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My partner has found herself in the unfortunate position of being screamed at by her neighbour because her cat is going in her garden. They have shared access to the back gardens (although private areas of garden) all just at the back of the houses.
Her neighbour installed a cat and teenager deterrent which is a really annoying noise depending on which setting she chooses and last night she went round to ask her to change the setting at about 10pm as she could hear it inside with the windows open. Long story short my girl friend in floods of tears and me getting the door slammed in my face when I confronted her about her abusive behaviour.
We're both pretty quiet and peace loving people and were at a bit of a loss on how to deal with her, it seems a complete joke over something so silly and I don't think either of us expected this kind of reaction. We've offered to help with a number of uninvasive solutions but she's rejected them all and seems to just want all out war. Needless to say we've been calm and well mannered throughout and not provoked her in the slightest.
The solution we had up until last night was we only let the cat out after dark but clearly this now isnt enough. Having the cat screaming to get out all night isn't fair or tenable imo and the simplest solution would be a silent cat deterrent which we'd happily buy but I'm scared that if that doesn't work (apparently they don't) she'll poison her. We could have the cat move in with me but it's not ideal.
If we go with the option of trying to talk to her again today and finding a solution does anyone have any advice about where we stand legally. I realize how ridiculous it would be to get the authorities involved with something so minor but we can only do our best to avoid that and it takes both parties to come to a settled agreement. I understand that the council use a noise meter which doesn't register high pitched frequencies as high enough...although it is a cat and teenager deterrent (which she says she can't hear!). Should we report last night's incident to the police and inform the council of the issues even though we're trying to deal with it amicably ourselves first? (It was just verbal abuse, no racism or hate crime etc, they're both females and there were no threats just swearing and shouting which I'm sure she'll say was mutual even though it clearly was not)
Post edited at 10:33
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In reply to Sharp:
Not such a problem if you rent, but if you own the house you really must try and avoid letting the dispute become legal, because you will have to declare any neighbour dispute to a prospective purchaser which could be a sure sale killer if ever you want to sell in the future. The same applies to her as well of course.
Keep trying to settle this amicably if you can. Maybe invite her round for a drink with a view to trying to settle this in a neighbourly way? Even when you are in the right, don't get aggressive (I'm sure you don't).
Good luck!
> does anyone have any advice about where we stand legally. I realize how ridiculous it would be to get the authorities involved with something so minor
Not such a problem if you rent, but if you own the house you really must try and avoid letting the dispute become legal, because you will have to declare any neighbour dispute to a prospective purchaser which could be a sure sale killer if ever you want to sell in the future. The same applies to her as well of course.
Keep trying to settle this amicably if you can. Maybe invite her round for a drink with a view to trying to settle this in a neighbourly way? Even when you are in the right, don't get aggressive (I'm sure you don't).
Good luck!
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In reply to Sharp:
Do t know if this helps:
http://www.inbrief.co.uk/animal-law/cats-fouling/
Basically, if understand it correctly, a cat will sit or go wherever it likes and there's nothing much to be done about it legally.
Keep a log of dealings with the neighbour, just in case.
Do t know if this helps:
http://www.inbrief.co.uk/animal-law/cats-fouling/
Basically, if understand it correctly, a cat will sit or go wherever it likes and there's nothing much to be done about it legally.
Keep a log of dealings with the neighbour, just in case.
Post edited at 11:03
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In reply to Sharp:
For a start, get a note book and note down every incident/conversation that occurs... that way you have it if you need it.
consider CCTV (covering your land only - ish).
If you suspect she is poisoning your cat or is harmful to it, get the RSPCA&police involved.
For a start, get a note book and note down every incident/conversation that occurs... that way you have it if you need it.
consider CCTV (covering your land only - ish).
If you suspect she is poisoning your cat or is harmful to it, get the RSPCA&police involved.
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In reply to Sharp:
I think that for your cat's safety and happiness I'd consider it being elsewhere, unless it can get used to being an indoor cat. (I'm not a cat hater, I should say - I say this as a cat owner who's fortunate to have cat-loving neighbours.) I think if someone is that riled about cats that they're installing that level of anti-cat measure and is that unreasonable about negotiation, it might be beyond the point of reconciliation.
I think that for your cat's safety and happiness I'd consider it being elsewhere, unless it can get used to being an indoor cat. (I'm not a cat hater, I should say - I say this as a cat owner who's fortunate to have cat-loving neighbours.) I think if someone is that riled about cats that they're installing that level of anti-cat measure and is that unreasonable about negotiation, it might be beyond the point of reconciliation.
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In reply to Sharp:
>"were at a bit of a loss on how to deal with her, it seems a complete joke over something so silly"
>"something so minor"
Part of the problem may be that you are seeing it as such a minor issue.
For someone who doesn't like cats, especially if they like gardening, having to clear cat poo off the garden every single day, having plants dug up and damaged and maybe having to deal with urine scent marks on door frames etc. too can be an extremely stressful situation. Far more so to her than, for example, you keeping your windows closed so you can't hear the deterrent noise.....
How old is the cat? Male or female? Neutered?? Entire tom cats are the biggest nuisance because of the smell, and this time of year entire queens are often calling incessantly every couple of weeks adding noise issues to the problem.
You need to find out from the neighbour exactly which aspects of the cats presence she objects to. If it is purely faeces you may find that providing a more attractive place for the cat to go - E.g. a sandpit in your garden - may help. Giving the neighbour a bag of dried food to sprinkle around commonly fouled areas can help as cats usually avoid defeacating where there may be food. Lion or tiger poo around the edges of the garden can also be a deterrent. Offering to go round every morning and clear up any poo, and maybe offering to buy netting or fencing to protect any vulnerable plants might be taken positively.
