Kitchen hygiene

Cats have their dignity, you know!

Ella In my last house I had a door bricked up in the basement utility room when I first moved in, but a tunnel was built through the wall so that the cats could go outside. I moved three years ago and the only room with access to what can only be called a backyard is the utility room, where the cats have litter trays. The entire back wall and the door are UPVC as this was an extension into the backyard arranged by the previous owners. You cannot safely put a cat flap through a UPVC wall. So what do I do? Spend half my life opening and closing the door for cats and never go out of the house or provide litter trays? I have to say that my late Dylan who had never used a litter tray after early kittenhood was quite shocked when that became his only option up here in the North-east. But, as always, he behaved impeccably.

"Give the cat more privacy"?!!!

Considering that Rory [the feral cat] has only recently come in from the cold, I have to say, on his behalf, that he is most particular and grooms himself with gusto. He has his own cushion on a little stool. He NEVER attempts to walk across the kitchen surfaces. He uses his litter tray [well out of the way, in the utility room.] As soon as the tray has been used, I take it outside and clean it with a hose. His bowls are washed separately in a mild solution of Milton. Right...that's Rory for you. He is rather special. Whether or not an animal is allowed to "slum it" is surely down to the owner.

have been appalled by the lax attitude of some pet owners.
I always wash dog's bowl separately in very hot water and dry with his own tea towel (has dogs on it so I know which one)
no feeding of said dog from any human plate or food
dog bedding/towels washed in very hot water separately ( would wash in another machine if I had 2
and I am not particularly houseproud or hygiene conscious - it just seems common sense.

number eugh!

Our litter tray is kept in the bathroom, but Mia only uses it during the night now. It`s easily cleaned out and changed, because I use litter tray liners. She isn`t actually allowed on worktops, but who knows what she gets up to during the night, so they are regularly cleaned before use.
My son and his wife were visiting her parents house once, her dad was a stickler for cleanliness and order, unlike her mum, and her dad was away at the time. They pointed out to her that one of her cats had had an "accident" underneath the kitchen table. 2 weeks later, when they visited again, "it" was still there!

I like those, Phoenix, I always think they give the cat more privacy.

The litter trays we have are the sort with covers, sort of like an igloo, not quite so "in your face" so to speak.

When we had a cat there was a kitchen spray cleaner (Flash) I think with orange oil . I was told cats don't like orange smell and she certainly kept off the work tops.we had a litter tray in her dotage but she preferred to go out. I couldn't stand a used litter tray even tho it was in the utility room

Vampire Queen: top marks for adaptability!

I find that in the interests of keeping us safe from food borne infections among other measures I keep the kitchen cleaner spray bottle handy beside the paper towels. The human element always comes into hygiene problems and necessary cleaning has to be made attractive.

I only have a one and a half type sink! However the cat dishes are stainless steel, they are washed separately and in water so hot you cannot put your hand in it!

Once the water has cooled enough to use, I wash the dishes using a washing up brush kept just for them, and put them to drain on a sheet of newspaper.

I love my mogs, but keep to fairly high standards. if I'm cooking and stirring things, the cats can pester as much as they like, but won't get stroked until I have finished dealing with food.

Worktops get cleaned with spray at least twice a day and food is never prepared directly on them.

Washing dog dishes anywhere near human dishes = yuk
Washing dogs in the kitchen sink = yuk (saw a very "fussy" person doing this once - people have such very different ideas about contamination don't they}
cats on dining tables and kitchen surfaces = yuk
cats licking the butter!!!!! saw sisters cat do this once. OMG
Cat faeces can spread toxoplasmosis. And they lick their bums.

My exMIL had 15 cats in a small two bedroom flat. The cats were never allowed to go out so imagine the smell. She kept the litter tray below the coat hooks and wasn't particularly bothered about emptying it regularly. Coats often dropped into it. Some of the cats wouldn't use the litter tray so would go where ever they chose. The doors and windows were kept closed to keep the cats inside and so no fresh air ever circulated. You could see cat dander floating in the air and everything was covered in it and dust. You even had to wash out a cup before you could use it because the dander landed inside them.

My ex insisted we visit even though he admitted it wasn't clean so we developed a routine. I taught my daughters never to eat anything that wasn't wrapped. So they ate babybells and dairylea but nothing that was uncovered. We all wore dark clothes so that when we got home they could all be put in the washing machine straight away whilst we all showered and then cooked pizza and ate for the first time in hours. We did this no matter what time we got home....it was impossible to contemplate just going to bed.

The things that happened when we visited were unbelievable and would turn your stomachs.

That's why I didn't trust him lol. I reckon he humoured us and did what he wanted when we weren't around.

Bags you're right, I had a potty wherever the potty trainee was, and yes it was sometimes the kitchen. There are a lot of cafes around here that let dogs in, I am always amazed, I thought it was against the Law? My stepmother had cats that were always wandering over the kitchen surfaces, and I saw one sit on a chopping board once. [yuck emoticon] I avoided eating there whenever it was possible.

You TRAINED a cat vq? much respect!

Our cat was trained from the start never to climb onto work services, furniture or go upstairs. He never had a litter tray either....he went out. That being said I never assumed he did as we wanted because cats are devious little blighters and who knows what creepies might land/crawl across services when you're not looking so I always wiped down before preparing food.

Like Barrow I only have a litter tray when my cats become too old to go outside or go through the night without needing a wee. I don't have a litter tray at the moment and my (only) cat tells us when he needs to go out. The only time this regime failed was over Christmas when he woke me during the night miaowing incessantly. Half asleep, I thought he was demanding food and shut him in the kitchen. I regretted it when I got up in the morning. My fault, not his. He doesn't walk on worktops but I must admit I'm not excessively concerned about animals and hygiene. That sounds all wrong, I am of course concerned about food hygiene but don't see animals as anything other than one part of this.

DD's cats used to go out to play and come back to go to the toilet, it was funny to watch them squirming around on the doorstep obviously needing to go.

Of course this is the ideal solution

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C4pzEgncFY

That's what I've been thinking Ella. We had cats for years and never had a litter tray.

I sometimes come home to see Digby on the kitchen windowsill, which means that he has walked across the worktop, I never prepare food on it, I have a selection of boards, and I'm a bit fanatical about hand washing and wiping surfaces down.