Jackson answers your questions via video.
“How do you keep cats off the dining room table and the counters?”
Jackson talks about how he feels about “counter surfing,” how he deals with it in his own home, and gives you options on how you can deal with it.
Stuff Jackson refers to in the video:
the ‘air blaster canister’ is…
this Motion-activated Pet Deterrent
‘cat condos’
And here’s a hint: the current sale at Spirit Essences features a few cat shelves, along with scratching posts.
We regret that Jackson does not answer questions posted in the comments. This is due to his demanding schedule and the high volume of requests he receives. But most importantly, since he has not met your cat, it would be contrary to his approach for him to give specific personalized advice for your specific situation. That being said, general questions and issues are addressed throughout this blog, in his book CAT DADDY and of course, the show My Cat From Hell.
I let my cats on the table, counters, cabinets, fridge… My parents strictly forbid them from going on those surfaces but little do they know that every night and every time they aren’t around they sleep on the table, get on the counters… I clean a lot and don’t leave anything out so it doesn’t bother me. I’ve noticed that since I’ve stopped yelling at them for it they don’t even do it as much. My one cat loves to sleep on top of the cabinets though. I think it’s cute.
I’m with Jackson on this one…get over it! Clorox wipes? Nah, just think of it as building your immunity! We have 8 cats, 6 get on counter and tables. If I’m cooking, they usually know when it’s something they might like. Once they get their little treat, yes I coddle my kids, they usually leave me alone.
I agree. I have two cats and they go whereever they please. Like children, when you aren’t home they are going to explore up there even though they know you don’t like them to be up there. It should be good practice for people to disinfect their counters and tables before eating or cooking on them, so no biggie in my book.
We prefer Jackson’s other tip. Even in our fairly cramped kitchen, we have a small island. We put a little piece of fuzzy fake sheepskin with non-skid backing on this island (a tad higher than counter), and let him know that was his space, not to be moved or messed with. We DO have a cat willing to meet us halfway, so when we gave him his own place NOT on the counter, he was more than satisfied with that. As long as he can see what’s going on!
We don’t like him on the counter b/c it’s not safe for HIM. (yeah, otherwise, we too use many Clorox wipes; but so far his fav place other than the fuzzy mat is the top of the fridge and that’s no prob.)
I have 2 nosey kittens that will not stay off the counters. They started out eating my fresh flowers on my living room table ( so I can no longer have fresh flowers in my house ). Now all i have are 2 bamboo plants that I had up on a shelf until they knocked 1 off and broke the vase ( ugh what a mess ). So as I cleaned the mess I realised they had eaten all the leaves off both plants. I put them over the kitchen sink and now they keep getting on my counters to get to the plants. So now I put them on top of the fridge, but it is only a matter of time before they find them again and I will no longer be able to have plants in my home. I also have a 6 year old cat that we got from the humane society that eats toilet paper ( vet has no clue why she does it ). Sometimes I get really frustrated with all of them and want to send them all on their way : (
#tired of dealing with it
Hi Jacquelyn,
I’m not a cat owner yet, but I’ve been doing tons of research as part of my planning efforts to adopt a cat in the near future. There are some things you can do to stop the nosey kitten behavior around your potted plants, such as installing one of Jackson Galaxy’s stay away deterrents (as he mentioned in his video) around the area where you want to keep the plants (http://www.spiritessences.com/StayAway-Motion-activated-Pet-Deterrent-Refill-p/contech-stayaway.htm). Also, I was reading about kitten behavior, especially when it comes to eating inappropriate or even dangerous plants on WebMd, and it had some good advice on how to keep the kittens safe: http://pets.webmd.com/cats/ss/slideshow-taking-care-of-kitten
I hope your 6 year old cat is not suffering from Pica. Jackson Galaxy’s recent episode went over some tips on how to work with a cat that suffers from Pica, and WebMd also has some info about this: http://pets.webmd.com/cats/guide/unusual-cat-cravings
I hope you’re able to find some good information that helps you with all of the kitty challenges, and most of all I hope you don’t have to give up any of the kitties! Best of luck.
