# counters,ugh



## pitbullove (Sep 25, 2012)

sorry if I have already posted this,my computer is acting up and therefor I cant check. But anyways,I want to bring my cat inside,2 reasons...its cold,and my neighbor picked my other cat up and took her home,:fust

But I cant because he gets on the tables and counters,any ideas on how to stop this ? Its 20 some degrees out right now and I know id hate to be out there


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## Nell (Apr 7, 2005)

This is a situation where you may need to compromise. It's in a cat's nature to want to climb and jump up on things. Keep things off the table and counters that he wants so he has less of a reason to want to be up there. Buy a container of Lysol or Clorox wipes and use those to clean off the counter before eating or preparing food. Maybe get him a cat tree so that he has something that its okay for him to jump up on.

You're missing out on the best parts of having a pet by banishing your cat to the outside. We all have to compromise a bit and make adjustments when we make the decision to get a pet. It's kind of like having a kid that way. The rewards of having a pet can be great, but what you get out of it depends on what you're willing to put into it.

So please bring your kitty inside and work on this. I really think that you could make it work out. And if you decide that it's not going to work having a cat indoors, please consider doing what's best for the cat by finding him a new home instead of turning him out again.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

What's the big deal? Keep things put away and wipe off the table/counters before preparing food/eating.....


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

Make your counters and tables boring for two reasons: (1) Your cat will also find it boring and will eventually jump up, look around, be bored and jump back down; and (2) you won't be stressing because there's nothing he can get into/break/destroy.

Cali knows she can sit on the counter on other side of the sink while I cook, do dishes, etc. I like the company, to be honest. :grin:


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## CatMonkeys (Sep 27, 2012)

marie73 said:


> Make your counters and tables boring for two reasons: (1) Your cat will also find it boring and will eventually jump up, look around, be bored and jump back down


One of my cats seeks out bare tables/counters so she can stretch out and take a nap  I mean, why sleep in one of the 4 cat beds/baskets, the sofa, or my bed when there's a nice hard table? LOL

I don't see what the problem with cats on counters is; just don't leave anything potentially dangerous out.


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## fanwoodguy (Oct 14, 2011)

Cats do not need to be on tables or kitchen counters. They will respect boundaries if you set them and are consistent in the enforcement of same. Loud noise, NO, water spray all work if consistently applied. My cats have NEVER been allowed that space and have all learned to respect that location of the house. They climb all over everything else but not where people eat.


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

While you're home. :grin:


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## aniela (Jun 27, 2011)

Cats on counters happen.


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## Ragdoll_Joy (Jul 13, 2012)

And if it doesn't happen when you are home...it certainly happends when you are away! LOL!


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

Cats will climb wherever they want. You may just not know it. My aunt left a cabinet open once and their cat knocked everything out of it and made a bed.


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## LakotaWolf (Aug 10, 2012)

Scare the living daylights out of him by yelling or rattling a can of coins when you catch him on the counter or table. He will very quickly learn that they are terrifying spaces he should not mess with. Cats are smart ;}


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## Ragdoll_Joy (Jul 13, 2012)

Yelling does nothing to Joy...LOL
She just lays down on the counter and looks at us. Or she jumps down and meows at us depending on her mood!


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

It's a losing battle in my house. I remove him from the kitchen table whenever I see him, but I'm sure he does it when I'm away. 

I don't see him on counters often, but I've gotten in the habit of disinfecting kitchen surfaces before I do any food prep or eating - this is probably a smart idea anyway even without pets. 


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## 3furbabies (Dec 7, 2011)

My cats use to do this all the time when they were kittens. I corrected them and they stopped. Now they just do it when no one is home... I know this because I occasionally find the kitchen sponge/cloth on the living room floor. Deter him as much as you can and buy a tall cat tree and shelving for him to climb. That said, cats will go where they want. When I come home I always find every bedroom closet open a crack. Bf caught one of them napping on the shelves in there the other day...


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

I've never had an inside cat, but it amazes me how they jump up on things when they can't see the top/landing zone. Midnight, the wild cat, first jumped up on the recycle bin for a snooze- what if there was no top? Then he is up on a cabinet (4 feet high) in the garage, sleeping - so I put some bedding up there. Then he rolls around with complete disregard for the height - falls off- and jumps back up again. Silly Cat! :smile:


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## Arkona (May 7, 2012)

What's wrong with getting on tables and counters? You're really going to leave the cat out there in the cold because of this?


