All 9 of mine are indoor only (well, they do have a small fenced yard w/ cat proof fence, but they aren’t allowed to roam). Indoors they pretty much have the run of the place. Bathroom counters are ok, kitchen counters are not, technically, but I sometimes see paw prints on the stove’s glass surface. The tables are under discussion… Actually we rarely use the dining table we have, and it stays covered until we do use it. The cats surprisingly do seem to understand that they can be up there only when it’s covered, and they stay off when we’re using it. My desk is another matter…
I had to laugh the other night when it got really really cold. I woke up in the wee hrs totally hot & cramped and was sleepily trying to straighten out and un-kink, but it felt like someone had short sheeted my bed. Realized after a bit that it wasn’t short sheeted, it was catted! Eight of the nine cats were on the bed, plus my husband and me. I went from curled in a ball trying to get warm to sweltering and looking for a cool spot to put my feet!
What’s the point of not allowing cats on counters or tables? Is it just so they don’t bug you when you’re preparing food or eating? And I assume some cats are not allowed on furniture due to shedding?
In either case I’ve never really seen a problem with letting our cats have the run of the place. I guess it could be embarrassing if a cat jumped up on the dinner table while guests were over, but we seldom entertain the Queen of England, so whatever.
We can’t get the cat off the counter, it only strengthens his resolve. When they were all kittens we’d yell at them to get off the table or whatever. All of the kittens would scatter, except the one: he would plop down and not move no matter what. If you yell at him or squirt water in his face, he just goes plunk and wont move. So the cat goes wherever he wants.
That pretty much sums things up here, too. We would *prefer *that the cats stay off of the tables and counters, but we’ve yet to find a way to properly enforce that rule. So in reality, as long as they don’t try eating any of the food before we’ve had a go at it, we call that a “victory”.
Anywhere they want. One of my cats likes to sit on top of the fridge and watch me cook. I enjoy the company, so it all works out.
Also, I don’t get what the point is of wasting all that effort to keep your cats off the kitchen counters if you know they’re just going to get up there anyway when when you’re not at home or your back is turned. (Which I’d be willing to bet is 99% of all cat owners.)
If you have cats, you should always wipe down your counters before cooking. No matter how well your cats are trained.
My cats will go after unsecured food, so I have to be fastidious about putting things away. I do try to keep them off the table and counters, but I often hear the “thunk” of a cat dropping from the table as I approach the kitchen.
Stormy will get on the counter to watch me do dishes, and she always has to accompany me to the bathroom. She is the only one allowed to sleep in the bed; the downside of this is that she brings mice to me at 5 am and lays them next to my pillow, dead or alive. She hasn’t found one for days, so I think we’re in the clear for now.
At the very least, you don’t have to worry about chasing them off while you’re cooking, or worry about them getting their filthy paws into a dish while your head is in the fridge. Same with the dining room table. As long as they know to keep off of it while you’re there, you’re set. You won’t have the damn cat jumping up and stepping in the mashed potatoes while you’re having company over.
My cat seems to be reasonably trainable. Maybe she dances on the counters with glee when we are out, but she knows pretty well she’s not allowed up there, and we don’t actually catch her in the act.
Out training method, if you can call it that, was a firm “No!” followed by removal if she hopped the counters or table. Eventually, she just stopped doing it.
Same method worked on stopping her scratching the rug and chairs.
My cat somehow knows she’s not allowed on counters or tables (I didn’t train her to do that specifically, she just doesn’t). She does go up there when we’re not around, though. I know this because I sometimes leave the recycling on the counter and there was a tuna can that jumped off the counter onto the floor and was very clean.
For realz. I do sterilize any surface before cooking or eating or doing any other work. And shut the door of my lab to keep him out. He knows the “Maaaaaaxxxxwelllllll” tone of voice when I catch him up on counters and immediately jumps down and growls as he sulks away, so its not like he doesnt know better.
They’re allowed to roam wherever in the house but they won’t come downstairs because they’re afraid of my roommate’s dogs. So no tables, no countertops as long as they hold on to that fear.
My cats are indoor only and are allowed anywhere in the house except the office which is essentially my walk-in closet. They don’t bother with tables or counters, but I still clean before we cook/eat.
The cats are allowed most places but not up on the island in the kitchen (for their safety, because it’s not just a counter, it’s also an often hot stove) or in my bedroom. Other people sometimes let the cats in their bedrooms, but not me. Nothing against the cats, I’m totally a cat person, I just don’t want them knocking stuff over and such. I don’t let the dog in my room either.
At night the cats get closed up in the den, because one of them was peeing on the carpet at night (no carpet in the den).
Well, most of the cats we’ve had here haven’t bothered too much with the counter, but one fellow we got who was already grown and not a kitten had a bit of a time getting him to knock it off. Basically if he’s up on the counter, I pick him up, say NO, and give him a tiny harmless but humiliating swat on the nose. He got the message and rarely jumps up there anymore. Once in a while he forgets, and has to be reminded, but the idea you can’t train a cat not to jump up on a counter is erroneous.
The other cat we have now is too big to jump up there, so that helps, but even when he wasn’t full grown he never really was into the kitchen counters. The bathroom ones, yes, because he likes drinking running water from the faucet, but not the kitchen (even though there’s a faucet there too)
Never cared about them getting on the table. No one eats there anyway. It mainly accumulates “stuff” until someone cleans and the accumulation can begin anew.
If I catch the cats on the counters or tables, I’ll pick them up and put them on the ground, but I’ve made no effort to actually train them not to get up on the counters and tables. One of my cats prefers to drink from a running faucet, and since I don’t really have room for a pet fountain, I want him to feel comfortable jumping up on the sink counter as a sign he wants to drink.
On the other hand, they’re not allowed in the spare bedroom (door is kept shut) or any of the closets.
I’m sure I could train the cats off the counters if I devoted myself to the task and didn’t need to go to work or sleep for a week. But yeah, that’s not going to happen.
It definitely varies. I’ve had 7 cats over the years, and these are the only 2 that have given me a run for my money. The other 5 were like, “Oh, I shouldn’t go there? Well, why didn’t you say something?” and hardly ever tried again. These two are stubborner. I think their relative youth, their nature as “tree cats” and being raised from kittens together has lead to a rude pair who are more catlike than most of my other cats, where the older of the pair would help me to train the younger of the pair.
We had one cat like that, and one that was easily trained. The hard one just thought training was play.
That’s it - I need to be able to leave the kitchen while I’m cooking and know that my cat isn’t chomping on the chicken I’m making for dinner. I can leave food on the counter for quite a long time; overnight would be pushing it.
Our cat is not allowed on kitchen counters; I’m not keen on the dining room table, but we don’t use it for eating. She is allowed out in the back yard - we cat-proofed it for an older kitty who isn’t jumping and climbing much. She does sleep with us now; I don’t like it, but she’s been very needy since our other cat died.
