Pointless question of the day (for cat owners)

[supergolden88]

I know the answer to this question is probably 'there's nothing you can do' but will ask anyway.

We have two cats, brothers, about 12 years old. Their catflap in on the kitchen door. They get fed wet food once a day and they have access to dry food (Hill's) all day so they can graze.

One of the cats jumps on the kitchen counters every chance he gets - he is a scavenger. No matter how well fed and no difference if the countertops are clean he climbs on to check anyay. I have found the butter (left out to soften for baking) licked and muffins left to cool bitten.

Drives me crazy esp. with a baby in the house. Is there anything I can do to stop him?

[snowboarder]

Ours do this too. Doesn't help that at night the only part of the house they can access is the kitchen, so they think it is their domain. One in particular also loves to sleep in anything soft and lovely like a moses basket/pram/cocoon/on a sheepskin (who wouldn't?). In desperate times I have even found him in the bumbo.

In addition to this despite being treated/special vaccine etc they seem to have fleas. Found one on the baby's head this morning. Marvelous. Anyone want two cats?

[Moos]

I don't think you can stop them, no.

Ours has been known to try salad left out..

[zeban]

You just have to cover everything- put them in tins- or put in microwave/oven to keep the cats away from anything. Keep bedroom doors closed.

Fleas are unfortunately very common even after treatment. I don't know what advice to offer on that I'm afraid.

Cats are cheeky buggers!

[supergolden88]

Yes I have found a steamed courgette with a bite taken out of it on the floor once.

I thought maybe there was a spray to keep them away or something like that. I try to put everything away but sometimes baby will cry etc. so I leave the kitchen in a hurry. In desperation I have locked them out while cooking baby food or baking.

[snowboarder]

I think I once read you should shoot them with a water pistol?!? But hide it so they don't know you did it....or am I imagining things?!?

[snowboarder]

ps I have never tried this!!

[supergolden88]

Even if you sprayed them with a waterpistol everytime they did something wrong they still would not learn. I don't think they can be trained like dogs.

My cat knows full well he is doing something wrong - he is out of the kitchen like a bullet if I catch him at it- but that doesn't stop him.

[Yak]

We lost an entire pack of bacon, still in its packaging, once to our cat-cum-dog. He didn't even have the decency to be sick afterwards. I don't think there are any magic solutions (aside from a water pistol!) but if I'm in a hurry I stash possible items of interest in the microwave, on top of the freezer, in the top oven etc. The challenge then is to remember you've left butter out to soften etc & where you've hidden it!

The pram footmuff is a definite favourite. The baby gym is yet another soft &

interesting place to explore. And the 5am night feed means that they get breakfast early...if I lock them out if our room they just whine & scratch at our bedroom door which is just beside the yaklet's room. So if the yaklet does start to sleep through we'll have to sleep train the buggers. Sigh.

Do we need a family room cattery?!

[intexasatthe moment]

I think it's probably down to the individual cat's nature but ..... our cats have been on dried food all their life ( pet shop had them on it ,moistened with water ,when we bought them as kittens ,no idea how weaned ) and never show the slightest interest in wet food ( weeell a passing sniff at tuna ) .

They never go on work surfaces .

But cats love amonia smell /bleach so possibly check what you're cleaning work tops with ,in case it's encouraging them ?

[Saffron]

Some cats just have it in their personalities to be jumpers. We have one cat who jumps and climbs on everything. The other is a slinker who rarely jumps on anything higher than a sofa.

Waterpistols do work, but you need to be very consistent, which is difficult if you have a baby or small child. Adding a little vinegar to the waterpistol is particularly effective. The smell evapourates after a few minutes.

Now that Little Saff is starting to talk, she tells our cat very authoritatively to 'Get down!' It's to no avail if our backs are turned however, Bad Kitty will always go for the uncovered butter/chicken/broccoli. I agree with Zeban. You do have to cover everything.

You also need to be careful that your cat is not stealing bites of any food with alliums in it. That's onions, garlic leeks, shallots, chives etc. These plants are toxic to cats, even if the food in question has been cooked. I'll have to look it up, I think it's an effect on red blood cell metabolism. A small amount would not be harmful as a one off. It's cumulative ingestions, or a single large serving that would be bad news for Kitty.

I don't think locking Kitties out for a bit is a big deal. You can even try to use it as reinforcement for the bad behaviour. When you start cooking, give Kitty one chance to behave and stay off the worktop. Then it's out in his kitty bum!

xx

[BB100]

When I was a child my mother used to tap the cat on the nose with a rolled up newspaper. We had three cats and none of them jumped on the table because of it. I think the water pistol sounds the next best alternative.

[mrs f]

When we were kids & had cats my dad trained them (although he did do this when they were kittens it was v effective even in cat old age) he put rolled up socks all over the house & whenever they did something wrong I'd climbing on kitchen table he would clap twice then throw the socks at them, after a while he needed only to clap. I don't remember them ever scavenging for food (despite his mean theory of never giving new (wet) food until they had finished the last, which would often go a little crispy (poor things!)after a day or two! )

[apenn]

I haven't tried this on my cats (which also jump on our table) but just had an idea:

You know those food umbrella thingys meant to keep insects off your food when outside? Perhaps try one of those if you need to leave things out. I've seen them in AJ Farmer's In LL. In theory, it should have the same effect as a cat net . . .

-A

[amyw]

we had a very greedy cat for a while who was always on the bench (would rip into packaging to eat donuts, croissants, and oh yes my chicken tikka masala along with other things)

we used to fill shallow trays with water and put them on the work surface just out of sight from below. the theory was that she would jump up and get wet paws which they of course hate.

there is no way of being sure that its worked though and obviously only practical when you arent using the kitchen...

[Pugwash]

having had cats who jump up every where - I have hidden food in ovens (heat off) microwave, fridge. Cats have weird taste, one of our cats loved curry - hubby got a very hot takeaway one night and the cat licked the container we had to laugh at his reaction - still did not put him off curry,

As long as you keep surfaces really clean - I should not worry too much

[Ramble66]

Thankfully our cats don't do this. When we have tried to discourage behaviour when they were kittens we used a water spray or pushing their neck down gently but firmly and holding for a second like a mother cat would. They also dislike sudden loud noise. So we re-enforce it by clapping our hands. Eventually you should be able to just clap loudly once to stop behaviour and hopefully prevent further occurrences.

Obviously the difficulty is catching them at it!

Also cats tend to dislike strong citrus smells and tea tree oil. Maybe add these to the water spray and also spray the sides with it. Hopefully they will relate the smell with being sprayed and also not like the smell so keep away.