If it is purely the presence of the cat she objects to, there's not much you can do unless you go to the expense of building an outdoor run for the cat, or else keeping it indoors as a house cat.
Have you spoken to other neighbours to see if they have any issues (with her, with their cats or with your cat!)
>"were at a bit of a loss on how to deal with her, it seems a complete joke over something so silly"
>"something so minor"
Part of the problem may be that you are seeing it as such a minor issue.
For someone who doesn't like cats, especially if they like gardening, having to clear cat poo off the garden every single day, having plants dug up and damaged and maybe having to deal with urine scent marks on door frames etc. too can be an extremely stressful situation. Far more so to her than, for example, you keeping your windows closed so you can't hear the deterrent noise.....
How old is the cat? Male or female? Neutered?? Entire tom cats are the biggest nuisance because of the smell, and this time of year entire queens are often calling incessantly every couple of weeks adding noise issues to the problem.
You need to find out from the neighbour exactly which aspects of the cats presence she objects to. If it is purely faeces you may find that providing a more attractive place for the cat to go - E.g. a sandpit in your garden - may help. Giving the neighbour a bag of dried food to sprinkle around commonly fouled areas can help as cats usually avoid defeacating where there may be food. Lion or tiger poo around the edges of the garden can also be a deterrent. Offering to go round every morning and clear up any poo, and maybe offering to buy netting or fencing to protect any vulnerable plants might be taken positively.
If it is purely the presence of the cat she objects to, there's not much you can do unless you go to the expense of building an outdoor run for the cat, or else keeping it indoors as a house cat.
Have you spoken to other neighbours to see if they have any issues (with her, with their cats or with your cat!)
Post edited at 11:37
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In reply to Ron Rees Davies:
Thanks for everyone's help. We've decided just to bring the cat up to mine for it's own safety and contacted the police to report the harrassment and abusive language
I do see the cat walking through her garden as a minor issue to be honest but I don't think that's what's causing the problem; we've tried to find every solution to this for her and all we've had is abuse - there's no excuse for that. I have a garden and all the cat's in my street seem to delight in crapping in my herb garden but such is life, we live in a civilised country goverened by laws which allow people to keep cats and I have to deal with that as one of the compromises of sharing the world with other people. We have had the discussion with her over the issues and the last conversation we had which didn't involve screaming she said the issue is that the cat is sitting on her lawn and also looking at the birds (the issue isn't poo); she still likes to poo in her litter tray inside however much we let her out! (presumably being chased and screamed at isn't an environment conducive to doing your consitutionals).
We've offered everything from getting lion shit from the zoo to buying her a new (sillent) cat deterrant but she has rejected all these options and instead just uses her loud cat/teenager deterrant instead. I don't think being bullied into building an outdoor run for the cat is reasonable at all nor is keeping it inside, as per the link above cats are legally allowed to roam and no doubt we'd have the RSPCA around if we penned it in. Either way if someone really wants conflict then there's probably nothing we can do to placate her. I think the only way forward is to take the cat out of the environment for her own safety and let the police deal with the anti-social behaviour.
Thanks again for everyone's comments
Thanks for everyone's help. We've decided just to bring the cat up to mine for it's own safety and contacted the police to report the harrassment and abusive language
I do see the cat walking through her garden as a minor issue to be honest but I don't think that's what's causing the problem; we've tried to find every solution to this for her and all we've had is abuse - there's no excuse for that. I have a garden and all the cat's in my street seem to delight in crapping in my herb garden but such is life, we live in a civilised country goverened by laws which allow people to keep cats and I have to deal with that as one of the compromises of sharing the world with other people. We have had the discussion with her over the issues and the last conversation we had which didn't involve screaming she said the issue is that the cat is sitting on her lawn and also looking at the birds (the issue isn't poo); she still likes to poo in her litter tray inside however much we let her out! (presumably being chased and screamed at isn't an environment conducive to doing your consitutionals).
We've offered everything from getting lion shit from the zoo to buying her a new (sillent) cat deterrant but she has rejected all these options and instead just uses her loud cat/teenager deterrant instead. I don't think being bullied into building an outdoor run for the cat is reasonable at all nor is keeping it inside, as per the link above cats are legally allowed to roam and no doubt we'd have the RSPCA around if we penned it in. Either way if someone really wants conflict then there's probably nothing we can do to placate her. I think the only way forward is to take the cat out of the environment for her own safety and let the police deal with the anti-social behaviour.
Thanks again for everyone's comments
Post edited at 14:36
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In reply to Sharp:
Had a similar thing with our neighbor last year whose dog would bark persistently often from before 6am and sometimes until after midnight and it was stopping us getting our baby to sleep. After trying to be reasonable about it things came to a head one night when the dog was in her garden barking at 10.30ish and Mrs weasel came down from trying to settle baby weasel and told the dog to shut up. The neighbor was out of sight round the corner and immediately came and started shouting, swearing and threatening us. Fortunately we both rent through the same housing association so we reported it to them and as such put her tenancy at risk. We also reported it to the police and environmental health. Since then she has got a sonic device that seems to work. We logged everything and that helped when we reported the problem and the police also paid her a visit.
Not a nice situation, but it's resolved as best as it can be. Hope you manage to get some sort of resolution soon.
Had a similar thing with our neighbor last year whose dog would bark persistently often from before 6am and sometimes until after midnight and it was stopping us getting our baby to sleep. After trying to be reasonable about it things came to a head one night when the dog was in her garden barking at 10.30ish and Mrs weasel came down from trying to settle baby weasel and told the dog to shut up. The neighbor was out of sight round the corner and immediately came and started shouting, swearing and threatening us. Fortunately we both rent through the same housing association so we reported it to them and as such put her tenancy at risk. We also reported it to the police and environmental health. Since then she has got a sonic device that seems to work. We logged everything and that helped when we reported the problem and the police also paid her a visit.
