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climbing on counters & getting in cabinets!

post #1 of 17
9/8/10 at 9:27am
Thread Starter 
So my 3 kittens are about 4 and 5 months old. Marvin has recently become a terror! He was so well behaved and recently he just will not behave at all. We have tried bitter apple, critter cord, and homemade remedies to get him to stop chewing on stuff and for the most part it has worked. Now we have the problem of him getting on counters and trying to open and get in the cabinets where our dishes are stored. We never had this problem with my other cats when they were young and the other 2 kittens do not act like this. Could it be because he is a male? We try spraying them with a water bottle when we catch him doing something bad but it doesn't do anything. Seconds later he's right back at it. Today I had to put him in the kitten's bathroom [where they sleep at night] for a while because he would not stop for even a minute from getting into stuff in the kitchen.

Help!?
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post #2 of 17
9/8/10 at 9:37am
I've found that fighting over the kitchen counters and table to be a losing battle. These surfaces wash, so cats being up there isn't making them dirty or anything. As long as the cats learn that when you're cooking they're not invited to help.

As for the cabinets, lock them up or get some very strong rare earth magnets to hold them closed. After a while of them not opening he'll quit trying.

Some male kittens certainly can be more adventurous and are definitely a bit more rowdy in play, but getting into things is what kittens tend to do regardless of gender. At that stage they're learning and exploring, the new experiences determine whether they succeeded in life (in ferals and wild cats) so the drive is there.
I actually only have one kitten that likes to poke into the cabinets and she's a female. She's very skittish so for her she's just looking for a new dark place to hide.
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post #3 of 17
9/8/10 at 11:00am
It is not because he is a male. Child lock the cabinets.
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post #4 of 17
9/8/10 at 2:18pm
When Hannah came to live with us, we quickly discovered that we had to secure the cabinet doors in the kitchen or she'd be in there laying on the dishes and such. We still have child proof locks on our cabinet doors because she occasionally gets the urge to play with the doors and climb in the cabinets and she's now 5 years old!

You can deter them from jumping on the counters, but you must be vigilant and consistent in your expectations. To deter him from the counters, you can line the counter with empty milk jugs so there's nowhere for them to jump or you can go to the hardware store and get the plastic carpet runner with the little nubs on the bottom. Cut it to the size of your counters, turn it upside down so the nubs are face up. When the cat jumps, they'll land on the nubs. It won't be pleasant (and it won't hurt them) and hopefully it'll deter them from jumping on the counter.
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post #5 of 17
9/9/10 at 10:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by A&As Mommy View Post
So my 3 kittens are about 4 and 5 months old. Marvin has recently become a terror! He was so well behaved and recently he just will not behave at all. We have tried bitter apple, critter cord, and homemade remedies to get him to stop chewing on stuff and for the most part it has worked. Now we have the problem of him getting on counters and trying to open and get in the cabinets where our dishes are stored. We never had this problem with my other cats when they were young and the other 2 kittens do not act like this. Could it be because he is a male? We try spraying them with a water bottle when we catch him doing something bad but it doesn't do anything. Seconds later he's right back at it. Today I had to put him in the kitten's bathroom [where they sleep at night] for a while because he would not stop for even a minute from getting into stuff in the kitchen.

Help!?
I can sympathize. Perhaps our experience can help.

Our kittens climbed cabinets, silk curtains, bookcases, and then - the clothes in our two walk-in closets. Not the house/yard/informal clothing mind you, but my pure silk dresses and his best suits. They got into the sink, the cabinets, the food pantry and they found the unopened bags of cat kibble, and proceeded to chew and gnaw all the bags. Of course, there was no "reason" to do so, the same kibble was in their bowls.

We gave them a part of the clothes closet they can climb. Put all our old raggedy clothes. Eventually they learned, cats are smart and can be trained. They get it.

We gave them one closet they can use to play (2nd utility closet with no cat unfriendly stuff in it) , we made the under that door crack large enough to toss a mouse in, and then open the door and they fish it out, and bat it around the house.

We purchased a very very long tassely cat climbey curtain and wound it over a shower curtain rod, and placed it (is a tension rod basically) in the hallway, they love to play hide and seek around it and climb it.

Naturally they have act furniture, tall climbing trees but they got bored of those fast.

