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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think cats swanning about on work surface/table is gross?

252 replies

Fluffy24 · 03/08/2015 18:45

One minute it's in the litter box and the next it's on the kitchen table. Urgh.

But surprises me how many people I know who think it's fine.

Is it just me?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
SunshineAndShadows · 03/08/2015 19:25

I always find it weird on MN that loo brushes are disgusting, and PJs and towels must be washed daily, but cats that bury their shit with their feet and claw rodents are welcomed onto food prep surfaces. Weird!

usualsuspect333 · 03/08/2015 19:30

Not everyone on MN thinks loo brushes are disgusting,and PJs and towels must be washed daily.

We are not all one person.

LindtSeventyPercent · 03/08/2015 19:30

My cat does and I'm quite happy for him to do so. He sleeps on my bed too. Smile

AuntyMag10 · 03/08/2015 19:31

Cats in general are ugh.

Minicaters · 03/08/2015 19:32

I don't think many are welcoming them TBF.

Ours are trained not to go on them when we are there but sadly they are far too smart to let that stop them when we're not about. You just have to assume always that they have been there and always wipe down before using the worktop/table. Change cloths very regularly too.

BitOutOfPractice · 03/08/2015 19:35

I may be biased because I'm allergic to cats but the thought that a cat had been lying on a table / walking on the work surface makes my flesh crawl.

Effendi · 03/08/2015 19:39

My cats are not mangy either.
They are allowed to go where they want. Beds (under/on top of duvet), baths, sinks, table, sofas, wortops. Our house is very clean and we've never been sick due to cat hair in a sandwich or whatever.

Any thread about cats degenerates into cat shit and 'I hate cats', ' I love cats'.
My cats can do whatever they want. My youngest just licked up the tuna juice from my plate and I might let him have a go with my cornetto.

CrispyCrispBag · 03/08/2015 19:44

tabulahrasa thank you! I do have friends who love cats and they all think like you (and with owners like you I like them too)!

Sparklingbrook hmm, maybe because it's a constant problem, not acknowledged by some selfish cat owners? The cats aren't the problem btw, the owners are. We've trained our dog to chase cats (and foxes) out of our garden but would much rather this wasn't necessary. I doubt he'll ever catch one, but we're near a main road (which our dog knows not to go near - I can only hope the cats are as well trained)...

Fluffycloudland77 · 03/08/2015 19:44

page

I have a Bengal too, I've also given up.

canweseethebunnies · 03/08/2015 19:46

IME you can train cats not to go on the counters. Except for when you're not looking!

googoodolly · 03/08/2015 19:46

My cats know they shouldn't go on the counters. Which is why when I get home, I hear a "thump" onto the floor and see a cat sitting very innocently on the floor below!

LiviaDrusillaAugusta · 03/08/2015 19:46

Effendi Grin Good on you!

We have always had Siamese and they do whatever they want - the one time that one of them got on the table while we had family over, we took him off and told him 'no' so he went into the kitchen and got on the worktops Shock and started knocking everything onto the floor! Grin

I wouldn't have anyone round who was bothered by that sort of thing. I don't inflict my (indoor) cats on anyone but they behave how they like.

BitOutOfPractice · 03/08/2015 19:47

catneuterer your picture actually makes me physically itch Sad

Wolpertinger · 03/08/2015 19:48

My 2 cats do not go on the worktops. Initially they learnt just to do it when I wasn't looking but 2 squirts of a motion sensitive compressed air cylinder stopped the habit for life.

Anyone who would like their cats to stop going on worktops needs a Cat Ssscat

www.amazon.co.uk/PetSafe-PDT00-13914-ssscat-Spray-Deterrent/dp/B000RIA95G

prettybird · 03/08/2015 19:53

All my food prep boards are either kept in a cupboard or in their own container (the set of Joseph boards). The Joseph boards go into the dishwasher after every use, the wooden boards (which I use less since I was given the Joseph set) get washed after every use before being put away.

Our cats don't go on to the surfaces when we are around anyway. We used to joke that they knew that they weren't allowed but that if we went to bed and left anything out, it was fair game. Unfortunately our current male doesn't understand that though, so we have to remember to shut the kitchen door if we've left food out and are in the dining room. They're definitely not allowed on the table while we're eating - although one of the cats loves to sit on the windowsill and watch us! I can't guarantee that they don't go on the table when we're not around - but I always use mats and dishwasher plates, so not sure where the contamination would come from Confused

Having been around cats all my life, I suspect that I've probably had toxoplasmosis (although it was a good excuse reason to get dh to clean the cat litter when I was pregnant Wink and let him continue to do it even though ds is now 14 Grin).

It's other humans who have passed on norovirus, flu and colds. Not the cats Smile I'm not going to stop other humans touching surfaces in my home - or stop going out - even though there is a risk I might catch something! Grin

Sparklingbrook · 03/08/2015 19:54

Hmm Crispy, it really does seem to be a constant problem on MN.

Sottosopra · 03/08/2015 20:00

catneuterer - I love your photo. Your cats look so chilled & happy. Lol at all the PPs who think their cats never go on the worktops. They are rolling all over them the minute you close the front door Grin

Sparklingbrook · 03/08/2015 20:01

Sotto only if Sparklingcat can walk through a closed kitchen door. Confused

prettybird · 03/08/2015 20:05

Livia - mine are Siamese too Smile Even the current male though has been trained to a certain extent except for daylight hours thievery on kitchen surfaces Wink Neither will go onto the coffee table - our laps and the sofa are too comfortable. The male used to be tempted by dinner plates on the coffee table (if we'd had a TV supper) but has finally learnt to respond to a strong NO Grin he's only 8 Wink - we used to have to tap him on the nose to stop him God forbid, that might draw us into the smacking debate Shock

tabulahrasa · 03/08/2015 20:06

"Sotto only if Sparklingcat can walk through a closed kitchen door."

They teleport...have you never noticed how you leave a cat in one room, it doesn't go past, yet you see it in another?

Teleportation, it's the only explanation, lol

BettyCatKitten · 03/08/2015 20:08

I try and they don't do it when I'm about, but as a precaution we antibac before using our kitchen sides.
catneuterer Grin my mum would pass out if she saw that in my house.

Hassled · 03/08/2015 20:10

I have three cats and no cats on the worktops issues. One of them used to try it, but is scared of me bellowing "DOWN!" at it. The others are too thick to realise it's possible to get up there. You can have cats without having worktop issues.

googoodolly · 03/08/2015 20:13

Yes, you CAN, but it's not particularly common unless you have very obedient cats or you lock them out of rooms.

Mine can't be shut out of anywhere unless a lock's on the door because they've figured out how to use the door handle!

echt · 03/08/2015 20:13

My old cat never went on surfaces, the new one does it constantly, and in both cases, we clean surfaces before preparing/eating food. And use chopping boards and plates - like everyone else.

Do the boakers really think that everyone washes their hands after going to the toilet? Think of the door handles....

Sottosopra · 03/08/2015 20:13

tabulahrasa they can definitely teleport Grin Sottocat will come in through the front door and then appear two minutes later on the wall in the garden.