Keeping kitty off the counter

My female cat has developed a habit within the last year that she never did before, and that is getting up on the counter when she knows there's food up there. She'll gladly stick her nose in anything and eat it, or eat a hole through styrofoam, Saran wrap or foil too.

Personally, when I see her doing this, I just pick her up, say "no" in a firm voice and set her back onthe floor. The other people in the house are not that nice, though...they will scream, throw her down, hit her if they can catch her, the dog chases her and tries to bite her because he's been taught to chase her by them, and then I get screamed at.

My poor kitties stay cooped up in the garage all night and most of the day because they howl all night long and wake everyone up and everyone's at work all day. And since my female likes to whine and beg when people eat, she has to stay in the garage even longer until dinner is done. SO basically people in here are saying they want her in the garage all the time.

Is there anything I can do to deter these habits? I've tried saying "no" as mentioned, splashing her with a little water, making sure she'd fed and given lots of attention. Nothing works and I don't want her to get yelled at or hit. But I'd also like to be able to let her out sooner without fear of her being struck or thrown outside (she's an indoor-only cat and my mother's boyfriend often threatens to throw her outside if she misbehaves).

I am working on getting out of the house, but as I just began my job about two weeks ago,it may take a while to save up enough to move, especially since they lied to me about how much I'd be making. And especially with being forced to go to grad school and needing to cough up $500 or so every few months for a few days at a hotel (long story) or needing to pay around $600 a month for my last degree.

Unfortunately, there is no one around here who I know that I trust enough to take my cats. Everyone I know lives at home and I do not trust their families to not let the cats out and not harm them. Like my BF, whose father is the one who abandoned a cat a few towns over because she was peeing on the wall.

I also could not make myself give my cats away - they are going on 13 years old and no one will take them, and I just could not re-home them when they've been with me for over a decade. I'd rather kill everyone in my current living space. No no-kill shelters either - the nearest cat sanctuary closed many years ago as well. Honestly, my female has not experienced a behavioral change - she acts exactly the same as she always has, which is good.

I really don't know why people leave food on the counters anyway. Believe me, I am of the thought that they are tempting the cat as well. I guess they like to leave dinner out for a few hours because my mother thinks putting hot food in the fridge will cause botulism to grow in it or because taking stuff out of the fridge when it's wanted is too hard for their precious little selves. I suggest putting food in an unheated oven until everyone is full, but that's too hard for them too, I guess.

I have also tried keeping the cat in my room, but the thing is she will not sleep when I do. She will whine at the door and start climbing all over everything and subsequently knock things over. And there is no room in the garage for a couch, but the cats DO have a nice warm room with lots of sleeping spots for them, so I know they're comfy. Sometimes they don't come out when I open the door because they're napping.

And yes, she is spayed. The other two males are neutered. My female cat just loves to eat, though...and being scared, shooed, yelled at, or smacked has not deterred her in the least. And their nighttime howling I know is from separation anxiety - when one of them thinks they are all alone (either no human or cat proximity), they will whine. Thing is when people need to wake up at 4 am and the cats are whining at 2 am, they are not sympathetic to their need for companionship. Sometimes, though, they do sleep quietly...like I might forget to put one of them in the garage and they're asleep soundly on the couch in the living room.

But honestly, folks. I really would like to ask if there is a way I can possibly train the cat, or rather, discourage her counter-hopping. And I'd like to kindly ask that suggestions involving me re-homing the cats be left out because, honestly, that will not happen. Sticking her with a stranger, a friend, or a shelter will make her life worse, not better, so I would rather not do such things to her. I am working my hardest to get out, but I don't think it'll happen while my cats are alive.

I will try Sticky Paws tape, or maybe double-sided tape that I have around here someplace. I may try keeping one of those salon-style squirt bottles full of water handy so I can give her a little mist when she hops up. Heck, I don't even see why people in this house get so infuriated when she gets on the counter. Thank you all for your advice - I appreciate all of it, though I may only be able to actually utilize some of it.

The counter-hopping is one of two habits of hers that bug people...the other is her howling and whining when she knows someone has food. She will sit right beside whoever is eating and wait for a scrap. I can handle hearing her whine all day long, but my mother's fuse is much, much shorter and she'll just give in and give the cat a treat. Then she wonders why the cat bothers her more than me.

I wonder if maybe I could get a can of compressed air and spray it at her when she gets up there? Sometimes I do catch her. I know before, when the cats would act up, people would rattle a can with some pennies in it and that worked very well. No hitting or screaming. I think everyone just got lazier and angrier over the years and now doing that is too much of a hassle.

Would the sensor-operated compressed air work just on the cat, or would it go off on anyone who goes near the counter? I only ask because if it sprays my mother or her idiot, they'll probably rip it off and throw it outside. Or if it were to go off at night and make the dogs start barking, that'd be my fault too. My mother and her moron pretty much look for things to yell about, and the cats and I are often very easy targets.

Honestly, if Mom had it her way, the cats would never come out of the garage. They'd just stay in there 24/7. I do love my cats and they are happy - every single one of them will sit on my lap every night or if I'm doing work on my laptop. My female does this especially and she'll twist herself into the most uncomfortable looking positions and fall asleep while purring like a chainsaw.