Pet owners tend to treat their pets as if they were their children.
As well they should, as pets need pretty much the same amount of love and attention as an infant child does.
However, not everyone loves animals.
These individuals tend to be none-too-happy when their neighbor’s furry friends pay them an unannounced visit.
Redditor AndIdDoItAgain01 was growing increasingly tired of their neighbor’s cats visiting their patio and damaging their lawn furniture.
Eventually leading the original poster (OP) to take matters into their own hands, and find a way to keep their neighbor’s feline friends out of their yard.
While the OP’s methods succeeded, their neighbors felt these methods also seriously crossed a line.
Wondering if they had gone too far, the OP took to the subReddit “Am I The A**hole” (AITA), where they asked fellow Redditors:
“AITA for planting cacti/succulent in my yard to stop animals from coming in?”
The OP explained why their neighbors felt that they felt they intentionally tried to harm their cats:
“So, my neighbors have a few cats that constantly come into my yard.”
“They scratch up my outdoor chairs, sleep all over my patio furniture, and pee everywhere.”
“It’s gross, it smells, and it’s ruining my stuff.”
“I talked to the neighbors about it, and their response was basically, ‘They’re cats, there’s not much we can do’.”
“I asked if they could keep them inside, and they said that would be cruel.”
“I explained how the cats were damaging my property, and they just dismissed it, saying, ‘Outdoor furniture never lasts anyway’.”
“So I took matters into my own hands.”
“I noticed the cats always jumped into my yard from the same spot along the fence.”
“I decided to plant some small cacti on the ground and ocotillos along the fence wall.”
“Sure enough, the cats landed right in them—and they were not happy.”
“Now the neighbors are pissed and called me an a**hole for [hurting their cats’.”
“I didn’t use poison or traps or anything harmful—I just used plants.”
“So, AITA?”
Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
The Reddit community largely agreed that the OP was not the a**hole for planting cacti in their yard.
Just about everyone agreed that the OP had the right to plant whatever they wanted in their yard, and the health and safety of the cats was their neighbor’s responsibility, ultimately making it their fault that their cats were hurt:
“NTA.”
“People with outdoor cats are a**holes, every time.”
“It’s bad for the cats, it’s bad for the neighborhood, it’s bad for the local ecosystem, and anyone who says otherwise is f*cking lying.”- Thisismyworkday
“NTA.”
“That’s a great solution.”
“Yes, they are cats.”
“But they are your neighbors’ responsibility.”
“Our neighbor (#1) had cats that ate our koi fish, neighbors #2’s bird and entered their garage and scratched the hood of their Range Rover.”
“That ended it it right there.”
“Neighbor #1 minimized the severity of the problem and just said ‘they’re cats’ so neighbor #2 took a legal approach.”
“If your neighbors choose to do nothing and your property continues to be damaged, you would be within your rights to contact animal control and have them set traps to capture the cats.”-
MaterialMonitor6423
“NTA.”
“Cats are safer indoors, and you have a right to prevent property damage.”
“Cats are smart, they won’t do this twice.”
“Unfortunately, they’re still at risk from being hit by a car, or grabbed by coyotes, but the owners don’t care enough to keep them indoors.”- KrofftSurvivor
“NTA.”
“It’s your yard.”
“You can do what you want with it.”
“Not your fault their cats got hurt.”- Jdawn82
“NTA.”
“You should send the neighbors a bill and/or take them to small claims court for new outdoor furniture and see how dismissive they are then.”- Appropriate_Bus_7825
“Veterinarian here, NTA, sorry, just landscaping.”- BrackenBun
“They need to keep their cats inside.”
“Letting their pets free roam is entirely on them, and there are far more dangers out there than just your cactus.”
“NTA.”- Kai-ni
“NTA.”
“You tried the ‘talk to your neighbors’ and they’re brushing it off/ignoring you.”
“I’ll never get ‘outdoor’ cat people, why let your ‘pet’ roam around causing damage, get sick/hurt, and being a nuisance to other people and their property makes 0 sense.”- Mystica09
“NTA Anyone who thinks it’s ‘cruel’ to keep their pet cats indoors is unfit to own cats in the first place imho.”
“For an outdoor cat, there are much more grave dangers than accidentally landing on a cactus.”
