My human Jeff and I have heard all sorts of stereotypes about training cats. Most people think it can’t be done! But this simply isn’t true. It is possible to train your furry friend to not jump on the counter. There are a few best practices for doing this that will allow for you to keep your special bond with your kitty while changing its negative behavior.
Cats love being on high surfaces because we like to have a full view of our “territory.” Sometimes we also might be trying to get away from other pets or even tiny humans. Cats usually don’t break things, because we are graceful in our movements. Even when jumping somewhere shockingly high, we will rarely make a mess. However, there are still some reasons why pet parents might want to keep their cats off areas such as kitchen counters.
How to Keep Cats Off Kitchen Counters
There are quite a few things you can do to train your kitty to not jump on counters in a kind and loving way. Cats don’t respond well to negative reinforcement, so it’s important to find alternative methods to change our ways. The first thing to evaluate is why your cat might want to jump on the counter:
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Maybe your fur baby is hungry and is trying to see what you are preparing. It can be helpful to change your cat’s feeding schedule if they are getting hungry when you are cooking. They will be less likely to inspect your food if they are full and satisfied.
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Another reason why your kitty might want to jump on the counter is to drink out of the faucet. If you have a leaky faucet, you may want to consider getting it repaired to prevent temptations. It’s also very important to keep your sink nice and tidy because your fur baby might be interested in whatever leftovers are on your dishes. These are our natural instincts; we can’t help it!
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Another important thing to keep clean is the counters themselves. If there are a bunch of interesting objects on the counter, we are going to want to inspect them! Cats are curious creatures and want to survey their environments often.
A great way to deter your kitty from jumping on counters is to provide a place where they can climb nearby. This can be a scratcher or a cat tree! As an extra bonus, if you sprinkle some catnip on said tree, your kitty will be even more likely to choose it over the counter. If you would like to read more about the benefits and uses of catnip see our blog post about it here.
Cat Counter Deterrent
In addition to behavioral methods, there are some physical changes you can make to your counters that will discourage your fur baby from wanting to jump on them:
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The first tip is to use citrus or peppermint scented cleaners on your counters. We really hate both of these scents and will likely not want to be anywhere near it.
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Another thing you can do is put something along the edges of the counter or on the counter itself. Cats can be pretty particular and don’t like the feeling of some materials. Some cat parents suggest putting double-sided sticky tape on the edges of your counters. This will prevent us from wanting to be on the counters because we simply don’t like the feeling. You can also use aluminum foil, plastic wrap, and sandpaper. All cats are different, of course, so not every material is going to work the same for each cat. Trying a few options is a good way to see which method is best for your furry friend.
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You can also purchase repellents to use as a training aid. This usually comes in a spray form and can be used wherever you would rather not have your kitty be. You can get one at some form of this at pet supply stores. Here’s a link to one from Chewy.
All of us cats are very different in our temperament, likes, dislikes, and behavior. Some of these methods might take some trial and error on your part.
Like I mentioned before, cats can sometimes get a bad rep in regards to training. But for the most part, we want to please our humans and maintain a positive relationship with them. By trying some of these tips provided here, I think you will have great success in keeping your furry friend off the counter. We’re not purrfect, nobody is, so be patient with us. If you take a leap of faith on us, we will most likely stop leaping on the counter.