# Counters and Table tops



## DanielleM (Dec 19, 2010)

As a new kitty owner, I really don't know much about training cats. We don't have a lot of "rules" that we would like the cat to abide by, but one of them is to stay off of the kitchen counters and table. What's the best way to teach a cat this is unacceptable. My ex-roommate used a water spray bottle, but what happens when you are not home and the cat doesn't get in trouble for it...will it take longer to teach them to stay off? Are there other methods?

Thanks!


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## mimitabby (Apr 20, 2010)

the best method is to never have anything left out that will reward kitty for getting on the counters. Whenever you catch them on the counters, you tell them NO and put them down. It only takes a couple weeks for a new cat to learn this.

We have 4 cats and one of them has ALWAYS gotten on the counters behind our backs. I've never been able to train her otherwise. But she never does it in front of me.
I'm sure i could set up some things that would make it unpleasant for her, snappy traps, cellophane, towers of empty aluminum cans.. but we are in the habit of not leaving food out (MOST of the time) and that's probably thanks to her diligence.
Hope that helps.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

There's really not much "training" you can do, other than to keep your counters clear of anything inviting and say "No" when you're around, as mimitabby suggests. If it's really problematic to have them up there when you're not around, you could try a product called "SSScat", which is sold in PetSmart and similar places. It's motion activated and it gives off a spray of air when a cat (or anything else) comes near it, which is harmless, but cat's don't like it. You can google it. Depending on the size and configuration of your counters, you might need more than one can of SSScat.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

It's not that cats want to be specifically on the counters, they just love being up on anything high. I don't think they can help themselves, it's a losing battle in my house. Cinderella and Cleo never went up there. Then I adopted the Calibratz. Any bad habits Cleo has, she learned from _them_.

I have to admit, I do like it when one of them jumps up and keeps me company while I do the dishes.


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## DanielleM (Dec 19, 2010)

So could it be said as long as there is sufficient access to high points, they may redirect their energy to those? We are planning on, as we did for our roommate's cat, putting up "cat shelves" that allow for easy access away from the dogs, and also a high point to watch everything from....Since she's still adjusting, we haven't really made this a priority (dogs and cat have been in separate nations), but maybe I should bump this project up as soon as we have time?


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

No, they'll still want to jump up on the kitchen counters, I think. Unless you put cat shelves up in the kitchen. Then they might leave the counters alone. :grin:


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

DanielleM said:


> So could it be said as long as there is sufficient access to high points, they may redirect their energy to those? We are planning on, as we did for our roommate's cat, putting up "cat shelves" that allow for easy access away from the dogs, and also a high point to watch everything from....Since she's still adjusting, we haven't really made this a priority (dogs and cat have been in separate nations), but maybe I should bump this project up as soon as we have time?


It could be said that if there's sufficient access to high points, they "might" redirect their energy to those...but unfortunately, they might not. I have a number of cat trees in my family room (which adjoins my kitchen) and I keep my counters pretty clear of things. My girls rarely go on the counters. That might be because they have other climbing outlets and there's nothing on the counters to interest them, or it might be I just got lucky. Still, if you were planning to put up the shelves in any event, you might try them sooner rather than later, since having them up can't hurt.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

You can give them 'cat areas' that are acceptable and let them know what you consider 'non cat areas' with your behavior while you interact with them. But as you said ... when you aren't there to monitor their activity, you don't know WHAT they're doing on those counters.

I stopped worrying about it. Bleach-wipes are my friend and I use them every time I prepare food. 
Why bother stressing over something you cannot control when there are other solutions and compromises like the bleach-wipes?

_Our cats know when we are in the kitchen we will tell them sternly to get down and will *make* them get down if they don't listen to us when we tell them "Down!". Many times, I can even stop them from even jumping up at all ... but I have to be observant and tell them 'No!' as I see them thinking about it and/or preparing to jump up._


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## WhiteKitties (Dec 22, 2008)

Our girls know they're not allowed on the counters and never jump up there when we're around..... But as soon as we go to bed they're up there investigating and we'll hear the thud of them jumping off shortly after we turn the lights out. As others have said, as long as you keep the counters clear of things that will interest them you'll have few issues. You have to assume that they'll jump up there regularly when you're not there to see if anything interesting has showed up, but if you keep removing her from the counter and telling her no she won't keep doing it while you're around.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Heidi n Q said:


> I stopped worrying about it. Bleach-wipes are my friend and I use them every time I prepare food. Why bother stressing over something you cannot control when there are other solutions and compromises like the bleach-wipes?


I had to chuckle at that, Heidi. That one falls under the heading of "one person's blessing is another person's curse". Muffs and Abby rarely go on my counters, but the one time they're guaranteed to go there is if I use any form of bleach wipe or bleach spray. My girls, especially Muffs, are attracted to bleach like they are to catnip. Once a week, I use a spray that contains bleach on the counters, and without fail Muffs then jumps on the counters to sniff the bleach, and the next thing you know she's rolling around in ecstasy! Of course, that rather defeats the purpose of cleaning the counters. But I'm glad to hear that approach works for you.


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## raecarrow (Oct 27, 2009)

Susan said:


> Muffs and Abby rarely go on my counters, but the one time they're guaranteed to go there is if I use any form of bleach wipe or bleach spray. My girls, especially Muffs, are attracted to bleach like they are to catnip. Once a week, I use a spray that contains bleach on the counters, and without fail Muffs then jumps on the counters to sniff the bleach, and the next thing you know she's rolling around in ecstasy! Of course, that rather defeats the purpose of cleaning the counters. But I'm glad to hear that approach works for you.


