Cat spikes! Are they safe, effective and legal to use? In this article, we will be answering some of your questions about cat spikes and why they are such a taboo subject for both owners & non-owners of cats.
If you live in the city, then you will have a cat in your garden sometime this week! But, keeping these cats out can be more complicated than you think.
Because cats are free to roam, meaning they can go in your garden have a poo and move on. You cannot complain to the council if your neighbour’s cat keeps pooing in your garden, even with video evidence!
So the best way to stop cats from entering your garden is to deter them before they come.
Are Cat Spikes Legal To Use?
Yes, cat spikes are legal to use, but if these spikes harm any cat, then they will become illegal in the eyes of the law in the UK.
With that in mind, you must make sure the spikes you are using are plastic and not too sharp that they puncture the cat’s paws.
If you are going to fix spikes to your fence, make sure the wall is yours and not shared with your neighbour.
Before attaching spikes to a wall, we would advise you to mention this to your neighbour. If they are happy with having spikes on the boundary wall or fence, then you are good to go.
- Ask neighbours before fixing cat spikes
- Make sure the fence is your (left side is generally your fence)
- Do not use metal, glass or nails
If your fence backs onto a public place, then fix a sign on the outside of your wall disclaiming you have set anti-climbing, cat spikes on them.
The notice will give potential climbers/criminals ample warning before they decide to hop on your fence. It will also stop any claims for compensation if some fool happens to jump your fence and injure themselves.
The Best Cat Spikes
S4U is currently supplying the best cat spikes, they are safe and approved. They come in 4m lengths and easily nailed to any fence panel or wall:
- S4U brand
- Safe for cats
- Walls and fences
- 4-meter lengths
How Do Cat Spikes Work?
Cat spikes are a straightforward design; they are made of plastic but have enough sharpness to make the cat feel uncomfortable and jump down. You can buy them in meter length and are glued or nailed on top of walls & fences ETC.
- Hard plastic spikes
- Nailed on top of fences & walls
- These strips are around 20/30mm wide
- Not sharp enough to harm or pierce paws
Cats have great memories and will not come back to the same place twice if they find it uncomfortable or painful.
Designed to inflict pain and not sharp enough to puncture a catspaw. If you do put spikes up that are not regulated, then you might damage the cat and would technically be breaking the law if you injure a cat.
Are Cat Spikes Safe?
Shop bought cat spikes are safe to use on your fences and boundary walls.
But, if you fashion your cat spikes using nails, carpet grippers or glass then you are intentionally causing damage because these types of spikes will harm any cats unfortunate enough to jump on your fence or the boundary wall.
To stay above the law, you “MUST” only use blunt plastic spikes that will only make the cat feel uncomfortable. Talk to your neighbours before using cat spikes, especially if you co-own a boundary wall of a fence with your neighbour.
Cat Spikes Conclusion
As detailed in this cat spike review article we have described the laws in the UK, if you still do not understand these laws and want to fix cat spikes without your neighbour’s approval then contact your local council for more information.
Yes, cat spikes work and will deter both cats and foxes from entering your garden.
We have three cats and our neighbour attacked metal spikes to his side of the fence. We had a big fall out and was told by the council that it was Ok for him to do this. So, after a few months one of my cats popped his foot on one of the spikes. Theses cat spikes were about 3 inches long and sharp as a pin!
We took the cat to the vets as you do because his foot pad was bleeding. We then informed the council about the accident as he was told to remove them for a plastic brand! After this we contacted a solicitor about this and took the neighbour to court over the vet bills (£350) and won the case because we had video evidence of the cat jumping up on his fence and cutting his paw!
In the end he had a huge court bill and there are NO MORE spikes attached to his fence. So, for readers wanting to add spikes be warned if you hurt the cat you will be held accountable for court fees and vet bills!
Hey Matt,
Yes as soon as the spikes become a danger then they are basically illegal. Good result and congrats for getting rid of the dangerous spikes that should never be used because they are harmful…
We have three cats and our neighbour attacked metal spikes to his side of the fence. We had a big fall out and was told by the council that it was Ok for him to do this. So, after a few months one of my cats popped his foot on one of the spikes. Theses cat spikes were about 3 inches long and sharp as a pin!