Not a nice situation, but it's resolved as best as it can be. Hope you manage to get some sort of resolution soon.
In reply to Sharp:
Not a fan of cats myself but would however NEVER consider physically harming a cat, plus (much as I dislike the fact) when it comes to letting cats roam the law is on the side of the cat and not the landowner.
Regarding the noise deterrent, you have my sincere sympathy. It would absolutely do my head in if someone installed one of these in our back garden as even in my mid 30's I am still able to hear very high frequencies.
Not a fan of cats myself but would however NEVER consider physically harming a cat, plus (much as I dislike the fact) when it comes to letting cats roam the law is on the side of the cat and not the landowner.
Regarding the noise deterrent, you have my sincere sympathy. It would absolutely do my head in if someone installed one of these in our back garden as even in my mid 30's I am still able to hear very high frequencies.
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In reply to Sharp:
Not much sympathy from my side here. Why do you believe it is OK to annoy your neighbour with your cat, resorting to a legalistic argument in your defence, while arguing from a moralistic or emotional point of view regarding the cat repellent she chooses?
CB
edit: I hate high pitched noises even more than I hate cats shitting in my garden and killing my birds, but assuming that the deterrent is a legal piece of equipment fulfilling the appropriate norms, then fair is fair.
Not much sympathy from my side here. Why do you believe it is OK to annoy your neighbour with your cat, resorting to a legalistic argument in your defence, while arguing from a moralistic or emotional point of view regarding the cat repellent she chooses?
CB
edit: I hate high pitched noises even more than I hate cats shitting in my garden and killing my birds, but assuming that the deterrent is a legal piece of equipment fulfilling the appropriate norms, then fair is fair.
Post edited at 17:31
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In reply to Sharp:
If you own the house, perhaps check whether it might be logged that you've contacted the police in the way Trangia describes?
As somebody who has two or three cats which seem to like to poo in my garden, my long term solution is a mixture of imitation snakes, a stinky cat spray which somebody from here kindly emailed to me, Silent Roar (which smells like lion poo), plants which they don't like the smell of and a method of applying citrus type smells around my garden too.
It's better than being horrible about things, and I see it as just one of those things to find a solution to. My getting cross won't stop them pooing there, but it'd be nice to not often accidentally walk cat poo into my house, or to have the smell emerge from the ground whenever I do any digging.
For people who like to enjoy their gardens, cats pooing can be a pain. Individually as creatures - I quite like communing with cats when out and about...
If you own the house, perhaps check whether it might be logged that you've contacted the police in the way Trangia describes?
As somebody who has two or three cats which seem to like to poo in my garden, my long term solution is a mixture of imitation snakes, a stinky cat spray which somebody from here kindly emailed to me, Silent Roar (which smells like lion poo), plants which they don't like the smell of and a method of applying citrus type smells around my garden too.
It's better than being horrible about things, and I see it as just one of those things to find a solution to. My getting cross won't stop them pooing there, but it'd be nice to not often accidentally walk cat poo into my house, or to have the smell emerge from the ground whenever I do any digging.
For people who like to enjoy their gardens, cats pooing can be a pain. Individually as creatures - I quite like communing with cats when out and about...
Post edited at 17:53
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In reply to cb294:
A chainsaw is a legal bit of equipment but I bet the neighbour would be quick to complain if the OP started using one at 10pm - actually thinking about it, a chainsaw would probably do a pretty good job of blocking the high pitched device............. (might piss off the other neighbours though).
> edit: I hate high pitched noises even more than I hate cats shitting in my garden and killing my birds, but assuming that the deterrent is a legal piece of equipment fulfilling the appropriate norms, then fair is fair.
A chainsaw is a legal bit of equipment but I bet the neighbour would be quick to complain if the OP started using one at 10pm - actually thinking about it, a chainsaw would probably do a pretty good job of blocking the high pitched device............. (might piss off the other neighbours though).
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In reply to Jenny C:
If the teenager/cat repellent corresponds to the applicable technical norms and is legally for sale (which I actually believe it should not be) the OP is free to put earplugs in. After all, he is also happily inconveniencing the neighbours for his enjoyment.
CB
If the teenager/cat repellent corresponds to the applicable technical norms and is legally for sale (which I actually believe it should not be) the OP is free to put earplugs in. After all, he is also happily inconveniencing the neighbours for his enjoyment.
CB
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In reply to cb294:
Thanks again for everyone's comments, the police have been incredibly helpful as has her landlord and my other half will be returning home today feeling at least a lot less intimidated, we'll see if things settle down or escalate from here. She rents so if things continue I think moving will be the easiest solution as neither of us have the time or apetite for fighting. The cat's staying with me for now so I've got a new pal for the time being.
CB either you didn't read any of the details or you hate cats enough to think that abusive behaviour is justified. The cat doesn't shit in the lawn, the issue is that she lies on the neighbours grass and despite many polite attempts to find a solution to this at our expense we've been met with aggression, verbal abuse and deliberate noise polution sometimes positioned right outside the back door in an attempt to intimidate and bully us-the cat doesn't have any problem with the noise. I'm sorry you feel that finding a legal solution is unsuitable, believe me when you find someone close to you brought to tears all you want to do is put a brick through the window of the person responsible but in my experience it's best to stay within the law and not lower yourself to that level.
