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Get OFF my counters!!!!!!!!!!

post #1 of 35
9/10/09 at 5:49am
Thread Starter 
Ok, I'm having a huge problem with the 2 younger guys jumping on my kitchen counters. (not acceptable in my house)

I taught Kizzy not to do it via the spray bottle of water....couple squirts to the hindside and he got the message easily.

Kitchi and Kiwi on the other hand

What I have tried:

- squirt bottle of water (aimed at their hindends)
- spraying the edge of the counters with a scratch deterant spray
- reprimanding them with a clap and a firm "get down"

What I've considerred:

- one of those air blowing cans

Any suggestions?
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post #2 of 35
9/10/09 at 6:16am
I use a device that emits a high frequency sound when an object (like a cat) is near. They can hear it and don't like it but humans can't hear it. I've trained all of mine to stay off eating surfaces that way.

The devices I used are along the same lines as this:

Tattle Tale Alarm

but are silent to humans. I'll see if I can find a link to the ones I use. What's good about them is they are infinitely reusable and work even is the cat is several meters away. With the air cans the cat has to come within 1 meter of the can so you'd have to use several of them to cover even a smallish area.
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post #3 of 35
9/10/09 at 6:18am
Have you tried putting aluminimum foil on your counters? It works with some cats, not so well with others. Some cats can't stand the feel of the foil under their feet, others couldn't care less. It might be a cheap solution.

Another idea is using a "scat-mat" temporarily. They give a tiny electrical pulse that deters cats/dogs from trying to get up where they shouldn't be. They aren't cheap but they do work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Scat-Mat-T...d=p3286.c0.m14
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post #4 of 35
9/10/09 at 6:44am
I have given up on the counter surfing in my house. Mostly because we dont use the counters that much other than to turn on the coffee maker and put the dish drying rack up which GiGi loves to sleep in...Even our kitchen table has been confiscated for nap time by GiGi and Hercules because its right in front of our bay window....I can say atleast the one thing they have gotten better about is not going across the sinks to where the stove is because everytime they get near the stove I yell OW HOT and they jump down so now its my code words to get them to stop something...LOL
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post #5 of 35
9/10/09 at 6:57am
The kitchen table and the kitchen counters are the only places off limits in our house. Squeak is still in training with the kitchen table, lol. But she knows better.

I know many are opposed to the squirt bottle, but it really works well for me. Both cats know when I pick it up, I am serious, and I really don't have to pull the trigger that often, lol! Both kitties are still VERY affectionate, so I don't think the bottle traumatizes them - but it does train them.
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post #6 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:09am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mschauer View Post
The devices I used are along the same lines as this:

Tattle Tale Alarm

but are silent to humans. I'll see if I can find a link to the ones I use. What's good about them is they are infinitely reusable and work even is the cat is several meters away. With the air cans the cat has to come within 1 meter of the can so you'd have to use several of them to cover even a smallish area.
Interesting..... I'll have to have a look around. Good point with the air cans.

Quote:
Originally Posted by calico2222 View Post
Have you tried putting aluminimum foil on your counters? It works with some cats, not so well with others. Some cats can't stand the feel of the foil under their feet, others couldn't care less. It might be a cheap solution.

Another idea is using a "scat-mat" temporarily. They give a tiny electrical pulse that deters cats/dogs from trying to get up where they shouldn't be. They aren't cheap but they do work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Scat-Mat-T...d=p3286.c0.m14
I'll try the foil tonight (cheap and I have it here) But I'll definately be investigating the other products.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom View Post
The kitchen table and the kitchen counters are the only places off limits in our house. Squeak is still in training with the kitchen table, lol. But she knows better.

