Cat jumping on counters and drinking out of our water glasses at night!

Hello,

I have a male cat (named Psych which suits him well!) about 2.5 years old. He has this nasty habit of jumping on the counters at night as soon as he thinks we're asleep. He will also go around the house sticking his head in all of our cups and especially my bed side water glass to drink because he LOVES water.

I keept his water fresh but that didn't help so we bought him one of those cat water dish fountains that has a filter and keeps the water from getting stale but he's still jumping on counters and drinking from our cups. This is getting really annoying and it's hard to catch him since he does it when we're in bed. I try my best to keep the counters free of left over food and stuff but he isn't much of a food guy, just loves the water.

My female, Lili, has never had this problem.

Any suggestions?

All 5 of my cats prefer to drink water out of glasses, so thats what I let them do. Water is good for them and I want them to drink, so if they drink more in a glass, then so be it.

I think if you just kept everything off the counter and just accepted the cat would go on there, it would probably be more peaceful for all. Just like he's doing, hes going on there when you are asleep, so what can you do.

Just clean your countertops befpre you prep on them.

Originally Posted by Pami

All 5 of my cats prefer to drink water out of glasses, so thats what I let them do. Water is good for them and I want them to drink, so if they drink more in a glass, then so be it.

I think if you just kept everything off the counter and just accepted the cat would go on there, it would probably be more peaceful for all. Just like he's doing, hes going on there when you are asleep, so what can you do.

Just clean your countertops befpre you prep on them.

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Have to agree with this. It is very important for cats to drink water so if that's how he prefers his water then let him have it. Perhaps you could use one of those lidded metal coffee holders for the water at your bedside so at least you would know kitty isn't drinking your water.

As for the counters, even if my cats didn't go on the counter, I would ALWAYS clean it before preparing food so it's no problem. These are very small problems in the scheme of life and kitties offer so much in return.

Well, he's a cat and cats tend to each have their own quirks.

One of mine likes to unzip the garment bag during the night and sleep in it, thus defeating the whole purpose of having the garment bag in the first place (to keep cat fur off clothes).

They're just wacky. Sometimes all you can do is sit back and enjoy it.

My cat started to drink out of a mason jar in which I was rooting plant cuttings. This is kept by the sink. So each morning I just put more water in the jar. There is no fertilizer or anything harmful in the jar, just cuttings. At least she's drinking and it makes her happy.

Ya, Psych really has is own personality and does things his own way but I was hoping to get him to stop since it really is annoying seeing dirty kitty print all over the counter each morning lol. I heard that cats don't like it if you spread tin foil on the counter? Anyone try this?

As far as the water goes, I keep my water by my bed in a bottle for that exact reason - so little kitties don't jump up and drink out of it!

Is he only jumping on the counters to get the water? If that's the case, maybe you can get him his own glass of water somewhere where you don't mind him going.

Otherwise, I have heard foil used before, and also those plastic mats that have the nubby things in the bottom, nubby side turned up. They don't like the feel of that on their paws, supposedly.

Well, he is an extremely picky eater with a sensitive stomach so I have only ever seen him eat his special food and that's it. He will not eat wet food, treats, human food, milk.. nothing so I am assuming he is looking for water in the cups or just exploring. We have woken up a couple times now to see glasses knocked over with left over water running down the counter or side tables in the living room and sometimes wake up to the *cling *clanging sounds of him walking in between the cups but he's very sneaky. I have been using bottles or cups with lids lately so i know his head hasn't been in it if i need a drink of water at night.

I will try the tin foil thing tonight and find a cup that I can give to him to drink out of and see if he will stick with his own cup. Maybe he wants to be a human and drink like we do? lol.

I keep a glass of water on the night stand by my bed. Both cats are fascinated with this for some reason and both want to drink out of my glass even though bowls of water are throughout the house. Go figure?

Originally Posted by Chrissy114

I heard that cats don't like it if you spread tin foil on the counter? Anyone try this?

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I did, for about a week. And every morning I came down to find new paw prints on the foil. I have no doubt that my counter surfer was laughing to himself the whole time. "Yeah, like THIS is really gonna stop me. My daddy is really naive."

I also tried the double-sided sticky tape, with similar results. Plus the inconvenience of the tape made it a short-lived experiment.

I've since waved the white flag, but I understand that other people have had success with these and other methods, so if keeping Psych off the counters is really that important to you, go ahead and try them. If you are able to keep him off the counters, just be sure that he is still consuming enough water elsewhere, as other members have mentioned. Because if he isn't, believe me, both of you will have bigger problems than counters.

I tried it last night and I had the foil crumpled a bit so it doesn't seem like he bothered to jump up there and we didn't hear anything all night (our bedroom is close to the kitchen). I'll keep it up there for a few more nights but we'll see if it works or not once I leave them off one night lol.

We have had many issues with him already and his food problem, as long as there is water in his fountain dish he's okay because I see him drink out of the fountain many times a day. I think he's just curious and wants what we have. If it works yay, if it doesn't.. oh well.. i tried lol.

Thanks for all the advice everyone!!

Perhaps putting your nighttime water in a bottle may help, that way he can't be drinking it.

As far as 'counter surfing' sounds like he's just 'bored. Maybe he needs more toys, cat trees, or a cat buddy who is more active than your other one.

I, too, gave in on the counters-although I didn't really try I let them go where they will as long as they are safe. I have a bowl of water by the bathroom sink that Daphne asked for but Sebastian uses, too. As long as they are drinking, I'm happy. The water is refreshed 4 or 5 times a day (usually when I wash my hands). They drink a lot of it this way.

Good luck Would love to see photos of your cats when you can. Welcome!

Ya, he has been getting more bored lately.. he has tons of toys and a big cat tree plus a few smaller little houses and scratch posts around the house. But he's getting older I guess since he doesn't amuse himself as much anymore and comes to get us to play with him. My older kitty doesn't like to play anymore so sometimes we'll bring our friend's new kitty from upstairs down for a play date. They seem to get along well.

You could try rotating the toys too. Put most of them away (I keep mine in a plastic container with some catnip to refresh them) and only leave a couple out. Then switch them every so often so he doens't get bored of them.

Plus, you could get some interactive toys for him. Da Bird is a big hit on this site, but those feather duster type toys, or other flinging string type toys would be good too. That would get out a lot of his energy, and help him sleep through the night too!

Don't you know that anything mommy has is better than what is in his water dish?? I have 2 cats that do that. They will drink my water, one has actually drank my coffee, and I chased them away from my beer! If it is in a glass or cup, these two will try it!

My advice is to first, dump everything out of cups and glasses and put them in the sink. If he knocks them down in the sink they won't make a mess and are less likely to break. Second, take water to bed in a water bottle.

Funny story. My MIL has 3 cats. Her calico will ONLY drink water if it is in a special cup and filled in the tub and left there. She doesn't bother anything that she drink but she has to have that cup filled and left in the tub, right under the faucet. I took care of her animals last year, and that was the funniest thing! I fed the dogs, the cats, made sure they all had water, put the dogs out, played with the cats. But her calico (koto) just sat and stared at me until I went and filled up "her" glass. Then she was as happy as could be! Yeah, cats are weird.

You could always leave one cup out with water in it just for him. I had to do this for my 2 kitties in the bathroom. That's the only place they're allowed on the counters and they both loved to drink out of my glass. I got them their own glass, keep it filled with water, and we're all happy!