5 Simple Tips To Keep Cats Off Counters

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The kitchen counter is amongst the foremost hazardous places in our home, where we keep food, sharp objects, store electrical appliances, and cook meals on a hot stove.

Our cats are instinctively drawn to high places because of their innate climbing and agile nature. Cats feel most safe and secure when spotting, resting, and sleeping from high observation points.

Cats, likewise, are inquisitive and opportunistic feeders. Kitties that are highly motivated by food will find the counter extremely tempting proving too hard to resist when food or crumbs left in plain sight.

Though it may drive us crazy and unhygienic, from our feline’s point of view, it’s a natural behaviour to leap or climb places that are considered off-limits to us.

If you decide your cat isn’t allowed on benches or tables, the counter must become a surface your moggie doesn’t want to explore.

How To Keep Cats Off Of Counters?

There are several ways to keep your cat from jumping on counters, including providing elevated platforms for them to use instead.

Follow these guidelines to prevent and manage counter jumping behaviour with the use of training and alternative solutions.

1. Aim High In The Kitchen

Place a perch on the kitchen window or let your cat sit on top of the pantry cupboards by stepping on and off the refrigerator. Sviatlana Yankouskaya / Shutterstock.com

Cats love being near us. Sitting on the kitchen counter puts them at an identical level as their human. As an alternative, offer your feline companion a high viewing platform nearby, like a cat tower or top of the refrigerator – voted by cats as “most well-liked kitchenette spot”.

Counter cruising is similarly popular in homes where windows are positioned near worktops, since bird watching is a cat’s beloved pastime. Place a perch on the kitchen window or let your cat sit on top of the pantry cupboards by stepping on and off the refrigerator. If your cat is getting on the worktop to access the window, cover the glass with a blind or window film.

2. Keep Food Out Of Sight

Keeping food out of sight will help to keep food-motivated cats off of the counter.

Regardless of whether food is provided by humans, cats are generalist, resourceful feeders, attracted to food found in novel locations. They will scavenge for scraps off kitchen counters, eat from bowls, steal food out of bins, and lounge in warm spots close to the stove in the hope of getting a treat.

Being an obligate carnivore, feed your cat species appropriate diet in small frequent amounts away from counters and don’t leave meat or grub unattended on bench-tops, especially when you are gone from home.

Provide puzzle feeders and eating stations throughout the house. Store food in the fridge and cupboards to avoid foraging.

Also Read: The 10 Best Cat Slow Feeders

3. Counter Surfing Training

Training your cat to go to a mat or stool on command will help them to stop using the counter.

 The most efficient way to prevent counter-surfing is to modify your cat’s behaviour with the use of clicker training. There are three primary coaching steps to resolve counter surfing:

  • Train ‘go to mat’ or ‘sit on a stool’ behaviour outside the meal preparation environment. The mat or stool becomes a rewarding place additionally to sitting on a higher stool and is an alternate to leaping on kitchen counters.
  • Slowly approximate to reality scenario with few distractions.
  • Reinforce the behaviour at a high rate in real-life context with as many repetitions as possible.

4. Design A Stimulating And Exploratory Vertical Environment

By giving your cats an environment with plenty of outlets for their climbing and exploratory instincts, you can reduce their desire to jump on the counter.

Provide your cat with appropriate vertical options for climbing, scratching and resting by creating an exploratory environment. Cat trees and furniture is a massive hit, although can be expensive.

  • Create tall resting areas indoors with shelves, cabinets, desks, dressers, chairs and wardrobes. Place a comfy bed or blanket in the spot and regularly leave treats or catnip to entice your kitty.
  • A window shelf or window-mounted bed will provide endless stimulation and a resting place for one or multiple cats.
  • Build an outside cat enclosure. Place tree branches, cat-safe plants, water, cat-grass, shelves, DIY cat tree and hammock for your cat to perch while remaining out of reach of potential threats.
  • In multi-cat homes, set-up plenty of towering sleeping spots to extend territory therefore the cats don’t feel in competition for resources and use the countertop.
  • If your cat must share a room together with your beloved canine, they will be more inclined to avoid the ground and aim high. Set up lookout points and cuddlers on top of bookshelves.
  • Elevated resting areas can range from a few inches off the bottom to the ceiling. A cushion on the floor, cardboard castle or a small cat tree is also an acceptable height for cats with arthritis or affected by blindness.

5. Deterrents

Deter your cat from climbing areas that you want to keep off-limits.

Deter your cat from climbing areas that you want to keep off-limits. Possible deterrents include:

  • Double-sided tape: cats dislike walking on gluey surfaces.
  • Aluminium trays filled with a bit of water: some cats have an aversion to water whilst others don’t mind stepping in wet areas.
  • Carpet runners or mats with spiky nubs face-up: cats don’t like walking on prickly surfaces.
  • Partly cover baking sheets or long pieces of cardboard along the edge of the counter where the cat jumps to make the surface unstable. You can add empty tin cans on the side to make noise when it falls off the countertop.
  • PetSafe SSSCAT Spray Deterrent detects pet movement and releases a burst of unscented mist within a radius of 1 meter. Sprays work fast, so they are not recommended to be used around skittish or nervous cats. A nervous cat may become frightened and averse to specific rooms or scared to manoeuvre around the remainder of the house.