We took the cat to the vets as you do because his foot pad was bleeding. We then informed the council about the accident as he was told to remove them for a plastic brand! After this we contacted a solicitor about this and took the neighbour to court over the vet bills (£350) and won the case because we had video evidence of the cat jumping up on his fence and cutting his paw!
In the end he had a huge court bill and there are NO MORE spikes attached to his fence. So, for readers wanting to add spikes be warned if you hurt the cat you will be held accountable for court fees and vet bills!
Hey Matt,
Yes as soon as the spikes become a danger then they are basically illegal. Good result and congrats for getting rid of the dangerous spikes that should never be used because they are harmful…
My neighbour has put up these spikes they are definitely not blunt,as you describe.
I stood on one that I took down,and theatre painful.
,My cat just jumped down on to the fence and he yelped in pain.
I add,my neighbour has lived here for many years and never complained,indeed she used to have a cat herself.But since renovating her garden she.dosent want cats in.
But it’s really to keep the squirrels from leaving their peanut shells in her garden
I have taken 3 of them down,as I am so worried my cats will.get hurt
My neighbour has put up these spikes they are definitely not blunt,as you describe.
I stood on one that I took down,and theatre painful.
,My cat just jumped down on to the fence and he yelped in pain.
I add,my neighbour has lived here for many years and never complained,indeed she used to have a cat herself.But since renovating her garden she.dosent want cats in.
But it’s really to keep the squirrels from leaving their peanut shells in her garden
I have taken 3 of them down,as I am so worried my cats will.get hurt
Last summer my 4 year old grandson went into the bushes in my garden to retrieve his ball. He came out with cat poo on the back of his ankle, down his sock & in his favourite trainers. He was distraught & the clean up ‘operation’ was sickening. Cat feces carries the same bacteria as dogs which can cause ocular toxocariasis (blindness) in young children.
I have knelt in cat feces when weeding. It isn’t pleasant.
I have bird feeders in my garden. I also have a garden pond to attract wildlife.
In the 6 years I have lived in the property I have witnessed a cat stalk, pounce & drag a wood piégeons into the bushes. Before I could get outside the cat had made such a mess of the bird before leaving it I had the great displeasure of putting the bird out of its suffering.
I have found a dead blackbird, a dead chaffinch, two dead fish (I have since netted the pond), dead frogs & numerous dead or dying dormice. The cats don’t kill for food, they ‘play’ with their prey until they get bored, leaving it dead or in the worst cases injured to such an extent that again, I have had to put these wild creatures, that I have desperately been trying to attract into my garden, out of their misery.
We live in suburbia & I have counted 5 different cats in my garden. Would I do anything I could to keep them out?
ABSOLUTELY!
Does ‘The right to roam’ give them ‘the right’ to use my garden as a toilet & killing ground? Apparently yes.
So I’ll finish by simply saying to all the cat lovers ‘out there’, if a cat ran out in front of my car…..I wouldn’t brake.
Cats are hunters in nature, yes they do kill wild birds and rodents, does that make it right to run a cat down? NO! That is down to the person driving the car! Using preventative measures to deter cats from using your wild sanctuary as a toilet and hunting ground will be less painful to the animal!
So you’re hating on something for acting according to it’s nature, not out of malice or ‘evil’ and yet you say you would deliberately run it over? I think I know which disgusts me more and it isn’t the cats.
Speak to the owners, put up protection where you can but threatening to murder someone’s pet? Vile.
How do you know it was cat poo, they normally bury it. Fox’s do not bury their poo. Pigeon’s or any flying animal does not bury their poo. My advice to anyone who thinks the world revolves entirely around themselves, buy a flat. Stay clear of Mother Nature. Have a good day.
Well then sir you are an arse, and I hope someone feels the same way when the run you or someone you love down! That annoying cat maybe someones companion, who they love as much as you do your grandson.
If you ran out in front of my car I wouldn’t break either. People who harm children or animals are the worst kind of people.