Tammy
that sounds really frustrating! I’ve had plants, dinners, collectibles, pictures etc knocked down too… I get so frustrated with them… It’s just part of being a cat lover I guess. They are such a blessing yet so annoying sometimes. Better they have good homes though
I had the exact same problem with my tabby named Aston. I couldn’t keep any fresh flowers ANYWHERE. So I went to petsmart hellbent on fixing this problem. What I found that helped was cat grass. It’s actual grass that is safe for your cat to nibble on. I Placed it in all her favorite places and I noticed she was so drawn to It that she would leave my Plants alone.
Tried the air horn it scared my 3 cats so badly that they were hiding under the bed. Will not use again, they can go were they want. The dining table is one of their favorite places, because I use it as a desk. I have a table cloth on the table that I take off and change when using the table for eating and use cutting boards when preparing food.
air blaster…not air horn! It shoots a puff of air….google motion-activated pet deterrent
When my seven cats were kittens, I simply started “correcting” the behavior, that I found destructive and unhygienic, by keeping small squirt bottles filled with water in conspicuous places near counter tops, living room tables and near curtains. This works amazingly well at curbing behaviors you might not want them indulging in – such as tearing up curtains, furniture and hopping up on the counter/tabletop to partake of your meal or maul that beautiful bouquet of flowers. Just a little squirt and they are on their way. And it only takes a couple of weeks of “correcting” before the incredibly smart cat gets the message. And mind you, before anyone says that it’s cruel…what’s cruel is digging into my pocketbook to replace and repair the things they could destroy and the meals I feel I would have to replace, but just allowing a cat to be a cat. They have their places to roam, scratch posts to tend to their nails and cat trees to perch in and all are happy campers.
We gave up. Both our cats climb and jump and generally get everywhere. We hit the kitchen surfaces with disinfectant and/or use clean cutting boards. Mostly, though, they’re only up there on their way to the cabinets or top of the fridge (there’s actually an alternative route to these places, but one of our cats just isn’t athletic enough and the other one gets lazy. The dining room table is another favorite lounging spot because, at the right time of day, it gets hit with sunbeams. So the tablecloth we have on it most of the time is basically a sacrifice to cat hair. We leave it down for aesthetics (that corner needs the color) but when we actually want to, like, eat we take it off and put down either another cloth or placemats.
Now, when my husband’s chopping up meat, it can get a little intense. Sometimes we just have to lock them in a bedroom so they don’t get accidentally declawed. And one of them stalks the vegetables as well. WTF?
I have 5 cats. Mr D. is the alpha, 15 y/o, Quinn 14, Michelin, 8, Cali & Kat 2. Mr.D tree dweller, gets on table, but rarely kitchen counters. Quinn has a space in the kitchen, it is somewhat out of the way, I tried the scat to try to get him to stay down, but he figured out how to get around it. If it did go off, he ignored it. This is the only height he gets on. Michelin is our big boy. He weighs 20+ pounds so he stays on the floor most of the time. He does visit with Mr.D on the table or on the couch. But he keeps to his bed on the floor most of the time. Cali is a tree dweller that sticks to the cat trees and has never gotten on the counters.She does cruise the table some. Kat is a between tree and bush dweller. Like her sister she has never gotten on the counters, and she does cruise the table some.
My husband does lots of cooking. The cats know to stay clear of the kitchen when he is cooking. In fact, they sense he will be be using the kitchen when he starts bring food out and cookware. It is amazing they stay clear. Never had to “teach” them, they just know.
My cats have the run of the house. All of my cats always have. Over my adult life I have been a “mom” to at least 12 cats. They all learned that “no” means to move on. I have always been fascinated with felines. Each one is so individual and have given us hours of entertainment, love and companionship.
I have a 4yr old female torishell color house domestic cat that was feral when she first came into my house. she takes to me cover everyone else in the family. But i have a problem with her. She poops everywere in the house including the litter box sometimes. i have 2 other house cats 1 calico 1 all large like a coon cat. i don’t have any problems with them and the all get along well( except during mating season they like to dry hump my female). All my cats are fixed. Please help me with my female, i love her so much but my family hates her for what she does. I hope u can help me.
Barbara,
i don’t have this problem but everything I’ve read about cats and litter boxes is to have one litterbox per cat plus one. I have 8 cats and 6 boxes, but all of our kids are indoor/outdoor. Most of ours prefer to go outside to do their business. Try setting up an additional box or two in a room where the pooper likes to hang out and see if that helps! I resisted doing this some time back but found that is the best way to keep peace in the family. Good luck.
ok i’ll try it with 2 litter boxes. i’ll let you no if it works! thanks.