A sound system corresponds to the applicable technical norms and is legally for sale but if I put the speakers against the wall every night and shouted and screamed at you when you politely asked me to turn it down I wonder if you'd be so quick to reach for the eat plugs. I too don't enjoy finding cat shit in my lawn and garden but I manage to deal with the inconvenience without resorting to intimidation and verbal abuse-there are incredibly easy, low cost and uninvasive cat detterants as other people have mentioned which do a pretty good job. Washing cat shit off my parsley before eating it isn't the most pleasant of lifes jobs but cat's are perfectly legal too so as you say, fair is fair and I just have to deal with it. Running around the garden chasing cats, screaming abuse and putting teenager deterants at my neighbours back doors seems like a less sensible solution than spraying anti-cat spray around flower beds but I guess everyone deals with things in different ways.
Thanks again for everyone's comments, the police have been incredibly helpful as has her landlord and my other half will be returning home today feeling at least a lot less intimidated, we'll see if things settle down or escalate from here. She rents so if things continue I think moving will be the easiest solution as neither of us have the time or apetite for fighting. The cat's staying with me for now so I've got a new pal for the time being.
CB either you didn't read any of the details or you hate cats enough to think that abusive behaviour is justified. The cat doesn't shit in the lawn, the issue is that she lies on the neighbours grass and despite many polite attempts to find a solution to this at our expense we've been met with aggression, verbal abuse and deliberate noise polution sometimes positioned right outside the back door in an attempt to intimidate and bully us-the cat doesn't have any problem with the noise. I'm sorry you feel that finding a legal solution is unsuitable, believe me when you find someone close to you brought to tears all you want to do is put a brick through the window of the person responsible but in my experience it's best to stay within the law and not lower yourself to that level.
A sound system corresponds to the applicable technical norms and is legally for sale but if I put the speakers against the wall every night and shouted and screamed at you when you politely asked me to turn it down I wonder if you'd be so quick to reach for the eat plugs. I too don't enjoy finding cat shit in my lawn and garden but I manage to deal with the inconvenience without resorting to intimidation and verbal abuse-there are incredibly easy, low cost and uninvasive cat detterants as other people have mentioned which do a pretty good job. Washing cat shit off my parsley before eating it isn't the most pleasant of lifes jobs but cat's are perfectly legal too so as you say, fair is fair and I just have to deal with it. Running around the garden chasing cats, screaming abuse and putting teenager deterants at my neighbours back doors seems like a less sensible solution than spraying anti-cat spray around flower beds but I guess everyone deals with things in different ways.
Post edited at 08:43
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In reply to Sharp:
OMG neighbor disputes.... After having one my advice is to move if at all possible if resolution isn't forthcoming. I had one that escalated out of all proportion. Luckily I was renting so I moved. To find out later the other person has had numeous issues with people that lived in my old flat.
I'm after buying somewhere next year or so, and one of my first priorities is to check out the neighbours...
OMG neighbor disputes.... After having one my advice is to move if at all possible if resolution isn't forthcoming. I had one that escalated out of all proportion. Luckily I was renting so I moved. To find out later the other person has had numeous issues with people that lived in my old flat.
I'm after buying somewhere next year or so, and one of my first priorities is to check out the neighbours...
In reply to Sharp:
I guess we have to disagree here. If your neighbour does not tolerate your partner´s cat in her garden, as the cat is "looking at birds", i.e. trying to kill them, she is completely right. Even though the law may technically be at your side, owning a cat and failing to control its behaviour is extremely selfish, intrusive and inconsiderate. Same as playing loud music late in the evening, gunning the of your motorcycle, or using a chainsaw on Sundays (as per a recent thread): Anyone really interested in good relations with their neighbours and possessing any common courtesy would refrain from these activities. I really don´t see why cat ownership is any different. Failing to control your cat and offering the neighbour alternative remedies (that they would have to apply in their garden!) is essentially a big "F*ck You", as you are making it crystal clear that your enjoyment ranks above anything else.
Any legal means to combat such antisocial if unfortunately legal behaviour is therefore fair enough. And anyway, since when is chasing or scaring a bloody cat from your garden illegal? I really can´t understand how you appear to feel entitled to sympathy and support: Don´t you accept that your partner started this conflict in the first place by letting her cat into the neighbour´s garden.
CB
I guess we have to disagree here. If your neighbour does not tolerate your partner´s cat in her garden, as the cat is "looking at birds", i.e. trying to kill them, she is completely right. Even though the law may technically be at your side, owning a cat and failing to control its behaviour is extremely selfish, intrusive and inconsiderate. Same as playing loud music late in the evening, gunning the of your motorcycle, or using a chainsaw on Sundays (as per a recent thread): Anyone really interested in good relations with their neighbours and possessing any common courtesy would refrain from these activities. I really don´t see why cat ownership is any different. Failing to control your cat and offering the neighbour alternative remedies (that they would have to apply in their garden!) is essentially a big "F*ck You", as you are making it crystal clear that your enjoyment ranks above anything else.
Any legal means to combat such antisocial if unfortunately legal behaviour is therefore fair enough. And anyway, since when is chasing or scaring a bloody cat from your garden illegal? I really can´t understand how you appear to feel entitled to sympathy and support: Don´t you accept that your partner started this conflict in the first place by letting her cat into the neighbour´s garden.
CB
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In reply to cb294:
Don´t you accept that your partner started this conflict in the first place by letting her cat into the neighbour´s garden.
You must be delight as a neighbour!
Living next to someone involves give and take. Trivial matters like a cat sitting on your lawn, leave falling from trees, occasional daytime noise etc. are not things where a sensible response is screaming and slamming doors.
Don´t you accept that your partner started this conflict in the first place by letting her cat into the neighbour´s garden.
You must be delight as a neighbour!
