My elderly cat is taking the piss..

I'm reminded of a colleague I found tucking in to a hotel breakfast when I arrived to start an all day workshop with her. 'Missed breakfast' I inquired? 'Got out of bed earlier than usual' she said.' Just found the cat getting off the chopping board. He is seven' I couldn't face making toast at home somehow'. May I politely suggest that lockdown has given some cat lovers an insight into their pets' habits?

Thanks Puzzler61. Fortunately the curtains are made of quite robust fabric!

Sadly Lottie's adventurous spirit led to her wandering far and wide and being hit by a car when she was only 18 months old. My other cat and I still miss her. She was such a cheeky little girl.

Lottie’s a beauty and looks at home up high on the curtain rail.
A good view for her too.

This is Lottie. She was a Turkish Van cat which are known for being extremely lively and adventurous and loving water.

Isn’t it wonderful to be owned by a cat? I enjoyed reading about the cats. Lily is my little calico lady. Preowned and it took her about six months to establish her place at the top of the household.

Our first Siamese adored slices of cucumber. But then he also adored the neighbour's roast pork joint, and was spotted carrying it off down the garden. They were a very understanding pair!

kircubbin2000 My cat isn't bothered by cucumbers

I’ve just had a cucumber delivered with my order. One of the cats sniffed it twice, then carried on washing himself. The other cat tried to eat it and then decided it was a toy to play with. ?

Water pistol at the ready?

I have seen videos of that sort of thing and I think it’s cruel
kircubbin

Our tabby lady has slept most of today.
On DH’s Man Cave chair, on the bed, and now on the conservatory settee where it’s still nice and warm. What a Life ahhhhh ?

Apparently they are afraid of cucumbers. Think they are snakes.

Good grief, my two are in a mood today. Following the earlier Kindle incident, I went to the loo, was sitting there peacefully, when the other cat burst through the door, miaowed loudly at me and took a running jump up onto my shoulder!

Is it bedtime yet?

Our old boy (15ish) is also very loud and demanding. You have to follow him and he will show you what he wants. At the moment he is obsessed with the walk in wardrobes - wearing at 3am! He is also completely deaf so shouting has absolutely no effect!

What a lovely thread. No cats now - trip hazard for DH - but how I miss them. Think Stargaze is accurate in her understanding of cat psychology because ours (seven over 58 years) always won in the end, however inventive we were. Eventually we became resigned to our role once we had accepted that dogs had owners but cats had staff. Apart from one who was kidnapped they all lived to ripe old age despite being rescues who had not had a good start in life so we obviously gave satisfaction. Not that they ever said!

Twice & Witzend I love hearing about your furry friends. They are all such characters aren’t they?

Ours used to sit on the worktop, yowling at the cat food cupboard as if he could magic some Expensive Cat Food In Delicious Jelly out - so he could then merely lick all the jelly off and leave the rest (of the one he’d liked the previous week) and then yowl for something else.

It was ages before I realised that next door were feeding him choice morsels of leftovers from their many dinner parties, not to mention a saucer of milk every morning.

He was a big portly boy, but had nevertheless perfected the pathetic, hungry-orphan-kitten mew, you know, with one paw raised. ?

Mine does jump onto the dining room table ( opposite end of the kitchen) but Ive never caught her on the work tops . She sleeps on lots of places usually the back of an armchair on top of a throw in the day or my footstool and on my bed at night. I put a throw on top of the duvet and wash it every week when I change the bed. I have been out in the day and come back to find her under the bedding asleep but never on the side I sleep. The clue is a sticky up lump that looks like a mole is there!

I thought cats owned the homes they live in including worktops. You have to be glad he allows you to use it too!

I’ve had cat members of my family since being a little girl.
I can’t remember having a problem with worktops. When they tried jumping up I would shoo them away and distract them.
I’m sure they got on them when I wasn’t looking, but at least they knew not to do it when I was around.
They can help themselves to chairs, settees and beds though. There is a blanket on each for the only cat we have now - aged 11 years - to lie on.

at the paw print in the sour dough!

We’ve used a water pistol. The effect doesn’t last for long. The cat learnt to simply shut its eyes when it saw us advancing.

One of my cats has just jumped on the sofa for a nap. My Kindle was there and he simply swiped it off onto the floor! Blooming cheek! ?

Sometimes as cats get older their behaviour changes and they can develop a bit of dementia. And that's a lovely big kitchen you've got.

My sister scalds her worktops with boiling water each morning and uses a chopping board which she cleans in the same way.

If you keep anything to the back of your worktops, bring some of them forward. My cat won't jump up to another level if there's something obstructing his vision.

My boy (also elderly, not sure of age, but 15 plus)has developed a very loud and persistent meow. He demands to be spoken to, picked up, fed, etc., and keep up the noise until we have to give in to whatever it id he wants.

He used to go on the worktops, years ago, but he's not bothered any more. He's starting sleeping in some different place, though - in front of the freezer, washing machine and bin.

Love the pawprint B9