cat on countertops

pplatten

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my cat has been trained to stay off of tables and countertops but lately i've found that she has been up there when i'm not around. i know this because i find remnants of kitty litter on the surfaces all the time. any suggestions on how to deter her from this behavior? she obviously refrains from doing it in front of me so any suggestions need to implemented without my presence being required.
thanks.
 

lotsocats

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LOL!!! She had you fooled for a while!


Since she already knows to stay off the table and counters while you're home half the battle is already won.

Now, you have to set up the environment so that bad things happen when she gets on the table/counters when you're not home.

The easiest solution is to get several pieces of cardboard or old towels and cover one side with double sided tape. Then put the cardboard or towels sticky side up on the places you want the cats to avoid.

Since cats hate the feel of sticky stuff on their feet, landing on the tape will be unpleasant for them. It will take only a few leaps onto the tape to teach them to stay off the table!

Good luck!
 

julieb

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I hope you have better luck with this than we did.

Our 5 year old tortie Clementine could be called the Teflon cat. She just doesn't care what happens to her as punishment. She prances around merrily on the sticky-tape cardboard pieces, absolutely adores being sprayed with the water pistol and squirt bottle, and has infinite patience about getting back up again and again and again when she is literally shoved off a table or counter.

There have been times when I have taken pity on her, fetched a towel and dried her off after a particularly stubborn bout with the squirt bottle.

But it is probably the fault of us, the parents (dad) who spoiled her rotten since the day we got her at 6 weeks old. She was so tiny we had to put a phone book in front of the litter box so she wouldn't get fetched up on the side when she tried to climb in. She suckled my husband's earlobe so much that he got a callous, and she still snuggles under his arm and bites his t-shirt to mimic this at the age of 5. What a baby...
 

lorie d.

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When I was looking through a pet supply catalog recently, I saw some special mats designed to keep cats off of areas such as counter tops and tables. I haven't actually tried using one of these, but the mats are supposed to be very uncomfortable for the cat to walk on.
 

jin & spawn

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Personally I could care less if Spawn is on the countertops or not, although we do our best to appear horrified if she jumps up on one when we have company over.


The method I have used in the past is the 'scare' technique. This works best with empty aluminum cans - basically something that makes a lot of noise and falls easily, but won't actually hurt your kitty. Place the cans on a towel, outside of the field of vision on the countertop, so that when kitty jumps up, she lands on the towel upsetting the stack of cans, creating quite a racket and discouraging kitty from jumping up any more.

I hadn't ever thought of the sticky tape solution - that's a good idea too!
 

missyc

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Good luck on keeping them off the tables and countertops. One of my cats has a hip problem and cannot jump to high places, but the other one if a whole different story. She pretty much goes where ever she wants, so I gave trying to keep her off the countertops and tables. I do, however, keep lysol on hand to clean countertops and tables before I cook.
 

sandie

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Some info on lysol

Lysol spray or Lysol disinfectant - phenol is toxic to cats - the Lysol brand toilet bowl and bathroom cleaners are safe.
 

mistyradford

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My first cat had a bad habit of getting on everything she wasn't suppose to. After years of frustration our local vet made a suggestion that changed our household atmosphere. We bought a spray bottle like you would use for you hair and filled it with water. When Prissy got on something she wasn't suppose to be on I sprayed her, very lightly, in the face with the water. She hated it and her behavior began to modify very quickly. I have had the same luck with my present cat, Crimson. It doesn't hurt them and they learn quickly from it. Hope it helps.
 

lilyrose

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pplatten, What worked best for me when my cats started doing this, was to pour a little lemon juice on a paper towel and spread it
around and leave it to dry. Cats don't like citrus.


 
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