Allotments 4 All
General => The Shed => Topic started by: Squash64 on January 04, 2011, 16:05:52
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I've had the first complaint about the cats, from someone I regarded as a friend.
She said that the cats are using her plot as their toilet and she wanted something done about it. I do sympathise, really I do, but our allotment site is so big that I find it hard to believe that the cats are choosing her plot out of all the land available to them. She is not an animal lover and makes this pretty clear. I forgot to point out to her that the cats are doing a valuable job by catching vermin for us.
I think all I can do is offer to clear up the mess every time she finds it. I am not at all squeamish about this sort of thing so it won't be a problem for me.
I suppose I've been expecting something like this to happen, I just wish it hadn't.
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Some people Squash ::), keep up the good work. We are all very proud of what you have achieved & will continue to.
Is there a hand clapping smilie anywhere?
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Don't they annoy you these people ::) ::) ::)
We have neighbours with cats who all summer long poo on my veg patch but I have said nothing as I know there is not much they can do about it really.
Before Christmas I had to let my dog out the back as I had a bad virus and guess who missed a bit,well I had one old guy who owns one of the cats complain and come back from shopping the other day and there was poo on my step,complete with soil .
I have had trouble with these neighbours before over wanting to move a bin away from my window,this morning my daughter took things into her own hands and has reported them to the police for harassment,I was reluctant to do this as I just want it all to go away but my Daughter said it never will and there will always be something .
Sorry I am drifting here but poo is on my mind at the moment :)
Betty,I am so sorry,these sort of people only see things from their own perspective
and make a huge fuss about nothing.
Can only suggest that you and anyone else who loves the cats checks that plot daily and remove the offending poo.
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So sorry, Betty - point out that it is manure and only needs to be dug in ;D.
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Well, on the other hand, cats do tend to establish a toilet and then all poo in the same place.
The local cats at home use a flower bed next door and when the sun is out the smell makes me heave.
So I do feel for your allotment friend. Maybe she has put up with it for a long time and has finally snapped.
Hope you can reach a happy outcome. But it won't happen if you don't even believe her, will it?
Sorry, but I feel for your friend.
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There are various things you can use to discourage cats from using certain areas as a toilet. I think pepper is one, but I'm not too sure. Bottom line is that the cats have got to do it somewhere!
Has she got any solutions to suggest? I imagine they couldn't be trained to use litter trays or could they? Maybe the Cat Protection folk would have some ideas.
I know our plotholders get really uptight about this kind of thing and tend to fly off the handle rather than looking at constructive solutions. I don't think it necessarily means she's not your friend.
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Friends, meh! Furries first with me I'm afraid Betty, just ignore it.
Betula, pooh on your step is really, really nasty, I'm so sorry. Your daughter did right.
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i love cats,and I love what you are doing betty,but.... we got our plot because we were sick of finding dog poop amongst our seedlings,once you have put your hand in dog or cat pooh
(someone elses dog or cat) you are very unforgiving. we and our neighbours couldnt find a resolution to this problem,so we simply stopped using our garden.This after spending quite a few bob getting it all ready for growing etc etc etc. When you turn over soil and find it,it makes you want to vomit there and then.Its not manure,otherwise we would all use it,pet pooh potentially carries all manner of harmful things for humans,google it.
i dont know how this can be resolved,but I do hope you find a way
R x
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Just typed a long reply and it has disappeared, five more replies at the time. So will start again. Cats normally bury their poo, but do like freshly dug soil. My cats used to dig up my bulbs and plants after I had planted them, but as they were my cats just thought it was funny (a bit). They do love cat litter, but only if it is dry but as you say on allotments shouldn't think it would be a problem. I have fox poo which I bury and a dead rat which I screamed and screamed until a nice man came and took it away. Tell her to dig a big hole and bury it, or herself, if that is all she has to worry about she is a sad person. If you dig a nice raked bed near to where they are fed, with soft earth, I am sure they will go there, or maybe not and it can be buried. We have all the local cats roaming our allotment site and have never seem any cat poo.