Barbara,
Also, bear in mind that many cats have pathway issues, meaning they may have a hard time passing another cat in tight quarters, like hallways or doorways. We definitely have this issue and they know exactly what they are doing when they lay down in the middle of a pathway! Your guys may not be fighting but they might be playing mind games with each other. Put your new box in a more open area where the kitties don’t feel trapped on approach to the box. I hope this helps you!
hi cherly. like your comments i’m gonna try having an extra litter box in the house thanks. also i have two male cats as well as the female that likes to poop all over. my female is the only one of the three that poops all over. the males don’t. i like to bring her into my bedroom at night also, but sometimes i can’t that’s when she seems to get spitefull and poos outside the litter box, in the hall way of the room where the litter box is on the rug down stairs ( no where’s near the litter box, all over like that! i will put up another litter box in my downstairs bathroom. but what will stop the males from using it also?
Barbara!!!!
Cats are NOT spiteful! It sounds like you have three cats… you should have at least three litter boxes. Don’t worry about which one is using which box, the cats will sort that out themselves.
Hi Stephanie,
Thanks for your advice. i went to Petco 3 nights ago and they gave me the same advice about the litter boxes. Now have 3 cats and 3 litter boxes also picked up Dr.Elsey’s Cat Attract and put it in all the litter boxes. the person i spoke to at Petco said this would solve my problem as well as the extra litter box. Now it’s three days and no poop any where except the litter boxes. So far all is good!!!! Will keep you in formed on our progress.
Barbara, thanks for providing an update on your cats. I’m so glad the extra boxes are working! There can be peace in the family!!!
I have 2 male RAGDOLLS (brothers of same litter) I’ve had since they were 12 weeks old. One of them is, biting off and pulling out by the roots, the other ones eyebrows and whiskers! I think he is trying to show dominance, however . . . My poor baby boy, that used to have GLORIOUS EYEBROWS AND WHISKERS, is now almost TOTALLY EYEBROWLESS AND WHISKERRLESS! Will this eventually stop, will they grow back, and how can I put a stop to this?
PLEASE HELP ME!
Kris
Any suggestions on how to get my cat to stop unrolling the toilet paper and using all the kleenexes??
I have found that an open book on top of the toilet paper has helped my two kitties forget that it is there. (Keep your fingers crossed)
@ Kristin, I would wonder if the one cat that is pulling the whiskers is bored. You might try the play sequence that Jackson talks about.
@Lisa, we had a cat that did the toilet paper thing and we ended up putting plastic bags over the rolls that were out and it stopped that action. Again, he may be bored — put the kleenex in the cabinet and plastic bags on the toilet paper and try the play sequence.
Good Luck to both of you!
Hello everyone, I was wondering an easy way to keep one of our cats off, since we can’t afford some of the various things he’s mentioned in his video. We have one cat that (luckily) doesn’t even go up on the counter, simply because she’s too bipolar and fat to successfully get up there. The other one however, is up there every time he hears the can opener, dishwasher or any time he hears activity in the kitchen. It frustrates my mother quite a bit, and she’s actually made a bed for him up on top of the fridge, hoping he’d go there instead but he does either one. I really could care less if he’s up there, because they make disinfectants for a reason but it’s difficult to see her stressed over such little things when I could help. So if anyone has any ideas on some way to maybe make something that’ll keep him off, that’d be great!
We have 3 cats and they don’t do counters unless the alpha is hunting geckos, then there is no way to keep her off, she’s a huntress and that’s it.. They occasionally get on the table but we found that if we brought home cardboard boxes from Costco each week that they would rather lay on or in the box than on the table. Kids and their toys, go figure.
Ours is, and has been, a multi cat household for nearly 30 yrs. Our late 20+ yr old Maine Coon (Rusty) took to peeing in various corners around the house about 5 months before he succumbed to kidney failure. Since he started this, one of the other cats (we don’t know which) is now using those same spots, very inconsistently – it can be a week or two between incidents. Can someone please recommend a good, effective enzyme cleaner for real hardwood (not laminate) floors? Resource for it/them?
Thanx for any and all suggestions!