I know many are opposed to the squirt bottle, but it really works well for me. Both cats know when I pick it up, I am serious, and I really don't have to pull the trigger that often, lol! Both kitties are still VERY affectionate, so I don't think the bottle traumatizes them - but it does train them.
Squirt bottle worked great for Kizzy but not so good for the other 2. Part of the reason is Kizzy would do it in front of me..... the kittens KNOW they shouldn't be on the counters so they don't do it in front of me, but I can hear them from the other room and by the time I get there, they've jumped down.
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post #7 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:25am
We've set "traps" of lightweight cookie sheets with the edges just barely extending over the edge of the counter. Kitty jumps up, hits that, it comes crashing to the floor and point is taken!
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post #8 of 35
9/10/09 at 8:14am
I put wide masking tape on the edges of the counters, where the cats can't see it. Sticky side up, and just secured at the ends. It doesn't take very many times of jumping up on the counter, not getting traction, and coming back down with the tape stuck to them before they caught on.
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post #9 of 35
9/10/09 at 8:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by CatMom2Wires View Post
We've set "traps" of lightweight cookie sheets with the edges just barely extending over the edge of the counter. Kitty jumps up, hits that, it comes crashing to the floor and point is taken!
Quote:
Originally Posted by mrblanche View Post
I put wide masking tape on the edges of the counters, where the cats can't see it. Sticky side up, and just secured at the ends. It doesn't take very many times of jumping up on the counter, not getting traction, and coming back down with the tape stuck to them before they caught on.
Great ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks. I'm going to leave some "bait" out (empty cat food can) , and use a combo of these, and tin foil tonight
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post #10 of 35
9/10/09 at 10:17am
My cats go on the counters all the time and for the most part, it never bothers me unless I or my wife are preparing food. With the domestics, I just clap my hands and they jump down. With the bobcats well, they can stay there all they want. Try making a bobcat do something they don't want to do
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post #11 of 35
9/10/09 at 10:41am
Some of my cats follow me everywhere including the kitchen counter. I try my best to keep them off while cooking. When our Bengal Zoey was younger she had stomach upset. We had to feed her a special diet, so she ate on the kitchen counter. Now it has been a ritual for 2 years. We have company coming at the end of the month and I haven't figured out what I'm going to do. My cats are going to be put out of their bedroom and kitchen space.

Quote:
Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat View Post
Try making a bobcat do something they don't want to do
LOL!!!!
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post #12 of 35
9/10/09 at 10:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by AmberThe Bobcat View Post
With the bobcats well, they can stay there all they want. Try making a bobcat do something they don't want to do
That gave me a good laugh.

I'm another that doesn't really care unless we're cooking - and then it's only the side that the range top is on. They can hang out over the sink or on the other counters to watch me if they want. Usually no one wants to keep me company when I'm doing dishes, though.
I do clap my hands and yell "GET DOWN" (from another room) if they're too close to cooking food or the hot range top.


Unless you give them other options to climb on near by, they're going to be up there the second you're not looking. One thing that helps is to keep your counter tops as cleared off as possible. Nothing that can be made into an entertaining toy or turned into a game of "knock this off the counter". Never leave food unattended (or without a good lid on it), any dirty dishes or crumbs on the counters as that's an instant reward and then nothing you do will truly detour them if they're very food driven cats.
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post #13 of 35
9/10/09 at 10:52am
I think this thread is hilarious..My mom is a geek about the counters she would freak out if us kids were in or on them she comes over to my house and is having a hissy fit because the cats are on the table on the counters whatever they want. And now that I have a computer desk they think its a free for all kitty playground that they can use to scale from the couch to the desk to the counters and take flying leaps to the kitchen table...I have given up unless the stove is on and they have figured out that if there is a pot on the stove they dont go up on it!!!! Fatman and GiGi even have decided the counter is their space for treats they will eat together up there and for those two thats a huge step because normally one of them is giving the other the hairy eyeball
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post #14 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:22pm
I gave up after fighting with Raven and Nabu when they were young about the counters. I was trying to keep them off, my then roommate didn't care. So when I got my own apartment it was a lost cause. My cats do know "Get down" which is usually used when I'm cooking. But since the stove is on the opposite side of the kitchen with little counter around it, I don't have to be bothered. Raven was a very smart cat, I just had to point at the floor while looking at him to get him to get down. Nabu and Stimpy are much more stubborn. Lola doesn't get on the counters, she's just not interested.

Since we bought the house last year, I've noticed they don't care about the counters anymore. The kitchen table (which is only used for company, and cleaned well + I put a table cloth on if we're entertaining) is where they spend their time. It's right next to the kitchen window, with prime view of the backyard and power lines (Birds!).
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post #15 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:29pm
Now that we're in the RV, we replaced the "dining area" with cat trees - it's right across from the kitchen counters, so the counters are no longer an issue. Telling them to get off and placing them on the cat trees was enough. Now if we see them jump up, we just have to LOOK at them and they jump across to the cat tree.

In the house, we ended up putting cat trees in the kitchen. But before we did that, we got them off the counters by simply not putting much in the cupboards, and putting it all on the counters. There was no place to jump up. It was PIA, because we had to clear enough space to prep dinner or whatever - but we did this for a month, and it did the trick.

I'm not sure who it was - Skippymjp, I think - who went the opposite direction. They removed EVERYTHING from the counters - and all of a sudden, they became completely uninteresting.

Just more ideas for you.... though I really love the idea of the baking sheets just far enough over the edge of the counter to make everyone crash! That really ought to do the trick and quickly!
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post #16 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dusty's Mom View Post
I know many are opposed to the squirt bottle, but it really works well for me. Both cats know when I pick it up, I am serious, and I really don't have to pull the trigger that often, lol! Both kitties are still VERY affectionate, so I don't think the bottle traumatizes them - but it does train them.
I agree. I know a lot of people say to not use a squirt bottle, but that worked well on my first cat family. After a few squirts to the behind when they were doing something wrong and after that all I had to do was pick it up and shake it and they stopped what they were doing (such as climbing the window screens ).