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Thanks for the replies.
I do sympathise with the person and I do believe that she has found some poo on her plot. But maybe knowing how much she hates animals of all sorts (unless they are on her plate) makes me a little less sympathetic than I should be.
We have at least one fox on the site and I have found fox poo near my plot. I just removed it because wild animals have to do it somewhere. Six of the cats on our site are/were wild animals but because they are cats they are looked on differently.
I did buy a litter tray and litter but they never use it. I think that because they are outdoor and not confined to indoor space it is not very easy to train them to use it. Anyway, they never did use it. I will contact the Cats Protection and ask if they have any suggestions.
I have seen them 'go' near the base of trees in front of the pavilion and anything that I find on the surface I do remove. My first job every morning after I've fed them is to go on Poo Patrol. I will tell her that I will remove any poo from her plots.
The woman said she finds cat poo disgusting. Fair enough, who wouldn't? But her only suggestion of how to solve the problem would be to get rid of the cats.
I really don't want confrontation with her or anyone else, but at the same time I think the cats deserve to live too. It is just the three who live by the pavilion that she is complaining about, the other four are near my plot which is the other side of the site to her.
We have a committee meeting tomorrow and I will bring it up for discussion.
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I have to agree that cat poo is very unpleasant, it is one reason I stopped growing veg at home.
However the cats living on your site are not yours, you just happen to be caring enough to look after them. And by having them neutered you are helping to limit the number of cats on the site, so even though you feed them whch can be considered as "encouraging them" the overall effect of your involvement is to reduce the cat population in the long term.
I think if you follow Borlottis advice and keep some areas freshly dug and raked it over regular -maybe even encourage the cats by putting some of the poo there. If the ground is hard or snowy and that is the only free bit it may encourage them further.
After a while if the person in question sees that you are doing your best to minimise the problem she may come round a bit.
We get loads on fox poo it is obviously different to us but maybe not to everyone. I've had plot holders threaten to shoot the Badgers, just because one dug into his manure heap! (An ex-farmer!!)
Keep positive
Anne x
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Cats love a freshly dug area to poo in, make sure that you have one on your plot for them.
With some compost preferably.
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Cats are wonderful people and for years there has been a great argument about whether cats are more intelligent than dogs because cats are care free and dogs do as they are told.
Thing is. If your animal is fouling some one elses plot. The human is NOT going to find it acceptable.
Your argument that when it happens and they report it to you. You will clean up. Is insulting
They do not want the cat $h1T there in the first place.
You would be offended if a human left their poo on an area where you wanted to grow food for the table and it is exactly the same thing.
Your cats should either be trained to use a litter tray (it can be done) or you keep your cats off the area where other people are growing food.
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PH, they're not Squash's cats, they're feral. Squash feeds them, cares for them, and has them neutered, but they are essentially wild animals. She hasn't introduced them to site and without her intervention they would be on site just the same, except of course they'd be miserable sick creatures with their breeding controlled only by disease. Would you have the committee kill the cats?
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I think PH is always looking to say an unpleasant word....it has been commented on several times by different members but she always carries on oblivious.. :(
Cheer up PH ,it may never happen.
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Nice way to kick off the new year PH, were you born that rude or did you train at Uni. :( :( :(
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Me-ow. What about all those men, on the other thread, peeing on their compost heap. A quick wee never hurt anyone. ;D ;D
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Borlotti, we are not talking about wee, or cats marking their territory now. We are talking solids.lol
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I have heard pepper is good for keeping cats away - I ran out and used curry powder instead - never again.
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Thanks Unwashed, Betula, Kev and Borlotti,
I don't think I need to add anything.
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I have heard pepper is good for keeping cats away - I ran out and used curry powder instead - never again.
It`s not pepper but Pepper Dust, that`s used. :)
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Well, you know, when you are feeding feral cats, it is exactly the same as feeding any other vermin and drawing them to the allotment site.
Rats, woodpigeons, foxes etc ... it is all the same.
