Should I?

Should I just let my cats get on the table and counter and all that?
I normally dislike that (as their paws are in their bathroom! ) and growing up,our mom never let the cats on the counter.

Well I been trying to keep them off,using loud noises,squirt bottles,vinegar...etc.They will now sneak on when I am in the other room.I can hear them get up there,but by the time I get out there,they jump off.

Should I just say "screw it" and let them or is there any good,effective way of keeping them off?

I let mine up unless I'm cooking/eating. Just wipe down the counters before bringing food out.

Originally Posted by missymotus

I let mine up unless I'm cooking/eating. Just wipe down the counters before bringing food out.

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Thanks.
That is what I was thinking...not allowed up when I am cookimg,preparing or eating food.I don't keep any food out on the counter anymore either.

I'd keep chasing them off the table/counters. And keep any food, etc. that might be interesting. Most times that is why they are up there.

Mine always jump on the units, but they don't usually if i'm cooking, but that's probably because the space is taken up with stuff.

A quick spray with an antibacterial solution and it'll be fine

Our cat Lily is always strolling along the work top at home because we feed her on an area of it away from our food area (so that our greedy mutts don't eat her grub). It drives us nuts the way she sits up there, anus to the surface, and you can't leave any food out because she'll lick it. It can also be dangerous, she walked across the cooker top once, it was still hot after use and I heard her skin sizzle when she went across it, poor Lily, all the skin peeled back off her paw pads. It didn't seem to put her off though.
So personally, when I have another cat in England I will never let them up there if I can help it. Once you say its ok once, there's no persuading them otherwise... Good luck

We let ours up, just because it is difficult to avoid! If we see them, we usually get them off, but I know they are up there while we sleep (things have been knocked off the counter...like my cell phone...) so we just make sure we are really clean (constantly washing it down) and that we put away chopping boards and the like at night. We keep very little food up there - some fruits and veg - but otherwise regular cleans and the like are the way we go.

Cats like to explore. Imagine the things they get up to when you're not looking....I am surprised - daily- at their behaviour!

The best I've ever managed with a cat is for them to jump off guiltily when I enter the room.

I really think they just like high places so much that they can't help themselves, even if they know they aren't supposed to be up there. So I've just made my peace with it, and wash everything often.

the counters are the one place i didnt let my kitties go mainly because i didnt want them to accidentally wander onto the stove

mine go up there all the time, I don't even bother anymore. I just wipe everything down before I bring food out, and I never leave food out. As for the stove, i always make sure I put something on top of the burners that were used

I don't keep food out for them to get at.

The stove tho...thats something I am concerned about.
They have jumped up there before too.Fortunatly it was off...I always joke about "if the stove is on and they get up there,they will learn their lesson"...but that could really hurt them! So they are NOT allowed up,when I make food and thats the end all be all.

Shermie has to get on the counter b/c I keep his dry food on top of the fridge. That's so Luna won't get it because she's too skittish/lazy (and knows better than to get on the counters) to go up there. She's not allowed dry food cuz shes fat. =P But it's just the side counter, not the food-prep part. and I *always* clean off all the counters w/ anti-bac stuff before i make food.

Im guilty! I let mine up there all the time! With my sons as young as they are, its impossible to keep them out of the cat food, and when Im paying 20 bucks for a 7lb bag Im not going to let it all get wasted! So I feed them on the counter, which is unfortunate for Jax, since he can't jump! Somehow though, I just know when he's behind me and getting ready to climb up my leg so I quickly turn around and put him up there! I have been climbed up like a ladder on a trillion different occasions though! So I just say, wipe it down before you put food up there, and try to avoid the hot stove thing! Eek learned that one the hard way the other day!

Thanks everyone.

mine get up there all the time. shinobi likes to sit and watch me prepare dinner! i worry about the stove thing too as milo will walk across it quite often but i think he only does that when i'm in there. basically the cats will be in the same room as me usually!

Mine go on the counters. As long as there's nothing there for her to swat off the counter, it's not a problem for me. I just keep her off when I'm preparing food, and wipe them down before and after I start cooking. (She cannot get to the stove, only counters. If the stove was adjacent, it would be a different story!)

Our kitten Jack has possessed no interest in getting on the countertops--and isn't allowed.

He is allowed on the dining room table (which we rarely sit at) and other tables (end table, coffee table).

Leslie