Living next to someone involves give and take. Trivial matters like a cat sitting on your lawn, leave falling from trees, occasional daytime noise etc. are not things where a sensible response is screaming and slamming doors.
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In reply to Sharp:
Our neighbour's two cats sh*t in our garden, and it's a small urban garden with a 2 and 4 year old playing in it. It's extremely tiresome and unpleasant doing the poo patrol, but I don't take it personally. It's not like you can train a cat.
In the end, I tried the sonic deterrent, various lotions and potions you spray about. The thing that did for them was a motion activated sprayer.
Don't go and report her, put up CCTV or resort to other antagonistic behaviour. That's how neighbourly disputes get blown out of all proportion and you'll end up embittered, entrenched and starring on a channel 5 documentary. Talk to her and sort it out like adults.
Our neighbour's two cats sh*t in our garden, and it's a small urban garden with a 2 and 4 year old playing in it. It's extremely tiresome and unpleasant doing the poo patrol, but I don't take it personally. It's not like you can train a cat.
In the end, I tried the sonic deterrent, various lotions and potions you spray about. The thing that did for them was a motion activated sprayer.
Don't go and report her, put up CCTV or resort to other antagonistic behaviour. That's how neighbourly disputes get blown out of all proportion and you'll end up embittered, entrenched and starring on a channel 5 documentary. Talk to her and sort it out like adults.
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In reply to MG:
I guess I am a good neighbour, judging the way I get along with almost everyone in our cul-de-sac. my family are certainly helpful and quiet, and I regularly lend tools to my neighbours (or fix things myself). We also often share BBQs or watch football matches in the garden together. I don´t mind occasional daytime noise, and actually enjoy the "noise" made by the children in my childminder neighbour´s group.
I simply disagree that letting your cat roam is a "trivial matter"as it is no different from letting your dog or any other pet shit into the neighbours garden. To me this amounts to antisocial (if unfortunately legal) behaviour, no different from smashing glass bottles, letting your dog shit on the pavement, or playing loud music at night.
CB
I guess I am a good neighbour, judging the way I get along with almost everyone in our cul-de-sac. my family are certainly helpful and quiet, and I regularly lend tools to my neighbours (or fix things myself). We also often share BBQs or watch football matches in the garden together. I don´t mind occasional daytime noise, and actually enjoy the "noise" made by the children in my childminder neighbour´s group.
I simply disagree that letting your cat roam is a "trivial matter"as it is no different from letting your dog or any other pet shit into the neighbours garden. To me this amounts to antisocial (if unfortunately legal) behaviour, no different from smashing glass bottles, letting your dog shit on the pavement, or playing loud music at night.
CB
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In reply to Max factor:
Exactly, hence owning a cat in a built up area is intrinsically antisocial, as you could know beforehand that your neighbours will suffer from your enjoyment. Keep the animal indoors, or get a pet you can train.
CB
> It's not like you can train a cat.
Exactly, hence owning a cat in a built up area is intrinsically antisocial, as you could know beforehand that your neighbours will suffer from your enjoyment. Keep the animal indoors, or get a pet you can train.
CB
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In reply to cb294:
You think a cat sitting on the lawn is like a dog shitting there? Honestly, some people!
> I simply disagree that letting your cat roam is a "trivial matter"as it is no different from letting your dog or any other pet shit into the neighbours garden.
You think a cat sitting on the lawn is like a dog shitting there? Honestly, some people!
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In reply to MG:
A cat sitting on a lawn harasses birds. What point putting up nest boxes or bird feeders if the next door pest comes and kills them. Also, the cat may sit there in the day, but come an crap at night.
CB
A cat sitting on a lawn harasses birds. What point putting up nest boxes or bird feeders if the next door pest comes and kills them. Also, the cat may sit there in the day, but come an crap at night.
CB
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In reply to cb294:
Keep the animal indoors,
Just as warning, one day you may find a bird, squirrel, or even a fox, in your garden. Be prepared for this shocking and horrific upset to your peaceful enjoyment of life.
Keep the animal indoors,
Just as warning, one day you may find a bird, squirrel, or even a fox, in your garden. Be prepared for this shocking and horrific upset to your peaceful enjoyment of life.
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In reply to cb294:
Just to clarify verbally abusing and trying to intimidate a young woman is not legal behaviour and if you think owning a cat justifies this then I'll leave you to your views. The police seem to have taken it quite seriously and I expect we're not the first to experience this from her.
> Any legal means to combat such antisocial if unfortunately legal behaviour is therefore fair enough. And anyway, since when is chasing or scaring a bloody cat from your garden illegal? I really can´t understand how you appear to feel entitled to sympathy and support:
Just to clarify verbally abusing and trying to intimidate a young woman is not legal behaviour and if you think owning a cat justifies this then I'll leave you to your views. The police seem to have taken it quite seriously and I expect we're not the first to experience this from her.
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In reply to Sharp:
I'm not so sure that a noise deterrent like you neighbour has is legal. They may be legal to sell but it is also, arguably, causing a public nuisance and something that your local council should investigate as such. Given that you seem to be able to hear it at your advanced years it sounds as if it is an indiscriminate device designed to annoy. That cannot be reasonable and, given that you've already contacted the police I would complain to the council as well.
As for the 'nobody should have a cat' arguments raised above well, that boat has sailed.
I'm not so sure that a noise deterrent like you neighbour has is legal. They may be legal to sell but it is also, arguably, causing a public nuisance and something that your local council should investigate as such. Given that you seem to be able to hear it at your advanced years it sounds as if it is an indiscriminate device designed to annoy. That cannot be reasonable and, given that you've already contacted the police I would complain to the council as well.
As for the 'nobody should have a cat' arguments raised above well, that boat has sailed.
