Cat wont stay off the work surfaces

[middleeasternpromise]

Have told the little fecklet to get the fack off including all the noises etc and other training mechanisms. However sure the little - darling - knows what hes doing as late at night (sure its a wind up) esp when he dont get what he wants aka attention - he wanders off and I hear his back legs on the lower doors late at night and hes walking on the butchers block followed by a quite but almost certain acrobatic dismount (paws have a certain noise - little ferker). Is it ok to ramp it up and start chopping meat near the little ones pawlets or AIBU?

[middleeasternpromise]

I reckon my little farklet would be tap dancing on it just to prove me wrong - will give it a go !

[sashh]

or water / damp teatowels

[msrisotto]

You need this it's a motion activated deterrent that sprays air at them. Scared the shit out of mine and she never went back! This can depend on how brave or stupid yours is!

[catkitson]

What is wrong with cats on surfaces, surely if you live with a cat you accept that it will go everywhere, litterbox paws and all? If you keep the kitchen clean, Im not sure that the cat up there will even make a difference. Poor kitty.

[OwlCatMouse]

Catkitson - because its disgusting.

[Paiviaso]

OwlCatMouse but then isn't it disgusting when the cat walks on the furniture? When it washes it's face with a paw and then rubs it's face around the house? When it curls up in your lap?

I've always thought that people who get cats and want them to stay off certain surfaces have made a hard life for themselves!

[msrisotto]

Paiviaso - It's a bit different cats walking on furniture to kitchen surfaces! Where you handle food! Of course we should keep surfaces clean anyway but it doesn't help if the cat is getting fur and dirt everywhere.

[HeathRobinson]

Keep the door to the kitchen shut?

[OwlCatMouse]

I don't prepare food on my lap!

[Paiviaso]

I bet you touch the furniture (or the cat itself) and then touch your face, bite your nails, eat something without washing your hands. There is no escaping ingesting "cat" particles

[OwlCatMouse]

There's a really really easy way to avoid 'cat particles'

[middleeasternpromise]

Thing is theres nothing on the work surfaces he just seems to want to walk there - because he can - he knows its a no go because he jumps down when he seems me coming. He has also learnt to open the kitchen door - hes a clever little kit kat.

[cozietoesie]

catkitson

I've always insisted upon 'no surfaces' as a matter of safety. Kitchens are dangerous places. Electric hobs stay hot even when switched off and could fry unsuspecting paws. Knives and sharp/glassy things abound. Small patches of oil/water/vegetable or fruit debris..... (awaiting clearance) could spoil a jump and mean that the cat could skid off and break its back.)

Even some of the things you use as implements (shredders, liquidizers, beaters.....etc etc) may be fine if you're in control of the process but could the same be said if a four-legged leapt on you in the middle of it?

Just imagine if you had a two year old in the kitchen - but a two year old who could leap four feet and land on you while you're in the middle of something. (Because that's what a cat who isn't surface trained might do.)

My cats sleep with me and live with me everywhere (too darned much everywhere sometimes!) but they're trained not to go on surfaces. That's a house rule.

And in the cozie household, 'You do not mess with the House Rules'.

(Apologies to Jack Reacher)

[Wolfiefan]

Squirt water at offending puss?
I'm afraid I swiped mine off once.
My grandma swore by putting washing up liquid of surfaces so they'd slide off!!

[FlouncingMintyy]

Citrus peel?

I think its perfectly sane to be able to tolerate cats on your furniture but not on your kitchen surfaces. And, no, I never touch my cat and then preprare food. This is because I never prepare food without washing my hands first. Its quite straightforward.

[cozietoesie]

Goodness. I confess to touching my cat and then preparing food all the time. He's wormed and flea'd regularly so I have no concerns on that score. I'd rather touch him than some of the family youngsters to be honest. (They go to some rather louche parties of an evening.)

[ThatVikRinA22]

cats get everywhere - they dont understand signs...

just wipe your surfaces down with antibacterial spray - mine are, im ashamed to say, fed on a lesser used work top due to a greedy dog.

they are 7. and we are still here, no one died yet. i have a very clean kitchen...and lots of antibacterial spray!

its just a fact that if you have cats they will jump on tables, chairs, work tops, beds, stairs, washing baskets, window sills....

[HazeltheMcWitch]

Me too, cozie. I know where my cat and my 3yo DS have been... and DS is def the one to wash hands after touching!
I am probably a slattern though.

Cats, broadly speaking, find safety in height. So they will often sleep high up, if they can. OP, is their bed in the kitchen?

[cozietoesie]

I feel ashamed every time I use an anti-bacterial spray. (I do have one under the kitchen sink.)

You don't need it for cats, Vicar. (Trying hard not to AIBU here.)

[PandaNot]

Cozietoesie, how have you trained your cats, because mine seem to have seperate rules for when I'm with them and when I'm not!

[VivaLeBeaver]

Masking tape.

Big long lengths, sticky side up. Fold the ends over to stick on the work tops. Big long strips all over.

Put them on in the evening. Keep on for as long as you can during the day. My cats get the message after a few days, then after a few months of keeping on the floor we have to start again.

[cozietoesie]

I'm not representative, Panda, because I've long had Siamese who can be trained quickly and easily. I'm talking 10 minutes or the second occasion here.

The Lodger (who is not Siamese) obeys the House Rules when here but occasionally forgets himself in hot pursuit. If so, he is reminded. Firmly.

I'm not big on house rules but those few that I have are there to be obeyed.

[cozietoesie]

And if you ask me how you train a Siamese?

By love.

[2kidsintow]

My cat goes everywhere in the house - but NOT the kitchen worksurfaces. I can't remember what we did that discouraged him. I do remember just pushing him off with a stern "No" everytime he tried as a kitten - and we may have left the sides booby trapped with a few things that made it difficult for him to jump up (but didn't make for a tidy kitchen!)
We also got some 'stay away' spray and sprayed some on a piece of kitchen roll and left that on the bits where he would most try and jump up.