Is Your Kitty a Countertop Hopper? Here is How To Maintain Cats Off Counters

My cat Richie is a countertop hopper extraordinaire. The truth is, I’d wager he spends as a lot time on the counter or kitchen desk as he does on the numerous cat bushes and scratching posts in my home. Through the years, I’ve tried all kinds of issues to maintain my cat off counters and different surfaces. Aluminum foil, air-puffers, new and weird cat furnishings: if an skilled recommends it, we’ve tried it.

On this publish, we’ll share a number of the hottest strategies to maintain cats off counters. However first, we’ll take a look at why cats soar on the counter within the first place. Learn on to unravel the thriller of the counter-hopping cat!

Why Do Cats Leap on the Counter?

Climbing is a pure expression of your cat’s instincts. In keeping with VCA Animal Hospitals, cats might climb to hunt increased floor after they really feel stressed: “Excessive vantage factors enable your cat to look at the world from a spot of security and escape if it feels the necessity to take action.” In case your cat appears nervous after they hop on the counter, it could be time to discover what may be stressing them out.

However, some cats soar on the counter just because they’ll, and it feels good! Felines are bodily constructed for climbing, with springy again haunches and claws constructed for pulling them up bushes, hillsides, and different surfaces within the wild. In an interview with WebMD, veterinarian Dr. Aimee Simpson explains, “Cats have giant muscle tissues of their hind limbs that enable them to increase and lengthen, and a versatile backbone with shock-absorbing discs for a sleek touchdown.” Stretching, reaching, and leaping onto the countertop could also be an expression of your kitty’s athleticism.

However all that doesn’t clarify why some cats want counter tops to cat bushes and different surfaces. It’s doable your cat jumps on the counter out of plain outdated curiosity. My cat Richie has at all times been obsessive about human meals, and I usually discover him on the countertop making an attempt to scrub up a grimy dish or nibble a chunk of fruit ripening on the windowsill. He’s not making an attempt to be “naughty,” he’s simply being his quirky, curious self.

iStock/Natalya Vilman

How Do I Cease My Cat From Leaping on the Desk (or Countertop, or Kitchen Desk…)?

One of many first steps to protecting your cat off the counter is to make the counters much less interesting to them. Consultants on the Anti-Cruelty Society clarify, “as accountable pet homeowners, we need to give our pets the very best likelihood doable to behave properly.” Meaning setting them up for fulfillment by eradicating the temptation to leap up within the first place.

For some cats, which means cleansing up meals scraps earlier than your kitty can sniff them out, putting in child-proof latches to maintain them out of cabinets, and (ugh) doing the dishes in a well timed method. Puzzle feeders and lick mats are useful instruments to redirect your kitty’s food-seeking conduct.

In case your cat is extra pushed by curiosity than starvation, then it’s good to offer various elevated areas they’ll discover. Cat bushes, window perches, and wall-mounted cabinets are all nice choices. The truth is, for the extra-curious cat you may need to present all three!

Take a look at these posts for ideas of cat furnishings to maintain your climber completely happy:

1. High Cat Furnishings for House Dwellers

2. 19 Fashionable Cat Bushes to Purchase Instantly

3. Your Kitty Will Cuddle Up Into These Cozy Cat Hammocks

Does Aluminum Foil Maintain Cats Off Counters?

Writer’s cat, Richie, on the kitchen counter

Some of the frequent “house cures” for counterhopping is placing aluminum foil on the counter tops. Frequent knowledge says that kitties don’t like the feeling of foil beneath their toes, and can keep away from surfaces because of this. In actuality, your expertise might differ. My cats have mastered the artwork of knocking foil sheets out of the way in which, however some individuals have nice success with the foil trick!

Masking the counter with an disagreeable materials is typically known as “booby trapping” your cat. As defined on this article from VCA Animal Hospitals, “booby trapping” can deter cats from undesirable conduct. The thought is to make the floor disagreeable for them to stroll on, which can hopefully make them discover alternate spots (like that lovely cat tree you bought them). Foil is just one choice; I’ve additionally used plastic carpet runners (with the nubby aspect up), plastic sheeting, and double-sided tape to maintain my kitties off the counter. You may also strive organising stacks of cans or different light-weight gadgets that can make noise when knocked over, though some cats get pleasure from this type of impediment course!

What Scent Will Maintain Cats Away?

If altering the floor doesn’t work to your cat, you may surprise if there’s a scent that can preserve them off of the counter. There are merchandise that use pheromones to appease and deter kitties, such because the Sentry Cease That! Spray, the concept being that the pheromone scent will deter cats from a floor.

Cat-safe pheromone sprays don’t harm, however they do must be used accurately to show cats to redirect their curiosity. Consider them as a instrument, not a punishment. Because the Anti-Cruelty Society explains, “Using bodily punishment will NOT assist in coaching your feline good friend, however moderately will make her worry you…keep away from yelling at, hitting, or spraying your cat with water.” To keep away from your cat forming fearful associations with you, you may strive a motion-activated air blower. Merchandise like Ssscat shoot a cat-safe blast of unscented air when kitties cross their paths. These is usually a helpful “booby entice” deterrent, though Richie shortly discovered to easily stroll round them in his quest to achieve the countertop.

My favourite scent-based deterrent is the Feliway pheromone diffuser, which releases a relaxing scent (just about undetectable to people) which will soothe kitties who climb out of tension.

Be Persistent and Present Options

Cats love to leap and discover. It’s merely of their nature to rise up excessive! Typically, one of the best ways to maintain your cat off the countertop is to verify they’ve entry to alternate surfaces. In case your kitty prefers the countertop to the cat tree, it could take a while to coach them to redirect to a different floor. Be affected person, and do not forget that your cat is simply being a cat Within the meantime, make sure to have a very good non-toxic cleaner readily available to wipe up these paw prints!

Additional Studying