My cat won't stay off the counters!

[azuriah]

I have a cat that is not used to being inside. He acts kind of squirrely. The first thing he does when he gets in is looks for the butter. He finds the dish, knocks the lid off and licks butter. He tries it a lot. I just caught him on the counter, with butter on his face. It is kind of funny and cute, but problematic and disgusting. We hide the butter, and he still gets on the counters and table..

How can i stop him from doing this?

Thank you.

 

[tobilei]

Some people swear by a quick squirt of water from a water sprayer, but in my experience that just makes your cat not go on the counters when you are present.

If I'm perfectly honest, I gave up. My current cat thinks being squirted with a water sprayer is a great game and I was going nuts clapping my hands a billion times a day and hopping him back on the floor only to have him run around the other side and jump right back up. I just make sure I spray and wipe really well before I prep our food.

I do know there's something called a scat mat or something (not the kind that gives electric shocks, the kind that is sticky) which is supposedly good, but I haven't tried it.

 

[mani]

We have an article about this very issue...

 [article="22407"]Get Off How To Discourage Your Cat From Jumping On Counters​[/article]  

 

[abbybaby]

Not countertops for me, but my dining room table and end tables. I'm sure that information in that article works for some, but with Abby, not so much. The only thing adhesive tape does is let me now she is on the table because I hear the sound of her paws sticking and unsticking. Using a spray bottle of water used to work, but she doesn't care anymore. The carpet mat with the spike side up also has not been a deterrent - maybe because she is a little cat and her weight isn't enough to make the spikes dig in when she walks on them. So right now I am weighing two options (a) ordering one of those canned air devices and seeing if that helps or (b) giving up, and building some kind of barrier around my computer (which I usually have on the table) so she doesn't walk all over it if I step away from the table for five minutes. Sigh. Meanwhile I have removed all objects from my end tables except my lamps, which I have taped down. The one lamp shade is still crooked from the last incident but at least she hasn't broken the lamps (yet).