MY FLAT has a very small garden which I was very pleased to take on in 2010. When I moved into this flat I had dreams of doing it up and turning it into a beautiful garden that I could be proud of.

But now I have given up on it and have had to put it down to another pipe dream and the reason – cats!

My neighbour has three of them and they all use it as a toilet. I have tried everything from orange peel, pepper dust, which works well until it is washed away by the rain, an ultrasound box that is supposed to repel cats and so on. The most annoying part is that nothing can be done about the owner as it seems acceptable as cats bury their deposits but they still uproot seedlings that I have planted again and again. Why?

Is it acceptable when, on the other hand, if I kept a dog and it was barking constantly or fouling in the communal areas, or attacking other people, than quite rightly something would be done about me, yet cats can get away with being a nuisance because they are cute.

If you don’t think they are a nuisance, have you ever been woken up by a couple of cats fighting? Who agrees with me?

TESSA ANDREWS

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