Cat mess

Cats don't always use some-one else's garden in preference to their own, I have had cats who had their own toilet area in our garden.

I have a cat again now (he was my DD's but that's another story), he does use my garden although he may venture into other neighbours, he does wander round "his territory" & isn't frightened of dogs of any size

I do wish I could keep him out of other gardens but we are mainly open gardens (no gates, low walls or hedges) so nothing to stop him having a wander around.

Nothing really works apart from a water spray, I usually only need to pick my bottle up for cat to stop what he is doing

Find a friend with a dog, and invite them round regularly. Let dog run in garden. The cats won't come in after a while, even when the dog isn't there.

valeriej they do do it on grass I have trodden in the stuff twice while hanging the washing out (and it's very hard to clear it up usually with streaming eyes and heaving) I have used lots of prickly material, particularly Pyracantha cuttings and Holly branches. I have also got one of those battery scarers, I have a length of garden hose, one of thoseBlack crinkly fabric ones and lay it on the grass in a wriggly pattern.I'm told the cats think it's a snake (can't be sure about that because no cat has ever said it) But I am winning, I never give up trying but their visits are dwindling.

Agree with moth balls. It's worked for me. You can buy quite large amounts on the net.

Most unusual for cats to poo on the grass, usually dig a hole and bury it. Could it be foxes?

Cats do poo on the lawn and on my flowerbeds and they don't bury it. They just do a perfunctory scratch and then walk off. I'm sick of the pesky things. My new neighbors have two and already they're coming into my garden, mind you there's nowhere for them to go in their own, it's paving and plastic grass so the owners should really provide them with a covered litter tray. I keep a water pistol handy but I don't always see them until it's too late.

Cats do their business on lawns and anywhere else they like. I tried everything I saw advertised and some old wives remedies but still they returned. We ripped our garden fence down built patios over the flowerbeds and put down artificial grass. We then replaced the fence with a steel one that could not be scaled because they could not get a claw hold. The first week a large ginger cat returned daily and did his business from the top of the fence on to the patio

We have foxes pooing in the Gardens round us so people worried about small children digging in soil and cat poo should be aware that other animals are creating dropping in their gardens too

Agree completely with valeriej43 - cats are hygienic - it's dogs that pooh on grass and walk away. Cats look for soil or gravel and they do bury their droppings - you only have to watch a cat in a litter tray to realise this. So I would question whether the pooh in the garden is really coming from the neighbour's cats. It could be a fox, particularly if the damage is being done at night and your daughter has never seen what actually happens. Fox pooh isn't that much different from cat pooh. Cats don't as a matter of fact like cucumber and I know that if you put a few cucumbers on the lawn and the droppings remain, then it's definitely a fox doing the damage. Please please don't put down disinfectant. By all means use a water spray if you actually see the cat wandering in but so far you haven't.

As an addition I would say that if your daughter is new to the area, she needs to make friends with the neighbour, especially as she might be adding a crying baby into the mix. My advice would be for her to approach the neighbour and ask whether she had had any problem with foxes as she (your daughter) has seen what she thinks is fox pooh on her lawn every morning. That will at least begin a dialogue during which the neighbour will very likely bring up the issue of her cat(s). At least your daughter will gain more information, and probably a new relationship.

I've SEEN the cat doing a poo on the lawn so don't talk absolute rubbish or try to blame another animal. I managed to tip a whole basin of freezing cold water onto one as it was crapping on my front lawn from the upstairs window - the whole neighbourhood knew it was a cat by the squeal it let out before running off soaked to the skin so yes, they most certainly DO poo on grass...or anywhere else they feel like.

Has your daughter actually seen the cats pooing on her lawn? Cats usually like to poo in soil so they can bury it. I have spent all summer digging over my flower beds and making new ones and my cat is overjoyed because she thinks I have made her the biggest cat litter in the world! It could be foxes, hedgehogs etc. especially if it happens late at night as cats will poo all day. If she is sure it's the neighbour's cats perhaps she could remind them about how much cats love freshly dug soil as she is finding it a nuisance to have to keep cleaning up their pets' mess or just get a big dog or a super soaker water gun. I am going to get my neighbour one for Christmas because she tells me that my cat lurks under her bird feeder.

