How can I keep my cat off of my table?

I have a certain table in my room, and it's important to me to keep my cat from jumping on it.  Everything else in my house is fine for him to climb and jump on, but if at all possible I would like to keep him off this particular table.  I have seen certain spray products that supposedly keep the cat from scratching certain surfaces, is there anything similar that may help me keep my cat from occupying this table?  Are these kinds of products harmful in any way to the cat?  Or are they just mild irritants and not harmful?

If what I'm asking for is practical or feasible than so be it, but I would enjoy not having to worry about this issue.

Thank you for you help

That's a tough one. We've been trying to keep our cats off the kitchen counters for years, but two of them just ignore us and jump up there as soon as we leave the room.

Water in a spray bottle worked for 2 of our cats in the past. Every time they jumped on a table or scratched the furniture, they got a spritz from the water bottle. Might be worth a try?

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I know it is really hard to modify behavior, cats are stubborn. I just put a table cloth on my real wood dining table and take it off for company. You might try laying tinfoil around on it until your cat learns not to jump up, they hate the sound and the feel of it. I hope others have had this problem and can contribute a lot more then me,obviously I take the easy way out! No matter what you do I would still keep a table cloth on for a while, as I have caused more damage then what would have been by scaring the cat or making them scramble to get off and they dug in a lot deeper then if I wouldn't have done anything! I guess I'm a lot more lax on these things since my Chrissy died and now I treasure the deep scratches she put into the side of my kitchen cabinet where she used to jump up and 'reign' over the boys. I run my fingers over them and think of her. Good luck and I hope you find help!

There is a product called psssstcat. Youtube it, the results are pretty funny. 

Basically, the thing is a motion-sensored canister of compressed air that hisses at the cat when it goes within the range set. 

I cannot personally vouch for the results, because I have an Alpha cat who does not respond to hissing(I have to tell him "get off my table" and remove him by his scruff), but I have read some great reviews.

They do not like the smell of Vic's Vaporub or vinegar. I've rubbed some vapor rub in on my nightstand in my room (a light smear) and he's stayed away. And if I spritz the trashcan with vinegar he won't mess with it.

I guess I'm mean.  I set booby traps.

I get heavy duty packing tape (the thick stuff, not the thing flimsy stuff),  cut 2 inch squares and lay them sticky side up in a double line pattern around the edge.  They jump on the table, they get tape on their paws.  The thick stuff is easy for them to pull off, but it ain't comfortable or fun. 
After a few entanglements with the tape, they tend to stay away.   However, they are stubborn, and will still occasionally check to see if my booby trap is still there.

The only problem with this is that it's just as much of a trap for humans.  lol

So I removed the contents of said table and lined it with double sided sticky tape in a checker board pattern.  I left this on for a week.  He jumped on the table many times and seemed to not like the sensation of sticky paws and jumped down pretty quick.  After a few times I could not even coax him onto the table by dangling a toy over it or anything.  So mission accomplished he learned his lesson right...?

So I removed the tape, put all the stuff back on the table and by the end of the day he had jumped back on again.(He may have been on there when I was at work today who knows, but I actually saw him jump on it less than an hour ago).

So what gives?  Did I completely lose all the (supposed) progress I made during this past week?  Did he completely forget how uncomfortable the table felt and now it's fair game again?  Or is it because I had the tape on a completely empty table and when I put stuff back on he thought it was a different table somehow?

A week is probably not long enough to modify behavior. I would replace the tape, and yes, place things on the table so it doesn't look real different. I would leave it there for a month. They have a lot longer memories then you think, I think you got one smart cat! I warned you they are stubborn!  Good luck and keep us posted on what you find that works! 

.... I'm sorry... I... *snerk*... shouldn't laugh.... 

What Di and Bob said. 

Leave it on longer, and leave your (unbreakable) stuff on it (or at least most of it).  The key to a good booby trap is that it should be hidden.     You do want to leave enough room for kitty to jump back down in a hurry without knocking things down, but it should look pretty close to "normal".

Furmonster Mom said:

I guess I'm mean.  I set booby traps.

I get heavy duty packing tape (the thick stuff, not the thing flimsy stuff),  cut 2 inch squares and lay them sticky side up in a double line pattern around the edge.  They jump on the table, they get tape on their paws.  The thick stuff is easy for them to pull off, but it ain't comfortable or fun. 

After a few entanglements with the tape, they tend to stay away.   However, they are stubborn, and will still occasionally check to see if my booby trap is still there.

The only problem with this is that it's just as much of a trap for humans.  lol

Click to expand...

Yup that's how I trained my cat to stay off the counters.