The zoo I have now, water doesn't faze them. They were originally barn cats, so NOTHING fazes them....rain, snow, sleet...they are like the postmen! I tried to spray Harley and Corky once, and they came back for more! They thought it was a game.
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post #17 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
I'm not sure who it was - Skippymjp, I think - who went the opposite direction. They removed EVERYTHING from the counters - and all of a sudden, they became completely uninteresting.
Mine are that way too! A cluttered counter means more free toys. If it completely cleared there's nothing to bat, knock over, destroy, eat, etc...so it's boring. Now, if only DH and I could get in the habit of keeping the d*mn counter clear!!
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post #18 of 35
9/10/09 at 7:52pm
Gigi's place to eat is..the peninsula...oh well....had to put her up somewhere that the dogs couldn't steal her food...it was convenient, it happened, there's no going back; so if I have to use the peninsula for food preparation, I simply clean it with a bleach-based kitchen anti-bac cleanser;otherwise I just choose another surface!
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post #19 of 35
9/10/09 at 8:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
I'm not sure who it was - Skippymjp, I think - who went the opposite direction. They removed EVERYTHING from the counters - and all of a sudden, they became completely uninteresting.
Mine are like that. There's a coffee pot, the toaster, and a basket with some garlic in it. They're uninterested in the appliances and hate the smell of garlic.
They'll hop up after I've been cooking to see what I forget, but never find anything and they'll hop up to look out the kitchen window or to bug me. A couple are fond of their top of the fridge perch as well.



Quote:
Originally Posted by calico2222 View Post
The zoo I have now, water doesn't faze them. They were originally barn cats, so NOTHING fazes them....rain, snow, sleet...they are like the postmen! I tried to spray Harley and Corky once, and they came back for more! They thought it was a game.
My Tomas is like this. I have a spray bottle of clean water I use while cleaning (to spray dust clothes and the dust mop with to collect cat hair) and often he'll jump up in my way. A few times I've sprayed him directly on the butt... he just stands there and lets me do it. Eventually he'll realize he has a wet butt and go off to groom himself. I suspect the reason he's not bothered is because he's never been sprayed when he's in trouble.
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post #20 of 35
9/10/09 at 8:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by calico2222 View Post
Have you tried putting aluminimum foil on your counters? It works with some cats, not so well with others. Some cats can't stand the feel of the foil under their feet, others couldn't care less. It might be a cheap solution.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Large-Scat-Mat-T...d=p3286.c0.m14


That always works for Ku Ku - now she gets scared every time I pulled it out

Another option is, pour some vinegar on a tray(or something flat) & leave it on a spot of counter where your cat most likely jumps up on first. This usually works but not for Ku Ku...she LOVES vinegar(and citrus, too)
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post #21 of 35
9/10/09 at 9:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by calico2222 View Post
Mine are that way too! A cluttered counter means more free toys. If it completely cleared there's nothing to bat, knock over, destroy, eat, etc...so it's boring.
With LDG, I completely agree. On the other hand, when I use the counter to cook or whatever, if any cat is interested in what I am doing, there's a table nearby where they can watch.
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post #22 of 35
9/10/09 at 9:12pm
My cats eat off the counters, since there are dogs in the house & they are free fed. I'm no help.

However - I'd like to add in - many are adverse to a squirt bottle as no matter how careful you are, you can spray in their ear & damage their ear drum. I've seen a cat with a balance issue/deafness in one ear due to being accidentally squirted in the ear with a squirt bottle. So be careful if you do decide to use one.
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post #23 of 35
9/10/09 at 9:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by white cat lover View Post
My cats eat off the counters, since there are dogs in the house & they are free fed. I'm no help.

However - I'd like to add in -
another warning about using tape on the counter. I had a semi-feral girl get caught up in that tape one time. It got so tangled around her that she became terrified and crawled under the water bed where we couldn't get at her to get the tape off of her. If you are going to use tape, get the double sticky kind and make sure it is really attached to the counter top. The last thing you want to do is pull rolls of tape off of a cat. (at least your boys are not feral)

And if you give them an alternative to the counter in that room, it does help a lot. My kitchen cat tree is a couple inches taller than the counter, and by a window where they can look out and watch me cook.

