Hello,
We received a complaint from a neighboring party that our cats are defecating on their property—directly in front of their front door and next to their car. They say there is now a constant smell of feces, which wasn’t the case before we moved here.
I actually like these people, but in this situation, I don’t know what to do. We have been asked to stop this or take action against it. However, I don’t know what I could do about it. The cats (two of them) have been outdoor cats for over 10 years, and I can’t suddenly keep them indoors. They are offered a litter box (also outside), but they obviously prefer not to use it. I also can’t imagine it was our cats in this specific case. The area in front of their door and next to the cars is covered with gravel and is right next to the street. Cats don’t usually behave that way, do they? Our cats have always preferred to do their business somewhere secluded where they can bury it in soil or gardens. The neighbor claims to have seen our cats doing it. I have received no proof of this. Even if it were our cats, I believe legally this wouldn’t be relevant.
Now, to make matters worse, they have dumped a large amount of feces directly in front of our garage on the driveway. We are really upset about this. First of all, there is no evidence that it was our cats. What is on the board there, in my opinion, doesn’t even look like cat feces, at least not like those of our cats. It’s far too much, the color is wrong, and it looks too large. I also find it really disrespectful to take such a passive-aggressive measure based on pure assumptions.
The legal situation seems pretty clear here. We live in a rural area; various cats roam freely in this neighborhood (including on our property) and defecate wherever they want. There are numerous court rulings stating that this kind of behavior must be tolerated in rural areas. I believe this applies up to two cats per property.
I have now asked them to stop dumping feces of unknown origin on our property in the future. Of course, if it happens again, I could potentially take legal action with a cease-and-desist letter. However, that would certainly not be good for the neighborly relationship. Unfortunately, we have had problems with this party before. Back then, we decided to let it go for the sake of peace. They complained that our construction workers had blocked their parking. I passed this on to my site manager, who was very upset since it apparently was an exaggeration—I wasn’t present that day. Anyway, this was stopped, and the issue ended there. What I found interesting even then was that shortly after their complaint about the one-time parking incident, they placed a pallet on our property without asking, which stayed there for several weeks. I said nothing—I didn’t want to cause trouble with them—but given their own petty complaint, I found that quite cheeky. I thought that was behind us and that we would always greet each other politely. Then today this complaint about the cats arrived. How would you handle this?
Edit: Here is a photo – Exhibit A:
What I do not want:
- Them to continue dumping feces of unknown origin on our property
- To destroy the neighborly relationship
- To have to keep or give away my cats
We received a complaint from a neighboring party that our cats are defecating on their property—directly in front of their front door and next to their car. They say there is now a constant smell of feces, which wasn’t the case before we moved here.
I actually like these people, but in this situation, I don’t know what to do. We have been asked to stop this or take action against it. However, I don’t know what I could do about it. The cats (two of them) have been outdoor cats for over 10 years, and I can’t suddenly keep them indoors. They are offered a litter box (also outside), but they obviously prefer not to use it. I also can’t imagine it was our cats in this specific case. The area in front of their door and next to the cars is covered with gravel and is right next to the street. Cats don’t usually behave that way, do they? Our cats have always preferred to do their business somewhere secluded where they can bury it in soil or gardens. The neighbor claims to have seen our cats doing it. I have received no proof of this. Even if it were our cats, I believe legally this wouldn’t be relevant.
Now, to make matters worse, they have dumped a large amount of feces directly in front of our garage on the driveway. We are really upset about this. First of all, there is no evidence that it was our cats. What is on the board there, in my opinion, doesn’t even look like cat feces, at least not like those of our cats. It’s far too much, the color is wrong, and it looks too large. I also find it really disrespectful to take such a passive-aggressive measure based on pure assumptions.
The legal situation seems pretty clear here. We live in a rural area; various cats roam freely in this neighborhood (including on our property) and defecate wherever they want. There are numerous court rulings stating that this kind of behavior must be tolerated in rural areas. I believe this applies up to two cats per property.
