I want to know how much a property owner has to take from their neighbours cats. I'm not just talking about a general dislike for the cats (or the neighbours), I'm referring to the faeces that the cats leave behind for me to pick up daily. For well over a year now, I have been smelling cat faeces when I walk out my back door. Not only does it stink up the carport, but it gets stepped on by our young children and dragged into the house and into our vehicles. Quite frankly, I think it is one of the most disgusting smells I have ever encountered.
So what have I done to remedy the problem? Well, as any decent person would do, I talked to the neighbours about it first. I didn't think there was any point in complaining about their problem if I didn't tell them that it existed. However, I think I wasted my breath. I have been told everything from "it's probably someone else's cats" to "you're going to have to live with it." I kept trying to appeal to them long thereafter, but to no avail.
Eventually, I phoned the RCMP to find out exactly what our rights are and what we are allowed to do without breaking the law. Fortunately he was a lot more sympathetic than my neighbours. The officer verified for me that it is a "health risk" for my small baby. He even offered to tell the neighbours to "knock it off." I declined his offer because I felt there was enough tension between us. He suggested trapping the cats and giving them a good spray, and if that didn't work... give them to the SPCA. He assured me that we have the right to keep the animals off our property. We may do what we have to as long as we don't injure or kill the animals. I then thanked him.
Sure enough, we caught both of their cats, each on separate nights. We doused them with freezing water for a very long time. However, the problem is still not solved. I talked to someone at the SPCA, but they don't want cats with owners. So what are people to do?
There are a lot of people who wouldn't be as tolerant as we have been, but the patience is wearing thin. In fact, if we had cats doing that to our neighbours they would not tolerate it. Further, I would be embarrassed for letting it happen. The message here is to cat owners particularly. Please! Train your cats to dump in all the right places. Either someone will shoot them, take them for a one way drive up the logging road, or they'll make someone sick and you will be held liable for it.
As for the other people who are dealing with unwanted cats, I say good luck! It's pretty hard to find the right solution without breaking someones heart, or the law.
Colleen White