I showed one of our cat Samantha’s new favorite hangout places on Friday. She does like to explore the whole house, though she tends to stick to her own rooms most of the time.
When we moved into our new house I vowed that she would no longer be allowed on the kitchen counters. The only place to conveniently feed her at the old house was on the kitchen counter, but here at the new house we thankfully have other options.
Even though Sam now has her own little “suite” of rooms to hang out in, away from the dogs, when she wanders the house, where is the one place she wanted to go?
Yup. Of course, I have to cut her some slack here since I was sitting at the counter so I think she just wanted to be with me. But I’ve started putting fresh flowers in that vase on the counter and I don’t want her getting into them. Of course she has; so now if she’s wandering the house and I’m not watching her I have to move the flowers to the center island where she can’t get at them.
I can’t win! What is the attraction with the kitchen counter anyway? I assumed with her food no longer on there she wouldn’t care about it. It’s either me being there, or more likely now, the flowers! I can’t help but think of my late paternal grandmother, who liked cats but always told me she couldn’t understand people who let their cats on the kitchen counter; that drove her crazy. I always just smiled; and I’m sure she’s looking down at me now, shaking her head. 🙂
Nestle has decided that she likes the kitchen counters too, (its a new thing for her). She is not allowed up there, but it does not stop her.
I’m not sure there’s any way to stop cats from doing what they want to do. 🙂
Ah, totally forgot about the kitchen counters with my guesses as to where she had been that you didn’t want her! But yeah, that would just seem Normal to her to jump up there, I would guess, different kitchen counters or not…
What a beautiful view! My cats used to get on the counters but preferred the arms of our couch. They were both indented to the perfect shape of my cat. LOL!
Sometimes I think they know where they are not supposed to go and then that is the most appealing, haha.
I think you’re right, Julie! Cats have a tendency to gravitate towards people that don’t really like cats too! They are contrary creatures. 🙂
The mom gave up long ago trying to keep us off the counters. It was a losing battle for her. Now the only time we can’t be up there is when she’s preparing food.
That seems like a fair compromise! 🙂 We know we can’t win with you guys, so why do we even try to make rules? MOL
I’ve honestly never had any luck keeping my cats off the counters. The best I’ve done was target trained them and taught them up (jump up) and down (jump down) so at least I can get them off the counters without resorting to aversives. My husband can’t stand one of our two cats so it can definitely be frustrating when they wander around on the counters. We also have a “no animals in the kitchen” when cook and there’s food around. I also make sure that I disinfect the counters daily if not more. Silly cats.. They just like to be high up.. even though they have 4 cat trees. Speaking of which, you may want to try putting a cat tree near the counter so she has a spot. I’ve heard that helps and it does sort of work at our house.
We’ll have to give that a try! I’m really OK with her being on the counters as long as there’s not food around like you said. So far she’s sticking to the seating area, not the cooking area, so hopefully that continues.
I think it is because she is used to being fed on the counter, she is still associating it with those GOOD things!!!!!! I always have kept our kitchen baby gated so Dakota can’t get to where Cody is. Cody has never been fed on the counter, does it keep him from going up there (by the way he isn’t allowed up there), but he still sneaks and does it!
I think they just like being high up – another way of feeling like the queen or king of their “catdom”. 🙂
Our angel Nin jumped up onto the counters until he was 17. We just didn’t have flowers in the house lol! Glad Sam is settling in!
That is really something that Nin could still jump at 17! Sam has to use the bar stool to actually get up there, and our other late cat, Conrad, could no longer jump up after he was about 15.
I think it also could be a “safe place” to her should the dogs suddenly come in the house…she’s planning ahead. ????
She’s apparently smarter than we are. LOL
She’s a harden criminal, she needs to come live at my place of crime. Have a great Sunday.
Ha ha, she’d fit in well with your band of mischief makers, wouldn’t she?
Mom thinks its just so they can be up high. She doesn’t even fight it with Rhette as that’s where his food and water are. But on the island where she eats, he gets tossed and knows it. Love Dolly
Does he keep coming back? Every time I toss a cat off somewhere, they just come back again! 🙂
My gramma’s cat never goes on the counters or tables, but cat bro Bert pretty much lives on the counters. We can’t get him off. They have invisible fencing for indoors which can be used on cats. That may be our only solution, but not sure if we really want to get into that at this point.
No, I don’t think I’d want to go that far either. We can live with it. 🙂
I’m afraid I’ll jinx myself if I write this–but so far Soth doesn’t get on our counters. He was also fed on the counter at the apartment, but this kitchen doesn’t have a good space for that–he used to get on the non-eating counters in the apartment to knock things around when his bowl was empty, but he’s chosen new surfaces to clear at the new house. He does spend a lot of time on the kitchen table (but it’s right under a prime bird-watching window) and I had to put my pretty plant I had on the table in one of the spare bedrooms where the door can be shut and now the only people who get to enjoy it are the neighbors who see it through the window 🙁
Plants have been impossible for us ever since we got Sam! I do have some narrow, high places where I can put them but it’s not always where they can get sun. The only plant I have right now is catnip!
Oh she probably just likes seeing life from the perspective of being a bit closer to eye-level………but she has some beautiful views there too!
Hugs, Sammy
My Mom could never stand it either when her SIL would allow their skillions of cats to walk all over their kitchen counters (and the table!). It drove Mom nuts! Our dogs were not even allowed to stand up against the counters, never mind walk on them. I guess it’s just one of those things those of us without cats don’t understand.
always a (counter-) surfer girl, huh? But that B&B with a view is super cool… you even have free berd-tv there!