morning. Nearest neighbour's cat was a few yards away and looking guilty to me. I'm pretty sure that it's a female. Not a hope in hell of it covering it over with our sticky clay at this time of year though, I have enough trouble doing anything with it with a spade.
I'm seriously thinking I might put in a sandbox for them somewhere. Would get me less irate about finding it in the open all the time and the water repellents already keep them away from the bird table and veg plot.
I've no doubt you are right Dove Tom's probably do poop in the open on purpose, plenty of animals do, but cutting it down even a bit would be an improvement here.
Do people think an outdoor loo for the neighbour's cats would be a good idea? Would I need to keep emptying it all the time? Something that dissolved the droppings organically could be good.
Or even something that dissolved cats? .......... Smacked wrist for Dove
When we had cats we had a large outdoor sand tray in the log store and our cats used it and left my garden alone - my neighbours said that our cats seemed not to use their garden either, so apparently it worked. Afraid I can't remember how often the sand got changed or what we did with the contents .... I'm talking about when my children were small and anyway, I think the ex dealt with that side of things
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I recently had a nightmare case of cats 5 from one house alone . tried repellent did not work , tried mesh they just did it on top of it even when it was raised . So built a 4 foot picket fence all the way around but lefed the hedges in just trimmed them back a bit put a point to each picket to stop them jumping up . working so far
My daughter has wood fences around her garden, she put longish nails in the top and strung a fine fishing line backwards and forwards, they didnt like stepping over that.
You do realise that cat owners can't control their cats' behaviour and that cats themselves aren't actually aware that you consider a particular space yours?
As fas as they're concerned, it's a place for them to leave a message for other cats- it's not an attack on you/your garden!
It always amazes me that gardeners, who I presume are nature lovers, get angry about an animal's natural behaviour.
Live and let live! It's only poo!
Shall we have the other argument catnip?
Of course the cat owner can control their behaviour - they can keep them indoors.
Or they could provide suitable gardens for cats, rather than having bare lawns so that cats concentrate in gardens specifically designed to attract wildlife.
It may come as a shock, but domestic cats exist in population densities in excess of 500 times what would be considered 'natural'. So it is totally inaccurate to say an animal artificially allowed to exist in this very unnatural state (veterinary treatment, food and warmth provided when required), is 'natural'.
What is really amazing is that it is left to the gardeners to go to considerable expense and effort to control other peoples pets.
And no I don't hate cats, I'm an ex-veterinary nurse and spent years caring for them. The ones I kept as pets never went out and were just fine, in fact they were free of flees, worms and injuries and not one ever got run over..
It is only a fashion in the UK that cats are allowed to free roam at all. In the States they are not and in Australia it is illegal. What other pet animal would you consider it OK to leave to wander about on its own I wonder?
It might only be poo, but when you have 5-6 of your neighbours cats choosing to do it in a small garden - it is actually a huge problem. Been there got the T-shirt
Threads about cats can get quite heated, so I'm taking my courage in both hands here
It may only be poo Catnip, but it's carnivore poo and pretty unpleasant when you plunge your bare hands into a pile of it, and it's more than a little annoying when you find all your seedlings scratched up and scattered across the veg patch. And I'm a cat lover. I've kept cats for most of my life.
Cat owners can control their cat's behaviour to quite a large extent if they are so minded. My son's cat does not poo in gardens, neither does my daughter's - they are both very fit and healthy housecats. Son's cat never has been outside and daughter's cat only goes into their walled garden when daughter is with her because they live in a second floor apartment.
When I lived in the countryside I had cats and provided them with sand trays in my garden log store and my neighbours said that my cats did not poop in their gardens. However, everything changed when a person with 27 cats moved into the cottage behind us. But that's another story ...
It may only be poo - but cat poo can carry toxoplasmosis which can be transferred to babies in the womb and cause horrendous physical and brain damage. I worked with a child who had been damaged in this way - she was incredibly severely disabled, and the lives of the rest of her family were changed for ever.
I don't hate cats - I love them - but if an owner cannot keep their cat indoors (and I acknowledge that to deprive a cat of access to the garden when it had been used to it would not be kind) then they should do all they can to encourage their cats to defecate in their own garden rather than other peoples'.
It's not simply a matter of live and let live - it's a matter of being a responsible pet owner and a kind and considerate neighbour.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I hope it doesn't get heated Dove, I tried to keep my post factual and informed. I would rather see it discussed and common ground found.
I don't think many people would know this, but as an Ecological Consultant it is within my remit to place an outright ban on cat ownership within a new development, if ecological surveys show they may subsequently impact on protected species. This is possible under the legislation of the European Habitat's Directive.
This practice is increasingly becoming almost the norm among my colleagues these days. We have seen the reports and read the figures and believe that cats can and do have very real and measurable impacts on wildlife.
I know a lot of people get a lot out of owning any sort of pet, I do myself, but if cat owners do not take at least some responsibility for their pets this sort of attitude of outright bans on ownership as part of the planning process is going to increase. If it were the fashion to keep cats indoors, and monitored when outside, there would be no need for draconian bans...