Cat repellant??

What about not leaving out left overs and crumbs of food on the counters, and putting the cat food away? Is that a possibility?

I would invest in some child locks for the cabinets and keep counters cleaned off.

They do sell scat mats(electric) or the dummy mats(like upside down plastic runner youd use on carpets)

I don't think there's anything you can spray inside that wouldn't potentially stress him out and not cause some other unwanted behavior (like peeing on things).

You need to keep things clean. Plain and simple. He can't get into things if they're not there in the first place. Right now it's an instant reward and he's simply foraging - it's what cats do.

To keep him out of cabinets, use baby locks to lock them or get very strong magnets to hold them closed. Put everything away, especially his food.

Does he have any cat furniture? Do you play with him before bedtime to wear him out?

This may be some tough love, but you can't dangle a carrot in front of a horse and expect them not to eat it. Be honest with yourself, is it fare to have a kitten and lock it in the bathroom all the time? Is it fare to have a kitten and leave it alone 60% of the day in a home that is not kitten proofed? Would you do this with a human child? Think about it

I agree; I've had to learn to NEVER leave anything out---the bread and bananas go in the microwave (not while it's on of course), everything else goes in the refrigerator. I have baby locks on the cabinets. You have to make accommodations when you have pets. It's like having kids.

Kittens are very mischievous and get into trouble frequently. You will need to "kitten proof" your house for him, just as you would have to "baby proof" if you had a child. The degree of precautions you have to take vary based on your cat and his tendency to get into trouble.

Provide your cat with somewhere else high up to go on instead of your table and counters. Cats like to be up high. You could build some shelves onto the walls, or get a cat tree for him to be up high on.

For the counters - the first thing you should do is always always always put everything away. Food in the fridge or cabinets, wipe up any crumbs or spills. This is good food practice anyway.

Put his food in a sealed container that he can't get open. If he is knocking it off of a shelf, move it into a cabinet. (If he figures out how to open cabinets, you will have to get some of those baby proofing cabinet locks...) Or get one of those pet food containers that seals and keep it on the floor.

As for your dry foods shelf - you will have to barricade it some way. Either put doors on it or possibly run some string across the front to prevent things falling off? I don't know exactly what you mean by a dry foods shelf, all of our foods go in pantries/cabinets that have doors.

I keep my bread on top of the refrigerator, and none of my cats have bothered it there. Some cats will get up there so then you will have to put it in a breadbox or in the microwave while not in use as mentioned by another poster. Once you eliminate the things that are drawing him onto the counters he may get bored and stop going up there. Even if he does keep going up there, he shouldn't be able to get into too much trouble.

I haven't had to train my cats off the counters, probably because I allow them everywhere else in the house, and I keep my counters very uninteresting. I have read a few different tips that may work for you though.

To make walking on the counters more unpleasant for him you can try putting double sided tape or tin foil on your counters where he likes to jump up, supposedly cats don't like the feel of these things on their paws. Or place some cookie sheets filled with water on the counter for a surprise of getting wet when he jumps up (he may learn to just walk around them). They sell a product called "Ssscat" which is basically a can of compressed air with a motion detector on it - when he jumps on the counter it will hiss at him, hopefully startling him into jumping back down. I know they also sell plastic sheets with little bumps on them you can put on the counters making it uncomfortable to walk on.

As for the bedroom thing - I think this is a kitten thing. He wants to be with you at night, but he is also playful. Try an extra play session with a wand toy that really gets him jumping just before bed to help tire him out. You can also try feeding him a can of food before bed so his tummy is full. Cover the fish tank and secure it so he can't knock it over. If he chews on wires frequently, there are many commercial chewing deterrents available that are usually bitter or spicy. You spray them on whatever you don't want him to chew, and when he tries he gets a mouthful of something unpleasant. Try to keep things put up in your bedroom also, to make it more 'boring' for him to encourage sleep. With persistence in your training he should eventually grow out of the 'up all night' phase.

Best of luck!

If he's getting up there while "foraging" for food, why don't you try to make some rewarding food experiences for him in acceptable places, instead.

In zoos and animal rescues, they often do things as "enrichment" to keep kitty minds engaged and stimulated, which helps keep the big cats from being as aggressive or bored and having repetitive behaviors. If it works for lions, I bet it'd work for yours too.