Pat, we use Nature’s Secret Weapon (http://www.naturessecretweapon.com/). We have found that it’s better than any other, and we’ve tried many. It has a nice scent and seems to work well. I can’t speak about real hardwood floors though, we have wood floors but they were not well done to begin with and therefore I don’t worry too much about them. We occasionally have intruders come up on our porch at night and spray and for this I go out and spray the affected area and just let it dry naturally. Our indoor/outdoor cats no longer stop there to check it out or add there spray to the mix. If you are unsure about this product, call them. I actually talked to the owner of the company when I was in the market for only a black light. He talked me into trying his product and I’m really glad I did! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Good Luck!
I have two adolescent males who happen to be litter mates. They don’t really get on the counter (thought I’ve had other cats that did).
On occasion they get on the dining room table but oddly never when we’re eating. We also have two human boys so we’re always wiping things off anyway. The humans are much messier than the cats…just sayin. Our kitchen is tiny and we don’t spend much time in there sooo… the cats don’t either.
Bailey’s favorite spot is dead center of my desk. I often have to move my keyboard out of his way. I choose to allow this because I find his presence calming. He’s calm, I’m calm everybody’s happy.
His brother junior can generally be found on a chair near by. I feel like I have little furry body guards.
In my opinion nothing beats caring for litter mates. They have a playmate and generally will play with them not terrorize them. Litter mates have a whole different dynamic than two cats who just happen to be adopted by the same family.
I actually had to train my cats to use the counter when I feed them as I’m having hip replacement surgery in a few days and can’t bend over to feed them on the floor. It is so much easier and safer for me to feed them on the counter. Thankfully, I have one long counter that I’ve only used as a “catch all” counter and it’s not really near any food areas. I wash off the counter after they are done eating since they sometimes drop small pieces of their canned food. I live alone and this is the best way for me to take care of myself. Now, however, when I can bend again, I may have to revisit feeding them on the counter, but for now, it is not a big deal and a great help to me.
@Rebecca – give your cats a selection of lettuces and veggies. It will fix the issues. Cats are carnivores but they love their veggies (and some fruits).
They’re all little foodies (in moderation) and when I’m making a salad or veggies, they all get little heaps – mine love butter lettuce and the organic rocket blend. I have one that loves apples – you just need to find what they like and ensure they get that. Apple boy doesn’t get apples more than once every six or so months – it’s his favorite treat, but lettuce/carrot/broccoli blends – they get all they want.
Try it. Corn, lettuces, etc – you’ll find what they like and you’ll all thank you for taking care of their palates and digestive systems.
I don’t mind cats being on the table. But they know they’re not allowed on it when we’re eating or when there’s food on it.
Where can I purchase a black light to check where my cats may be sprayihg?
Sharon,
We’ve bought two lights, one that stopped working almost immediately. Our second one is better. It was purchased from http://www.naturessecretweapon.com. I would highly recommend the Special Value Kit which contains the black light flashlight and a bottle of cleaner. We have found that Nature’s Secret Weapon cleaner is superior to any other (and we’ve tried many) and it smells wonderful. The cleaner is also listed as a stain remover but when I spoke the owner at Nature’s he could not recommend this for vomit stains (we have 8 cats so we have a lot of hair balls!). For vomit we use Nature’s Miracle which is made by a different company but is easy to find on-line. Good Luck!
Cheryl,
Thank you for this invaluable information. My Special Value Kit arrived in the mail today and I have already started to use the blacklight and cleaner. To my dismay there is a lot more spraying than we thought. The cleaner is working great and have more confidence that when our holiday guest arrived it will seem less like we share our home with five cats.
Thank you again,
Sharon
Sharon,
We found that the black light picks up more than just urine so look for the drips and puddling that comes with spraying. We’ve had some minor mold issues in our home and the light makes it glow, but since it’s not a drip pattern we simply ignore it. If you figure out how to make your cats happy and not spray let me know what you’ve done. We added two adult cats to our clan recently and one of the older boys is not happy about it. We suspect he is losing his place high on the ladder but don’t quite what else to do to help him understand that he has the same place in our hearts. Glad to help you!
Cheryl
Ok folks . . . NEW NEWS on the WHISKER & EYEBROW REMOVING!
