Advice needed before my boyfriend loses it!

[Randi]

I don't have any ideas to add, but I hope some of them works. If not, I'd go with happylabs suggestion "If all else fails, ditch the boyfriend and keep the cat.

Does Jax keep getting up there because he wants to look out the window? That's Fister's reason for sitting on the kitchen counter here. Does your boyfriend not want him there because he needs the space for work, or is it because of dirty paws? If so, perhaps it would be easier to just have a damp cloth laying there at all times and just wipe the counter before use.

[Taz_Zoee]

LOL, thanks for the suggestions. And I will not be ditching the boyfriend. We've been together for over 7 years, he's a keeper. I've always had the rule that cats are not allowed on the kitchen counters. That's just a pet peeve of mine, and Bruce agrees with me.
I have no clue what he wants on the counter. He is allowed EVERY where else in the house (kitchen table-when we aren't eating, and he's catching on to that rule, dining room table-because we don't use that table for eating, bathroom counters-although he doesn't get up there often).
He has access to several windows (with the help of cat trees) as well as three sliding glass doors and the front storm door to see out of. And he never goes to the window in the kitchen. I think he's attracted to the smells up on the counter. We do keep the counter clean.
I like the idea of using something minty smelling. That way it doesn't bother our noses but maybe he won't like it.
Oh, and as far as the boyfriends hysterics (LOL) we started out taking the nice but firm approach. And since that has absolutely no affect on Jax he just gets irritated that he'll get him down and then by the time he sits back down in the chair to continue working Jax is back up on the counter again. It's not even when we turn our back on him, he does it right in front of us!
I realize the hysterics are eventually just ignored. And our house is such a loud household anyway, the animals become immuned to the noise. (Except Taggart does not like us yelling, even if we aren't yelling in anger.)
Ok, I am going to talk to Bruce tonight about some of the ideas given here and see what we can do. I really appreciate all the great suggestions.
And I will be taking pictures soon for the PT calendar so I will post some of them.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Cindy, I forgot to add that I saw an episode of Cats 101 on Animal Planet and they had an animal behaviorist on the show. She was trying to help a couple to teach their cat not to jump up on the counters. They put some sticky tape on the back of something like a plastic runner and when the cat would try to jump up there his paws would get all sticky so he'd then jump down. Then they used a clicker to teach him to jump up on his cat tree instead and they would click and give him a treat when he used the cat tree. Just another idea to throw out at you. Good luck.

[Taz_Zoee]

Cindy, I forgot to add that I saw an episode of Cats 101 on Animal Planet and they had an animal behaviorist on the show. She was trying to help a couple to teach their cat not to jump up on the counters. They put some sticky tape on the back of something like a plastic runner and when the cat would try to jump up there his paws would get all sticky so he'd then jump down. Then they used a clicker to teach him to jump up on his cat tree instead and they would click and give him a treat when he used the cat tree. Just another idea to throw out at you. Good luck.

That's interesting. A clicker on a cat. Never thought of that. And I have a clicker I use for Taggart. Thanks!!

[catmandu]

Purrsonally I don't care where My Cats go, its their house.
Its odd that none of My Found Casts go on the counter.
It might be that I do not prepare food a lot there so there are no good smells to attract them!!!
Good Luck on that ,I know some people are just aggrevated by Cats on the Counter!!!!GRRRRRRRRR!

[kitten645]

One note about mint....it's actually in the catnip family and some cats LOVE it! My friend couldn't brush her teeth in peace without one of her kitties getting all up in her face! LOL! Citrus might be a safer route. What about some potpourri?

[lizbud]

Well, Cats are gonna do what they want to do, no matter what. Better
to get used to it & adjust his attitude. You could keep a cannister of Clorox
disinfecting wipes on the counter for quick cleanups.

[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!

[mruffruff]

After several years of cats on the counters, I decided I'd had enough. The cats weren't interested in the new rule. Water pistol wasn't going to work unless I camped out in the kitchen. Plastic runners with little bumps on the top side didn't work-they just walked between the bumps. Foil just kept falling on the floor.

Bit the bullet and bought two 40X20 Scat mats. Set them for static shock and beep. Guess who got the first shock?

Yup! And a dandy it was. I remembered real well not to lean in the counter as I walked by!

After two weeks and a few zaps, no more cats on the counters. It was a real pain to work around the mats (pun intended). Now I have the mats back in the boxes, at least until I catch someone on the counter again.

I probably wouldn't have resorted to the mats if the cats didn't pee on the backsplash and roll of paper towels while they were up there.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thanks mruffruff. So if the smell doesn't work then I might try the scat mats.