I have now asked them to stop dumping feces of unknown origin on our property in the future. Of course, if it happens again, I could potentially take legal action with a cease-and-desist letter. However, that would certainly not be good for the neighborly relationship. Unfortunately, we have had problems with this party before. Back then, we decided to let it go for the sake of peace. They complained that our construction workers had blocked their parking. I passed this on to my site manager, who was very upset since it apparently was an exaggeration—I wasn’t present that day. Anyway, this was stopped, and the issue ended there. What I found interesting even then was that shortly after their complaint about the one-time parking incident, they placed a pallet on our property without asking, which stayed there for several weeks. I said nothing—I didn’t want to cause trouble with them—but given their own petty complaint, I found that quite cheeky. I thought that was behind us and that we would always greet each other politely. Then today this complaint about the cats arrived. How would you handle this?
Edit: Here is a photo – Exhibit A:
What I do not want:
- Them to continue dumping feces of unknown origin on our property
- To destroy the neighborly relationship
- To have to keep or give away my cats
H
hanghaus20238 Oct 2023 13:47Cats are constantly running through my property. Not often, but every now and then you find droppings of unknown origin (could be hedgehogs, martens, or cats).
I just clean it up and move on.
I understand how you feel. At first, I was also upset about every dog owner whose pet pooped on my property. People even got offended when I expressed my opinion.
Use your time wisely — instead of arguing with such people over every little thing, better spend it here in the forum. 😉
I just clean it up and move on.
I understand how you feel. At first, I was also upset about every dog owner whose pet pooped on my property. People even got offended when I expressed my opinion.
Use your time wisely — instead of arguing with such people over every little thing, better spend it here in the forum. 😉
hanghaus2023 schrieb:
Cats are constantly running across my property. Not often, but occasionally you find droppings of unknown origin (could be hedgehogs, martens, or cats).
I just clean it up and that’s it.
I understand you. At first, I used to get upset about every dog owner whose pet left messes on my property. You’d even get insulted for speaking up.
Use your time wisely, instead of arguing with those people over every little thing, spend it here in the forum. 😉 So you basically just keep throwing away everything they collect and leave at our doorstep and let it go? Or would you take action against them bringing this stuff onto our property?
The first "deposit" was placed right at the entrance to the house. I suspect that once we’re done outside, they’ll leave it right at our front door. (?)
Edit: Of course, we also have various cats running around on the property, and they leave droppings as well. Besides ours, there are 6 other outdoor cats, or maybe more. I didn’t count them. ^^ Honestly, I don’t care that much.
What I do care about is when the neighbors start bringing everything that ends up on their property over to us, no matter who caused it.
kati1337 schrieb:
I also think it’s a shame that it escalated right away, You can’t really call it “escalating right away” if there was already something going on before. You mentioned the parking problems, and if the general contractor said their reaction was “completely over the top,” then there must have been something you weren’t involved in, but which probably wasn’t excused either—at least not enough to erase their negative experience. Instead, they now seem more suspicious of you.
I can also imagine they don’t want to get upset about “the new neighbors” a second time. Having to tolerate noise and construction dust might contribute to them watching more closely now, and with a negative attitude. The situation wouldn’t get any easier if they don’t have pets themselves or don’t like cats, or if they don’t have a way to relieve their own frustrations like you do here in the forum.
Fuchsbau35 schrieb:
But if the droppings are not from your cats, then you could really take the wind out of your dear neighbor’s sails. That probably wouldn’t help much. You’d likely have to earn a lot of goodwill to offset or neutralize the few negative points. Such investigations, if perceived as disproportionate, could backfire badly.
kati1337 schrieb:
So basically just keep throwing away everything they collect and leave at our door, and let it go? I’d do exactly as @hanghaus2023 suggests and just dispose of it. If the neighbor can’t do it, then you have to. After all, you can’t rule out that your cats or even free-roaming cats poop somewhere on your neighbor’s property, in any garden bed or wherever. So you are balancing things out somewhere, no matter what the issue exactly is.
Tolerance is always a tricky thing. I try to put myself in the other person’s shoes. You might tolerate a lot from friends but not from “enemies.” We also tend to blame the other side. What if you didn’t have cats, but the neighbor’s cats pooped on your property? Then it would look like you’re posting here because you’re worried that your children might come into contact with the droppings while playing?!