Post edited at 10:48
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In reply to MG:
Cats in small urban gardens can be a pain, though. The two same cats poo in my garden every day, that's 730 deposits of cat poo each year. With anything between three and six bits of poo left in each visit, in a small garden it starts to mount up.
Having done a lot of digging recently, the smell seems to have gone through my turning the soil over, but up until now whenever I've done anything in the garden I've had the scent of cat poo escaping while doing anything, or else I've trodden in it.
When I first moved here the garden was covered in wood chip and it seemed like a few cats used it to poo in. I've got the number down from 4 to 2 by chasing a couple away whenever they've appeared, which seems fair enough to me given the pong and the annoyance of accidentally walking it into my house.
I actually like cats too, but where do people imagine their cats are going to go and poo if it isn't in their own gardens?
The poo stinks and it's sticky.....
> Keep the animal indoors,
> Just as warning, one day you may find a bird, squirrel, or even a fox, in your garden. Be prepared for this shocking and horrific upset to your peaceful enjoyment of life.
Cats in small urban gardens can be a pain, though. The two same cats poo in my garden every day, that's 730 deposits of cat poo each year. With anything between three and six bits of poo left in each visit, in a small garden it starts to mount up.
Having done a lot of digging recently, the smell seems to have gone through my turning the soil over, but up until now whenever I've done anything in the garden I've had the scent of cat poo escaping while doing anything, or else I've trodden in it.
When I first moved here the garden was covered in wood chip and it seemed like a few cats used it to poo in. I've got the number down from 4 to 2 by chasing a couple away whenever they've appeared, which seems fair enough to me given the pong and the annoyance of accidentally walking it into my house.
I actually like cats too, but where do people imagine their cats are going to go and poo if it isn't in their own gardens?
The poo stinks and it's sticky.....
Post edited at 11:48
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In reply to Timmd:
That's rather different to objecting to a cat sitting on your lawn! I agree owners should do thing like provide litter trays to avoid this sort of problem. Your situation sounds extreme - by contrast the half dozen neighbourhood cats that pass through my garden on rarely use it as toilet, and mostly in areas of bare soil/sand, perhaps similar to woodchips.
That's rather different to objecting to a cat sitting on your lawn! I agree owners should do thing like provide litter trays to avoid this sort of problem. Your situation sounds extreme - by contrast the half dozen neighbourhood cats that pass through my garden on rarely use it as toilet, and mostly in areas of bare soil/sand, perhaps similar to woodchips.
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In reply to MG:
I regularly have squirrels, foxes, and occasionally even wild boar in my garden, and am extremely happy to see them. However, they are wild animals there by their own right, not some pet entering my garden because some antisocial neighbour thinks it is OK to enjoy himself in a way that clearly affects everyone else living in the vicinity.
CB
I regularly have squirrels, foxes, and occasionally even wild boar in my garden, and am extremely happy to see them. However, they are wild animals there by their own right, not some pet entering my garden because some antisocial neighbour thinks it is OK to enjoy himself in a way that clearly affects everyone else living in the vicinity.
CB
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In reply to Sharp:
Your neighbour may be a difficult and abusive person, and the way you tell it may have crossed a boundary. Doesn´t change the fact that your partner triggered this dispute by letting her cat intrude on her neighbours garden..
CB
Your neighbour may be a difficult and abusive person, and the way you tell it may have crossed a boundary. Doesn´t change the fact that your partner triggered this dispute by letting her cat intrude on her neighbours garden..
CB
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In reply to cb294:
This is important. I feel a bit sorry for the neighbor, who apparently has no choice at all in the matter. From the sound of it, she got knocked on her door at 10 by somebody demanding she turn off her cat deterrent. When she told the person to piss off in a non racist and non threatening way, then the man went over there to have a go at her. If she lived alone, she must have been terrified!
From the point of view of justice, the woman deserves to be left alone and for your cat to stay away from her garden. I'm glad she came up with the annoying cat deterrent because without that it doesn't sound like the OP was ever going to consider what she deserves.
For her trouble , she got the police called on her, and trouble with the landlord. Doesn't sound very just to me when she never asked for a cat or a fight.
> Doesn´t change the fact that your partner triggered this dispute by letting her cat intrude on her neighbours garden..
> CB
This is important. I feel a bit sorry for the neighbor, who apparently has no choice at all in the matter. From the sound of it, she got knocked on her door at 10 by somebody demanding she turn off her cat deterrent. When she told the person to piss off in a non racist and non threatening way, then the man went over there to have a go at her. If she lived alone, she must have been terrified!
From the point of view of justice, the woman deserves to be left alone and for your cat to stay away from her garden. I'm glad she came up with the annoying cat deterrent because without that it doesn't sound like the OP was ever going to consider what she deserves.
For her trouble , she got the police called on her, and trouble with the landlord. Doesn't sound very just to me when she never asked for a cat or a fight.
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In reply to Sharp:
Offer to go halves on the cost of her buying a large dog.
That should help sort out the territorial problem.
Offer to go halves on the cost of her buying a large dog.
That should help sort out the territorial problem.
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In reply to Sharp:
Seems to me that it's not because you own a cat, but because you banged on her door at 10 pm to demand that she turns down the cat deterrent, which she only needs because of your cat. Even then, you can only hear it because you insist on having the windows open. In her circumstances, I would have been abusive with much dirty language as well.
>The police seem to have taken it quite seriously
Just because the police went to talk to her doesn't mean you are right, or that what she did was illegal
>and I expect we're not the first to experience this from her.
Burn the witch!!!