The kitties grow out of this phase almost too quickly, so we learned to enjoy it to the max. Except for my Shanghai Tang dress that is.
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post #6 of 17
9/9/10 at 10:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2furgirls View Post
they found the unopened bags of cat kibble, and proceeded to chew and gnaw all the bags. Of course, there was no "reason" to do so, the same kibble was in their bowls.
This is normal behavior for all cats, not just kittens. It's actually best to store bags of food in containers so that it's harder for the cats to smell them - and to keep grain pests out.
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post #7 of 17
9/9/10 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
This is normal behavior for all cats, not just kittens. It's actually best to store bags of food in containers so that it's harder for the cats to smell them - and to keep grain pests out.
It didn't bother me that they did it, someone on a midnight raid left the pantry door open (me). I never ever ever open a bag of kibble regardless of how else I might "safely" store it, because it breaks the vacuum pack, and the fats once the O2 hits... begin to degrade...the damage begins.... if I can smell the diff. so can the cats.
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post #8 of 17
9/9/10 at 3:43pm
I have taught all of my cats to stay off the kitchen counter which has the sinks and stove. I gave up with the dining table though. Utu and Kuura used to be constantly jumping on to the stove/sink counter, and later Tomu wanted to sleep in the sinks.. I started putting packing tape with the sticky side up on the edge of the counters, so if they jumped on it, they got caught on the tape and obviously didn't like it. It's not painful for them to take it off, so it has worked very well and they have stopped visiting that counter. Only on very rare ocasions you may notice that someone has visited there (they leave paw prints) and that's if I've left some fish food in there..
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post #9 of 17
9/9/10 at 6:38pm
My adult cat rips open and consumes bags of cat and/or dog food if at all possible. I store the bags in a plastic container in the food closet. The dogs always leave them alone, the cat not so much, can't take your eyes off the bags for a second. She is a gremlin. She also gets on counters, the SSS cat device was the only thing that worked for her!
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post #10 of 17
9/10/10 at 9:26am
Sending a persistant and consistant message is key. Everyone has to buy in to the training and agree to do the same thing. I use the 'no..no..no' method and guide them off with a gentle hand. They got it pretty quick. In the early days I also sprayed our counter tops with water (when we were out for the day) which makes the side less attractive to jump on. I don't *THINK* they go on the counters (there is never any hair or paws prints).

Another method if you really don't want them up there and training isn't working so well might be one of these: http://www.amazon.com/Powerhouse-Pro.../dp/B003HHFW8S
I have never used one but hear they do work. It may be a little unfair on the other two if only one of them keeps setting it off, but I think the idea is that after a while you don't need to switch it on anymore (cats learn fast...generally).
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post #11 of 17
9/11/10 at 5:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by strange_wings View Post
I've found that fighting over the kitchen counters and table to be a losing battle. These surfaces wash, so cats being up there isn't making them dirty or anything. As long as the cats learn that when you're cooking they're not invited to help.

As for the cabinets, lock them up or get some very strong rare earth magnets to hold them closed. After a while of them not opening he'll quit trying.
Just wipe the counters down before use, and teach them not to come up when food is being prepared. Rest of the time it's free range here.

All cupboards have child locks here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kittymcG View Post
I don't *THINK* they go on the counters (there is never any hair or paws prints).
No footprints or hair on my counters either, but I know they are up there because I see them
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post #12 of 17
9/17/10 at 6:55am
Hopefully your kitten will not learn how to open the refrigerator in the meantime like my Linus did.

But yes, child locks, and forget the battle of the counters. Try something that is dangerous, like the stove for them to avoid. My cats are allowed everywhere but there.
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post #13 of 17
9/17/10 at 8:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
Hopefully your kitten will not learn how to open the refrigerator in the meantime like my Linus did.
The seal on your fridge isn't very good if a cat can open it. You should have to put a bit of force into you pull to even get a fridge door open.
You might want to consider having that checked if you still have that fridge. It can lead to the cooled air leaking out and while the food may seem just as cold the fridge will have to work harder which is bad for it and your electric bill.

(ugh, I've been around my FIL, a heat/air/refrigeration repair specialist, too long)
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post #14 of 17
9/18/10 at 10:03pm
I have struggled with this. I think if anything, I have taught them to not get on the counter when mommy is home. I come home and I see plenty of hair on the counter. If I forget to put the bread in the fridge, I wake up to a loaf of bread, ripped open, with pieces all over the kitchen.

I am afraid they will hit one of the knobs and turn it on. I think I will try the tape idea.
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post #15 of 17
9/24/10 at 4:51pm
I have to cover the kitchen sink with a plastic tablecloth so that Zimmie doesn't jump in the sink and leave wet paw prints everywhere. I also have to cover the soil part of floor plants with aluminum foil, otherwise she'll use the soil as a toilet. Both of these precautions work very well.
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post #16 of 17
9/24/10 at 5:35pm
all of mine attempted 'counter surfing' as kittens. i would sternly say, 'NO!', pick them up & put them on the floor - consistently.
eventually, they pretty much stopped trying.
for the cabinets, those child locks work quite well for me. something like these - child cabinet locks
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post #17 of 17
9/24/10 at 5:43pm
4 months is when kittens go through their adolescent phase. Just like human kids they can be a handful. It obviously depends on the individual cat how bad they get. Aya was a small furry terror from about 4mos to 8mos. Then they'll start calming down. However they may not become a lazy well-behaved adult cat until 1-2years.

The best deterent to destructive or undesirable activity is play, lots of it at that age. It may seem as if you never wear them out, but it helps.

I have also found the kitchen counters to be a losing battle. As for the cabinets, etc. if your kitten can get in them on their own, childproof locks are a good idea. Or repairing them, esp. the poster with the that the cat can open as that heavy door could give your cat a good beaning or allow the cat to be trapped inside! Or at least move everything you don't want them into, or that might be dangerous -like cleaning supplies, into one or more cabinets and lock those somehow.

Cats are designed by nature to hunt small animals and there is an instinctive drive to investigate small dark places where prey might be hiding. It is a survival thing and therefore a very hard instinct to fight. Best to work with it or work around it.

Aya is now 2 and still wants to jump in the cuboard whenever I open it.
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