Under UK law, cats have a legal "right to roam," meaning owners bear no responsibility for where their pets venture, and neighbours have no automatic liability for cat fouling. Legal specialists who spoke to Express.co.uk outlined the best courses of action if a cat persistently uses your garden as a toilet, and what you can realistically expect.
Cats are often attracted to gardens because soft, freshly dug soil offers the ideal digging texture and a discreet spot to relieve themselves. The animals are also highly territorial by nature, with outdoor cats instinctively using scent-marking and burying their waste to claim their patch.
What to do if cats use your garden as a toilet
You cannot legally pursue the owner for trespass or compel them to keep their cat indoors. Jill Carey, Property Litigation Partner at Freeths, explained: "Unlike other animals such as dogs or horses, cats in the UK are free spirits with the right to roam, on the basis that cats do not have the same capacity to cause injury and damage as those animals do."
The right to roam is not set out explicitly in a single statute, but is rather the consequence of how cats are treated by the law. First, the law treats cats as property, belonging to their owner. Secondly, cats are excluded from any specific legislation that obliges animal owners to keep their animals confined, such as the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. This means that cats can stroll coolly into your garden, or even your house, and not commit a trespass.
Jill noted that owners hold a "legal duty of care" to ensure their cats' welfare requirements are fulfilled, which encompasses permitting the animals to behave as they are "naturally inclined to do", such as roaming freely. She added: "Under the Animals Act 1971, the owner of an animal can be held liable for damage caused by the animal only if the species is likely to cause serious damage, or if the individual animal is known by the owner to have displayed dangerous characteristics that are not usual for its species. Clearly this is unlikely to apply to cats."
Speak to your neighbour to reach a resolution
The experts initially suggest open dialogue between yourself and the cat's owner. Joanne Ellis, partner and dispute resolution specialist at Stephensons, said: "It's also usually best to start with a friendly conversation. Your neighbour may not realise there's an issue and could be willing to take steps to help."
Practical solutions should also be explored first, including natural, non-harmful deterrents. Some gardeners find that planting certain plants can help discourage cats from entering a garden. If direct discussions aren't proving productive, a neutral third party may be able to help mediate and find a solution everyone can live with.
Daniel Stern, partner and Head of Property Litigation at Slater Heelis in Manchester, shared this view. He said: "In practice, most disputes are best resolved through open communication. Owners may install additional litter facilities, while affected neighbours often use deterrents such as motion-activated sprinklers, protective netting or cat-repellent planting."
Jill said: "To lower both risks and blood pressure, cat and garden owners should therefore work together to look for humane and practical solutions such as the use of certain scents, or laying gravel and stones rather than loose soil, to encourage the cats to move on wherever possible."
Potential repercussions
The specialists noted that if the cat is causing damage, such as repeatedly destroying plants or killing off patches of grass, there may potentially be grounds for a nuisance or negligence claim. Nevertheless, they cautioned that such cases can be "difficult and costly" to pursue.
Joanne explained: "From a legal perspective, if the cat is causing actual damage, such as repeatedly damaging plants or killing areas of grass, there could potentially be grounds for a nuisance or negligence claim. However, these cases can be difficult and costly to pursue in practice. If the neighbour is already taking reasonable steps to address the problem, obtaining any meaningful recourse through the courts is likely to be challenging."
She advised: "Homeowners should also check the paperwork from when they bought their property, as there may be covenants or other restrictions that are relevant. If the property is leasehold, or there's a managing agent involved, they may also be able to assist in resolving the issue."
Look for advice
Should you require further guidance, Joanne recommends turning to organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau, though she acknowledged that "it's quite a niche concern". Alternatively, animal charities can be contacted, as they can provide advice on discouraging cats from entering your garden.
Where a negligence or nuisance case is being considered, Joanne explained: "For a negligence or nuisance case you'd ask for an injunction to prevent the ongoing issues and also a damages claim to put the garden back into good repair. You do have the issue of how the court is going to force the neighbour from allowing the cat out though. It is very unlikely the court would curtail the actions of the cat, for example, stop it from going out. The court can also award costs, although it's unlikely you'd obtain the full costs back. The neighbour might not have any money to enforce costs or damages for example."