“Hopefully the cats will learn to stay away from your yard rather than just find a new, less pointy point of ingress lol.”- PassageThis8961
“NTA, but your neighbor is and not a responsible pet owner.”- plaid_8241
“I had a neighbor who was of the ‘cats should be free to roam’ variety and didn’t care when I’d complain about them sh*tting in my organic vegetable garden.”
“Until I let my ducks out, since ducks should be free to wander- anyone who has had ducks know those a**holes would walk a mile to sh*t on concrete and they sure do sh*t a lot.”
“Anyway after 3 days on them swimming and sh*tting in her pool and patio with my ‘animals should be free to wander’ response I called the girls home, and her cat strangely stayed indoors after that.”
“Anyway NTA and welcome to the passive-aggressive neighbors club.”- EmuOnly5022
“NTA, my neighbor’s cats sh*t in everybody’s backyards, and it’s disgusting.”
“I have an indoor cat who is really upset seeing other cats in my yard.”
“It has caused negative reactions from him, sets the dogs off barking and smells bad in the warm months.”
“I’ll be fined if I don’t pick up my dog’s sh*t in our neighborhood but their cats are fine to use my space as a litterbox.”
“I’m sure the cacti look beautiful against your fence line, congratulations on your garden.”
“May it bring you many joys :).”- normanbeets
“NTA.”
“That’s hilarious lmaoooo.”- mt9572
“NTA.”
“The average life span for an outdoor cat is 2-5 years, but indoor cats can live over 20 years.”
“So your neighbors are a**holes.”- Plane_Experience_271
“NTA.”
“My husband and I use plastic, pointy things on our kitchen counters to keep all of our 3 cats from jumping up.”
“Eventually, they’ll figure it out.”
“Cats are resilient.”
“Getting poked by some cacti is the least of those cats’ worries with their humans letting them roam outside like that.”
“Also, just curious: how did your neighbors know that the cats were hurt on the cacti?”
“Did they see it happen?”
“Did the cats run home and tattle?”- DumbBaby_22
“NTA.”
“They are bad pet owners.”- JayDoms24
“NTA.”
“They are crappy cat humans.”
“Neighbors from down the street had a cat that loved to sh*t in our basement window wells that were full of gravel.”
“Tenants couldn’t open windows as it would smell like cat sh*t.”
“It was such a pain to clean.”
“I sprayed lemon juice around the window wells and around our yard fence for a couple of weeks.”
“Had to re-spray when it rained, but eventually the cat found a better place to poop and stopped using our backyard.”- ConfidentRepublic360
“NTA.”
“If they keep coming at you, let them know they are responsible for their cats and thus all the property damage they have caused.”
“Mention that you have detailed records of all the incidents which you’ll be passing onto your lawyer if at all necessary.”
“Also inform them you are installing security cameras overlooking your patio and fence.”
“And then genuinely do so.”
“Essentially, call them on their bullsh*t and protect yourself from potential retaliation plans.”
“On the other hand, if they keep their heads down going forward, do the same.”
“Don’t instigate, do defend.”- SportQuirky9203
“NTA.”
“Take them to small claims court for the cost of replacing your furniture.”
“Explain everything to the judge and let them know you will keep coming back whenever their cats destroy your belongings.”
“They will tire of having to ante up the money for their selfishness.”- ClassicCommercial581
“NTA.”
“I’m about to plant rose bushes so the neighbor boys stop running thought my driveway.”
“I have a very small amount of yard between my driveway and their yard.”
“They regularly throw balls around and hit our cars.”
“The reason they don’t just play in their backyard is they don’t pick up their dog’s poop.”
“They wait until grandma comes to do it for them.”
“I kid you not.”
“They also had this god’s awful habit of letting themselves into our backyard to get their toys.”
“Or hopping the fence.”
“I’m sorry but my dog at the time we moved in before we fixed our fence.”
“She would have bit the sh*t out of them because this was her first fenced in yard after a life in apartments.”
“I greatly dislike these kids.”
“They disrespect their parents to no end. It’s been 4 years of living here.”
“F*ck em is what I say.”- dumpsterfireofalife
It’s fair to question just how pure the OP’s motives were, seeing how strategically they planted those cacti.
Even so, the OP planted the cacti in their yard, which they had every right to do, where their neighbor’s cats were uninvited guests.
Had the OP’s neighbors kept a closer eye on their cats, all of this could have been avoided.