You Get Off The Counter!

[LittleblackMorgan]

Snowflake, I wish we could shut the door or something. But we opened the entire house up (before said cats were here).

I only meant to have one, but have 3. They are (were) my babies…and as of late, they’ve been rubbing me the wrong way. I dont know if its the heat, the belly or what, but I can’t stand anything being near me (with a pulse).

My female loves me and doesnt care for the boys or any other people. One boy is VERY athletic, borderline affectionate and can be a dink in that he’ll run up to you, nip you then run away (he did this to my nephew, who is 1 year old, hence him going to my mom’s for a while). The other one is overly affectionate, NOT athletic, very vocal and very needy. Prone to peeing when he feels his alpha-ness threatened.

All of mine are fantastic with the dog (except Manny, the biter. He LIKES the dog, but sometimes he slaps her across the face for no good reason. She doesn’t care, given that she is 75lbs, but he can instigate!).

[Snowflake]

My hairless cat can be overly affectionate and needy at times. I think it’s in their nature to be a bit annoying. I chalk it up to being part of their charm. And, given the opportunity, Scarlett will climb on the counters or the kitchen table.

Her new favorite hiding spot - on top of the fridge. I don’t know why, but of course she has to get on top of the stove to then get to the fridge. :no: When I can’t deal with it, she just goes in the bedroom side of the house and I shut the door.

[dalpal]

[QUOTE=paulaedwina;6348128]
Get used to it? My cats are all over the counters and I’m not dead yet :lol::lol::lol:.

Paula[/QUOTE]

Same here. :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

I feed mine on the counter to keep the dogs from eating the cat food.

[KateKat]

Try a couple cans of Sssscat. You can get it at Petco/Petsmart or online and its basically a can of compressed air that is on a motion sensor, so when the cat gets close it shoots out a fast puff (and a loud puff) of compressed air. It scares the bejebus out of my cats

[fivesocks]

Sounds exactly like my cats. They KNOW they shouldn’t be on the counters but they do it anyway. One cat even leaps from the counter, to the windowsill and up on the top of the cabinets. She does this right in front of me because she knows I can’t get her once she is up that high. They can get on top of the fridge too and they think that’s so cool.

The counter wasn’t an issue in my previous house, a very spacious 2 bedroom townhouse, but we are now in a small 1 bedroom apartment and I think they just have more energy to exert than the small confines of their habitat will allow, so they are climbers now But if they carry these habits over to our next house (hoping to buy a real house soon) I am SEROIUSLY considering shock collars that prevent them from entering the kitchen. I had a friend in college whose family cat was invisible fence trained to stay in their yard, so I have hope that it would work to block off the kitchen

[mvp]

[QUOTE=LittleblackMorgan;6348613]
I’m trying to bargain with them (here’s a big ass climby-thingie, stay off my granite!!). [/QUOTE]

Well… did you ask them if big-A climby thing was better than granite before you made the deal. Sounds kinda unilateral to me.

Oh, but I do think a cat that pisses out of rage one that or nips out of sneaky attempt even the power score… those guys can be trained. You prolly don’t want to do it.

I do think Fat Man (one of the Heroshima bombs was named this) will be pissed at new baby.

But when baby comes, you definitely need to keep the cats around. Maybe on the counter. You need to pay them more, too, because they will help create kiddo’s immune system. Priceless, don’t you think? Yessirreebob, keep 'em on the kitchen counter for maximum effect.

@fivesocks;6349403

Sounds exactly like my cats. They KNOW they shouldn’t be on the counters but they do it anyway.

Do you think there is a cat at a counter-jumping 12-step meeting somewhere talking about this right now?

"Guys… I had a slip. I mean, I didn’t walk in to the kitchen intending to get “counter drunk.”

But I thought, 'What could it hurt if I just thought about that ‘tall, cool one?’

Then I remembered how nice it felt the last time I was up high on the granite…

Then… then I don’t know what happened. It’s just so easy to jump up 3’, y’know?

And then ‘Boom!’ you are in a ‘black out’ on those dark counters.