My one “ALPHA MALE ” (who is pulling out his brother’s whiskers and and eyebrows) HAS RESORTED TO SOMETHING NEW! HE PEEDED A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF PEE SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR BED YESTERDAY (with a 100% COTTON GEORGIOUS IRREPLACEABLE $200.00 dollar Quilt & 100% cotton king sheets @ the tune of around $150.00 dollars a set!!)
We give BOTH brothers the SAME AMOUNT OF ATTENTION, LOVE, HUGS, and KISSES ETC . . . HELP!! these cats were EXTEMELY EXPENSIVE and I am actually considering taking the alpha to the pound! He is VERY LOVABLE, obedient and beautiful. He loves my husband and I as well as his bro . . . I DON’T UNDERSTAND! Can anyone help us???
My son and daughter in law had the SAME thing happen and they added a hormonal air dispersal product (Feliway is the brand) that they got at the vet. You get a solution bottle that wicks into the air, and it’s plugged into an outlet In the room to warm and disperse it. It addresses his anxiety, which was presumed to be a cause, once a bladder or urinary tract infection was ruled out. You still need to treat the bedding with an enzyme odor neutralizer. Problem alleviated. When my female started peeing outside the litter box, I added litter boxes and added this product on each floor of the house, and it brought the incidence down to almost never.
I wish Jackson would chime in on this one, but I don’t think he will. This is a difficult problem to solve, we know as we have a pisser too. Here are some things to try though (things that we are doing).
There is a product called Feliway that is a feline facial pheromone that you can buy as a diffuser and as a spray. I have been getting it from Amazon or Entirely Pets (entirelypets.com). We have two diffusers going all the time (they last about a month before refilling). We also spray areas that have been “attractive” to our spraying cat(s). The key is to spray at their level, near the floor. We’re also trying Jackson’s Safe Space for Cats — the jury is still out on this product.
You need to be sure to clean up any urine with a good product. We use Nature’s Secret Weapon (http://www.naturessecretweapon.com/). I would recommend their Special Value Kit which include cleaner concentrate and a blacklight flashlight. We have found this cleaner to superior to any other tried including the product that Jackson recommends.
You might try Jackson’s play sequence once or twice a day. We have not tried this yet.
Clearly, this cat is unhappy, at least that is what we think is the problem here. All of our cats (8) have access to the outdoors all day, most days, but are in at night and our main sprayer is still not happy. We think our main issue is one particular cat (who came with aggresion issues) and two new ones that were came as adults about a year ago. Bailey (the sprayer) is used to being the head of the household and he is being replaced by others. We’ve also tried antidepressants for him but it’s too expensive to keep going with this avenue(it has to be compounded), it works but it changes their overall behavior too.
I wish you luck and I also wish I could help you more as then we would have our problem solved too. This seems to be a BIG problem among cat guardians. Good Luck!
This happened to my granddaughter–the cat did the exact same thing. She solved the problem by washing an extra blanket used by her husband that he had set on the bed as a kind of extra pillow. OK, you may not have such a blanket or afghan laying on the bed, but there may be some kind of smell on it that is inspiring the behavior. Wash the covers with borateem or borax and a cap full of the new Crystals–smells awfully perfumey but does well at getting cat odors out of fabrics. Next time–don’t spend hundreds of bucks on bedding. I once wanted a Mercedes Benz… then I saw one with a smashed fender! Get your perspective. The more expensive something is, the more likely you will be told it has to be dry cleaned. You can also try re-training your cat(s). Put them in a small room until you are sure they are using the box. Then let them have an additional space in which to roam. Remember it takes once to learn a bad habit, seven (or more) repetitions to unlearn it. Be patient. You have time. Watch them closely to see exactly what they do–chances are, they will be following you around, just watching you and spending time near you.
As weird as it sounds, I used boxes (cereal or similar sized) and set them on their edge along the edge of my counters in the kitchen when I went to bed or was not going to be home. After a few a few weeks, I noticed Artie didn’t try jumping on the counters anymore, so I stopped using the boxes. He has not jumped on a counter ever since then. Not in the kitchen, not in the bathroom, not anywhwere. And that was three years ago. Of course, he may jump on counters now when no one is around, but I never notice any of his cat hair on the counters, so I’m assuming he doesn’t. He’s a smart cookie!
lucy eats paper she has been mad since i brought my last 2 rescue cats in. i couldnt find them homes… we are at 12 cats in the house all spayed n nuetered however lucy never did care for other cats wont play with them and when one wants to play with her she gets really mean. also she only plays with me will not play with adult cats. and yes she always liked rescue kittens does not like adult cats!!!.kitten grew up now she hates him.
