High five! Amen, sista! Must be a Texas thing…
Had cats for 20+ years and only had to tell my various cats over the years maybe twice to get off the counters. Oh except for my psycho cat Oreo who when I went out of town for three days for the first time with him in the house (with someone coming every single day to feed and love on them) decided to punish me for leaving. Had a bathroom right across from the kitchen, home alone with the bathroom door open, he waits til he knows I can’t get up and gets on the counter and proceeds to push not one, not two but three glasses off the counter SMASH! Looking at me the whole time while I cuss him out. I say he did three because he had counted how long I was gone and was letting me know his displeasure. Other than that they never got on the counters or had to be chased off.
[QUOTE=darkmoonlady;7927147]
Had a bathroom right across from the kitchen, home alone with the bathroom door open, he waits til he knows I can’t get up and gets on the counter and proceeds to push not one, not two but three glasses off the counter SMASH! Looking at me the whole time while I cuss him out. [/QUOTE]
Too funny!
Our cat (well, my daughter’s cat, who of course lives with us since DD cannot have pets in her appartment) only had to be SWIPED OFF the kitchen counters once to understand she was not welcomed there. She may jump on them at night or when no one’s in the house, but I really doubt it. Someone told me to sprinkle flour on the counter, to be sure…
Blech, that sounds like the worst to me. But I’m allergic to cats so they can’t be in the house, let alone on the counters.
Cats are smart - if they can’t figure out how to keep off the counters, than I support the outdoor living situation. But again, I have no cats, never had, so it all sounds good in theory! 
KLCarp, it’s clear that you are not a knowledgeable cat person! :lol:
[QUOTE=cowboymom;7927518]
KLCarp, it’s clear that you are not a knowledgeable cat person! :lol:[/QUOTE]
LOL you pegged that one! I only know enough about cats to know that they seem to do the opposite of anything you what. Im allergic, and the more i try to shoo them away the more they flock to me.
Soon maybe the trick is to invite them on the counter? Then they won’t touch it with a 10 foot pole? :lol:
Cats are contrary. They are the rulers of their abode. They just let you “think” YOU are…
Our audacious mice go on the counters despite all manner of traps, so any of you who don’t want a cat there but the cat goes anyway, I will cheerfully take your counter-hopping kitty.
In seriousness, I prefer that the cats do not go on the countertop or tables while eating for the same reason that I prefer my horse not eat my sandwich out of my hands. I am well aware that the cat will go any place it likes when I’m not looking and that is good training not to leave ham out on the counter, but I enforce my personal eating space with a spray bottle where necessary. Kitty feet on the table don’t bother me for germ reasons. My boyfriend’s family graciously invited me for Christmas at their house, and one of their kitties (who’s darling) invited herself to the table, particularly the butter dish, at which point boyfriend’s dad started feeding her turkey fat, his brother offered her the butter, and boyfriend’s mom visibly gave up. :lol:
I haven’t had cats in years, but when I did, I really don’t recall ever seeing either of them on the kitchen counters. That could be because at the time, I had a dog who spent at least as much time on the kitchen counters as on the floor, so they were probably staying away from the kitchen in an effort to avoid him.
I’d much rather our cats not be on the counter but I fear it is a losing battle with the kitten. We have windows in our kitchen and she loves to track the wildlife from window to window around the house, including those kitchen windows where she must jump on the counter to get up onto. She is smart, too smart for her own good really, and despite having walked on the stove when it was still hot enough to give her a start and make her scramble off, she STILL walks across it daily. Sometimes we see her, most of the time it’s just the paw prints on the stove top that gives her away. I have resigned myself to cleaning all the counters with an almost obsessive frequency and try my best to shoo her off when we catch her, but it’s her instinct to track prey, so I don’t think I’m going to win the fight…
It’s a good thing she’s cute, she’s also eaten through the cables of 5 phone chargers since we’ve had her.
Had never had a cat allowed on a counter until Mr Ricky - so that he could eat in peace with no dog consuming his meal. Have more counters in this kitchen than anything else, and he’s relegated to one that is not in line with the food prep areas. Previously, I never allowed a cat on a counter. Spray bottle filled with water the key. And my cats are indoors only - except for an occasional day outside with me in the garden in spring/summer.
Even so, he will try to hop up on other areas not allowed, and he knows “no!”. Have also lived with dogs in the house, and their knowing what areas they can and cannot go in. Including loveable Toula who was not trained in manners her first 5 years of life.
Think you just have to be consistent with your animals, for peace in the home. Sure incidents arise, but consistency is key, and they appreciate you as leader, and their knowing their boundaries.
…well, ok, not the leader as far as Ricky is concerned, but he also hates being spritzed. :lol: Hasn’t tested me in a long time.
My 5 former barn/feral cats have never had any interest in getting on the counters. No idea why. I don’t think DH would like it, but he also doesn’t like them all sleeping in bed with us and still has been trained to acquiesce. 
[QUOTE=kristinq;7925525]
My timid little calico stays away from the kitchen because she knows that’s where the sink is which is where she was given a bath FOUR years ago. [/QUOTE]
OK, so how do you give the cat a bath without getting sliced to pieces?
[QUOTE=sorrelfilly721;7933804]
OK, so how do you give the cat a bath without getting sliced to pieces?[/QUOTE]
You give the cat a feed-through sedative, wear falconry equipment, wrap sleepy kitty in a towel (the Cattito Maneuver) and cross your fingers that your cat is not as agile as my cat, who ended up hanging upside down from the back of my neck. I still have scars from that experience. May Fred rest in peace.
So, the other recommended method is to have the vet do it when you take the cat in for his teeth cleaning.
[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;7934107]
You give the cat a feed-through sedative, wear falconry equipment, wrap sleepy kitty in a towel (the Cattito Maneuver) and cross your fingers that your cat is not as agile as my cat, who ended up hanging upside down from the back of my neck.[/QUOTE]
OMG I just snorted coffee out my nose :lol:
I thought the cat bath was when you threw the cat in the toilet, held the lid down, and flushed? :lol:
Our cats don’t get on the counters when we’re looking, and I don’t think they’re up there too frequently, but I know they do get up there. Especially my hubby’s crafty little tabby who likes to open the cupboards and see what she can steal. One time she pulled down a bag of rice, chewed it open and then was rolling around in it on the floor. I caught her, yelled her name and she jumped up and shook. Rice went EVERYWHERE. I swear, I was still finding rice grains years later.
Funny story though, my mom came to visit over Thanksgiving. My husband and I do allow the cats on our dining room table, because we don’t actually eat at it, ever. It holds our mail, my purse, hubby’s school books… etc. So the cats will hang out up there while hubby is studying. (Our dining area is also his office). But while my mom was here, she was making pie crusts and wanted to use the table to roll them out. I wiped it down, and she used a big cutting board, but midway through, one of the cats hopped up to see what she was doing. She was so offended that the cat was up there and started spanking him. Hard! He jumped down and then turned and hissed at her. She went to nudge him with her foot and he bit her in the leg. I know she’s of the school that cats shouldn’t be allowed on tables or counters, and I feel the same, but since we don’t use that table we never cared. And she never should have smacked him like that. I think she kinda deserved it…
Question (from someone without cats) if they are permitted on the counter is there not a worry of them getting burned on the stove…or if you have gas, being set alight?!
It’s funny - the ones I have had from kittenhood never, ever get on the counters. Booker T (adopted at about age 4-5) does it all the time. And leaves footprints. Drives my husband batty.
We have 7 cats in the house. None are allowed on the counters, but two are fed on the table because they get pushed off their food by the bottomless pit that is Mika.
