to allow cat on table and kitchen surfaces?

[rubbersole]

'Cause I do. He loves to sit on dining table and watch the garden. I'll lift him down, wipe the table and put on a cloth if we're going to eat at it (esp if we have company).

In the kitchen he hops onto one worktop to get onto the top of the fridge where he likes to sit. Again - I always wipe down any surface before food prep.

Neither me nor DH are ever ill, no dinner guests have ever reported being ill and house is clean and not smelly or hairy.
So what's the problem?

Last night a friend who was sitting in my dining room - not at the table and not eating - jumped up and swiped the cat onto the floor when he jumped onto the table.

I know this is how a lot of people react.

What are they scared off?

I think it's a bit of red herring actually. I mean IME cats do what they like regardless of what you 'let' them do . I think as long as you clean the surfaces prior to food prep or eating I can't see why it matters.

I tell the cats to get off but they still do go on the kitchen table in particular. I always clean it before we eat though if loads of stuff and cats have been on it. Also my work surfaces get wiped before and after meal prep with a clean cloth.

I think some people watch too many Dettol adverts.

yuk....i would never want my either of our cats on the work surfaces...they stand in their litter tray y'know

If you're wiping every surface down I guess it's not a major problem - however as a non cat owner I would prob look at it as do you want your cat on those surfaces at other times - for ex, a friend used to let her cat do as it pleased, sit wherever it wanted etc. As a result it used to jump onto the worksurface whilst she was preparing food or onto the table while people were eating.

Cat was filthy (possibly the only cat that didnt wash itself!) and used to shed hair everywhere - often on your plate when it was sitting on the table. Remembering it actually makes me feel a little bit sick. My ex had cats all the time as a child, and the cat touching everything used to make him ill as well, so it wasn't just me!

Also went to a friend's familys house once when the cats were walking up and down the worksurface whilst food was being prep'd, eating scraps off the chopping board (!). I didn't eat much of my lunch that day either.

Just because none of your guests has ever reported being ill after a visit to you, doesn't mean they haven't been ill! When DCs were little we had to stop visiting a relative who allowed the cats to walk all over the food prep areas and the dining table. My DCs were always unwell after a visit so we ended up making excuses not to visit. Nowadays there is only one, very elderly cat who cannot jump up so I do visit, of course, DCs are grown up now, so not as much of a problem. And don't get me started on the day we got home to find a couple of fleas had made themselves at home in DC1's clothing!