I think cats have changed their toilet habits over the years
They used to dig holes, but now they seem to have adapted to modern living, and just go where they want to. No soil necessary.

It's absolute rubbish to say all cats are hygienic and bury their poo THEY DO NOT they leave it on top of grass (enclosed garden) my pebble path (a bugger to get up) and ON TOP of the soil by my plants what they do in their own litter trays does not convert to what they do in my garden Goldenage and NO it's not foxes it's cats I ve watched them and living on a main road in a town I ve never seen a fox

Leemaria - please please tell your daughter not to touch anything in her garden that may be contaminated with cat's mess. A friend of mine lost her granddaughter a few days old as her mother had been infected during pregnancy by being in contact with cat's mess whilst gardening. She knew nothing of this until after the baby's birth.

Unless your daughter's going to be rolling around in the cat poo, I don't see the issue? Just grab a small spade and bury it. Are you sure it's the next door neighbours cats and not other cats or even foxes. Fox poo is quite distinctive and they use it to mark their territory.

I'm not a cat person in any shape or form, and detest that they use my garden an a toilet. No matter how many times I clear up, there is more the next night! Like you I have tried all sorts of over the counter remedies with little success. Even the most assured rely on smell, and it wears off after a couple of days! But, I have found they don't like it if it looks like another cats eyes are looking back at them when they approach for a poo! Some put glass bottles in the border, but I have used a few old mirrors! Managed to get a few small circular ones, mount them on metal spikes and push into the soil. Looks a bit odd for a while, but I guess you could try the concept out? Good luck.

I was going to say are you sure it's not fox poo. There are a lot of juveniles around at the moment pooing smaller poos all over the place. The cats soon learn that they are not welcome in my garden but foxes are brazen and just don't care

I have caught next doors disgusting cat sh*tting on my garden too. There is no way a cat doing its business all over someone else's garden ( whether it's in the Soil, on the lawn or wherever) could be described as hygienic responsible dog owners pick up after their animals . The only cat owners I would describe as "responsible" are those who train THEIR animals to use cat litter and put a bell around THEIR animals neck to give to poor little birds half a chance .

Could your daughter not pop round and say as she is pregnant her doctor has forbidden her to pick up cat faeces, as it's a definite risk for pregnancy, that her fiance normally does it every day, so would they possibly come round into her garden and lift it away every day? If not , could she write a very gently worded note and put it in letter box? They may genuinely not have thought about it. She definitely should not lift it herself. Worst case scenario is she leaves it or pays someone to lift it

I've had cats for years and have never known one poo on the lawn. Cats always always always dig a hole in the flower bed, do a poo, and cover it over again. They try to do this if using a litter tray too. Which is why they're known as clean animals!

Sounds like foxes to me. I go round each day removing their poo from the lawns, shingle, paths ..... In fact anywhere they choose.

To deter neighbours coming into your garden, try a water pistol or the garden hose.

Neighbours CAT!!! Don't drench the neighbours ?

Cat and dog poo covered in flies on my lawn. And we think we are civilised. I think in a generation or so we will turn up our noses at the thought of domestic animals. Some used to keep pigs indoors and they don't wipe their bottoms either.i m not surprised that animal keepers get stomach upsets.

Cats unfortunately do this. If she gets on with the neighbours and they are aware she is pregnant then maybe a friendly " I'm sorry to ask but your cats have been pooing in the garden and I have to be careful because of toxoplasmosis and being pregnant; any chance you could do it for me please" If she doesn't then rubber gloves and plenty of tissue should do it.

She Lhasa two dogs of her own, but I think the cats are sneaky and come mainly in the evening and night.