Kitty on counter... Any clever ideas?

[Hailey:Bongo]

Bongo lately has been very rambunctious, I've been spending more time playing with him to try and calm him down which is slightly helping. But my problem is every time I turn around he's on the kitchen counter! He never stays long enough for me to spray him with water and I'm just at a loss. I even covered the counter with some plastic wrap thinking he wouldn't want to be up there if the surface wasn't smooth and cool but I came home to it destroyed in our floor. It's becoming a big problem: glasses being broken in the floor, which isn't safe for him or us.
Any ideas are welcome!
Thanks!


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[grrawritsjordi]

Unfortunately, unless you can watch him 24/7 he will get on the counter if he wants to. You can buy those little spritzers that go off every few minutes, which might detour him, but if he is a curious kitty, that might end up on the floor, too. We have been very lenient about letting the kits on the counters, so I am not much help...

The only advice I can give you is to make sure the counters aren't appealing to him. Don't leave anything that looks like it could be fun on there.

We had a brand new loaf of bread on the counter and I woke up the next morning and Ziggy had eaten a hole right through the bag and into the bread. We put our bread in the cupboard now, and I try to keep as much stuff as possible off.

Every once in a while I will spray them if they are messing with stuff, but you are really fighting a losing battle here.

[marie73]

If you search "counter" on this forum, you'll find most of us feel it's a losing battle. I pick my battles with my girls, and this isn't one of them. Bongo isn't being a brat, cats just love being up high. My advice: keep your counters boring (safe) and wipe them down before you use them.

I left some bread on my counter a few minutes ago and as soon as I walked back in the kitchen, I knew there would be holes chewed right in the middle of the plastic and chunks of bread would be missing.

Not naming names (CLEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but it was my fault.

[grrawritsjordi]

Originally Posted by marie73

If you search "counter" on this forum, you'll find most of us feel it's a losing battle. I pick my battles with my girls, and this isn't one of them. Bongo isn't being a brat, cats just love being up high. My advice: keep your counters boring (safe) and wipe them down before you use them.

I left some bread on my counter a few minutes ago and as soon as I walked back in the kitchen, I knew there would be holes chewed right in the middle of the plastic and chunks of bread would be missing.

Not naming names (CLEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), but it was my fault.

Cleo and Ziggy must be in on this together. I need to check my phone bill for any San Diego numbers. Ziggy has torn into a loaf of bread twice.

[marie73]

I don't understand it, ever since I moved, she's food obsessed.

[Hailey:Bongo]

Fortunately I keep the bread out of his reach. I've finally given in to letting him have the coffee table. I have to clean it off every night before bed; I'm not giving into the counter. Not yet anyway.


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[3gatos]

I do not allow my cats on the counter. My older guy would sneak up there and I would just hear a big 'thud' when he was getting down. Only saw him up there once or twice tho. I keep everything appetizing off of the counter. Lately nothing has been touched up there, so they are allowed to stay out. For years I would lock them in my bedroom when I was gone as that seemed to be the time they would get away with murder. Just rattle the treat jar and they would go zooming into the room, it was pretty easy
I did this for about 6ish years.

[3furbabies]

You can "train" a cat not to go on the counter when you are around but as soon as you turn around, it's likely your kitty will jump on there. After much time I finally got mine off the counters... So I thought. A few times I came home and found them frozen on the counter looking for food with a deer in the head lights look and they jumped down as soon as they saw me.


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[kayla baxter]

Scat mats. If introduced properly they won't associate the feeling with the mat itself, but the act of landing on the counter.


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[rightsaidfed]

Lysol wipes are your new best friend. Wipe down before prepping or eating food. Don't keep anything edible or dangerous out on the counter. Remove him when you see him. Don't get too stressed about what he does wen you're not there. This is my best advice for keeping sanity.

On the plus side, I'm cleaning my counters and table more than I ever was before.


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