And to what Nat said.
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post #24 of 35
9/10/09 at 9:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Momofmany View Post
another warning about using tape on the counter. I had a semi-feral girl get caught up in that tape one time. It got so tangled around her that she became terrified and crawled under the water bed where we couldn't get at her to get the tape off of her. If you are going to use tape, get the double sticky kind and make sure it is really attached to the counter top. The last thing you want to do is pull rolls of tape off of a cat.
Poor kitty. How long, after you got the tape off, did it take for her to calm down and settle into things again?

Another problem with tape. Some cats are very fascinated with it. I have two tape eaters. One has been known to strip tape off of boxes, even a couple of Christmas gifts. The other will hunt for tape if he hears it crinkling, he's dug it out of the trash before. He'll also try to steal it from me while I'm using it. Thankfully my paranoia has kept both of them from actually ingesting any tape.
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post #25 of 35
9/10/09 at 9:57pm
Mine are allowed on the counters except when I'm preparing food, they know if I'm standing at the counter not to come up.
I just wipe them down before use, because they'll go up when your not around anyway.

I would never use a spray bottle, as Nat mentioned water in the ears can cause infection and cats move so fast you can easily miss and get the ears.
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post #26 of 35
9/11/09 at 5:44am
Thread Starter 
I completely understand the concerns behind the squirt bottle, and am glad people have voiced them so that others can make their own judgement call as to whether they are comfortable using them or not. I'm not going to get into that debate tho, but will say that I have used them and if I could do so safely with these 2 lil boogers, then I would.... but I can't so tis not an option in my current issue.

Tape: thx for the warning..... Tape is a way to catch escaped snakes as well, but it is dangerous too. Again, the info is appreciated.

Counter alternatives: They have one..... a freezer right next to the counter so they can bask in the sun, or look outside. When Brandy was alive, Kizzy was fed on that freezer and we don't mind the kitties on the freezer. Easiest way to explain my kitchen is via a pic:



Right where the counter meets the freezer, I keep the squirt bottle and scratch deterrant spray. (that keeps Kizzy from getting on the counter.... he doesn't jump up, but has tried to wander from freezer to counter.... however just keeping the bottles there keeps him off the counter)

They seem to jump up by the sink area or the one end of the counter where our scrap bucket, recycles and asst. things are kept. The scrap bucket has a lid, and is taken out once a day to be dumped in compost. The recycles are taken out as well.... although I've been getting my daughter to do it 2x/day instead of her normal "at chore time" since I caught the kitties with a sharp tin tuna lid on the floor and got worried bout them cutting their tongues.

For the most part, the dirty dishes are put in the dishwasher....but at times they are on the counter (ones that can't go in the washer). Having a pristine counter is not an option for our family.

All I can say, is the kitties on the counters NEEDS to stop. It is NOT acceptable in my home, and if it continues, my husband will be quite upset (not an animal lover at all, and cats with litter box feet on counters/table does not sit well with him, nor does it sit well with me).

Thanks for all the great info and suggestions.... I was going to try the tinfoil last night but don't have enough.... so if I can make it to the store today, I'll try the tinfoil and cookie sheets.
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post #27 of 35
9/11/09 at 6:22am
to the Scat spray and also a very loud Scraminal alarm. My cats have not jumped on my counters in years. I recently got out the spray to discourage my Beeba from eating my ARTIFICIAL plants. lol. Also to keep him off the fireplace mantle. It actually works 7 or so feet away. I know, it got me once!
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post #28 of 35
9/11/09 at 7:41am
We had problems with this about a year ago. After several different attempts at trying to discourage this behavior DH came up with a plan.

We bought a floor mat for desk chairs. The kind that have pointy things on the bottom that you lay on the carpet. We than cut them to fit the counters and flipped them pointy side up.

The cats would jump on the counters land on the pointy things and jump right back off. It took a few weeks to break the boys from counter surfing but now we don't even use them anymore.
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post #29 of 35
9/11/09 at 8:14am
Mine don't get on the counters but Riley will not stay off my dresser in the bedroom if I don't have something to deter him. Aluminum foil didn't work. He just thought it was great fun to dance around on it and make the crinkly noise when mommy was sleeping

Now my dresser has a permanent layer of plastic wrap with double sided sticky tape on top of it. Several times I've taken it down and it only takes him about a week to figure out its gone and get back up there
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post #30 of 35
9/11/09 at 10:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by missymotus View Post
Mine are allowed on the counters except when I'm preparing food, they know if I'm standing at the counter not to come up.
I just wipe them down before use, because they'll go up when your not around anyway.

I would never use a spray bottle, as Nat mentioned water in the ears can cause infection and cats move so fast you can easily miss and get the ears.
Same here. He's part of the family. He's trained the same - no getting up when mom is preparing food, and he doesn't get on the table when we have food there. I clean the counters before cooking anyway and wash my hands a dozen times at least while preparing food so it's no big deal for us.
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