What's Off Limits For Your Cat(s)?

I was washing dishes today in the kitchen when Anya hopped up on the countertop and settled in next to the sink to watch. She LOVES to watch me wash dishes for some reason, and I don't mind because her cuteness makes the horrible task a little more enjoyable.

But it got me thinking. My mother would FREAK if she knew I let Anya hop up on the kitchen counters. They were always a BIG no-no for our housecat growing up. I don't mind however. I clean them before food prep and after, and I literally only see her up there when I'm washing dishes.

What's off limits for your cat(s) in your house/apartment? Do they have full run of the place?

Anya is really only not allowed in 2 places.

1 - The top of our movie shelves. There are lots of breakable things up there, not to mention the shelves are narrow and probably would tip if she jumped up and bounced around.

2 - On top of our TV cabinet. Only because when she gets up there she has a fascination with hopping back behind the cabinet and then she can't hop back out very easily.

Nothing. They can go wherever they want

Well, there are places that I would prefer them not to go, but I think it's more their own preference if they do or not. I guess the only place we really don't want them to go is on top of the entertainment center because of a couple of family heirlooms and sentimental items that we would be devestated if they broke...

Mine are a sneaky bunch- the fish tank, countertops, and sinks are SUPPOSED to be off limits...but they always sneak around and hop up there anyways lol.

The only thing I would kill Mr Jinx over is if he knocks one of my models off of my bookshelf...I have one I spent 10 months on, and cannot be replaced...the kit was discontinued 14 years ago, and is extremely rare...he would be sold to the nearest Chinese restaurant if I came home and fond that model on the floor in 600 pieces...FORTUNATELY he leaves all my models alone...its like he knows that they are my hobby....

Originally Posted by ScottF

he would be sold to the nearest Chinese restaurant if I came home and fond that model on the floor in 600 pieces......

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They would have enjoyed him at the resturant I ate at tonight

Technically we aren't supposed to let the kittens on the island in our kitchen, but lately it's become more of a "storage space" than an eating surface, so we've become a bit lax on that...

But the only time cat paws grace it nowadays is during feeding time - our silverware is stored in a drawer in the island, and EVERY TIME Leo hears us open the food closet (where the canned food is) followed by the opening of the drawer, he bounces right up there to see if we are taking out a spoon to scoop out his chow!

Originally Posted by StarryEyedTiGeR

They would have enjoyed him at the resturant I ate at tonight

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Not that I would but he would be in HUGE trouble...10 months spent on a model is a LONG time...I currently have 2 months on the current model I am building...a 2006 Corvette Z06...and I polished it twice...I spent 20 dollars on special sandpaper and pledge to get the glass smooth finish...the sandpaper ranges in grits from 3200 to 12000...the paint looks like glass when finished...if he were to knock THAT one to the floor and break it I would be VERY unhappy because I spent 6 weeks looking up photos of the actual car...such as the correct colors of the exhaust manifolds, suspension, interior...etc...Mr Jinx has NEVER broken one of my models...I am thankful for that...he never even grabs the tires like some cats do...I am assuming he is smart enough to know that it is a stress relief for me but anyways I am rambling again...3 day weekend and alot of beer and ummm....special tobacco...lol

Anything I dont want accidentally knocked off is put away.... mine are a wild bunch and have free roam wherever and whenever

Originally Posted by Pami

Anything I dont want accidentally knocked off is put away.... mine are a wild bunch and have free roam wherever and whenever

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Mr Jinx is pretty wild as well, but he leaves my "plastic" alone...

My girlies run the house. If anything, it would be them letting me know where I'm allowed to be If one should decide she wants to be in a particular spot, I'd just better move anything that may be in the way. The only place that's completely off limits is the cabinet under the kitchen sink where I have two bottles of cleaning items, so the cabinet is "kitty proofed" by connecting the doors together so they can't be opened.

Originally Posted by ScottF

Not that I would but he would be in HUGE trouble...10 months spent on a model is a LONG time...I currently have 2 months on the current model I am building...a 2006 Corvette Z06...and I polished it twice...I spent 20 dollars on special sandpaper and pledge to get the glass smooth finish...the sandpaper ranges in grits from 3200 to 12000...the paint looks like glass when finished...if he were to knock THAT one to the floor and break it I would be VERY unhappy because I spent 6 weeks looking up photos of the actual car...such as the correct colors of the exhaust manifolds, suspension, interior...etc...Mr Jinx has NEVER broken one of my models...I am thankful for that...he never even grabs the tires like some cats do...I am assuming he is smart enough to know that it is a stress relief for me but anyways I am rambling again...3 day weekend and alot of beer and ummm....special tobacco...lol

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Seems like he is a good kitty and respects your things....or you've put the fear of God in him and he's too afraid to go near your models. Do you have any pictures of Mr. Jinx? he sounds like a cutie!

I had to go and open my big mouth.

Right after posting that Anya never gets on the kitchen counters unless I'm washing dishes I went into the kitchen to whip up a batch of brownies. I must have had to set that curious little girl on the floor like 20 times... Wouldn't be such a big deal if a) they weren't chocolate and b) she didn't have to physically stick her nose in everything she's curious about.

Silly kitty.

Originally Posted by ScottF

dammit why is there a big X???

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It probably just needs to be resized . PM the pic to me and i'll fix it.

Originally Posted by ScottF

The only thing I would kill Mr Jinx over is if he knocks one of my models off of my bookshelf...I have one I spent 10 months on, and cannot be replaced...

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Anything rare and valuable is best moved out of sight because cat's don't know whats valuable and whats not.

My girls have free reign of the house.

My cats can go wherever they want to!

My cats all have free access to anywhere and everywhere.

Even this morning Miss Moofi sat with us on the dining table while we had our bacon & eggs I suppose lots of my family & friends would just freak at that
But well like other happy cat families, I think its cute

Mine have the run of the house and are generally pretty good about avoiding the few areas where I have anything breakable. The only place I limit their access to is the basement out of respect for my downstairs neighbor. She has a lot of stuff stored down there and I wouldn't want the kitties to get into anything. I do let them go down there when I'm doing laundry and can supervise their activity. That way they think they're getting away with something and going in the basement is a big adventure!

Fudge is not allowed on some of the window sills as there's valuable and breakable things on some.
She shouldn't get up onto the kitchen worktops, but sometimes she sneaks up on them!
That's probably about it.

My boys go wherever they want. There are a couple of places I'm not keen on them going but fortunately they either choose not to go there or have got bored with going there. If Mosi goes on top of the tv I move him, but he rarely goes there. He went through a phase when he was always on the kitchen counters but he seems to have got bored with that now! I've put child proof locks on the kitchen cupboards to stop them going in there. I find the best way to stop them going somewhere is to just ignore them and make sure there's nothing interesting up there - they soon realise it's not as much fun as they thought and lose interest.