There are plenty of non threatening cat deterrents out there, they use sound or smell to deter and cause no harm.
I’ve just been informed that my neighbour has just put up spikes on my fence without permission and as soon as o get home they will be coming down. I didn’t pay out for a brand new fence run to have those eye sores on the top!!
Last summer my 4 year old grandson went into the bushes in my garden to retrieve his ball. He came out with cat poo on the back of his ankle, down his sock & in his favourite trainers. He was distraught & the clean up ‘operation’ was sickening. Cat feces carries the same bacteria as dogs which can cause ocular toxocariasis (blindness) in young children.
I have knelt in cat feces when weeding. It isn’t pleasant.
I have bird feeders in my garden. I also have a garden pond to attract wildlife.
In the 6 years I have lived in the property I have witnessed a cat stalk, pounce & drag a wood piégeons into the bushes. Before I could get outside the cat had made such a mess of the bird before leaving it I had the great displeasure of putting the bird out of its suffering.
I have found a dead blackbird, a dead chaffinch, two dead fish (I have since netted the pond), dead frogs & numerous dead or dying dormice. The cats don’t kill for food, they ‘play’ with their prey until they get bored, leaving it dead or in the worst cases injured to such an extent that again, I have had to put these wild creatures, that I have desperately been trying to attract into my garden, out of their misery.
We live in suburbia & I have counted 5 different cats in my garden. Would I do anything I could to keep them out?
ABSOLUTELY!
Does ‘The right to roam’ give them ‘the right’ to use my garden as a toilet & killing ground? Apparently yes.
So I’ll finish by simply saying to all the cat lovers ‘out there’, if a cat ran out in front of my car…..I wouldn’t brake.
Cats are hunters in nature, yes they do kill wild birds and rodents, does that make it right to run a cat down? NO! That is down to the person driving the car! Using preventative measures to deter cats from using your wild sanctuary as a toilet and hunting ground will be less painful to the animal!
So you’re hating on something for acting according to it’s nature, not out of malice or ‘evil’ and yet you say you would deliberately run it over? I think I know which disgusts me more and it isn’t the cats.
Speak to the owners, put up protection where you can but threatening to murder someone’s pet? Vile.
How do you know it was cat poo, they normally bury it. Fox’s do not bury their poo. Pigeon’s or any flying animal does not bury their poo. My advice to anyone who thinks the world revolves entirely around themselves, buy a flat. Stay clear of Mother Nature. Have a good day.
Well then sir you are an arse, and I hope someone feels the same way when the run you or someone you love down! That annoying cat maybe someones companion, who they love as much as you do your grandson.
Advertisement on this page says Prikka Spikes are available in 4 meter [sic] lengths’.
As David Bowie sang ‘This is not America’.
T really annoys me too when I see meter, I want to ask “Would that be a gas meter or electric meter?”
Advertisement on this page says Prikka Spikes are available in 4 meter [sic] lengths’.
As David Bowie sang ‘This is not America’.
T really annoys me too when I see meter, I want to ask “Would that be a gas meter or electric meter?”
My neighbour has put up spikes on her fence, and on the ground at the back of her garden where the weeds now cover them. My cats have roamed around for 12 years and l have to laugh at my neighbour as my cats are intelligent enough to go other ways, but is she allowed to camouflage the spikes?
We have a lot of cats around here and also fox dens, which are due new cubs soon. Can l report my neighbor?
What if my cats get hurt because they couldn’t see the spikes or a fox come to that.
I also have 2 dogs , the neighbour has never said she doesn’t like animals ?
My neighbour has put up spikes on her fence, and on the ground at the back of her garden where the weeds now cover them. My cats have roamed around for 12 years and l have to laugh at my neighbour as my cats are intelligent enough to go other ways, but is she allowed to camouflage the spikes?
We have a lot of cats around here and also fox dens, which are due new cubs soon. Can l report my neighbor?
What if my cats get hurt because they couldn’t see the spikes or a fox come to that.
I also have 2 dogs , the neighbour has never said she doesn’t like animals ?