Get Off! How to Discourage Your Cat from Jumping on Counters

Booby Traps

Another popular negative reinforcement technique is booby trapping the area you wish your cat to avoid. One way to achieve this is to prepare a few empty soda cans, fill them with some coins or beans, and tie them one to the other. Then, place them on the edges of any high surface that you wish to keep your cats from jumping on, such as the kitchen counter. Should your cat jump, the cans all tumble down creating a loud racket.

The mousetraps version of the same idea entails setting up several wooden non-baited mousetraps, and placing them upside down on the surface you wish your cat to stay away from, and then cover them with a sheet of newspaper of even a towel. Should the cat jump on the counter, the triggered trap snaps with a loud noise, scaring kitty away.

Booby trapping surfaces like this has the advantage of getting you, the owner, out of the loop. The loving owner is never associated with the loud noise produced by the mousetrap or line of cans. It is also more consistent, as you can set up your booby trap and leave the room. Your cat will still produce the negative reaction if she or he jumps on the counter… at least once. The downside of booby trapping surfaces like this is that the surprising noise can be too startling for timid cats, and you could end with a stressed feline instead of a trained one.

Surface Covering

This method of negative reinforcement is by far my favorite. The idea is to make the surface that you wish to keep your cat away from uncomfortable to walk on. This can be done by using plastic carpet runners with points up, or using some double-sided adhesive tape. You don't have to stick any of the tape directly on your counters, either. What worked best for many of my clients was taking a thick plastic sheet and covering it with double-sided tape, creating their own homemade sticky mat. Then, whenever they were not using the counters, they would cover them with that sheet of plastic. When taping directly on surfaces, we would usually use regular adhesive tape, creating small loops of tape, with the adhesive on the outside of the ring, and then placing/sticking them across the surface. This would create a similar effect of a sticky surface, but easier to lift off the surface than double-sided tape.

The end result is the same: The surface becomes uncomfortable for cats to walk on. They may jump once or twice, decide they don't like it, then jump off. Usually within a few days to a couple of weeks, the cats would stop jumping on the treated surfaces altogether, at which point you can take off the adhesive tape/sticky mat.

With this method you get very consistent negative reinforcement, as your cat will get a negative reaction generated every time she jumps on that surface, whether you're around or not. In fact, you, the cat owner, are completely disassociated from any of the discomfort caused. As an added benefit, there is no startling factor here, no loud noise or sudden movement, just slight discomfort.

Finding the Solution that Works for You and Your Cat

Negative reinforcement can be very effective as way to teach your cat what not to do. You need to understand the principles behind this behavioral technique and make sure they are properly applied in whichever system you choose to try. No one system works with all cats, but keep it constant, and keep it going for a while, before moving on to trying something else. My advice is to try the surface covering method before any other, as it is relatively easy to apply and least stressful to the cat. Try it for at least three weeks, and if the desired results aren't achieved, then move on to trying other methods.

Whichever method you try, remember you must always provide your cat with plenty of space, including appropriate vertical space for climbing and jumping.