Pawprints on the counter

I wish I could suggest something new but like I said to my fiancé today " we
have completely lost all control of the house" and he said that we lost it
the day the cats came to live here and that's fine with us. The only thing I
worry about is them jumping on the stove to get to the counter. Delilah is
the only one to do this and never does it while the stove is on. Stella
chooses to jump up my back, sit on my shoulder for a bit then leap to the
counter.

If cats could talk, they'd tell us resistance is futile.

--
rach


"Kath" wrote in message
om...
Help! I have tried all the usual methods to keep my fearless feline
off the kitchen counter and nothing is working. She doesn't mind
being squirted with water, will happily walk on foil or sticky tape,
and loud noises from falling tin cans do not bother her at all. I
even tried wiping down the counters frequently with a lemon scented
cleanser that she appeared to dislike - the result was very clean
counter tops but she was still hopping up there. She is only 10
months old and is allowed on every other surface in the house except
the kitchen counters. That one area I do not want her to go and it
has become "the final frontier". I am on my last inch of rope but not
ready to give up. I would really love some new ideas!

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav", m. L. Briggs
artfully composed this message within
on 29 Jun 2004:



Just get some Clorox wipes and clean them before using them.
Cats do what they please. Good luck. MLB


That's an excellent solution for me, too. I'll leave clorox wipes on
the counter for when my mom is over taking care of my kitties. I
usually just use a sponge with dishwashing liquid on it after each
pilling; weekly deep cleaning, but I know my mom would bawk at that.


--
Cheryl

In the fine newsgroup "rec.pets.cats.health+behav", m. L. Briggs
artfully composed this message within
on 29 Jun 2004:



Just get some Clorox wipes and clean them before using them.
Cats do what they please. Good luck. MLB


That's an excellent solution for me, too. I'll leave clorox wipes on
the counter for when my mom is over taking care of my kitties. I
usually just use a sponge with dishwashing liquid on it after each
pilling; weekly deep cleaning, but I know my mom would bawk at that.


--
Cheryl

"Laura R." wrote
I like keeping the cats off the counters better, but that's just 'cause
I'm stubborn and anal retentive. ;-)



Mine have never tried it, and I'm not sure why. I have found little tiny cat
footprints on the dining room table--clearly Cheeky's since Buddha is too
fat to jump up there.
There is a large window at one end, so she's watching the chipmunks and
rabbits and squirrels and birds, I guess.

"Laura R." wrote
I like keeping the cats off the counters better, but that's just 'cause
I'm stubborn and anal retentive. ;-)



Mine have never tried it, and I'm not sure why. I have found little tiny cat
footprints on the dining room table--clearly Cheeky's since Buddha is too
fat to jump up there.
There is a large window at one end, so she's watching the chipmunks and
rabbits and squirrels and birds, I guess.

"Kath" wrote in message
om...
Help! I have tried all the usual methods to keep my fearless feline
off the kitchen counter and nothing is working. She doesn't mind
being squirted with water, will happily walk on foil or sticky tape,
and loud noises from falling tin cans do not bother her at all. I
even tried wiping down the counters frequently with a lemon scented
cleanser that she appeared to dislike - the result was very clean
counter tops but she was still hopping up there. She is only 10
months old and is allowed on every other surface in the house except
the kitchen counters. That one area I do not want her to go and it
has become "the final frontier". I am on my last inch of rope but not
ready to give up. I would really love some new ideas!

Try a ScatMat, which I believe is available from Drs. Foster and Smith. In
addition, you can try mouse traps set at the hair trigger so that any jolt
sets them off. Sometimes because a counter is so solid and a cat is so
light footed, you may want to balance them on a cookie sheet that's got a
knife under the middle and will rock if touched. Small bubble wrap that is
sprayed with vinegar also sometimes works. If you have barberry or roses or
other thorny plants in your garden, sometimes you can place some cut
branches on teh counter. Or, you could always leave a couple of small
saucers of that banana flavored pyrantel wormer on the counter. My cats
HATE the stuff and hide every time it's time for them to get it.

Cats have different things that they find "yucky" and sometimes what works
with one won't work with another, so it's worth trying everything you can
think of.

"Kath" wrote in message
om...
Help! I have tried all the usual methods to keep my fearless feline
off the kitchen counter and nothing is working. She doesn't mind
being squirted with water, will happily walk on foil or sticky tape,
and loud noises from falling tin cans do not bother her at all. I
even tried wiping down the counters frequently with a lemon scented
cleanser that she appeared to dislike - the result was very clean
counter tops but she was still hopping up there. She is only 10
months old and is allowed on every other surface in the house except
the kitchen counters. That one area I do not want her to go and it
has become "the final frontier". I am on my last inch of rope but not
ready to give up. I would really love some new ideas!

Try a ScatMat, which I believe is available from Drs. Foster and Smith. In
addition, you can try mouse traps set at the hair trigger so that any jolt
sets them off. Sometimes because a counter is so solid and a cat is so
light footed, you may want to balance them on a cookie sheet that's got a
knife under the middle and will rock if touched. Small bubble wrap that is
sprayed with vinegar also sometimes works. If you have barberry or roses or
other thorny plants in your garden, sometimes you can place some cut
branches on teh counter. Or, you could always leave a couple of small
saucers of that banana flavored pyrantel wormer on the counter. My cats
HATE the stuff and hide every time it's time for them to get it.

Cats have different things that they find "yucky" and sometimes what works
with one won't work with another, so it's worth trying everything you can
think of.

I like keeping the cats off the counters better, but that's just
'cause I'm stubborn and anal retentive. ;-)

Laura

I'm still stubborn about the kitchen table. The steadfast, unflappable rule
here (the only one, actually) is "No cat butts on the kitchen table." They're
actually pretty good. But the dining room table is fair game since we never use
it, and they know it.

Sherry

I like keeping the cats off the counters better, but that's just
'cause I'm stubborn and anal retentive. ;-)

Laura

I'm still stubborn about the kitchen table. The steadfast, unflappable rule
here (the only one, actually) is "No cat butts on the kitchen table." They're
actually pretty good. But the dining room table is fair game since we never use
it, and they know it.

Sherry

(Kath) wrote in message . com...
Help! I have tried all the usual methods to keep my fearless feline
off the kitchen counter and nothing is working. She doesn't mind
being squirted with water, will happily walk on foil or sticky tape,
and loud noises from falling tin cans do not bother her at all. I
even tried wiping down the counters frequently with a lemon scented
cleanser that she appeared to dislike - the result was very clean
counter tops but she was still hopping up there. She is only 10
months old and is allowed on every other surface in the house except
the kitchen counters. That one area I do not want her to go and it
has become "the final frontier". I am on my last inch of rope but not
ready to give up. I would really love some new ideas!


Take the old fashioned mouse traps (wood/metal), set them, and
carefully place them upside-down on the counter tops. Cover them with
3-4 layers of newspaper. When kitty jumps up, they will snap and
scare the kitty and kitty won't jump up there again.

-L.