You are not a good neighbour if you are doing this. that is the reality of it. Sorry but you have just got to wake up and see the real world.
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Primarily, it`s an allotment site, so the people who pay for the privilage of having a plot MUST have precedence over feral cats. They are entitled to grow their produce excrement free.
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So kill everything ay ?
Pathetic.
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I am going to repeat myself but Betty does not just feed the cats-she also has had them neutered. The cats would be there anyway- but if not for her involvement there would probably be cats and kittens.
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^^ wtf are you on ??? where did anyone suggest killing anything??
I don't put down any poisons on my plot but neither do I encourage any rats, foxes, birds or cats. I feed wild birds at home at considerable expense but that has no place on an allotment site. I see no conflict here.
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It is wonderful the way Betty cares for these animals.
This world is not just for Human Beings who are the biggest providers of C**p and pollution on the planet.
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I am a cat lover, always have been, 4 months ago we had 3 cats. Since then, we`ve had 1 put down because, at 15, Gizmo couldn`t manage anymore. Smudge, at 9 years of age, was put down because she had cancer, NO ONE on this site has the right to tell me I am suggesting these animals be put down. They CAN however, be rescued and, hopefully, re homed.
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Dai, they're feral. You can't re-home feral cats.
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Well done Squash over your concern for the feral cats, once again a difference of opinion starts a disagreement over cats, but if they are feral in the first place and don't belong to anyone I'm surprised the vet neutered them and did not dispose of them humanely,
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I was addressing my remarks to Denbyvisitor sorry I was not clear.
Cats are not vermin.
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Dai, they're feral. You can't re-home feral cats.
These cats have allowed themselves to be neutered, they are also being fed. Therefore they are re homable. Call in Cat Protection League.
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You have no idea what you are on about.
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You have no idea what you are on about.
You are talking to me? If so YOU are talking through your backside.
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but if they are feral in the first place and don't belong to anyone I'm surprised the vet neutered them and did not dispose of them humanely,
This sort of remark makes me feel very sad. Triangle was born feral and had no human contact till she was about 4 months old. We managed to get her in a cage and have her neutered at the vets.
She is now so tame that she goes to people she knows and can be picked up and stroked.
These cats are not rubbish. They should not be disposed of.
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Years ago the CPL asked me to re home a cat,it lived under my sons bed or under the bath.
I left food in the kitchen it went down in the middle of the night to feed.
for weeks this went on until I left a window open and it buggered off.
It was wild and terrified.
I have a pretty good backside even though I say it myself..........I feel free to talk through it any time I choose. :P
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Dai, they're feral. You can't re-home feral cats.
These cats have allowed themselves to be neutered, they are also being fed. Therefore they are re homable. Call in Cat Protection League.
We work very closely indeed with the Cats Protection and with their help two of the cats have already been neutered. It wasn't a case of them 'allowing themselves' to be neutered, they had no choice.
Have you had much experience with feral cats? If you were going to rehome a cat, which would you choose - a cat which was used to being handled or a totally wild, spitting and scratching one?
The local CP has many 'tame' kittens needing homes. People are going to take them before they even think of having an adult feral cat. The CP do not even rehome ferals to homes these days, but to farms, stables and allotments.
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But YOU don`t know how many cats we`ve had in the past 35 years. YOU don`t KNOW where these cats came from. YOU don`t KNOW what condition these cats were in when they came to us. YOU don`t KNOW what these cats went through before they came to us. Smudge was terrified of heights and children. These so called feral cats, ARE NOT FERAL. They would NOT allow themselves to be neutered and they would not be openly fed. YOU are talking through your backside, no matter HOW beautiful it may be. ;D
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but if they are feral in the first place and don't belong to anyone I'm surprised the vet neutered them and did not dispose of them humanely,
This sort of remark makes me feel very sad. Triangle was born feral and had no human contact till she was about 4 months old. We managed to get her in a cage and have her neutered at the vets.
She is now so tame that she goes to people she knows and can be picked up and stroked.
These cats are not rubbish. They should not be disposed of.
