People and their pets

I have cats trained ours not to get up on the worktops, that’s a difficult one I would probably be looking for cats hair in my meal 😜but I don’t think I’d eat there again

me too

Not just asthma but all sorts of severe allergies too.

Gosh BlueRuby - what difference is there between cat poo and human poo? Other than that the human stuff has drugs and all manner of extra’s in it. So actually, cat poo is probably the better of the 2. People do have strange ideas! Wonder if they ever ponder that animal (and in some places, human) poo is used in crop production.

Pets and their carers share bacteria so you are no more in danger from the cat (or a dog) than from the friends.

It is not accidental that farm children seldom get asthma compared with town children who have little challenge to their immune systems and grow up more susceptible to the disease. See cat contact as a way of stimulation your immune system! In 'normal' households thare is little danger from either pets or friends.

I have three cats, but close the door to the kitchen when I am preparing or serving up food.
The Kitchen counters are cleaned with Dettol Wipes daily - but doubtless there are cat hairs floating about.
I live alone, and would always ask any visitors if they wished to eat out.
My most frequent visitor (my adult neice) is happy to eat in my house, and I would be happy to eat in the house of any animal lover. I wouldn't want the animals to eat from my plate while I was eating - but would have no other objection, assuming that I knew my hosts well enough to be aware of their general standards of hygiene.

Aww That’s disgusting, I never allowed pets into the kitchen as they shake and their fur etc goes a surprisingly long way
My dog is 17 I started training him as a baby to stay at the open kitchen door, although I have since moved and all open plan now, he still sits at the edge of the kitchen area something he taught himself ..
Besides hygiene it’s dangerous with hot stuff on the move in a kitchen.

I was referring to the Valentine card issue Fleurpepper

sodapop

Whilst I agree with your sentiments about humanising pets especially with regard to clothing etc. I do know that some people are very lonely and rely on their pets for companionship and love. Not always straightforward.

Of course they are fabulous companions- but 'using' them as dolls and toys is just 100% wrong, whatever the circumstances.

Cats, not cars!

No cars on the worktop please. It's just as bad as sharing a hot tub. Faecal material gets passed on.

Whilst I agree with your sentiments about humanising pets especially with regard to clothing etc. I do know that some people are very lonely and rely on their pets for companionship and love. Not always straightforward.

I love my cat. He's been a mad and affectionate companion through many ups and downs. But I don't let him on the work surface. I have friends who don't shoo their cats away when they are plating up food and it turns my stomach. However - here's a challenge .... my cat's litter box is in our bathroom, and I put his poo down the toilet and flush it safely away. A couple of people I know have been horrified at this, pointing out it pollutes our water system, but my question is this ... bearing in mind all the drugs we take end up going down the toilet - I take blood pressure meds, a lot of pain killers, occasional antibiotics and had chemotherapy a few years ago, plus think about all the birth control pills, viagra, cocaine and "medicinal" marijuana - how polluting can cat poo be, when flushed safely down the loo?? Thoughts much welcomed!!

Urmstongran

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’ve just been reading how some pet owners buy their pets a card ... !
🤣
A fool and his money came to mind.

Totally agree, I am a huge animal lover, but as much as I love them, I refuse to humanise them. No fancy toys, etc. And I HATE, truly HATE all how people clothe and accessorise their pets. I have bought a coat for our rescue arriving next Sunday, from Africa- for obvious reasons. Warm and simple.

I shall always remember the first time I saw 3 large poodles, died pink, blue and pale green, at the East of England show in the early 90s. since then, it has got worse and worse- poor dogs, and poor cats, and all pets, used as toys

No pets on work surfaces for me. Would I have said anything in OP’s case? No.
We trained our dog not to beg from us when we are eating but she sees each visitor as a new target so she has to be shut out if the dining room.

At least their clothing covers their bums. Cats - none.

Forget cat bottoms on the worksurface, how about people who sit on worksurfaces to carry on chatting? To me that is even more disgusting and totally unacceptable.

Blondiescot

I wouldn't have done or said anything, to be honest. I'm sure I've eaten food prepared in far worse conditions in the past and lived to tell the tall - what the eye doesn't see and all that...
I've dropped food on the floor, rescued it and served it, for instance. Years ago, I was about to dress some fish for DH's dinner, got the breadcrumbs out and turned round to find the cat nibbling the end of the fish. I trimmed the end, dressed it as usual and he was none the wiser.

I did the same with a beef joint-cut the end off and served the rest.

Valentine’s Day is coming up and I’ve just been reading how some pet owners buy their pets a card ... !
🤣
A fool and his money came to mind.

What the boy or. the Tortoise Pink Princess?

sparkly100, I once spent ages making a salmon mousse for a dinner party starter - all beautifully decorated with lemon and cucumber slices.

I put it on the table and called everyone to come, but during those few minutes when people were finishing their G&Ts, having a wee, etc., our dog had managed to get up and take a slurp out of one side of the mousse.

Luckily all 4 guests were dog lovers and just found it hilarious - I sliced off that part and we had it anyway.

I like my tea really strong so sometimes leave the teabag in the mug. I did that the other week only to find that I’d left it on the floor and the dog had ate it. All of it. Thankfully it was decaffeinated. I won’t be doing that again….

It wouldn’t have bothered me and I certainly wouldn’t have mentioned it if it had - friends are more important than a few cat/dog hairs.

Thankyou Witzend
I loved going to my great aunt's house as well and could not understand why people made such a fuss over the dog drinking out of the tea cups, I thought she (the dog) was ver clever!

For a big family dinner I had bought a very fancy Sarah Lee gateau decorated with peaks of cream, left in a closed up kitchen to thaw forgetting about the cat flap in the back door.

I came back to check 20 minutes later. The cream peaks were as smooth as a skating rink and my Persian cat was sitting smugly cleaning her whiskers.

I hastily skimmed off about the top quarter inch and said nothing.

Nobody died.