I wrote before but without a reply. But I persist. Like my kitties. Two cats taken from a feral colony, that my sister feeds, when they had just been weaned, about 5 weeks old. Zena sits on the kitchen counter, on the edge of the sink. She stays there as long as an hour at a time. This is annoying when trying to make dinner, or lunch or anytime. When the water is turned on, she attempts to catch it with her paw and/or sticks her head under the stream to drink from it. We keep the counter free of food and dishes. We wipe it down when she has been there. As you have already surmised, water doesn’t bother her. Air blaster spurts of air amuse her. The coins in a can routine she ignores. Same for her sister, Maggie. I am puzzled as to why she has steadfastly continued to do this after months. Both of the girls are curious explorers. Anything I touch invites them to examine it. I know this is in their DNA structure and important for survival, especially for a feral cat. I also believe that this is a trait that can become a genetic fact after only one generation due to epigenetic factors. But for most things, she eventually gets bored and will leave off if I indicate that it is not what I want her to do. I indicate it by repeatedly removing her from the edge of the sink; sometime putting her on another spot of the counter from whence she can climb up on the cupboards. But she returns to the sink for her vigil.
Do you have any ideas about this?
Geoffrey 508-872-8751 zeno@empire.net
Geoffrey, My advice is to get a camera and start getting some really fun shots of these girls, they sound amazing! Honestly though, it is my belief that some cats are going to do what they want to do regardless of what you try to do to keep them from it. I have two and sometimes three that help me with dinner each night. If there is milk involved I have a crowd (we have 8 cats!), so I provide a sip for anyone that wants it and set it on the floor or away from where I am cooking. That usually satisfies them. When I first had Bailey (one of our most intelligent cats) I tried over and over putting him down on the floor but he kept on coming back. I finally just gave up and decided to get over it. This is what has provided peace in our family. It’s a cats world, we just live in it!
Thank you for your reply. I do have a camera but these girls are A). Camera shy and B). Know when Im going to take pictures and vanish. C). i too am crafty and have managed to take many interesting, funny and also blurred pics. Trying to understand why the sink is so fascinating to them that is my question.
Geoffrey
I have a cat that also loves to shower in my kitchen sink…here’s a thought. Get a pet water fountain. I have 3 of them along with 2 regular water bowls. My shower kitty now can regularly stick his head in the water fountain to drink, the others like to wash their paws, I have eleven in all, all rescues, and then lick their paws. They seem to have learned this from an elder named Amos. Harley is the hairball that likes to bathe in it. This may or may not help but it couldn’t hurt. Cats are drawn to water and they love fresh water, this may be why Zena is sitting there waiting to it to be turned on????
Jackson, thanks for supporting the idea of cats on the counter. I have 2 cats. one never tries to get on the counter. the other one always wants to be on the counter. he goes there for the third reason that you didn’t present in the video: he wants to be near me. how could I not want to let him stay? I’m working on the concept of “your side, my side” with him. so he can stay on his side while I’m doing whatever I’m doing on mine. he’s not that interested in people food so he’s not there for a treat. the only time that is different is when I’m preparing his food. then I insist he stay on his little box next to the counter and wait patiently, which he is usually very good at. my friends criticize me for allowing my cats to have the run of the house, but the cats seem to be pretty happy so why would I want to change our harmonious lives? I’m going to quote you in support of counter surfing. thanks.
We have 2 older cats and just rescued a 6 month old kitten before the holidays. He is now around 9 months give or take. He has just started with the counter problem. It’s mainly when we are cooking. He will also dive bomb your plate while your eating. It has become such a hassel. I worry that he’s going to eat something and get sick. I tried Pet Block he licked it off the cabinets. He loves water. Sticky Paws worked for a week and then he figured how to get around it. Scatttt went off on the older cats and when the can was empty the kitten was back to his old tricks. Like he’s laughing at us. We now have gotten the sonic mat which was recommened by my coworker. My husband says if it doesn’t work we are just going to have to give him back to the rescue.
