Old cat - let on counters? (more lifestyle than pet question)
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Anonymous
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The pet forum is totally dead so I hope I'll get more variety of responses here.
We have a 14 year old cat who has had a lot of increasing health problems in the last 6 months. He's under ongoing care by a good vet who specializes in cats (and I've gotten a few different opinions). I'll be surprised if he's alive a year from now due to the rate his kidney disease is going, but who knows. As part of some of the medicine he's on, his personality seems to be really unpredictable lately, and he'll get kind of fixated on one thing for awhile. Sometimes he is obsessed with the shower. Other times he yowls all night long and we have to shut him out of the bedroom. Other times he is super chill and easy going. Sometimes he is obsessed with human food, even though he has unlimited access to wet and dry cat food. It's not consistent. The latest thing is he is obsessed with getting on the kitchen counter - in particular, the raised bar. He gets up there and just lounges. He has NEVER been allowed on counters. Loud noises, tin foil, spraying him with a water bottle -- none of this deters him. Every time we hear him jump up, we go get him down, but it is a total fool's errand. He just jumps right back up. I'm ready to say "Who cares?" and let the cat get up on the raised bar. To me, it feels like our getting pissed over it is what is making our quality of life feel lower, not the cat actually being on the counter. We don't keep anything on the counter (dishes, food, papers, etc.) that he is getting into or knocking over. He just gets on there and lays. He has other high options, and cool tile options. There are no other animals or small kids in the house that are making him want to "escape." It's seriously just a quirk. In theory/principle, i am COMPLETELY opposed to cats on the counter. But in reality, I'm feeling like obsessing over trying to keep him off the counters is making us miserable, and I'd rather just wipe down the counters any time we prep food (and we always prep on dishes or cutting boards anyway) and move on with our lives rather than walk back and forth to the kitchen 35 times a night to fight a losing battle with an elderly cat. Being up there seems to really chill him out when he is otherwise being neurotic. When we have guests, we put him in the laundry room (large with a window, bed, litter box, food, flowing water, etc.), so I'm not worried about him getting up there during a gathering when we have food out. Thoughts? |
Anonymous
| It's gross |
Anonymous
| Allowing a cat who walks in a litter box on your counters where you prepare food is beyond vile. This is a perfect example of why many people will throw away food made in other people's homes. |
Anonymous
Okay, so what would you recommend? He's still getting up there, his paws touch the counter before we take him down, so we still are wiping down the counters. I can't find anything to keep him off the counters preventatively. It almost feels like that Buddhist belief of - it's not the pain that's causing you to suffer, it's the desire to avoid pain that's causing you to suffer. I'm making myself crazy trying to get him off/keep him off counters, but he's doing it anyway - so the actual activity is the same (cat paws touching my counters), but I'm getting worked up over it when there is another option on that. I agree it's gross and have always felt that way, although I will say we use a litter box system that is incredibly clean compared to clay litter (Tidy Cats Breeze). But I still agree in principle it's gross to have animals on the counter (or human feet). I just don't know what to do about it and feel like the healthiest mental option is to stop getting so annoyed by it. |
Anonymous
I'm open to suggestions - should I keep him shut in a single room of the house? It's not a matter of "allowing," it's that every single method of prevention, other than confinement, isn't working. |
Anonymous
| gross |
Anonymous
Why can’t you keep him out of the kitchen and dining areas? |
Anonymous
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Just let him up there. Sounds like it's a limited area. And clean it multiple times a day and any time you plan to use the area.
You're other option is to remove him from there every time you see him there. But it sounds like that's not working. I don't see another option here. |
Anonymous
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Disgusting! This is why I don’t eat things from people who have cats. They walk around in their own waste and then you wonder if it’s cool they walk on the same countertops you prepare food on.
Domesticated cats are filthy. |
Anonymous
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First, is food prepared on the bar, or eaten there? (Mine is strictly for display items.)
Second, could you just clean the counters before you prepare food or just be careful not to place food directly on the counter itself? My cat is not allows on the counters, but I have caught her a few times. To be safe, I wipe down the counter (takes 15 seconds) and do not work directly from them in any event. |
Anonymous
| Based everything else you said about the cat, I don't think the counter is a big deal. Let him be. |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
It's open concept without any doorways to put a gate across. |
Anonymous
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There are a lot of germophobes and pet haters here -- just a warning.
It would not bother me at all. I let the cats on the counter. My cat just jumped on the island where I'm working now, he'll curl up and sleep on my left arm while I type. Lots of people think it is gross, though, so when people come over I pretend like they aren't allowed to do it. "Get down from there you bad Kitty!" It works for us. |
Anonymous
| I think it's gross but you clearly want to do it. It's your house, so do it. Be free. Don't crowdsource it on DCUM. For what purpose? So you can justify it over and over again? It's your house. You lock him up when guests are there so no one who would mind needs to know about it. Done. |