We all know that cats love elevated places. For many homes, the highest place that your cat can jump to is the kitchen counter or table. These spaces become particularly tempting when the cat finds food hidden there. Of course, this means that we’re constantly chasing our cats away from our lunch, and re-cleaning countertops.
If you’re frustrated with your cat constantly spending time atop your counter, try following these tips.
1. Make Sure Counters are Unrewarding
Make sure that you keep your counters clear of food at all times. If your kitty jumps up and finds nothing to reward him on the top of your elevated surface, they’ll be less likely to keep up the search. You can also use double-sided tape on the back of cheap plastic placemats to create a sensation that cats don’t enjoy. Don’t worry – it’s painless, it’ll just make your cat think twice about jumping up again.
2. Don’t Punish your Cat
Cats don’t respond well to being punished. Instead of learning their mistake, most kitties just become frightened and struggle to make the connection between their punishment, and their behavior. If you have multiple cats, punishment can also startle other cats, leading to nervousness, or aggression.
Related: Should Your Cats Sleep With You?
3. Reward Good Behavior
Instead of trying to punish bad behavior, try rewarding good behavior. For instance, provide your cat with a tall scratching post that he can climb, and reward him when he spends time there, instead of jumping onto the counter. Animals repeat activities that benefit them, so making the right behavior rewarding for your cat is always a good idea.
4. Play with your Cat
Sometimes, cats jump up onto counters and misbehave for no reason other than that they’re bored. Playing with your kitty throughout the day will mean that he or she has an opportunity to get rid of some excess energy.
Affiliate links included below. Thanks for your support!
5. Confine your Cat
Finally, if nothing you do stops your cat from jumping on the counters, then your best bet might be to lock him or her in a cat-proofed room during mealtime. Make sure that the room has a litter box, bed, toys, food, and water to keep your cat happy while you’re eating, and let him out as soon as you’ve finished preparing and enjoying your meal.
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, on our Facebook Page, Follow Our Twitter Account or Head Over To Our Pinterest Page!
These are all awesome ways to train cats. My friend has a cat who goes anywhere it wants. I need to send this to her.
This will never work. I had loads of cats in the past and when you teach them not to do something, they wont do it in front of you, but the moment your back is turned, they are sleeping on the counters. 😛
These are all awesome ways to train cats. My friend has a cat who goes anywhere it wants. I need to send this to her.
My Mom and Grandma have cats and have taught them to stay off the counters. It can work! Great tips!
This will never work. I had loads of cats in the past and when you teach them not to do something, they wont do it in front of you, but the moment your back is turned, they are sleeping on the counters. 😛
My Mom and Grandma have cats and have taught them to stay off the counters. It can work! Great tips!
I am excited to give this a try. I have two cats that just do not seem to get that they are not allowed to go on the counters.
I am excited to give this a try. I have two cats that just do not seem to get that they are not allowed to go on the counters.
I have had cats for all of my life. Since moving out on my own I have only ever had one that dared go on the counter, all of the others know better. Cats are very smart.
I agree, they’re not like dogs and would never take punishment well. These are great ideas for cat owners like me! Thanks for the helpful tips!
I’ve never adopted a cat before but I’d love to keep this in mind in case we decide to! I think cats are really awesome pets but just like any pet, we need to address their behavior with something that they’ll understand.
I don’t own a cat. Pretty useful tips. Any tips on how to keep cats off my backyard?
You could put pepper (not the vegetable) down, they don’t like it and will move away if they notice they tend to sneeze a lot. There are electronic devices that emit a sound that humans do not hear. Also, if you put down tiger or lion pee ( you can get it on Amazon, called Lion’s Roar) they will think you have a bigger cat and will most likely go away. However, cats are very intelligent some more than others. They tend to watch from afar and if they see that you do not have a lion or tiger they might still venture into your garden or yard.
I am not a cat person, but i would share these tips with my friends who are keeping cats.
Ooh. Punishing my cat is my first reaction. I sure need to change that. I love all your tips.
I have had cats for all of my life. Since moving out on my own I have only ever had one that dared go on the counter, all of the others know better. Cats are very smart.
I agree, they’re not like dogs and would never take punishment well. These are great ideas for cat owners like me! Thanks for the helpful tips!
I’ve never adopted a cat before but I’d love to keep this in mind in case we decide to! I think cats are really awesome pets but just like any pet, we need to address their behavior with something that they’ll understand.
I am not into cats but this is such nice tips. I need to send this to my friend who is a cat lover. She owns I think around five cats and this will definitely help her a lot.
I don’t own a cat. Pretty useful tips. Any tips on how to keep cats off my backyard?
I am not a cat person, but i would share these tips with my friends who are keeping cats.
Ooh. Punishing my cat is my first reaction. I sure need to change that. I love all your tips.
These are all great tips to keep your cat off the counters. If they have nothing rewarding to find up there they may stop going up there. The last resort would be to put the cat in a room while you are eating. Thanks for sharing the tips. I will have to share this with my brother who has a cat.
I am not into cats but this is such nice tips. I need to send this to my friend who is a cat lover. She owns I think around five cats and this will definitely help her a lot.
These are all great tips to keep your cat off the counters. If they have nothing rewarding to find up there they may stop going up there. The last resort would be to put the cat in a room while you are eating. Thanks for sharing the tips. I will have to share this with my brother who has a cat.
I know this is a struggle for a lot of people we know that have cats. I have two dogs so this is never a problem with us, they would knock everything down if they got on the counter! Great info for cat owners!
I know this is a struggle for a lot of people we know that have cats. I have two dogs so this is never a problem with us, they would knock everything down if they got on the counter! Great info for cat owners!
I don’t have cats but I have family that does. This looks like it would be so useful.
I don’t have cats but I have family that does. This looks like it would be so useful.