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

Goldtanker said:


> I've never had an inside cat, but it amazes me how they jump up on things when they can't see the top/landing zone. Midnight, the wild cat, first jumped up on the recycle bin for a snooze- what if there was no top? Then he is up on a cabinet (4 feet high) in the garage, sleeping - so I put some bedding up there. Then he rolls around with complete disregard for the height - falls off- and jumps back up again. Silly Cat! :smile:


mine does this into my dirty laundry hamper. usually, it has clothes in it and he gets a nice soft landing. Sometimes though he tries to jump in just after I've done laundry and he falls all the way to the bottom. When he was smaller, he couldn't get out on his own. Now he jumps out and pretends like no one saw what he just did...


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

This is a time to work on _yourself_ and not the cat. Life is much easier if you say -- who cares, they're very clean animals, who can blame them for wanting to explore the space when our house is all they have, who can blame them for wanting to be at eye level with us, and who really cares. We not only let Murphy on the counters, we encourage him up there by giving him treats! 

I'm just saying, we've reduced their territory to a house. We really ought to let them explore and use every inch of it.


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

I admit that I disinfect kitchen surfaces before food preparation (and remove most kitties even during preparation during it) but I can't help wondering if we are becoming too anal retentive about hygiene for our own good. When I was a kid, I would ride for half a day, eat a picnic without washing my hands (and share some of the food with the horse!!!) and never, ever had any problems. I would pick berries straight from the bush and eat them. I would gather mushrooms and eat some of them raw in the field and did so with no side-effects. Still do for that matter!!!


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## marie73 (Jul 12, 2006)

I agree 100%. Plus, who else had a mom or grandmother with that Crisco can full of bacon grease sitting on the stove?? (My girls would go crazy over _that_!!)


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## Arianwen (Jun 3, 2012)

I don't know Crisco but we certainly kept the same chip fat (fries) going for ages - usually with dripping (beef fat). 

This week I had a medical for an operation I have to have after an accident on my shoulder and they commented on the fact I was abnormally healthy - says it all really!!!


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## Korat (Jun 2, 2011)

There is only one shelf we tried to keep as 'restricted' from the cat... a narrow one above the computer with delicate things on it. 

Since we tried to keep him off it, clapping and making loud noises, or physically removing him every time ... he turned it into a game. Now its the place where he goes if you aren't paying him attention.

He just loves to sit up there and tap, tap, tap, things until they fall onto the keyboard. 

Funnily enough, he has very little interest in any other surfaces!

He might jump up on the kitchen counter occasionally, but as there is nothing left out, and we never tried to keep him off it, its boring.

He likes to sit on the windowsill of the kitchen (above the sink which is accessed by the counter) and watch you wash dishes ... fine by me.

He likes to sit on the table when we are eating dinner, its a sociable thing I believe.... but since he has never been given human food or food from a plate, he doesn't bother you. He seems to like watching us eat. 

He's very clean.

My parents cat is not allowed on counters ... she will mostly stay off them if you are in sight, but when you go away, she does whatever she likes .... worse still .... when she used to jump up on the counters... my mothers response was to put her outside (like a punishment) .... as a result ... now, if she wants to go outside and she's not allowed???? She jumps up on the counters!!! She does so in a particular fashion... jumping up at the furthest end, and running the length of the counter... so that she's closet to the door when you get to her 8)

Halloween night, when we didn't want her going outside, she spent the whole night trying to 'get put out' by running on the counters.


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## Luvmyfurbabies (Jun 25, 2012)

All this talk of fecal matter and litter dust is somewhat pointless. Do you pick your cat up and love on him? Does he snuggle next to your face? Does he crawl into bed with you? I'm sure all these things have been one before and after being in a litter box and we think nothing of it. 
I for one like to hold my babies in my arms like a baby and kiss their little paws! 
Just clean your counters before you prepare a meal. And there should be no worries.


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## scottd (Jun 28, 2011)

AdoptAnAngel said:


> I don't know if I can bear to spray him with water. I might try foil, but I have a feeling he'll just think the foil is fun.


There's nothing wrong with using water as a deterrent. You might try canned air used to clean keyboards too. That should irritate him enough to make him stay down.

