Advice needed before my boyfriend loses it!

[moosmom]

Aluminum foil with on the counters along with soda cans filled with pennies. They hate both sounds.

[katladyd]

Yep, aluminum foil works every time!

[Laura's Babies]

^Worked for me to keep them away from behind my computer desk too! ^

[kitten645]

I've tried foil and no dice. Some cats don't care. At the risk of cruelty accusations there are "scat pads" that deliver a mild shock when the stand on them. I do have a motion activated alarm that sounds when they jump but it's more on a sofa situation. Maybe you could spray the counter with a citrus smell. They are supposed to hate that though my foster ignored it. Just some suggestions...pics pleez? LOL

[kitten645]

PS My Calvin is the craziest kitty...I yell and shake a water bottle and spray but he runs for a second and comes RUNNING back to me. LOL! No fear. I guess that's a good thing that he knows I'd never hurt him. I think it's an attention issue...hmmm. did I mention another kitty? Distraction. Company?

[Catty1]

Cats hate the smell of vinegar and of cedar chips. Maybe put a few cedar chips into small bowls or baskets.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I really don't know what else to add here that would help you. I've pretty much given up and I let my cats walk on my counters on the sink side but I'm still trying to teach Blaze not to jump on top of my stove/oven area. Blaze is also fearless and I have to blow in his face to get him to run away from me. If I clap my hands and shout no, he'll just sit there. Now Alani is much more sensitive so if I clap my hands he's gone in a flash.

I also have the problem of both of them jumping and wanting to play in the litter boxes while I try to clean them. I've never seen two kittens that love to sleep or play in the litter boxes so much. Now I blow in Blaze's face and clap my hands at Alani and it seems to make them stay away for a little while. Oh the joy of having kittens again.LOL Good luck with keeping Jax off of the counters.

I also thought of this. Some cats hate the smell of mint so maybe you could spray something that smells minty on or around the counters. My cats hate the smell of toothpaste and mouthwash.

[Taz_Zoee]

I don't know about putting plastic stuff all along the kitchen counter. Although, I wonder if you can cut it and just lay it along the edge. It wouldn't have to be there permanently, right?

And what do you mean with the aluminum foil? Do what with it? Lay it out all over the counter? If that's the case, I don't think Bruce would go for that. But I could always suggest it if he wants him to stay off the counter.

I thought of the noisy soda can, but Taggart is so jumpy with loud sudden noises and so is Zoee sometimes. And honestly, I think after he learned it won't hurt him he wouldn't even care. I've gone up to him while he was on the counter yelling right in his face and blowing on him. He hardly moved. And when I say yelling, I just said OFF!

Thanks for the ideas!! Keep 'em coming.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Aluminum foil with on the counters along with soda cans filled with pennies. They hate both sounds.

My silly cats love aluminum foil!!! I've given up on keeping them off the counters. I've squirted them with water until they dripped. They love it.
I just lock them out of the kitchen and wipe down everything before I cook anything. They aren't allowed back in until all food is put away and dishes are done. Might not be the best solution but it works for us.

[Taz_Zoee]

It's not the dirty paws and food preparation that bothers me. It's just the idea of the cat up there where food is prepared in general. I don't know why. Maybe it's from growing up with no animals aloud in the house AT ALL. We never had animals in the house until my sister was an adult and brought home the min pin puppy. Now none of the animals live outside. Oh, except the horse.

I can't close the kitchen. There are no doors! LOL Like I said, I'm going to give these suggestions to Bruce and see what he thinks. Even if it doesn't keep him off the counter forever, it might just help while Bruce is in there working so he won't have to wrangle him all the time.

[Craftlady]

I have some feeding dishes placed on the kitchen counter (out of Coco's reach, he LOVES cat food, silly dog). They hop on everything, other counter and refrigerator top. I just clean off the surfaces with handy Clorox wipes when I am ready to prepare food. It would be a losing battle with my gang of 6 if I tried to keep them off of stuff.

Foil never worked, they loved the touch, sound.

[Catty1]

What Craftlady said...use the wipes, or put on rubber gloves and give the surface a light coating of undiluted bleach. Give it several minutes, then wipe well and 'rinse' with a wet cloth or etc.

You might need to do this only twice a week to get rid of the smells that Jax finds so tempting.

[Taz_Zoee]

I might have a solution! I have some orange scented dish soap, so I put some on my fingers and held it up to his nose. He jumped back squinting. So I'm going to look for some kind of spray or cleaner with an orange (or citrus) scent. Thanks Claudia!!

And another big thanks to everyone for the ideas. I will definitely come back to this if the scent thing doesn't work. Or maybe we will just let him have his way. LOL

[kitten645]

Hey kiddo! I have some potpouri called Bitter Orange that I think is divine. I'll bring you a sample to Wine & Whiskers and see if it deters wee Jax!