> Just to clarify verbally abusing and trying to intimidate a young woman is not legal behaviour
I'm not convinced your neighbor has done anything illegal, or even unreasonable. I don't think it's illegal to tell your neighbor off, or to use dirty words when doing so. > and if you think owning a cat justifies this then I'll leave you to your views.
Seems to me that it's not because you own a cat, but because you banged on her door at 10 pm to demand that she turns down the cat deterrent, which she only needs because of your cat. Even then, you can only hear it because you insist on having the windows open. In her circumstances, I would have been abusive with much dirty language as well.
>The police seem to have taken it quite seriously
Just because the police went to talk to her doesn't mean you are right, or that what she did was illegal
>and I expect we're not the first to experience this from her.
Burn the witch!!!
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In reply to cb294:
No, that generally doesn't happen. Do you shit at night in the spot where you like to sit during the day?
A neighbours cat likes to sit in my garden, I'm not even sure which neighbour. Until recently there were two (roadkill I fear, the road out front is a busy rat run on weekday mornings). I don't know where that cat craps, but it definitely isn't here.
> Also, the cat may sit there in the day, but come an crap at night.
No, that generally doesn't happen. Do you shit at night in the spot where you like to sit during the day?
A neighbours cat likes to sit in my garden, I'm not even sure which neighbour. Until recently there were two (roadkill I fear, the road out front is a busy rat run on weekday mornings). I don't know where that cat craps, but it definitely isn't here.
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In reply to Max factor:
Did your neighbours come round to object to this?
> Our neighbour's two cats sh*t in our garden, and it's a small urban garden with a 2 and 4 year old playing in it. It's extremely tiresome and unpleasant doing the poo patrol, but I don't take it personally. It's not like you can train a cat.
> In the end, I tried the sonic deterrent
Did your neighbours come round to object to this?
In reply to Sharp:
You do seem to very much down playing the potential irritation that you are causing to your neighbour, and this in itself is likely to irritate her further. It's like when you ask someone to turn their music off at 3 am on a sunday morning and they say "ah but it's the weekend".
Maybe ranting and raving about it isn't the correct way to go about registering her irritation but maybe this is an issue that she's been putting up with for a long time, trying to be a good neighbour and ignore it for your benefit, and this it the end result.
Regarding whatever your cat does in someone else's garden, this doesn't really matter, it's their garden so you don't get to choose what they do or don't want to put up with/endure.
Perhaps the neighbour thinks that using this acoustic deterrent is giving you a dose of your own medicine, preventing you from enjoying the garden in the way that your cat does to her.
I've resorted to extra hot chilli powder to keep the cars off my garden.
You do seem to very much down playing the potential irritation that you are causing to your neighbour, and this in itself is likely to irritate her further. It's like when you ask someone to turn their music off at 3 am on a sunday morning and they say "ah but it's the weekend".
Maybe ranting and raving about it isn't the correct way to go about registering her irritation but maybe this is an issue that she's been putting up with for a long time, trying to be a good neighbour and ignore it for your benefit, and this it the end result.
Regarding whatever your cat does in someone else's garden, this doesn't really matter, it's their garden so you don't get to choose what they do or don't want to put up with/endure.
Perhaps the neighbour thinks that using this acoustic deterrent is giving you a dose of your own medicine, preventing you from enjoying the garden in the way that your cat does to her.
I've resorted to extra hot chilli powder to keep the cars off my garden.
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In reply to Sharp:
I'm tempted to sympathise with your neighbour rather than you.
In short, your partner has a cat. Their cat annoys your neighbour, hence, if there was any transgression, your partner was first. Your neighbour is actually entitled to enjoy their garden as they wish, not how you wish.
The neighbour has - perfectly reasonably - installed a device to get rid of cat, to which you have objected. So, first you cause the problem, then you object to their attempts to mitigate the problem you have caused. Then first your partner, then you, go round and bang on their door at 10pm to object to their mitigation to the problem you caused. Then you call the police on them.
Well done for dealing with the issue in an adult and responsible manner and not escalating it at all.
For what it's worth, I love cats. However we have an alley down the side of our house which, until we got a cat scarer, reeked of catsh*t from neighbours cats. It really was not pleasant and meant that if we had friends round with kids we ended up clearing a lot of catsh*t out which we were in no way responsible for. It was extremely annoying. However you say the issue isn't poo.
The way you are writing comes across - as others have already pointed out - as someone with a massive entitlement problem who thinks that they can inconvenience and upset anyone else as much as they like but as soon as anyone else objects then it's nuke them from orbit time and get them into trouble with the police, which may have massive repercussions including losing the person their job and their home.
Presumably you don't mind this.
Obviously if the reality is totally different from the above then fair enough, and it may just be the way you are coming across, but, in my view, you are not coming across well in your telling of the story.
I'm tempted to sympathise with your neighbour rather than you.
In short, your partner has a cat. Their cat annoys your neighbour, hence, if there was any transgression, your partner was first. Your neighbour is actually entitled to enjoy their garden as they wish, not how you wish.
The neighbour has - perfectly reasonably - installed a device to get rid of cat, to which you have objected. So, first you cause the problem, then you object to their attempts to mitigate the problem you have caused. Then first your partner, then you, go round and bang on their door at 10pm to object to their mitigation to the problem you caused. Then you call the police on them.
Well done for dealing with the issue in an adult and responsible manner and not escalating it at all.
For what it's worth, I love cats. However we have an alley down the side of our house which, until we got a cat scarer, reeked of catsh*t from neighbours cats. It really was not pleasant and meant that if we had friends round with kids we ended up clearing a lot of catsh*t out which we were in no way responsible for. It was extremely annoying. However you say the issue isn't poo.