It’s 6 hours later, a bright light is shined in your face and someone is carrying you roughly (without supporting the hind legs) and yelling.

Thanks for listening, you guys. Other cats in recovery are the only people who would understand."

[Big_Grey_hunter]

[QUOTE=mvp;6350509]

Do you think there is a cat at a counter-jumping 12-step meeting somewhere talking about this right now?

"Guys… I had a slip. I mean, I didn’t walk in to the kitchen intending to get “counter drunk.”

But I thought, 'What could it hurt if I just thought about that ‘tall, cool one?’

Then I remembered how nice it felt the last time I was up high on the granite…

Then… then I don’t know what happened. It’s just so easy to jump up 3’, y’know?

And then ‘Boom!’ you are in a ‘black out’ on those dark counters.

It’s 6 hours later, a bright light is shined in your face and someone is carrying you roughly (without supporting the hind legs) and yelling.

Thanks for listening, you guys. Other cats in recovery are the only people who would understand."[/QUOTE]

I think it goes something more like this:

"I was going for a stroll around my kitchen, when I decided to check out my counter. I effortlessly leapt onto the counter and graced it’s presence with my awesomeness. I was catching up on my beauty sleep when suddenly, the ugly two-leg shined a light directly into my face. Didn’t the stupid creature realize I was sleeping? To add insult to injury, it grabbed me and started yowling some nonsense about me being on ‘her’ counter. Maybe I should hire a trainer, I just can’t train the stupid thing to stop grabbing me and yelling. She almost seems to think she’s my boss! Maybe I’ll wake her up in the middle of the night again. You know what they say, “A tired human is a good human”’

[SmartAlex]

Why not just polish up those new granite tops, then spread a roll of kraft paper, or wax paper or even tin foil, down the counter? When they jump up on that’ they’ll likely slip and crash until they learn.

Or is that just sadistic?

[LittleblackMorgan]

Well I tried the tape. Heard something so I went to the kitchen and there is the female standing on the granite just past the tape. It did nothing.
They are going to be in the basement soon.

[darkmoonlady]

Dollar store contact paper the entire length of the counter and anchor it down (upside down sticky side up). No cat likes it and if they lay on they’ll only do it once…

[java]

Invisible fence… worked great! My one persistant kitty no longer goes on the counter.

[Paddys_Mom]

If it helps, I remember being totally disgusted by my dear pets in my later stages of pregnancy. The feeling does fade after a while.

My cats started trying to claim the counter.
I told my dog to “get the kitties!” which means he runs up to them and barks.
The dog figured out that I did this every time the cats were on the counter, and pretty soon he became the counter police on his own.
I would hear him bark and see a cat fleeing the counter.
Now they don’t bother trying.

Good luck!

[Tehzebra]

:lol: try this: My cat, Marley, knows how to open doors, cabinets, drawers, and toilet lids. My sister’s cat, Keba, is a counter jumper. Between the two of them, havoc ensues. Keba will get onto the bar stool, knock stuff off the countertops, take baby bottle parts off of the drying rack adn play hockey with them. Marley will get into the cabinets allowing Keba to gather more hockey pucks. They like to go into my mom’s bathroom and open her nightstand and steal her cough drops. They get into the drawer with the hair scrunchies. Marley likes people food so if you leave your plate unattended, you might find him in your chair taking a bite of your lasagna or lapping up your hot sauce… They like to chase the two dogs away from their food and the dogs stand there and watch them steal their food (despite having full bowls upstairs!) Keba likes to find water cups and knock them over (she’s a bengal cat… known for their love of water.) And Marley will open the toilet seat lids for Keba to play in. He is currently figuring out how to turn on the sink faucets. Thankfully Marley is the most tolerant loveable cat ever. Has all his claws and I have never gotten a scratch from him. Keba has only back claws and so much blood… <,< Marley once heard the baby fussing in his crib and hopped up onto the crib ledge to see what was going on but ended up falling backwards and has never tried it again. Though he will crawl up next to me and lick my 4 month old son’s hair while i’m holding him! MY son will grab his paws or tail and give him teh baby grip but he will just keep lickin and purrin away.