There are several toys out there designed to hide kitty treats or small pieces of food in. If you get some of these or make your own, and leave them all over the house in places he IS allowed to be, then he'll spend all day looking in the OK places, instead of on your counters.

I've taken ping-pong balls and put a small hole in them, Glued a penny to the bottom to weight it so that it wobbles when bumped, and then hidden a few kitty treats inside. When he swats it enough, he'll be rewarded with food. It'll teach him where it's ok to be, as well as keep him off your (crumb free) counter. There are plenty of toys to buy that do the same thing, or similar. (rolled up pairs of socks also work well to hide food in, too). Just make or buy a few things, and hide them in places it's ok for him to be. Just remember where you put them so you can pick up and replace the ones he missed.

This WILL help, but only if you keep your counters clean.

Put dry goods like that in canisters/jars. You could end up with a lot worse than a cat in them.
I keep all of my bags of pasta in a clear storage container to keep it organized and to keep bugs out. Plus, if the cats could get into it they'd have fun batting shells and macaroni across the floor.


You never answered whether you have any cat furniture for him or whether you play with him before bed.

Chatty, whiny, demanding - I have a house full of fairly loud cats.

Ok, on a budget. Get boxes! The larger the better. You can also look for plastic or metal shelves just for him at garage sales (clean thoroughly). You could also mount shelves on the wall for him - just make sure you get them screwed into the studs.
When you can afford it, get a nice big cat tree. Lots of people get great deals on ebay. There's also a floor to ceiling one at wal-mart for $39 that I've read is fairly good.

The idea is to create an area that is far more interesting than your kitchen is - and through keeping your kitchen counters clean, you make the kitchen more boring. If you can set up a spot for him near a window where he can watch other animals or neighbors he'll enjoy it even more. (my cats love to spy on the neighbors )

If you truly want to tire a cat out you need to play with them. They often get bored by themselves and will wander off from toys. But if you keep the game going and interesting they'll play more. Have you tried a laser pointer on him?

A turbo scratcher toy was the best investment we have ever made! Google loves it!
Also if you are the least bit handy you may want to look into making your own scratching post!

One other idea that may or may not work for your cat is a cat video/DVD. I don't know how the others on here feel about them, but it may occupy your kitty while you are away if you don't have any windows for wildlife-gazing. If you do have a good window, you can stick a box under it so kitty is even with the window. My cats NEVER tired of watching people/birds/squirrels/bugs out of the window, and part of the reason we decided to rent our current apartment is because of the great views for our cats (pretty boring for us, but they will be happy, so yay!)
I am so glad you came on here and got advice instead of just returning kitty - it can be very difficult when you are on a budget to kitten-proof AND vet AND feed AND entertain a kitten!! Hopefully TCS can help you out lots! Is this your first kitten?

I think those were better when more people had tube tvs. Now you really do not want a 10+ pound cat jumping at your $3-4k new ultra thin, ultra light LED tv. Nor do you want claws on those screens.

I never thought of that! When we had the DVD, we had a tube tv...

We have a 46" LCD in the living room that I try to discourage them from putting their paws on or licking (). While it has a very sturdy base, I'm not so sure of other brands or what would happen if a cat got some speed built up and launched itself.
I regularly have to clean nose prints off of it.. But we haven't given any thought to forcing them to stay down. I would lose the amusement of watching DH get annoyed because one of them is up there blocking the remote receiver with their butt.

Just like a total ban from the counter tops would mean losing Tomas' company when I'm washing dishes - it's not like anyone else hangs around to help.

Is you cat acting like he is trying to find food? You know, we switched cat food and all of a sudden one of my cats was acting like he was trying to find food all the time. He was going in the cabinets, running into the kitchen the minute i walked in there, even stealing food from my sons high chair. Then we switched and I noticed he stopped right away.

Can you try baby locks and maybe slowly switching food just to test? Anyway, to get them to stay off the counter i heard if you put tin foil on the counter tops they don't like that. But having cats I can tell you no rules are universal.

Good luck!

You could always keep a look out for a nice decorative bread box. That way you could keep the bread (in the box) on the counter, it would look nice, and should be cat proofed.

As long as you're keeping track of how much food you're putting down, free feeding should be ok. Just make sure that you're not over feeding.

There are also some treat dispensing toys and treat "bowls" that you can get to keep him occupied and working for his food.

And good! Laser pointers are a great toy to get a guy to play with a cat. Cats act silly chasing the laser and it's simple entertainment.