People and their pets

My cats weren’t allowed on kitchen worktops, but I didn’t mind them sleeping on beds.

When I was ill as a child, the visiting doctor was surprised to discover a sleeping cat under the eiderdown! I think he recognised good therapy when he saw it, and made no objection.

My cat has just attempted to write his own answer - he was lying next to me, and playing with my hand, and pushing against my forehead. I do not prepare food on my kitchen table- and I clean it thoroughly + use clean matts and/or a table cloth. As said, my visitors will never know though ;)
He is such a joy

We have 2 dogs and have had cats in the past. They were not allowed on worktops or tables.
Only 2 dogs were ever allowed upstairs in our bedroom - one elderly dog dying of heart failure in his last few weeks and a young puppy who came in my bed that had pneumonia on both lungs. Puppy survived against the odds then slept in the kitchen.
Love my animals v much but they are animals so do as I say - well most of the time lolol

My cats are not allowed to walk on the kitchen counter or any table on which food is served and eaten or prepared. Nor are they allowed to beg at the table.

I would not mention it if a friend's cat was walking on these surfaces, anymore than I would mention the bad manners of their relatives.

If a cat tried to get onto my lap and eat off my plate, that would be different. I would most certainly request it to get down FAST.

My cat used to jump on the worktop when the Jack Russells were annoying her. A quick spray and wipe down with anti-bac before plating up food did the trick.

Not in front of guests though.

My cats go everywhere and that’s certainly never done me or my family any harm. Living in close contact with animals is natural and proven to be beneficial to children, who develop a stronger immunity system.
I’d rather have paws on the worktop than nasty chemicals from sprays or wipes.

Went to a friend's house once and she had baked some delicious cup cakes with lovely butter icing which she left on the side ready to serve. We went into the lounge and emerged five minutes later to find that each of the cup cakes had had a tongue full of butter icing licked off. Cat no where to be seen but it did not upset them. From then on everything was kept in a tin in the larder.

It wouldn't have put me off, although all the cats I have lived with have been swiftly removed from tables and kitchen surfaces.

We have always had a cat. Would never allow her on a kitchen worktop or dining table. I love my cat , but sitting where I prepare food is a very big no no for me ! She jumped on worktops soon after we brought her home from rescue centre. I made it very clear I was unacceptable - a loud NO and she was put straight back onto the floor! She has never done it since - there is a theory that cats can not be trained . My experience is they can , not to the extent of a dog but enough to keep her off my kitchen work surfaces!

PinkPrincess, that reminded me of a boy I was friendly with at school, at 8 or 9. They had two dogs, a cat and a rabbit - their mother would put a saucer of tea for each of them on the kitchen floor and they’d line up to drink it! I loved going to their house. I only had a tortoise - I did love him, though.

When I was a child many moons ago I remember my great aunt allowing her dog to drink the slops from the tea cups. I would watch fascinated while she lined each teacup on the floor so her dog could lap up the remains of the milky tea in each one. My grandfather refused to drink out o her tea cups and would bring his own, telling her he had ''a funny mouth''.Wether she believed him or not I do not know.
My great aunt was an extremely house proud woman and would belittle anyone whom she deemed to be ''a sloppy housewife''but never saw any harm in letting her dog lick the cups because her dog loved tea!

i don't like animals in houses.
i avoid entering such houses.
wouldn't eat there.

It wouldn’t have bothered me in the slightest. Having worked in catering and food factories I’d say that would be the least of your worries. It’s kind of like mattresses in hotels. Best not to think too much about it…

I think it's really difficult for people who are not "animal" people to understand what we get from our pets. They are incredibly important to me, a constant source of something that I honestly can't explain but they calm my soul. When I've had really difficult times (as we all do) I've been out to see my horse and she's known I was unhappy and sort of sighed with me! It's very weird and I feel awkward writing this but I just think animals can read our emotions and will engage with us, so a bit of fur, the odd lick and a smelly fart if perfectly OK!

Mine will try and jump on work surface and I will shoo him off. But ...

I normally sit at the big dinner table in the kitchen when on my computer, and he loves nothing more than come and lie right next to me- and I so enjoy it, I've stopped trying to stop him. I mean, I clean the table well before we eat, and would use clean matts or tablecloth is we have visitors. Just don't tell my SIL, please shusssh.

I never allowed my cat on work surfaces, beds, but I get that other people do, so i suppose I'd just pick out any hairs i found.

Good grief, no it wouldn't bother me at all. I happily kiss my cats around their faces, too. Perhaps if it was a mangy-looking cat, I might think twice.

As for cat cafes - bring them on!

It would have put me off but if they were new friends I probably wouldn’t have said anything. If it was close family or an old friend I might well have commented. I’ve had dogs and cats all my life (just a dog now) and I’m quite laid back with animals around the house but never liked the cats getting on tables or work surfaces & so encouraged them not to do it. I tried never to leave things out that would tempt them to jump up to steal. No one wants cat hairs in their meal.
I recently went to a cat cafe with one of my GC as they had been pestering us to go. I really couldn’t fancy eating anything so I just ordered a drink, couldn’t wait to leave tbh.

I went into the spice cupboard the other day only to find the door slightly open and the cat sitting there…

We've had cats and dogs (horses too) and tbh it wouldn't have bothered me unless I'd seen the cat helping himself from the dishes (and then I'd have just made a joke about it). I keep dogs and cats off kitchen counters, beds etc but hair floats around in the air and does sometimes gets onto food plates etc. No-ones died yet. What I find really offensive is filthy dish clothes being waved around in kitchens, I'm not one for using antibacterial products but I do like surfaces t be wiped with clean cloths!

It wouldn't bother me, but I'd prefer cats to not be on the work tops purely due to their bottoms being in contact with the surfaces 🐈🐈🐈

Unless I saw the cat actually licking the food, it honestly wouldn’t bother me.

Our cat (RIP) was forever on the worktop, yowling at the cat food cupboard in the hope of magicking something out - something other than what he enjoyed yesterday, but had just rejected - having licked all the Delicious Jelly off first, of course.

I’ve never been one for going mad with the anti-bac spray and AFAIK nobody’s ever fallen ill.

It wouldn’t have bothered me. One of my previous cats liked to sit next to me at the counter while I ate breakfast. Neither of us came to any harm.

So you won't be visiting a cat cafe then? I love cats but this is a step too far for me.

I don’t have cats any more but when I did I was never able to stop them jumping into work surfaces so food was never put directly onto a work surface. Even now everything goes onto a plate. I think it’s easier to contain a dog in a certain area than a cat.