Bloody cats !

Thanks Katek The anti-vandal paint might be a good idea. I will get DH on the case tonight.

I share your pain gilly, we are surrounded by cats and get cat poo on the lawn too as well as the borders. We have seen one particular cat defecate on the lawn but can't get to him/her fast enough to deter the action. I wonder if it's because the borders are festooned with a variety of cat repellant products. We also get fox poo which ironically seems easier to clean up. Pepper does work but only temporarily when it's dry, if there is a long term solution I'm afraid it has eluded us. Put my hand in some last week. Definitely not nice!

We have had cats and loved them, but must confess at the moment to being utterly sick of a neighbour's cat that's always lurking in a shrubby bed of ours, waiting to pounce on the birds that we like to encourage.

The other day I put the hose that bed and really soaked it, but I think I'm going to have to put a load of very prickly prunings in its lurk-space as well.

The problem is Witzend is that often the cat you love, is the cat that is causing your neighbours so many problems.

I am happy to loan out Sam the cat chaser! He's never caught one but he likes to give them a head start !

We never have cat poo in the garden now . He is reasonably cheap, nicely house trained and never digs up the flowers !

I would NEVER have a cat (or any other animal for that matter) as I work full time. I hate cats anyway. Can't see the point of them other than to go around fighting, shrieking, killing birds and shitting in other peoples gardens.
I couldn't agree more gilly. And as for people saying there's nothing to be done, they're basically wild animals, when they go out there's no way to control their behaviour and so on, well there's your answer - don't let them run free. If people want pets they should accept total responsibility for them. End of. If they can't then they shouldn't have pets. A friend once had a pedigree cat - he built a large run, complete with a little warm hut, with lots of cat toys. This was accessible from the kitchen door, so no trouble to 'let the cat out'. That cat didn't make a nuisance of himself to anyone else, just as it should be.
It just winds me up that people think we should all put up with the incessant cat shit just because, 'well there's nothing you can do'. It's about bloody time something was done. There's been talk of a DNA database to match dog poo to dog owner, so that culprits can be prosecuted - well their owners that is. This could be extended to cats - that would soon galvanise their owners into action!

I hope my cats have never been a nuisance to anyone else. They've pretty much always used our own garden, that I'm aware of, and since 2010 we have only have indoor cats so they're definitely not causing anyone any trouble.

I hope you can find a solution to the problem. If none of the ideas here works, would it be worth actually providing a litter or sand tray outside, in the hopes the cat would use that rather than the beds or grass? Or would it attract even more cats, do you think?

indinana, you have my sympathy because you can never experience joy from having a cat curled up on your lap and purring.

It's frankly a non-starter to expect cat owners to pick up after them because cats go out on their own, not on leads.

Haha, I certainly don't need your sympathy angelab, I experience plenty of joy from the family dogs, thank you . And their mess is not imposed on other, often dog-free, homes.
Fifty years ago people would have claimed it was a"non-starter" to expect dog owners to pick up after their dogs. And dogs used to go out on their own, not on leads, when I was a child.

True, but that has never (and hopefully never will be) the case with cats. Dogs go out on leads because they can pose a danger to people, which is not the case with cats - as far as I know, no cat has ever savagely attacked anyone while outside?

Don't get me wrong, I love dogs as well, it is the fault of owners that dogs are vicious.

Also I remeber only too well having to scrape dog poo off ny shoes while out walking, this has never been the case for cat poo.

I don't have any pets of my own (as I work and have a lot of family commitments) but I occasionally help my sister out by walking her dog now and again and she is a sweet little thing. Her poops are teeny but I ALWAYS pick them up (I gag, but I do it) as I couldn't bear to think someone would step in it or get it on their hands or clothes. The thought is disgusting. Why do cat owners defend the fact that THEIR animal (probably bigger than my sisters little dog) should be allowed to poo all over other peoples private property and not give a second thought about it? In fact they defend their actions by saying "they are wild animals or there is nothing we can do about it" WELL THERE IS ! Simply don't get a cat if you are not prepared to train them properly to use a litter tray.

gillybob my cat and my family's cats have all used litter trays when they are indoors. That's not the same as training them to come in from outside to use the litter tray.

Also I remeber only too well having to scrape dog poo off ny shoes while out walking, this has never been the case for cat poo

No. Me and my DGC who love planting/digging in the soil, just tend to get it all over our hands angelab

There are only so many poops an animal can do in one day though surely angelab and if your cat is doing how ever many on the litter tray then you can be "fairly" confident that it is not always using next doors private garden as a toilet.

That's as may be, gilly, but I'm talking about keeping public areas clean/hygienic. Surely that is what the law is for, it doesn't apply to people's own property?

We have several cats that use our garden as a walk through and yes, a toilet. We have tried all the deterrents and truthfully none of them work. We have a lot of dog visitors and even that doesn't put them off.
We don't dislike cats, in fact one of our daughters has two beautiful indoor cats. Finding hidden poo when you are gardening is horrid.

Yes, I do think owners should somehow be accountable , there must be some way.

My property is my property. It is private. Surely I should be able to enjoy my little bit of outside space without worrying about sticking my hands in (other peoples) cat poo.

Maybe there is a case for banning cats in towns and built up areas, where they will always use the nearest garden to their own as their personal toilet. There are very few proper gardens where I live and an awful lot of cats.

As I have said before I don't agree that cats can't be trained to use a litter tray. If I managed to train an adult feral cat to use one then it is certainly possible to train kittens.

sunseeker if you read my post carefully, I was distinguishing training cats to come in from outside specifically to use the litter tray.

The law relating to trespass in the context of domestic animals is found in the Animals Act 1971. However, cats enjoy a unique position as the Animals Act 1971 does not apply to them. This is how cats have this ‘right to roam’ and they cannot, therefore, trespass in the legal sense. Therefore, an owner cannot be legally responsible for where their cats go.

Always wear gloves when gardening!
There seems to be a lot of cat hate building up here, talk of banning etc.Sure it can be a nuisance, but cats are lovely animals after all.We keep a full garden with no handy bare patches usually which is the best thing to do.Nothing else works unless you have a dog sitting in the garden.

Well said, roses

Sorry roses and other cat lovers. But I really don't agree with you. I don't love cats. I don't want a cat and I don't want my neighbours cat poop all over my garden. Next doors cat just digs the plants up anyway so nothing to do with bare patches.

Maybe I might have to resort to DH's original silly idea and give the poops back to the rightful owners. Like their cats, he might not be fussy where he puts it either.

I can't garden with gloves on roses I have tried but I can't feel what I am doing. Even so I wouldn't want it on my gloves either.

I'm afraid we're all going to have to agree to differ on this post

gillybob if your DH does that he may well be inviting a visit from the local PC.

I love my cat, she is so affectionate and I think that she appreciates her home as she had two awful ones previously.