Behavior Question

OK, I know I've been full of questions since I got my kittens. I tell I was SO SO SO spoiled by Smokey she was such a good cat & I guess maybe because she was 17 I don't remember all this kitten stuff. Anyway, what is a good way to train a cat to stay off the kitchen table. I know realisticly he will probably go up there from time to time anyway, but you know at least wait till I'm not around. I've tried the squirt bottle thing & it seems to work for Levi, but my stinker boy Jordan, will jump down when I spray him, but as soon as I'm not watching he jumps right back up. Any suggestions. Also, when I come home he has a tendency to try & get out the door. I want them both to be indoor cats, any way to stop that habit?

P.S. I was thinking Jordan is so sassy he needs a middle name.

Clear your table off, take several placemats, put them on the table near the edge, skid side up, so when the cat jumps up on the table he will hit the placemat, skid a bit and jump down. Another thing to use is bubble wrap. Cats jump with claws extended, land on the stuff it pops they get scared and jump down.

if you use the squirt bottle, don't squirt the cat, squirt away from him tricking him that there is a "critter" in the corner. A curious cat will jump down and go and investigate the water critter.

Also please don't try and measure Jordan against any past cat. Every cat is different, has had different experiences and no two cats in the same situation will every act the same.......except for my trips! LOL What I mean is bend to your cat and his natural tendencies and don't expect him to be perfectly well behaved.

I have no experience of kittens - sounds like you have a handful so I just wanted to wish you luck !

I covered my counters and entertainment center with squished up tin foil (not straight flat but wrinkly) and it worked like a charm!

I also used the bubble wrap thing suggested by Hissy to stop them from clawing the couch. Worked great! Although my couch looked very odd ...

Could also figure out WHY they want to go to the table.. maybe it's the tallest point with the best view of outside or the rest of the living area... maybe you're being too strict and have removed all their good perch spots (seen this happen with one friend, wondered why his cats were so odd and he pretty much only let them walk/be around teh ground level and never on ANY furniture/shelves/tables, etc). cats are sensitive to their space, they need some room to pounch, and it can't just be floor space. I clean my tables regularly, and Oliver's welcome to anyplace he can get to (so long as he doesn't start knocking stuff on the floor, then I draw the line and scold him).

My word of advice to all owners, adult or kitten, is to treat the cat like an equal because the sooner you realize they own you the better for all parties involved .

I have a suggestion that might help to discourage Jordon from trying to get out when you open the door. Since cats hate the smell of citrus and will avoid it, you might want to try getting a citrus scented air freshner and spraying it on and around the door frame and carpet, you might need to do this a couple of times a day. Also, I don't remember which thread this was on, but I saw a post where someone said Walmart sold a citrus scented airfreshner that was much stronger than similiar products. I have used citrus scent to discourage cats from scratching my furniture with good results.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definatly going to try the citrus around the door. I don't want him getting out because of the obvious dangers to an out door cat.
As far as the table thing. My kitties are allowed every where but the kitchen table & kitchen counter (since I have a small appartment there's only one counter in the kitchen). They both love sitting in the bedroom window as we are on the 2nd floor. They epsecialy love it in the morning because there is an open space with large electrical poles behind the aprtment & the window gives them a great view of all the birds that fly around the area. I wish I could afford some cat furniture because from what I understand they really love it. It is intresting to note that Jordan seems to like sleeping on the floor. I know cats usually like to be up high, but one night he was asleep on the floor & since I was going to bed I picked him up & put him on the couch figuring he'd like to sleep there, but he got down & went back to sleep on the floor. I think what makes him want to go on the table is just curiosity about what's up there. This morning I know that he was going up there becaues I had my lunch bag packed & up there waiting for me to leave, when he went up there I picked him up & put him on the floor & then moved my bag to a chair in the other room. Also I'm wondering if him going on the table was him trying to get into the garbage can. Now that I've replaced the can to one he can't easily get in he'll be less intrested.

Originally posted by Rang_27
I think what makes him want to go on the table is just curiosity about what's up there. This morning I know that he was going up there becaues I had my lunch bag packed & up there waiting for me to leave, when he went up there I picked him up & put him on the floor & then moved my bag to a chair in the other room. Also I'm wondering if him going on the table was him trying to get into the garbage can. Now that I've replaced the can to one he can't easily get in he'll be less intrested.

Click to expand...

That's the rub. Nice investigative work .

you might check out this link, their stuff is very affordable and lightweight! You can carry their double unit fully assembled upstairs with one hand-

Feline Furniture

I actually love the furniture Hissy, I would just have to find space for the delux set (and since they are about to be neutered I'm saving all my extra cash for that event)

And by the way I bought an intresting book last night. I'm not very far, but it talks about how when all a cat hears is no they tend to do more bad things. I'm not sure how true it is, but reading the book I did feel bad because I think Jordan is just being a kitten & I need to be more patient with him sometimes.

Kittens will be kittens! Hopefully they will grow out of it some day.
My cats were never intended to go outside. However as soon as they were about 6 months I guess they really wanted to go out all the time! I thought it was very strange becuase they didnt even know what outside was. Well the kids would run in and out and the cats would run out. It was a hopeless battle. All exept Minnie who never cared less about going outside.
Before we moved I actually got a ticket becuase my neighbor hates cats. They not only tried to poison my cats with anti freze, they regulary called the police if they saw the cats outside. It was very stressfull, becuase try explaining to a cat why they can not run out the door everytime it opens!
In some citys there are laws about haveing your cats at large, the ticket I had to pay was 125.00! I am so glad we moved to the country