The OP could try this too: [ame]http://www.amazon.com/Innotek-SSSCAT-Cat-Training-Aid/dp/B000RIA95G[/ame]


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## Krista2882 (Jan 26, 2012)

Haha my cats are on the tables and counters a lot. Callie will sit next to me on the table when I eat breakfast. My cat when I was growing up was trained as a kitten from going on the counters and tables by my mom shooting him with a water gun whenever he did. Haha it worked, though. But I don't know how well you can train an adult cat, but I'm sure you can if you're persistent.


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## Lor (Nov 10, 2012)

This is a battle I've given up on, I don't like the idea of the cats on the counter but now that we have a puppy they take advantage of puppy-free zones like countertops and the table. I wipe everything down before preparing food or serving but I'm not thrilled about it.


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## Lor (Nov 10, 2012)

LOL I know it. Hubby and I are planning to build a few extra shelves and fun spots for them to climb but I'm pretty resigned to the fact that they have the run of the place. It's ok, the payoff is totally worth it


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## Zephyriddle (Mar 28, 2012)

I can't stand the cats on the table or counters. The table I've pretty much given up on, we rarely eat there and it's just being used for my sewing right now. The counters drive me nuts, mostly because of the design of the kitchen. We have open shelves where we keep food, we really don't have anywhere else to keep it, and those shelves are accessible to the cats from the counter. They like to sit on the window sill above the counter and look out on the road. They have a 6.5" cat tree and about a million other places to climb and sleep. The counters are mine. I've resorted to scat mats. The thing with any deterrent is that the animal quickly learns when the behavior is safe vs not. Shouting and spray bottles only work to deter behavior while you're there to use them. Even with the mats I left them out turned off for weeks so the cats got used to them being there and nothing happening. That way they don't realize that the mat is part of the correction. 
I certainly wouldn't live with my great Danes counter surfing just because they can reach it, same with the cats. Everything else is their realm, but not the counter. 


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## FranklinStreetWest (Nov 9, 2012)

Growing up, cats on counters just DIDNT happen. Mostly because cats were outdoor creatures, that were charged with vermin patrol in the barn. They got straw, food, a barn to sleep in. Later on, they got the swanky, expensive water de-icer...kept the water warm enough not to freeze, so it was drinkable. Living outside is ok. I have a friend that has a number of beautiful, healthy, well cared for cats that live strictly outside.

It sounds like you want to do something for them...it sounds like you would like to try to let them indoors... I agree with everyone that cats get on counter, and they are darned determined especially if your back is turned. The people that make the invisible fence for dogs makes a training product for counters and cats. I used it on my cat to keep her in our yard...that's a story in itself. In our house, we have rooms where the cats can be "free" in....other rooms where they are only permitted if we are in there to supervise, like the kitchen. After a few corrections for inappropriate behavior, they stay off the counters while we're in there. And they stay off our legs and laps while we're eating. I wouldn't trust them while we're away though...instead we just shut them out of the kitchen.

If you don't have a way to have an indoor cat area, maybe you could find a solution for them outside. A well made "dog house" with a heat mat...or a heat lamp. Some small place where they could get in out of the cold and wind. Just take precautions that your heat source doesn't overload a circuit or something. One winter I decided to set up some cold frames to start lettuce in January. I had this clear plastic umbrella looking thing that I hung a 40watt light bulb in. I left it on 24 hours a day. I did manage to sprout lettuce seeds, in the ground, in January, in Michigan. As it turns out, I also was creating a warm place for a couple of the strays to take refuge in.

Whatever you decide to do, you can still have well cared for and loved cats. Indoors, or out.


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## FranklinStreetWest (Nov 9, 2012)

You could even take one of those big plastic totes....flip it upside down on it's lid, cut a hole in the side big enough for a cat to crawl in. Put a "seed starting mat" in the floor to keep it warm...with a blanket on top of the mat. Set the "cat igloo" on top of a piece of styrophoam to insulate it from the cold ground (if you've ever had to stand on cold ground for hours and then tried standing on styrophoam instead, you'll know what I'm talking about). It would make a warm, protected place out of the cold when they need it.

Amazon.com: ViagrowTM Seed Propagating Seedling Heat Mat, 20.5" X 8.5": Patio, Lawn & Garden

Best part about the seed mat, it is low watt and doesn't use much energy AND it is constructed to be used around water, so it is safe plugged in outdoors.


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## Malaika219 (Apr 14, 2012)

Mine know they are allowed on the counters to look out the windows. When I'm cooking or preparing food, they know they must stay on the floor. And they do surprisingly enough.


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