Our Momma’s pretty new to this whole kitty thing. I mean, we’re the first kitties she’s ever lived with. Daddy hung with some kitties when he was little, but he says he doesn’t remember any of them acting like us. Momma’s read a bunch of books and talked to a lot of people, but there are still some things that she’d like to know. So we thought we’d dedicate the next couple of Mondays to asking all you kitties out there in the blogosphere how stuff gets handled in your house.
So here’s this week’s situation:
Momma doesn’t care if we get on the kitchen counter, which she thinks might have been her first mistake. She thought it was cute when she first brought us home because we could jump up on anything. So she just let us have the run of the house. (She constantly wipes off the counter all the time with wipey stuff – which we don’t understand because we’ve got very clean paws! Grrr). She doesn’t really like us getting on the stove (EG burned his paw once when we were really little and it made her feel really bad), but it’s a glass top and she doesn’t think we can tell the difference between the counter and the stove. We don’t really get people food (unless Daddy drops it on the floor and even then Titus usually gets it before we do), but if we even think we hear food, we’re immediately on the counter. It really cuts into Momma cooking, or even just getting a bowl of cereal. In fact, she’s pretty much given up cooking very much unless Daddy’s home in the evenings to distract us (which isn’t that often). And it takes both of them to pour a bowl of cereal. Hee hee! She doesn’t like having us help her cook by sticking our faces and paws into whatever she’s doing. And she really doesn’t like us helping her with the stove. She’s tried the whole squirt bottle thing, and it works on me, but EG just squints at her and keeps doing what he was doing. She thought she could maybe put us in the litterbox room for a little bit while she’s cooking, but that makes her feel bad. If she’s home, she likes to be around us.
So kitty blogosphere, what happens in your house? Does anybody else help their Mommas and Daddies cook? Should Momma just suck it up and put us in the litterbox room for a little bit? Should she get a giant squirtgun? Should she just stop cooking (which would make her very happy, by the way)?
We are allowed pretty much anywhere but sometimes we get the "Kazegitdown.....kaze....gitdownnow (human stands up)". That is enough to get us down from wherever we are. We get on the counters but if the LL is cooking we aren't allowed. Basically we go where we want until we're told we can't be there.
ReplyDeleteKaze
We have 2 counters in our kitchen. One is by the windows, where we are allowed. It only has the quick heaty box and our extra crunchies. We are not allowed on the other counter. IF our Mom that Lives Here or the Man in Green hear us up there, they get us. Then they turn the *horror* water on in the sink and we get a quick head dunk. It's mean and we don't like it AT ALL! (The squirt gun doesn't work here either). Now we pretty much stay off that counter/stove. (Don't tell our Mom but we get up there when she is sleeping or not at home!)
ReplyDeleteMommy says us kitties are like zombies. Ya gotta squirt us in the head (preferably the forehead). That usually gets us off the counter. Now, sometimes she just threatens us with the squirt bottle and we get down. Sometimes we have to test her though. We don't know what the problem is. We just wanna help.
ReplyDeleteI go up on the counters all the time! My Mommie had to move my food dish up there since I eat prescription food, and Pixie can't jump up to get into it. If my Mommie is cooking, I am Not Allowed up there though.
ReplyDeleteWe are NOT allowed on the counters--EVER. We catch Nicky up there from time to time trying to get Mom's seet tea. Mom just gives us "the look" and we run!
ReplyDeleteWe can go anywhere...Momma figured that since we would do what we wanted when she wasn't there she would let us do what we wanted when she was there. Except she gets upset at Ping when he gets up on the back of her chairs and uses it as a spring board. Ping likes to get up on top of Momma's nice book case too. She isn't furry happy about that eifur. But Ping doesn't like the squirt bottle, so he will get off of anyfing when Momma breaks out da bottle. So we all vote furrs da bottle.
ReplyDeleteAbby
Cats rule their houses and do whatever they want! Mom says cats can be trained to do or not do things, but it takes diligence and most humans can't watch us 24/7 so we win in the end anyway.
ReplyDeleteI always help Mom cook, and sometimes I get in her way, so she just picks me up and puts me on the floor again and again.
Maybe a few squirts with a water spray bottle would help your Mom?
Love
Tipper
Ah, the time old question of who rules the roost! Actually, it isn't a question, it is a fact: us cats rule whether the humans like it or not. Mao and I jump on every surface, get in the way of cooking, climb up the humans' backs, try and eat their food, jump up in front of the tv...the humans can't do a thing about it because we are in charge!!! xx
ReplyDeleteOur mommie used to have to tell us to get off when she was cooking. and most of the time we would. We were kittens and it took a while for us to learn that sometimes we are not allowed on the countertops.