Susan, it sounds like you need to talk to your cats about the dangers of "huffing" the bleach fumes


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

I'm with Heidi . . . the easiest thing is to stop worrying about it. Murphy's always been allowed on the counter. We actually encourage it by cuddling him when he's up there and giving him treats.  Hey, it's nice not to have to get on the floor all the time!

But really, if you keep the Clorox Wipes handy there's really no problem. I guess the germophobes might never get used to that idea, but then again, the germophobes shouldn't have cats in the first place. 

I think it's another area where we should work on ourselves to accept what cats are doing, rather than expecting them to change. I keep remembering the line, "Dogs are motivated to please you. Cats are motivated to survive."


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

Keep a bottle of Dettol (safe for cats as long as they don't actively LICK the counters) spry and wipe before using the counter. It kills anything nasty on there. 
We did this anyway a long time before we got a cat as counters get grubby anyway.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

raecarrow said:


> Susan, it sounds like you need to talk to your cats about the dangers of "huffing" the bleach fumes


Somehow I don't think they'd listen! :?


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## kwarendorf (Oct 12, 2009)

Counters have two attractions; they are higher than the floor and they are often the center of activity. Some cats just need to be where the action is  I'm in Heidi's camp. I just wipe the counters down before cooking. The only place my guys are not allowed to be is on the dining room table when I'm eating. I don;t know how i managed to convey this, but they're very good about the one rule.


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

It's easy. Just keep them cluttered. Cover every inch with spare change, unopened junk mail, extra batteries, house keys, flashlights and such so that their surfaces are unnavigable.

It worked for me until the pre-Christmas clean-up.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I actually tried that, keeping stuff on the edge of the counter so they couldn't jump up, but the clutter bothered me more than the counter cats.


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## kwarendorf (Oct 12, 2009)

Dave_ph said:


> Cover every inch with spare change, unopened junk mail, extra batteries, house keys, flashlights and such so that their surfaces are unnavigable.


This is the back counter in my kitchen. Franklin can't resist the challenge!


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I'm a pretty serious germophobe and I never allowed ex's cat into the kitchen much less onto the counter. 

Mow doesn't have icky germs though.  He's allowed wherever he wants to go and I don't worry too much about it. Bleach wipes are just something I've always used and now I just use them before I do anything on the counter.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Dave_ph said:


> It's easy. Just keep them cluttered. Cover every inch with spare change, unopened junk mail, extra batteries, house keys, flashlights and such so that their surfaces are unnavigable.


Mine would get cleaned off quick. Mow'd be up there winging things off to watch them hit the floor and roll around.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

This is so funny -- I'm always cleaning off the counter to make sure Murphy has an easy landing up there! I have visions of little Cali breaking her toe when she jumped off a counter. I'd rather have cat-cooties on the counter than a trip to the vet for a broken toe.


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## DanielleM (Dec 19, 2010)

Thanks all, I have still been trying to discourage it, and it seems to be doing well. We put up our cat shelves, and I haven't seen her on the counter or kitchen table in a few days. She does climb on our bed headboard, which I'm going to try to discourage, because she's been finding it amusing to wake us up by whapping us in the head when she's feeling playful at 3 in the morning, lol.


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## Ms December (Dec 10, 2010)

With a little bit of patience I managed to teach the girls not to do it when we are looking... I know  By simply removing them from the table and saying No. And trained them so that's enough even to look at them and they know they should get off the kitchen table ^^ We allow them to go on tops as we don't usually keep any food there long enough to cause any issues. Most importantly we keep the door to the kitchen closed most of the time.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

joethemechanic said:


> Don't worry about training, your cat will train you very well in no time.


This. Last night i slept across the foot of the bed under a throw blanket because the cat was comfortable in the center of the bed and I didn't want to disturb him........


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Ho tell me about it. Miu trained me well. We have to hide all food in the oven, pantry or microwave. We have to wash all dishes immediately or else she'll go drink/lick them. We also have to remove the dishes from the dish rack asap and not leave tall stuff like spatulas standing up. It's just asking to be smacked. And still, she jumps up to investigate...just for that one time when one of us misses something. Then she scores!


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## Janis (Aug 26, 2010)

Our current cat, a partially socialized feral, won't get on anything, incl. tables or counters, and I am currently _training_ him to get on the couch beside us. And he is finally learning. I have no plans to train him to the counter or table. lol
Our last cat, Midnight, was a true counter/table cat, but pretty much just when something was going on up there But. I began keeping a tall kitchen stool by the counter & would allow him to get up there to supervise. I would shriek NO when he started to step off. Then. We began putting the stool up to the _table_ when we were eating and placing him on the stool. He loved it. We even had a small dish on the edge of the table on a napkin for him to have his dinner and then little taste of our food. I'm sure he bragged to the other cats outside how well his people were trained. And he knew the stool was his boundry & the only downside was we always had to put him in a closed room when we had company for dinner!:wink


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

Oh yeah, we got the stool thing going too, but Miu prefers to sit directly on the counter. She knows I want her to stay in the stool, but apparently the stool just isn't close enough to the action.


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