Dear Star,

How do I keep my cat from jumping on the counter?

~ Mrs. Kirkly, Waterloo

Hi Mrs. Kirkly,

Well I love this question because I too love to jump up on counters, especially around here; I love to jump up on the desks!

Okay now back to my answer.  First you need to see why your cat is jumping on your counter.  Cats love to jump, but if you are leaving traces of food/water on the counter or feeding them food from something you are preparing, you may be encouraging the behaviour.  Your cat now associates the countertop with food and you may not be able to stop them from jumping.

But here are some tips and suggestions:

• Make your counter as undesirable a place as you can.
• When you see them getting ready to jump on the counter or are on the counter, use a loud noise (such as pebbles in a can) to deter them from their actions.
• Try covering your counter top in sheets of aluminum foil.  Cats dislike the feel of this on their feet and it is often enough to deter them.  You may need to continue doing this long term but the foil will stack up out of the way fairly easily so it shouldn’t be a problem.
• This tip is my favourite! Get your cat a toy to jump up on to, like a cat tree!  Always give lots of praise when you see your cat playing with it.  You can encourage your cat to play with it by hiding treats in it!

I hope these tips help you out!

- Star