So the cats are now not feral by your description, why is the cat still living on the allotments, why not take her home and give her proper loving care home rather than hanging round on some allotment site upsetting other allotment holders and the problem would not have happened in the first place,
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Mr Smith - you may not have been following Betty's other threads, but she can't take the cats home, since she has two dogs that don't like cats. Anyway there are 7 of them! (cats)
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So, the question comes down to, who wins. The fee paying, legitimate plotholders. Or the pests? and feral cats are a pest. My estimation. Or yours?
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Answer, CPL.
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These so called feral cats, ARE NOT FERAL. They would NOT allow themselves to be neutered and they would not be openly fed.
I am not arguing with you, but the cats ARE FERAL.
They didn't come strolling up to me and politely ask if they could be neutered - we had to trap them in a trap provided by the Cats Protection and baited with food.
As for the feeding, it has taken months for them to continue to eat when I am near them. To begin with, they would watch me from a distance and only go to the food when I moved far away. Gradually they have become more confident and will eat if I am close by. However, if anyone else goes near, they run and hide.
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Mr Smith - you may not have been following Betty's other threads, but she can't take the cats home, since she has two dogs that don't like cats. Anyway there are 7 of them! 9cats)
OK Betty can't take the cat home but it is that tame because it comes to people and it likes to be held and stroked, find the cat a home,
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The cats win everytime in my book.......they are only a pest to hard hearted people who have little empathy or more to the point understanding of their plight.
Betty don't be down with all these stupid comments........you are a lady in a million doing a wonderful job ;D
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Mr Smith - you may not have been following Betty's other threads, but she can't take the cats home, since she has two dogs that don't like cats. Anyway there are 7 of them! 9cats)
OK Betty can't take the cat home but it is that tame because it comes to people and it likes to be held and stroked, find the cat a home,
Even if this cat was rehomed, that still leaves the other cats which are feral and not re-homeable.
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These so called feral cats, ARE NOT FERAL. They would NOT allow themselves to be neutered and they would not be openly fed.
I am not arguing with you, but the cats ARE FERAL.
They didn't come strolling up to me and politely ask if they could be neutered - we had to trap them in a trap provided by the Cats Protection and baited with food.
As for the feeding, it has taken months for them to continue to eat when I am near them. To begin with, they would watch me from a distance and only go to the food when I moved far away. Gradually they have become more confident and will eat if I am close by. However, if anyone else goes near, they run and hide.
If the Cats protection league have been involved in this case by providing a trap they are aware of the problem and should have taken responsibility and not left it to a member of the public,
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If the Cats protection league have been involved in this case by providing a trap they are aware of the problem and should have taken responsibility and not left it to a member of the public,
The Cats Protection has a policy of Trap, Neuter, Return. These feral cats are not suitable as house pets.
You can't blame the CP, they are not responsible for the cats, but they are very supportive and help us whenever we need it.
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The cats win everytime in my book.......they are only a pest to hard hearted people who have little empathy or more to the point understanding of their plight.
Betty don't be down with all these stupid comments........you are a lady in a million doing a wonderful job ;D
Peoples comments are NOT stupid just cos they dont agree with you
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Oh get lost Elvis.
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;D ;D
this is an emotive subject,on all sides,name calling will not get anyone anywhere!
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So, the question comes down to, who wins. The fee paying, legitimate plotholders. Or the pests? and feral cats are a pest. My estimation. Or yours?
So now we are talking about winners and losers? And why do you consider feral cats to be pests? Their ancestors were probably domestic pets who became feral through no fault of their own.
We have over 100 plotholders on our site. This person is the only one to complain. Other people have told me that they appreciate having the cats because they have kept the rat and mice population under control.
I will clean up any cat mess from this woman's plot and from anywhere else I find it.
The cats will continue to live with us and catch vermin.
I think we will all be the winners.
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I think the other allotment holders should look on the bright side.
At least Squash64 didn't start a donkey sanctuary on the site.
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I'm locking this because it is getting out of hand.
Thank you to those who supported me,
Betty