I'm interested to know what people's opinions on this are. It must happen a fair amount in a city like Sheffield with so many terraces.

If you live in a terrace where you have to share a garden with one or perhaps more neighbours and you intend to get a pet that will use that garden, is it the done thing to speak to your neighbours about it first? Or is it just your decision to make?

Personally, I think it's polite to speak to your neighbours first, but perhaps I'm being unreasonable...I do get accused of that occassionally, lol.

No, I wouldn't speak to them first. It's nothing to do with them, unless you're getting a menagerie of fifty thousand pets. Plus, my neighbours never even told us they were getting scaffolding up so I'll be darned if I bother to tell them anything!

I would speak to them if the garden is a communal one to be enjoyed by everyone. I have a menagerie, but if my garden was a shared one I think I would have complaints, as different pets cause different mess, eg. Cats poo in gardens, dogs poo and wee in gardens ruining lawns. Rabbits can attract mice and rats.

I think I would speak to the neighbours first as the worse thing would be to get a pet and then the neighbours complain and you are forced to rehome the pet, which would be unfair on the pet.

I would definitely say something. Perhaps not in an 'asking permission' kinda way, but just out of courtesy.
Its like when you are having a party... if you mention it to your neighbours beforehand, and say "we will try not to disturb you but just let us know if we do" then you can bet your life they will be ten times less annoyed when it happens than if they were not warned ;)

I would definitely say something. Perhaps not in an 'asking permission' kinda way, but just out of courtesy.
Its like when you are having a party... if you mention it to your neighbours beforehand, and say "we will try not to disturb you but just let us know if we do" then you can bet your life they will be ten times less annoyed when it happens than if they were not warned ;)

Yes, I agree- out of courtesy particularly if you have shared access and to reassure them that you will be a responsible pet owner and clean up after your pets (you dont want to fall out with your neighbours if you can help it), but certainly not to ask their permission.

No, not to ask permission, but to be polite. I wouldn't have dreamed of saying no, but I would have been a bit less disgruntled.
I never really thought much of it till I saw the kitten that had been very cutely sitting in their window was eating my plants, knocking my plant pots over, and pooing in the one raised bed we have in the tiny yard where my 2 year old plays...
Suddenly I thought, whoa, this affects us a lot more than you think (they don't use the garden, we practically live in it over summer.) and it might have been nice of you to discuss it with us. We could have spoken about litter trays, etc, too.

It really is a very cute cat, its a little bit chaotic and messy, lol. But probably I am being a purple meanie. I'm not so keen on cats.

Our neighbours had a go at us for getting a dog and not asking permission from them and now don't speak to us because of it! (We own our semi detached house with private garden so it really has nothing to do with them). I would mention it to your neighbours and depending on how well you get on with them discuss the pros and cons of it but I really don't see why you would have to ask permission unless they own the land/property.

I informed my neighbours that I was getting a dog and that I wasn't planning on the dog needing to ever go to the loo in the shared garden (but if they ever did then I'd guarantee to clean up and disinfect wherever she went)- but I didn't feel the need to ever inform me about the cats since the cats are much less likely to scare them when they come home if they think that there's a strange cat in the garden.