Patience is the key word here. You may never get him totally trained to stay off the counters, I sure haven’t and we have 8, six of which get on the counter. I offer a small serving of canned cat food in the evening as a reward for coming into the house (we’re indoor/outdoor here) and I usually have several cats trying to get at the treat before it’s all served up. I keep pushing them back and saying “no” (not shouting) because the rule here is you have to wait until all bowls are dished up. They know the rule and continue to try anad break it! No point in getting mad, they’re kind of like kids where they keep pushing the limits. During your meals you might try putting him in another room so he’s not into your plates. While cooking I will sometimes offer a taste of milk or meat juice which will sate them and they will know that there is no more treats. It takes time. Cats are all different and independent. Good luck, I really hope you don’t give up.
I have two kittens I rescued from a feral colony. They also love to jump on the kitchen counter, watch the water from the faucet, try to get on the table when we are eating. I got kitchen disinfectant wipes and wipe the counter after they are on it. I give them treats for getting off and also distract them while my wife cooks dinner.
When we have dinner, the kittens were put in the bedroom until we finished. However now, after much talking and indicating with them, they understand we dont want them there at that time and they will no longer do it. It was a matter of communication. It’s also an issue with the natural, built-in curiousity of kittens. Having that urge is how they learn about the world when they can’t read the manual. It is vital that they exercise that urge. It also is challenging to human caregivers but please find an answer instead of giving up your kitten. You chose him or her for good reasons; this is one of the stages that cats and humans go through and its our job as parents/companions to work through the attendent problems. There may be other events which will challenge you in this kittens life; how would you react to those things like illness or accident? There’s also the fact that this can be a delightful time if you don’t allow yourself to get upset.
Geoffrey
A well-worded reply!
Thank you, Geoffrey!
hi .. i have trouble with my cats. they like to eat from any garbage container in my neighbourhood, although i have feed them regularly. they just like to do that because it’s open (some container cannot be closed). so, how can i stop them to eat that garbage? thanks .,
suu,
the only way you’re going to get your furry kids to stop eating from the neighborhood trash is to keep them indoors. it would be far safer for the little guys, because you never know what people have tossed out that may either kill them, or make them sick.
as for the counters… i only scold my kitties when i actually catch them and don’t want them up on the counters, and usually all that I have to do is say ‘down’ or ‘off’ and they will get down and that will be the end of it until the next time something catches their curiosity and we play that all over again, or not. it really sucks when my cat got up on the counter and helped himself to what he thought was his own personal buffet as the rest of the family ate dinner. it didn’t happen often, but all it took was one trip through the five-cheese macaroni and cheese buffet line to make him horribly sick all over the house.. and the poor thing was corked up for days and when he finally was able to get the remains of the buffet out of his little derriere, he ran from the bathroom like the stink was chasing him.
IMO, a cat that is kept indoors-only is less at-risk for disease, and injury; and as an added bonus, they can’t do midnight snack raids on the neighbor’s garbage. Eating from the garbage no doubt has risk of food-borne illness (samonella? food poisoning?) and injury (sharp can lids? broken glass?). Kitties can be happy indoors-only if they are well-exercised, have access to a window, and lots of fun, interactive play.
Does any one ever hear of training your cat to stay off of the counter. If one does not teach the animal anything they do not learn. When your cat goes on the counter, and you catch them slap your hand on the counter hard and say NO!! loud. And plus hit them on the butt, NOT hard to hurt them just a tap. they get the hint. I have never had a cat that did that. And I will not have it. I could put food on my counter and MY two cats never went up there. I had a crock pot full of chicken soup they never touched it. They knew. Plus always have some place where they can look out the window.. yes Jackson is right we put our food up there and prepare our food on there. I see in his house as in most the cat runs the house not him. The are the alpha, he for sure is not. I will never have an out of control cat. I rule the house not an animal.
I have 2 cats. I feed Jaxson his wet food on the counter so Louie doesn’t eat it. Louie is huge, Jax is small. Louie has just realized he can jump on the counter and is now eating all of Jax’s food. Any suggestions ?
My suggestion / idea would be to put Louie in his kennel or a bathroom / separate room while Jax is eating.
The problem with that is that Jax is a grazer and eats little bits throughout a long period of time. Every option I can come up with feels like it is punishing Jax, which is not right.