Everyone who has a velvet paw at home will know it: the cat jumps onto the kitchen counter. Keeping them away is not always easy, as we all know that house tigers have a mind of their own and the work surface in the kitchen is quite interesting. Unfortunately, having cat hair flying around where food is being prepared is not always hygienic.
If you’re trying to keep your cat away from the kitchen counter, it helps to understand why they’re jumping on it in the first place. In most cases it is pure curiosity – cats want to hear and see everything in their territory. When cat owners “up there” chop vegetables or prepare meat, this arouses the kitty’s interest. The faucet or the sound of running water can also be exciting. In some cases it is simply the good view from above that is responsible for the leap onto the desktop.
With Patience & Consistency
This tip can work but doesn’t have to. It depends on your cat’s personality whether or not you can keep them away from the kitchen counter with persistence. And this is how it works: If your sofa lion jumps onto the worktop or sink, always take it down and set it down friendly but firmly on the floor. At the same time, you give a clear and unequivocal “No”. If you’re lucky, your cat will internalize this and think twice about jumping or not. Important: Under no circumstances should you yell, swear wildly or display aggressive behavior – this will only make your cat afraid of you.
Conditioning With Sounds
Cats’ hearing is very sensitive, so you should never yell at your pet. However, if it is not too loud, unpleasant noises can be used for conditioning. For example, rustle a tin can you’ve previously placed a few coins in as soon as your cat jumps onto the counter – it’s guaranteed not to like the sound. Little by little your velvet paw will understand the connection between the kitchenette and the annoying tin crash and will keep its paws on the floor.
Conditioning With Water
A small squirt of water from the squirt bottle can have the same effect as the tin can trick. The principle is similar: whenever your cat jumps onto the countertop, give it a little squirt so it goes down and knows, “I’ll get wet up there, so I’d better stay away.” However, this method is not free from criticism.
Double-Sided Tape
The natural enemy of cat paws is a double-sided tape with only a light tack. If you outfit your kitchenette with this – say in the form of individual dots of duct tape – your kitty will likely avoid the terrain as she is uncomfortable putting her paws on the duct tape. Think of a good way to quickly shove the tape aside when you’re ready to work on the countertop. Maybe you can just stick the glue dots on the wall while you are busy.
Water Fountain as an Alternative
This trick will only work if you’ve observed your cat jump onto the countertop because she finds the faucet and running water interesting. As an alternative, you can simply offer her a drinking fountain – she can also drink directly from this, so you kill two birds with one stone.
Mary Allen
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