... like @andimann – I ran a search and found this:
https://www.hausbau-forum.de/threads/katzenkot-oder-wildtierlosung-achtung-haeufchenbild.28152/
A 43-page-long thread where a lot is discussed and both sides are considered. And I can spoil it: it was eventually determined which animal was responsible.
Honestly, I wouldn’t want to clean up droppings from other animals or find cat feces in my garden bed either. But I do. I also regularly clear away annoying candy wrappers and ice cream packaging in the front yard. It can only be our neighbors... but unlike your neighbors, I find it pointless to make a big deal about it, which just drains my energy. I simply dispose of it and focus on other things.
If suddenly dog poop appeared right in front of our house, I would also clean it up, even though I know our dog doesn’t poop anywhere within 200 meters (about 650 feet), and there are maybe 20 other dogs who could have done it. I wouldn’t argue about it. Ultimately, I’m responsible for my own pet—I try everything to make sure my animal doesn’t bother others. If I want to stop a lively young watchdog owner’s dog from barking and it doesn’t always work, I address neighbors openly about it: admitting a weakness earns sympathy. Neighbors like my dog and don’t get upset about the occasional barking, which is after all the dog’s way of communication and shouldn’t be suppressed completely.
But yes, everyone has a different tolerance for frustration. You need to weigh for yourself what is bad or worse. What to address and what to not let dominate your daily life?
kati1337 schrieb:
That means: even if it’s my cat that made the mess, he’d have to put it in his own trash bin, not in my garage. He should... yes. But what if he doesn’t? You can’t change others, only your own perspective. There’s always some truth in that old saying.
kati1337 schrieb:
It only stops being okay for me if the neighbors start bringing everything that falls on their property over to us, no matter who caused it. At that point, I’d really try to rise above it.
Yeah, there’s some truth to that.
Let’s see, we just cleaned up the droppings from today. If I see them next time, I can try to have a friendly conversation. However, my opinion remains that I don’t believe it’s only our cats responsible, and I don’t think it’s fair to blame us for the droppings.
Still, maybe we can find some kind of compromise. I don’t want any conflict with anyone here. But getting upset about it won’t help either.
Let’s see, we just cleaned up the droppings from today. If I see them next time, I can try to have a friendly conversation. However, my opinion remains that I don’t believe it’s only our cats responsible, and I don’t think it’s fair to blame us for the droppings.
Still, maybe we can find some kind of compromise. I don’t want any conflict with anyone here. But getting upset about it won’t help either.
The "resident cats" in our neighborhood were also upset about the development and took revenge by defecating in the sandboxes.
The neighbors who were really bothered have now installed these ultrasonic marten repellent devices near the sandboxes. Cat owners with their own sandboxes are also considering installing them...
I have no idea how well this affects the animals, but it seems to help.
We also have two cats and issues due to free-roaming "prey animals" in the neighborhood. We briefly mentioned and warned about it, but received a shocking response and have since avoided any discussions on the topic. We end all attempts to debate it with: species-appropriate care.
The neighbors who were really bothered have now installed these ultrasonic marten repellent devices near the sandboxes. Cat owners with their own sandboxes are also considering installing them...
I have no idea how well this affects the animals, but it seems to help.
We also have two cats and issues due to free-roaming "prey animals" in the neighborhood. We briefly mentioned and warned about it, but received a shocking response and have since avoided any discussions on the topic. We end all attempts to debate it with: species-appropriate care.
W
WilderSueden8 Oct 2023 20:37It’s best to cover the sandbox to prevent it from becoming a litter box. This thread just reminded me that I forgot to do that earlier 😉
Otherwise, I’m afraid only 2 out of the 3 goals can be achieved. Anyone who throws that over the fence as a neighbor is probably not interested in de-escalation.
Otherwise, I’m afraid only 2 out of the 3 goals can be achieved. Anyone who throws that over the fence as a neighbor is probably not interested in de-escalation.
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