Just give up -- he wins. Sorry, but multi-cat households are laughing at you about this one The more you fight it the worse he'll get about it since he knows its an "off limits" thing. If you really want to stop him, remove EVERYTHING from the counter before you leave the kitchen. He'll soon figure out that there's nothing of interest up there.... but then again you run the risk of him deciding the clear counter space is a lovely spot to stretch out on

My guys can get up on the counters if they wanted to but they have no interest in doing so since there's nothing up there but the occasional dirty dish. I never, ever see them on the counters, with Abby being the only exception. I love seeing Abby on the counter by the window, which technically isn't a counter, but rather a storage cabinet. She sits there staring out the window all day looking like an Egyptian statue.