But if you find a good way to keep cats off the counter, I really would love to learn it as I hate tryign to find bottle parts or trying to read soaked papers…my sister isn’t in to the whole training thing and gets mad if I clap or yell at her cat to get out of the dogfood or off the counter… :no: They think foil is a toy…

[threedogpack]

[QUOTE=Tehzebra;6353488]
:lol: try this: My cat, Marley, knows how to open doors, cabinets, drawers, and toilet lids. My sister’s cat, Keba, is a counter jumper. Between the two of them, havoc ensues.[/QUOTE]

I think I hurt myself laughing so hard. These two are .exactly. the kind of cats I want! They would be so much fun to train!

[nasalberry]

Don’t know if this was mentioned, but get one of those heavy clear plastic/vinyl rug runner protectors. The ones that have the spikes on the underside to keep them from sliding around? Put upside down on counter - very uncomfortable to land on, springing from the floor and difficult to walk on.
:winkgrin:

[Tha_Ridge]

My parents’ cat is a counter cat. Dad hates it, mom doesn’t care, so it’s unlikely it will ever get fixed.

Funny story though: one afternoon, my dad made himself a turkey sandwich for lunch. He got distracted by a phone call or something and left said sandwich on the kitchen counter. He comes back and takes a bite of sandwich, but all the meat is gone. Just lettuce, mayo, and cheese. Yet the sandwich was perfectly intact. Cat is nearby, on countertop, cleaning herself after what I presume to be a delicious meal.

Oh, and she licks the butter too.

[candyappy]

My mom lets hers get on the counters as well!! I am wondering if they were getting on the counters before you got a new kitchen and you just couldn’t tell? Living at your parents and them having the freedom to get on the counters whenever they liked made it worse. Do they go outside at all? I think having a litter box makes it worse because they use it, then are on the counter… Our cat is out all night and comes in during the day to eat and sleep. He does not claw, get on counters or have the nasty litter box.

You are having a little one soon right? I would get rid of the litter box asap because small children eat some very weird things. Mine loved dog kibble and I don’t doubt they would have gotten in a litter box had we had one.

[candyappy]

[QUOTE=Paddys Mom;6351774]
If it helps, I remember being totally disgusted by my dear pets in my later stages of pregnancy. The feeling does fade after a while.

My cats started trying to claim the counter.
I told my dog to “get the kitties!” which means he runs up to them and barks.
The dog figured out that I did this every time the cats were on the counter, and pretty soon he became the counter police on his own.
I would hear him bark and see a cat fleeing the counter.
Now they don’t bother trying.

Good luck![/QUOTE]

EXCELLENT!! Great Dog!!

[mvp]

I like the electric fence idea.

Cats don’t like “mysterious forces” like electricity. They like plain old cause and effect, particularly the cause (the person) that they can see.

I like sending in a dog to do a woman’s work in this instance. A good time is had by all…except the cats.

But to go out and pay for that fugly spikey grandma rug covering plastic POS to-- get this-- put over the granite?

This is just what the cats want you to do. They’ll sleep on it and laugh at you.

[Tehzebra]

[QUOTE=threedogpack;6353499]
I think I hurt myself laughing so hard. These two are .exactly. the kind of cats I want! They would be so much fun to train![/QUOTE]

Oh they are a hoot but oh boy can they tick ya off! I’ve been trying to leash train my cat. Not going too well. He just figures things out all too well… tries to climb the blinds, knocks over picture frames, tries to climb the flimsy fake trees, tried to jump on top of the lamp once… oi. Broke my lamp trying to get onto the windowsill and totally wiped out onto my nightstand. He also knows his name so whenever you say his name as he is walking by he turns to you and mews. Every time I have bought kitty treats to attempt training, they get a bite of them and go crazy and dig em up and demolish the bag… all treats gone and the plastic bag torn to shreds. I have yet to hide them effectively rawr.