ReplyDeleteStill when mommie is baking cookies, we love to help. she gets grumpy and after a while we get the idea.
I guess you just have to learn to do what mommie says!!!
I would suggest, if there is a room that is nice and comfy with a box... put them in there during the dinner hour. Don't feel bad. we get over it. Put some music on in the room and we will be happy.
It is all about routines and habit.
Yeah, like Caesar and Prinnie said, routines and habit. Momma and Daddy let us Ballicai go pretty much wherevers we wants too, and that inkludes the countertops. in fact when Momma gives us our morning stinky goodness, we all get up on the counters except Brainball (Brainball's a great big kitty and never jumps up on counters) and holler at her.
ReplyDeleteThe only time we aren't allowed on the countertops is when Momma's cooking. And when she's cooking, she enforces a strickt "no" policy when it comes to us jumpin' up on the counter. Whenever one of us gets up there, Momma stops what she's doin', puts us back down gently on the ground and says nicely but firmly "no." And we get the idea.
Me and Marilyn can be kinda of persistent sometimes 'cause we're both foodmonsters and the newer Ballicai around here, but Dorydoo is used to the routine and knows the deal, so me and Marilyn are gettin' that way, too.
Consistency is the key, Momma sez. I wish she wasn't so darn consistent though 'cuase I'd love to stick my face in bowls when she's makin' toona casserole!
Kittyhugs and purrs from MaoMao!
Here's a tip. Aluminum foil. We cats hate the way it feels on our paws when it is spread out like a sheet. We are not allowed on the kitchen counters and the dining room table, anywhere else is fair game. Mommy put aluminum foil there a long time ago and when we jumped it freaked us out. We don't try it anymore. The squirt bottle works for us too - right between the eyes. One more tip. Place an empty aluminum can on the edge of the counter right where you jump. Put a bunch of noisy coins in it. When you jump and knock it over you will be startled and think twice before you do it again. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteHere's how we've worked it out in our home: we go wherever we want and we let the humans go wherever they want.
ReplyDeleteIt works out pretty well.
I go pretty much everwhere that I can get to. Kitchen counters are an easy jump and mum does cook. But if I am in the way I get put on the floor.
ReplyDeleteSo I have learned that while mum is at the cooking spot I can be one of three places in the kitchen. 1 - Around her feet, 2 - on top of the big cold box, 3 - on the far end of the counter away from the cooking spot. .
I did get my paw singed last year on the smooth top cooking thing. Tell your mum to put a big pot over the warm burner. She uses her tea kettle which always has some water in it.
My cats can go pretty much anywhere, but I don't ever remember them trying to help unless it was cutting up chicken and they would sit on the chair behind me and hang over my shoulder hoping to snag a piece before it made it to the bowl. Another thing to try to train the cats that certain counters are okay and others are not is to put down double sided tape on the counters that are not okay - cats generally don't like sticky tape on their toes. We used to have a problem with my first two cats getting on the stove and burning their fur on the pilot light vents, so my uncle said to get mousetraps and set them so they would snap but not hurt - my cats just shoved them off the stove and watched as they snapped on the way down to the ground, and then they settled back down on the stove. I do agree with the others that have said consistency is the answer - keep picking up the cats and putting them on the floor everytime you are cooking and they will learn - if you don't free feed, maybe you can feed them right before you start cooking so they are slightly distracted.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for the advice. I really do appreciate it. We were picking them up and putting them on the floor, but the kitties were more persistant than we were consistent. So we're going to try the firm and consistent approach again (with a squirt bottle, if necessary) and just keep at it. I think we're probably going to invest in some foil and double sided tape, too. Thank you all again for everything.
ReplyDelete~The Furry Kids' Mom
They tried the foil and double sided tape, but we are fierce!! We played with the foil and Riley tried to eat the tape. Now Mommy just shoots us in the head with the squirt bottle. The sprayer attachment on the sink also works well if your kitchen can stand a little water.
ReplyDeleteWe wuz told furrom when we wuz baby kitties where we could and couldn't go. We are nefurr allowed on enny werktops or the table, but we can go enny where else. The only time we got on the kitchen werktop wuz when a pijjin kept visiting and sitting on the window sill.Mum sed it wuzn't our fault cuz he wuz tempting us too much. She sez when she took on her mum in laws 10 cats, they yoosed to go on the tables and efurrywhere and allus wuz pinching food. She wuz firm wiv them, and put them on the floor eech time and sed NO to them.She wuz afraid her own kitty would start copying them.She sed it wuz a battle of wills cuz they had allus been allowed to do it, but in the end, apart furrom one kitty, they wouldn't git on the werktops.She thought nine out of ten wuz a purrty good result.
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