The way you are writing comes across - as others have already pointed out - as someone with a massive entitlement problem who thinks that they can inconvenience and upset anyone else as much as they like but as soon as anyone else objects then it's nuke them from orbit time and get them into trouble with the police, which may have massive repercussions including losing the person their job and their home.
Presumably you don't mind this.
Obviously if the reality is totally different from the above then fair enough, and it may just be the way you are coming across, but, in my view, you are not coming across well in your telling of the story.
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Are people not seeing that the OP has offered to pay for a solution that's agreeable to both parties and been refused? I wouldn't want this woman as a neighbour, cat or no cat, if this is symptomatic of how she lives with the people around her.
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In reply to Sharp:
I deal with neighbour disputes very often in my professional life. Take my tip.
Move.
jcm
I deal with neighbour disputes very often in my professional life. Take my tip.
Move.
jcm
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In reply to Sharp:
We've decided just to bring the cat up to mine for it's own safety and contacted the police to report the harrassment and abusive language
You've contacted the police about an argument about a cat? Well, that's really going to make the situation better with your neighbour! Both parties seem to be entrenched in their views. However, at the end of the day, it's your cat that's doing the shitting... I would suggest you go to your neighbour on bended knee and sort it out.
We've decided just to bring the cat up to mine for it's own safety and contacted the police to report the harrassment and abusive language
You've contacted the police about an argument about a cat? Well, that's really going to make the situation better with your neighbour! Both parties seem to be entrenched in their views. However, at the end of the day, it's your cat that's doing the shitting... I would suggest you go to your neighbour on bended knee and sort it out.
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In reply to FreshSlate:
No. I can't hear a thing (but my wife can - smug!), and it's only activated for 30 seconds by infra red sensor. Quite few of the neighbours have them so roaming cats must be a common problem!
No. I can't hear a thing (but my wife can - smug!), and it's only activated for 30 seconds by infra red sensor. Quite few of the neighbours have them so roaming cats must be a common problem!
In reply to Sharp:
I'd try again in the morning when the neighbor is less likely to have a bottle of wine in her. You could also try a peace offering, invite them over for a BBQ or similar, it's much harder to be a dick when you actually know your neighbors and have spent a little time together.
I'm not sure the council or police will be especially interested in a one off row though it may go on file in case matters escalate.
On the cat/teenager scaring device, I feel your pain, I find them utterly unbearable. The really loud ones can even be disorienting but as a middle aged man I am almost universally met with confusion and scorn when I complain about them. If it were outside my bedroom window it'd be developing a mysterious electrical fault. The sooner they're banned the better but I don't hold out any hope.
jk
I'd try again in the morning when the neighbor is less likely to have a bottle of wine in her. You could also try a peace offering, invite them over for a BBQ or similar, it's much harder to be a dick when you actually know your neighbors and have spent a little time together.
I'm not sure the council or police will be especially interested in a one off row though it may go on file in case matters escalate.
On the cat/teenager scaring device, I feel your pain, I find them utterly unbearable. The really loud ones can even be disorienting but as a middle aged man I am almost universally met with confusion and scorn when I complain about them. If it were outside my bedroom window it'd be developing a mysterious electrical fault. The sooner they're banned the better but I don't hold out any hope.
jk
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This forum does my head in sometimes, at least read the posts before comenting that "it's my cat doing the shitting" when it's not my cat and it's not shitting! We're the quietest and unargumentative people imaginable yet most people seem to think that we deserve this and have brought it on ourselves. We've dealt with this as amacably as we could and every time we've tried to find a solution we've got verbal abuse - at any time of the day we've tried to deal with it. There are at least 6 cats that roam the gardens (it's a rural area) but she doesn't have a problem with any of them only our cat supposedly but clearly it's not about the cat. Even though we've taken the cat away and not been down there ourselves the man that lives there started on us again last night when we went down after work to pick some things up - we were only there two minutes and there were passers by who witnessed this in the street. The police recomended we press charges but calling them was a last resort for us and we have no reason to extend this any longer than necessary so we didn't. She's currently looking for a new place to live and the deal is we don't take the cat back and they don't speak to us about anything.
My girlfriend works two jobs, I'm in the office till 8 at night for the next 10 days, I've got a leak in my roof, need to find time to take the car into the garage etc. etc. and neither of us have the time for this or want anything more to do with them - we are not the agravating factor and we're not the ones enjoying the drama. On some settings the deterrant can be heard over the TV even after closing all the windows, putting that thing right outside our door at night is not normal behaviour. I have no issue with cat deterrants, we've even offered to buy her one that doesn't have a loud teenager setting but she clearly likes using that one - no one on this forum heard it so quite how anyone can come to the opinion it was a reasonable noise I have no idea. Neither has anyone heard the vile language that's been levelled at us yet people are still defending it - there's totally no place for that in society. All we wanted was to come home knackered from work, get some tea and go to bed yet we have to endure another sleepless night worrying about her and my girlfriend not feeling she can go to her home on her own-the cat isn't even there any more so there's no need for it, they've won just leave us alone.
The UKC collective are free to their opinions but hopefully that's it finished so it's over and out from me and I'll leave this thread for anyone who wants to talk about how we've brought all this on ourselves by owning a cat.
Post edited at 10:01
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In reply to marsbar:
Yes, among other things.
I can only assume you have joined a climbing forum to keep track of what subjects other people post about, which sounds infinitely sadder.
Should I contact you in the future to be sure that the subjects I post about meet your expectations?
> Did you actually sign up to a climbing forum to talk about cats?
Yes, among other things.
I can only assume you have joined a climbing forum to keep track of what subjects other people post about, which sounds infinitely sadder.
Should I contact you in the future to be sure that the subjects I post about meet your expectations?
Post edited at 10:04
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