keeping the cats off the counter...

Is there really a way to accomplish this???

Hello everyone. My name is Ron, and I have a cat problem. It all started when my girlfriend moved in with her two cats. I love'em but man they don't make it easy. I came home today from work to find puke on my dining table. Which leads me to another question. One of the cats(jake)has a puking problem we cannot figure out. The vet says he's fine, but no matter what type of food we try with him he just pukes it up. He does seem to swallow his food whole. Sometimes I wonder if he thinks the other cat(sammy)is going to eat it all up. I feed them together, and the food remains in the dish until they eat it all. I give them a total of 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup in the evening. Right now we are using Iams adult for indoor cats w/hairball control. I've tried science diet but that caused jake to have these real weird VERY loud hacking type fits. If anyone has suggestions that would be great.

I prolly should have put this in a different thread as when I posted I really just wanted to know how to keep them off the counter. It's driving me nuts!!

I've searched the net and seen these electric shock mats(cool idea to me, but too expensive)loud alarms, and alarms with sounds that aren't audible to humans. They all seem fishy to me. Anyone have a foolproof trick??

Thanks
Ron

Hi and welcome!
First off I will start with the food problem: I am a vet tech of 6 yrs now and it is my experience that cat's are just vomiters, I know that it is gross but it is just kind of what they do. Iams is a VERY good food so I would leave them on that, a Pepcid AC in the daily regiment might prove effective to keep the tummy settled. Does the kitty throw up right after eating? It may be he eats too fast and if you separate the meals into small snacks this may help as well.
Now onto the counter issue: I too HATE my kitties to be on the counters, I cook meals on that counter and I don't approve of them on it either. I have found over time with a little behavior training, mine know that if they are on the counter it better be because there is a fire or something on the floor preventing them from being down there. Squirt bottles work well for when you are home to catch them in the act, but while you and your girlfriend are at work I have found foil or double-sided sticky tape works pretty well. Cats hate the feel and noise of foil so if you line your counters with it or the tape it works pretty good. I have also heard that an outdoor doormat (the kind with the RUBBER spikes) if turned upside down (or spikes up) placed on the counters works just as well as the Scat Mat, and when you are done you have a doormat! After a while though I seem to not notice them on the counters and if they are up there all it takes is one look from me and they know that they are in the wrong. Also try your best to make sure that their meals are not placed on the counters or on a high surface as this only encourages the behavior of jumping on counters.
Good luck and please let me know which of these solutions works best for you-I am just curious to know. Thanks and I wish you and your kitties the best!

thanks kittycorner. I will try as you suggested and I will let you know what works.

Jake does vomit pretty much right after eating I think. He'll scoop up a bunch of food in his mouth, carry it away from the food dish, and just pretty much swallow it whole. I would try the smaller amounts but both the GF and I are gone for the first 9 hours of the day, hence no way to keep feeding them.

I have heard of the tinfoil and sticky tape ideas now that you mention it. I'll give it a go and see what happens...

Thanks,

ron

Welcome to TCS, Ron! Bless you for stepping up to the plate & seeking solutions for situations that annoy you - you are showing deep devotion to girlfriend by being willing to deal with this! I think that KittyCorner's ideas are the best. As for the food, it might help to feed in separate food areas. Also, cats do vomit when they feel stress, so it could be that the 2 cats are having some sort of tension that is not obvious, such as competition for the litterbox; a outdoor neighborhood bully cat coming into view from one of your windows. You might try placing a couple more litterboxes about, if possible, room-wise. The 2 boxes-per-cat theory works great and really cuts down on the smell (most of my cats like 1 box for pee & 1 for poo). And if you haven't read about it yet, chicken feed for litter is a big hit with our TCS kitties! Please keep us updated on the counter situation & what does & doesn't work - everyone's experience & thoughts are very, very useful here! Susan