Read More: Best Invisible Fences For Cats Reviewed

Do NOT use a squirt water gun, since it only teaches your feline to run away when you pick up the sprayer and return once you’re gone.

Additionally, some cats don’t mind the spray and it does not work as a deterrent. Once your cat is consistently using the allocated skyscraper or stationary position, remove the deterrent!

Conclusion

With the right training and environmental changes, you and your cat can comfortably share the kitchen without dangerous or unhygienic counter-surfing.

It is important to grasp that cats love climbing and perching on high surfaces. They don’t just misbehave, they express instinctive behavior. They are not as cognitively advanced as humans, thinking in terms of right or wrong or acting out of spite.

Although they may seem annoying, they behave in a very coherent manner relative to their environment.

Reward your cat for what you wish him or her to try and do, not what you don’t want them to do. If all attempts fail, contact a countertop jumping detective – better referred to as a cat behaviorists.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I stop my cat from jumping on the counter?

Cats are highly intelligent! Although they know a particular spot is prohibited, kitty may avoid it when you’re nearby but will plant her paws on the surface as soon as you leave. To stop your cat from jumping on the counter, offer them suitable vertical choices or restrict access to the kitchen. Only use deterrents as a final resort.

How do you keep cats off counters and tables?

Help your cat display normal climbing behaviour while deterring them from bench tops and redirecting them to appropriate surfaces with the use of positive reinforcement, environmental enrichment, training, appropriate tower and outdoor stimulation.

Does aluminium foil keep cats off counters?

Aluminium foil may keep some cats off counters, however not the boisterous ones. Most cats don’t like the feel of aluminium foil or the sound it makes once they walk on it with their paws. Covering your counters with aluminium daily is impractical.

Why is my cat suddenly jumping on counters?

There could be several reasons why your cat is suddenly jumping on counters:

New pet – your cat may feel threatened when a brand-new pet enters the home. Scaling high helps them feel secure and avoid contact until introductions are complete.

Toddler addition – an infant may be a stressful and startling experience for a kitty. Practice gradual presentations in a controlled environment allowing the cat to feel in charge with a secure place to retreat to.

Hunger – a cat can become a ‘tiger’ if food is scarce. Put away all food leftovers, add cat puzzle feeders plus feed small frequent meals to avoid counter-scavenging.

Boredom – a bored cat will get up to mischief, ensure your feline companion has sufficient self-play toys, catnip and cardboard boxes to play with.

Thirst – the sink faucet may prove irresistible for a thirsty moggie, especially within the summer months or when faced with wellbeing changes. Early detection of increased water consumption is vital to prevent health issues.

View Sources
Cats.com uses high-quality, credible sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the claims in our articles. This content is regularly reviewed and updated for accuracy. Visit our About Us page to learn about our standards and meet our veterinary review board.
  1. Heath, I. R. (2016). Feline Behavioral Health and Welfare. St Louis, MO: Elsevier. Pg 49 - 63 Retrieved November 27, 2020

  2. Pryor, K. (2020, September). Train Your Cat. Waltham, Massachusetts, USA: Karen Pryor Academy. Retrieved November 28, 2020

  3. States, T. H. (2019). Guide to Cat Behavior Counseling. (HSUS, Compiler) Washington, United States. Retrieved November 25, 2020

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About Melina Grin

Melina discovered her passion for helping animals during her childhood. After working as a nurse in the veterinary field, she became interested in feline behaviour, bodywork therapies, and energy medicine. Melina has extensive experience dealing with cat behavioural and training issues, and she is highly skilled in nursing and rehabilitating her clients' beloved pets. She believes a holistic approach, considering both the pet and the guardian, is the best way to improve a pet's health and overall well-being. Melina is the proud founder and director of Pet Nurture, a Unique Mobile Animal Wellness Centre specializing in cats based in Sydney, Australia.

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3 thoughts on “5 Simple Tips To Keep Cats Off Counters”

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  1. Geoffrey Eargle

    This doesn’t help keep pets off counters, but there are fairly inexpensive insulating silicone covers that can be placed on a hot cooktop while it cools. These protect little kitty paws, and people from burns due to hot burners. They also serve to protect the stove surface when not in use, or can serve other purposes like dish drying pads.

    Reply
    1. Melina Grin Post author

      Hi Geoffrey

      Thank you for reading our article and for your feedback.

      Unfortunately, that won’t work for all cats, especially energetic cats or kittens who like striking items off counters and hot cooktops, which can be dangerous.

      Have a lovely day.
      Melina

  2. Geoffrey Eargle

    On my last post, regarding protecting kitties from getting burned on hot cooktops, I forgot to mention other suggestions I’ve found online. They mention putting a tea kettle or a pot with water in it on the hot burner until it cools.

    Reply